Peter Parker: Spider-Man Annual 2001
It’s Great to be King
Classes have ended for the year and Peter rushes him so he can pack for his big summer vacation trip. At home, Aunt May wants to make sure that Peter really wants to go on this trip. Peter is looking forward to his trip to Peru since it will give him a chance to get ahead on field studies that will allow him to do bio-chem a year earlier than everyone else.[1] Although Aunt May is her usual worrying self, Peter is a lot more optimistic, wondering what could possibly happen to him while he takes a tour of the Peruvian jungle.
After arriving in Peru, Peter Parker is soon picked up by a bus that will take him to the Red Cross Station that he will be working in all summer long. Along the treacherous Nazcan Roads, Peter’s spider-sense begins warning him of danger just as the driver loses control of his vehicle and swerves off the road. As the bus races out of control toward the edge of a cliff, Peter acts quickly. Running to the back of the bus he kicks open the emergency door and leaps outside. Using his clinging ability he grabs onto the back of the bus and uses his powerful legs to slow the bus down, stopping it just before it can go over the edge. However, the sudden stop causes Peter to smack his head against the side of the bus, knocking him out. As the driver and other passengers evacuate the vehicle, they are unaware of Peter passed out under the vehicle. However, his actions were noticed by a tribe of locals who believe his display of powers are a sign. When they look through Peter’s backpack and find his Spider-Man costume, this convinces them that he is the one they were praying for and take Peter back to their village.
When Peter wakes up in one of the villager’s huts he finds a young woman watching over him. When he tries to talk to her she runs outside to tell the others that he is awake. Unable to understand their native tongue, Peter asks if anyone speaks English. That’s when the girl who was there when he woke up reveals that she can speak his language. She explains that her brother brought Peter to their village because he has great power. Peter demands to know where he is and why he has been brought there. The young woman, Taran, tells him that he is among the Spider-Clan, a tribe of people who worship a deity called the Great Weaver and the river spiders that build massive nests in the trees along the Nazca River. They used to worship the spiders at the their temple of the Great Weaver. However, the structure has since been taken over by their rivals in the Snake Clan, killing many of their people. Their leader is a sorcerer named Faire De Lain who captured the temple because it is a source of great power. She concludes her tale by saying that only the Spider-Amulet can stop De Lain and insists that she accompany Peter when he goes to confront their mortal enemy. Unfortunately for Taran, Peter insists on taking on Faire De Lain alone, preferring to work alone. When Peter asks why they chose him over all the other people on the bus, Taran then pulls out his Spider-Man costume. Upset that they went through his things, Peter grabs it back and storms off. Taran tries to leave with him, her brother stops him warning her that Peter is like the tarantula and is likely to bite his own.
A short time later, Spider-Man is swinging through the jungle still fuming over the fact that the Spider-Clan has learned his secret identity. However, his complaints soon stop when he happens upon the Spider-Temple and is completely awed by the size of the ancient stone structure. Spider-Man quickly takes out the guards guarding the main portal into the temple, but a third guard comes out of the bushes and strikes him with a poison dart. That’s when Taran and a number of the Spider-Clan arrive to lend a hand. When they rescue Spider-Man he has collapsed to the ground due to the toxins flowing through his body. Taran tells him that he’ll live but be sick for a day, she also tells him that the drug will make him brutally honest. In his drugged haze, Spider-Man tells her that he thinks Taran is beautiful and likes that she is arachnodactyly — someone with abnormally long fingers — However, his metabolism is already working the toxins out of his system. Putting his mask back on Peter insists on continuing after Faire De Lain, despite Taran’s protests that it is too dangerous. As Spider-Man goes into the temple, the Spider-Clan warriors intend to do things their own way as well.
Soon, Spider-Man is face-to-face with Faire De Lain and is uninterested in his talk of prophecies and demands that he hand over the Spider-Amulet. However, Spider-Man is knocked to the ground when he is struck by a mystical blast. That’s when the Spider-Clan enters the temple but is quickly restrained by snakes under De Lain’s command. When Spider-Man tries to attack again, he is blasted into a pit. His fall is broken when he lands in a massive spider-web and decides to try stealth the next time he attacks his foe. Spider-Man gets back up to the surface just in time to stop Faire De Lain from sacrificing Taran to one of his snakes. In the ensuing struggle, Spider-Man tosses himself and De Lain into the pit. Caught in the webbing, De Lain attempts to blast Spider-Man again but the recoil of the mystical bolt causes Faire De Lain to rip through the webbing and fall deeper into the pit. With Faire De Lain defeated, Taran recovers the Spider-Amulet and uses it to drive away the rest of the Snake-Clan from their sacred temple. Exhausted after this whole ordeal, Spider-Man passes out. When he wakes up its in time to witness Taran be crowned the new high priestess of the Spider-Clan. He tells Taran that he needs to go and she agrees to walk him back to the Red Cross camp. Along the way she thanks Peter for helping her tribe and gives him a necklace and sends him off with a kiss.
For the rest of the summer, all Peter could think about that Taran and her people who treated himself like one of their own making Peter feel like he belonged somewhere and how much he loved that feeling.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Aunt May
Continuity Notes
This story is a flashback tale takes place while Peter was still in high school, according to the Marvel Chronology Project, this story occurs after the events of Amazing Spider-Man #5.
