Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #23
Sins Remembered: Sarah’s Story Part 1
Peter Parker gets a phone call from a doctor in Paris who says that Sarah Stacy is in medical trouble and she has listed Peter as her contact in case of a medical emergency.[1] Getting off the phone, Peter tells Mary Jane that Sarah Stacy has turned up and that she attempted to commit suicide. Mary Jane is sorry and tells Peter they should pack a bag and take the first flight out to France. However, Peter tells Mary Jane that Sarah Stacy is his responsibility and insists on going alone. Pretending not to be hurt, Mary Jane figures that it’ll be easier getting a last-minute ticket to Paris for one person than two. Peter soon finds himself crammed in the middle seat in economy class on a flight to Paris. Along the way, the woman sitting next to him strikes up a conversation by asking him if he is married. When Peter says that he is, she figures he’s going to Paris on business and tells him how she never lets her husband go on a business trip alone since the French women don’t leave him alone.[2] When she starts suggestions of what sites to see, her husband wakes up and tells Peter that the best way to get around Paris is to talk loudly and with authority, and if that fails just hand over a ton of cash.
When Peter arrives in Paris and gets a cab at the airport, he asks to be taken to the Hotel Margarite — as it was the place recommended by the man on the plane — and shows the cab driver a handful of money. This is apparently some kind of code, as the driver takes him to a prostitute working the street. After getting out of this embarrassing situation, Peter Parker makes his way to the American Hospital of Paris where he meets with Sarah’s doctor. He tells Peter that he is almost certain she attempted to take her life but warns Peter that she will probably try to tell him something completely different. When asked about his relationship, Peter explains that he was a dear friend of Sarah’s mother, glossing over her tragic death and how Sarah and her brother briefly accused him of her death and also thought that he was their biological father.[3] He then confirms that Sarah has a French passport because she was born in France. He also tells the doctor that Sarah’s father is Norman Osborn, who is currently in jail.[4] He concludes his story by saying how Sarah and her brother went after him in America. Sarah saved his life, and in turn, he saved hers by giving a needed blood transfusion to save her life, but Sarah disappeared shortly afterward. The doctor finds all of this amazing to hear and hopes Peter knows what he’s getting himself into.
Going over Sarah’s medical history, Peter confirms that she has enhanced healing and is suffering from rapid aging, hence why she looks like an adult when she is a very young age. Although he wants to have her placed at Saint Anne’s psychiatric hospital but can’t force her. When Peter is allowed to leave with her, he warns Peter that Sarah is still somewhat unstable and very strong. This is punctuated when they arrive at her room and she tosses a food cart out of her room. However, she is happy to see that Peter has finally come and instantly tells him that she wasn’t trying to kill herself, she insists that she took the wrong medication and it reacted badly. When Peter tells her that all he knew was that she was found on her bathroom floor with a bottle of pills next to her, Sarah gets upset, thinking that Peter doesn’t believe her. Peter says that all he wants to do is understand what’s going on and asks her to tell the truth and trust him. He then asks her why.
Sarah starts by telling him that asparagus grows so quickly that farmers swear they can hear it grow. She says that she suffers from something similar because of her condition she is constantly growing and changes and she swears she can hear and feel the process happening all day long and it gives her painful headaches. Since her enhanced healing abilities she has to take a lot of medication in order for it to take effect. She says that this was the only time she passed out from the medication she took and insists that she didn’t try to kill herself. Peter apologizes, pointing out he hardly knows anything about her and that he is not a mind reader and suggests that they spend their time getting to know each other, starting with Sarah showing her the Paris she grew up in.
The pair soon take a taxi back to the mansion that Sarah calls home, unaware that the house is under observation. The man watching calls in to his employer to confirm that two people are returning to the house but cannot confirm if the man in the car is Gabriel Stacy or not. Told to stay put and keep on reporting in, the man hangs up the phone and smiles because this is where the fun begins.
Inside, Peter is impressed by the sheer size of the house and learns that Sarah and Gabriel were taken care of by a full staff that has since been driven away. When he notices how late it is, Peter tires to head back to his hotel but he is guilted into staying by Sarah, who gets upset when to hear that he got a hotel room. After Sarah has gone to bed, Peter calls Mary Jane to tell her how things went. Still, he lies about staying in a hotel room saying that he couldn’t find it yet because of the confusing directions. The whole time he is telling all this to Mary Jane he is unaware that Sarah has picked up another phone and has been listening in on his conversation. Mary Jane asks Peter if everything is okay as he sounds tense, and he assures her that everything is fine and he’ll be back after checking things out for a few days to make sure Sarah is all right. Peter immediately regrets lying to his wife, even though he has done it countless times before but never like this. However, this whole situation is very weird to him and unable to sleep, Peter decides to get some fresh air and changes into Spider-Man to go web-slinging. After Peter’s gone, Sarah gets up and psyches herself up before taking a handful of pills. While out on patrol, Spider-Man sees a young couple arguing, and tries to break them up, only to learn that it is a simple lovers quarrel. Later when he accidentally knocks loose a stone gargoyle from the side of a building that just narrowly misses some people, Spider-Man is sent packing by vegetable throwing locals.
The following morning when Peter wakes up he finds Sarah watching the news about Spider-Man’s exploits the night before and is deeply amused. After Peter grabs a bite to eat he heads into the shower. Once he’s out of earshot, Sarah picks up the phone and calls someone telling them that everything is going according to plan and that she can make the drop as long as they keep their end of the bargain. She hopes that maybe nobody has to die after all.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Sarah Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, Black Hand, Francois Benoit (unidentified)
Continuity Notes
Here are some facts you should know about Sarah Stacy:
As revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #509-514, she is the bastard daughter of Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn — aka the Green Goblin. When making this revelation, Peter discovered that Sarah and her twin brother Gabriel were suffering from rapid aging as a side effect of the Goblin formula that was passed along to them by their father’s DNA.
The affair between Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn happened in secret sometime after Amazing Spider-Man #61. Gwen later gave birth to the children in secret sometime around Amazing Spider-Man #119.
Gwen was later murdered by the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121.
Peter refers to himself as being married here. However, not long after this story, his marriage to Mary Jane is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such, in this altered timeline, Peter would say he is engaged as opposed to being married.
Peter states that Gwen Stacy’s death happened years ago. Per the Sliding Timescale, it has been roughly 8 years since Gwen Stacy’s death. It has also been about as long since Sarah and her brother were born. They’re of adult age now because of the aforementioned advanced aging.
Norman is in jail following his last battle with Spider-Man following the events of Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #12. This was clarified in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #1.
