Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #25
Sins Remembered: Sarah’s Story Part 3
Peter Parker and Sarah Stacy are having a picnic in a Parisian cemetery trying to figure out where to go next on Peter’s tour of the city, unaware that they are being watched by a sniper. As the sniper prepares to shoot Sarah, Peter’s spider-sense goes off and he manages to push her to the ground in time for the bullet to miss its target. Sarah jokes that dinners and flowers usually come first, and Peter tells her it’s not funny and to stay put. Peter swings off to find the sniper but finds no trace of them and is relieved that Sarah is safe. However, at that moment, Sarah finds a man looking under the hood of his car and grabs him by the throat, asking if he is the man who just tried to kill her.
Meanwhile, at Charles de Gaulle Airport, a man watches as Mary Jane Watson arrives and reports her in. Watching as the woman enters the washroom, the man tailing her assures the person he is speaking to that he won’t let her out of his sight. However, Mary Jane doesn’t realize that in France you collect toilet paper before entering the bathroom stall and finds herself stuck on the toilet without anyone to pass some toilet paper along to her. At that same moment, Sarah is leading Peter back to Norman Osborn’s mansion through a secret tunnel that was constructed so people could come and go unseen. The whole way back, Sarah is evading Peter’s questions about everything strange that has happened during their tour of the city. He thinks that she is trying to put up a brave front but tells her that if she is stuck she can tell him what’s wrong and they can try to fix it together. By this time, Mary Jane has managed to get out of the washroom and after trying to find someone who speaks English finds a man waiting at a taxi stand who offers to help her get around the city and try to find her husband, whom she says she is trying to find and surprise.[1] The man introduces himself as Luc Beldron and as he ushers Mary Jane into a taxi, he tells her that he can call the operator and find out the address for Sarah Stacy so they can find her husband.
Back at Norman Osborn’s mansion, Sarah Stacy decides to finally come clean and tell Peter what’s been going on. She says that unless her father was around, the staff ignored her and her twin brother Gabriel. They were bored most of the time. One night they decided to sneak out and have a night on the town. The ended up befriending a local hood named Bruce who was involved in a bit of everything, from smuggling to drugs to gambling. Although Sarah liked Bruce instantly, he didn’t particularly like the Stacy twins until he saw how they could trounce his entire gang due to their enhanced strength and they were adopted into his gang. The headaches from their condition started soon after this and Bruce was able to supply them with the drugs they needed to ease the pain. Since they didn’t get any money from Osborn, they would earn their money by doing deliveries for local criminals as it paid well. Peter points out that Sarah and Gabriel were being used by the same people who are now trying to kill them. However, Sarah says that Bruce and his gang have nothing to do with this, in fact, they went missing about a year ago and she never heard from them again. That’s when Monsieur Dupres arrived on the scene, he was a member of the Black Hand organized crime family. Either you worked for him, or you paid the price. Unfortunately, their dependency on pain killers forced them to work for Dupres in order to keep a steady supply. She said that before they left, Gabriel had an idea for one major score where they would steal a big delivery of drugs and sell it themselves and live it rich. Although Sarah didn’t want to do it, Gabriel went ahead and did it himself. Now that Gabriel is gone, Sarah has been left holding the bag.[2]
Peter is shocked to discover that the drugs were worth over a million and a half and asks her if she knows where the money is or if she was in contact with her brother. Sarah is getting upset at this point and tells him that she doesn’t know where it is or where Gabriel went after his defeat at the hands of Spider-Man. She then dismisses Peter’s concern, saying that he doesn’t plan on hanging around and that he only came out of sympathy and tells him that he can go back to his life in New York City. Peter tells her that’s not true and that he doesn’t want to lose her. At that moment, Mary Jane’s taxi is pulling up to the mansion. The men who have been watching Sarah Stacy’s movements are glad they were able to locate the Watson woman again after losing her at the airport. As Mary Jane gets out of the cab, Luc tells her that he’s going to stay just in case there is nobody home. Inside, Sarah tells Peter that he is going to abandon her like everyone else in her life, but he hugs her and tells her that he won’t. He says that he loves her, but before he explains what he means, Sarah is delighted, telling Peter that she feels the same way about him and kisses him on the lips. Peter is shocked and pushes her away, just as Mary Jane walks in and catches Sarah kissing her husband. Mary Jane is upset that she turns around to leave. Peter tries to explain himself, but Mary Jane is too furious to listen and slams the door on Peter’s face. Sarah, meanwhile, is confused because she thought Peter loved her, and Peter clarifies what he meant, saying he loves Sarah like a sister, like a daughter of his friend, and nothing more.
He then races after Mary Jane and tries to convince her that Sarah is in some serious trouble. When Mary Jane offers her help he tells her that it’s too dangerous. When Mary Jane asks for his hotel room key, she realizes that he lied about having a hotel room and gets angry all over again. Realizing that she can’t compete with Gwen Stacy’s memory, she says goodbye to Peter and walks out of the mansion. Back inside, Sarah is furious at Mary Jane for ruining everything and thinks she should have killed her when she had the chance. That’s when Gabe suddenly appears in her room and says he needs more drugs. When she tells him there are none left he suddenly acts like he has never seen her before. Denying that she is his sister, Gabriel tries to get violent, forcing her to shackle his hands. She decides to go and see Monsieur Dupres as it is the only thing she can do now. When Peter goes and checks on Sarah she’s gone and the only thing in her room is a shattered mirror. Realizing that Sarah is in trouble, Peter begins changing into Spider-Man.[3]
Meanwhile, Luc has taken Mary Jane out for dinner and begins hitting on her immediately. That’s when her guilty conscious kicks in and she reminds herself that Peter would never cheat on her and that Sarah Stacy is really just a little girl despite her physical appearance. Realizing that Luc is a married sleazeball, she excuses herself to go to the bathroom and then sneaks out of the restaurant. The man who has been trailing Mary Jane loses track of her once again. At that same moment, Spider-Man confronts the man who has been waiting outside of the Osborn’s house and asks why he has been spying on them the whole time he was there. The man, Francois Benoit, reveals to Spider-Man that he is an agent of Interpol. Francois suggests that the two work together so they can save Sarah from getting into real trouble. Spider-Man agrees and climbs into the car as it drives off to look for Stacey.
By this point, Mary Jane has gotten lost but eventually finds the Osborn mansion. Once she enters she finds the place dark and deserted. Calling out for Peter and Sarah she is confronted by Gabriel Stacy who has broken free from his bonds and demands to know where her sister is.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Sarah Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, Black Hand, Gabriel Stacy, Francois Benoit
Continuity Notes
Mary Jane refers to Peter as her husband here. However, not long after this story, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In the altered timeline, Mary Jane would refer to Peter as her fiancee.
Gabriel went MIA after exposing himself to the Goblin Formula to become the Grey Goblin and was defeated in battle against Spider-Man, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #514.
Mention is made about how young Sarah Stacy actually is, as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #509-514, Sarah suffers from rapid aging as a result from the Goblin formula she inherited from her father, Norman Osborn. Sarah Stacy was born, in secret, around Amazing Spider-Man #119. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, that would make Sarah about 8 years old. The rapid aging causes Sarah to age four times faster than normal making her physically look like she’s in her 30s.
