Spider-Man #93
Reborn Again
Firefighters have arrived on the scene to put out a fire raging in Cypress Hills Cemetery. Unfortunately, the water does little to stop the blaze. If they were able to look at the fire from above, they would notice that it is in the shape of the Medallion of Power. In the center of the flame, the form of the Ghost Rider appears once more. He quickly summons his motorcycle from the flames and then speeds off as there is a need for vengeance.[1]
Elsewhere in the city, Spider-Man enjoys being able to web-sling once again now that he has been cleared of the murder of Joey Z and the bounty on his head lifted.[2] After rescuing a cat from a tree and a boy from a burning building, Spider-Man quickly learns that while his name has been cleared people still don’t trust him and he as Norman Osborn to thank for that.[3] Swinging back to Forest Hills, the wall-crawler pays a visit to Arthur Stacy to thank Arthur again for helping to clear his name. To repay this kindness, Spider-Man offers to tell him everything Arthur wants to know about the deaths of his brother George and his niece Gwen.[4] Arthur shocks him by saying that he’ll talk to Spider-Man about that another time, as he is more concerned about his son Paul, who is moving out of the house. Part of it has to do with Paul’s obsession with Spider-Man, but Arthur insists that it is a private matter that he will handle on his own. Spider-Man understands but personally is hurt because Arthur cannot bring himself to trust him.
Outside, Mary Jane is walking Jill Stacy home and Jill is talking about the Joey Z case. However, before Mary Jane can give her opinion, they notice Paul has just finished loading up a moving truck. When Jill asks what’s going on, Paul explains that he is moving out and tells her that he’ll forward his address along soon and drives off. When Mary Jane tries to find out what’s happening, Jill brushes it off and tells MJ that she’ll see her later. As Mary Jane heads home, her thoughts about the situation are interrupted when Peter jumps out of the bushes.[5] When she scolds him, he quickly scoops her up and they leap onto a nearby rooftop. There, Peter tells his wife that they’ve been so serious for so long it is time for them to have some fun for once.[6] Mary Jane tells Peter to be careful using his powers like this out of costume because something might happen. As if on cue, Peter’s spider-sense goes off and he quickly shields himself and Mary Jane with webbing as the Ghost Rider races past them on his motorcycle. Realizing that this means the end of their evening festivities, Mary Jane allows Peter to go after the Ghost Rider as Spider-Man. Following the Ghost Rider’s trail of flame, the web-slinger wonders why his flames are out of control. Along the way, he spots another burning building. As he helps firefighters rescue the people trapped inside, Spider-Man wonders if the Ghost Rider’s flames could be the cause. After Spider-Man rescues a boy from the burning building his family thanks him. As he swings away, Spider-Man realizes that it is going to take a long time before he can win back the trust of the city, but this is a good start to accomplishing this.
Spider-Man quickly finds the Ghost Rider’s flames and follows it again. This leads him to Times Square, where the Ghost Rider tells people to get away as he can no longer control his hellfire. He doesn’t know why he was reborn and struggles to make sense of everything. As he begins lashing out, Spider-Man swoops in to stop Ghost Rider from harming anyone. The Ghost Rider fights back and in the struggle, the Ghost Rider damages the street uncovering a gang of terrorists trying to set up a bomb in the sewers below.[7] Spider-Man quickly incapacitates the terrorists and asks Ghost Rider to do something about the bomb, but the Ghost Rider is too weak. That’s when Danny Ketch arrives on the scene and recognizes Noble Kale and asks why he is no longer in Mephisto’s realm. Confused, the Ghost Rider cannot remember what happened and cannot be complete until he and Danny merge together once more. Realizing that there is no choice in the matter, Danny allows Ghost Rider to merge with him, making Noble Kale complete once more. The Ghost Rider tells Spider-Man to hand him the bomb and then wrap him up in webbing. Inside the massive cocoon of webbing, Ghost Rider grips the bomb closely to his chest. The blast is powerful enough to shatter nearby windows but the cocoon holds. Just as Spider-Man wonders if Ghost Rider survived the blast, the Spirit of Vengeance comes speeding out of the cocoon on his motorcycle, answering that question.
The next day, Peter is disappointed to see J. Jonah Jameson’s editorial in the Daily Bugle, blaming Spider-Man and Ghost Rider for the terrorist attack. Hearing Peter’s complaint, Mary Jane tells him that she hates to tell him I told you so…
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Ghost Rider (Kale), Ghost Rider (Ketch), Mary Jane Watson, Arthur Stacy, Jill Stacy, Paul Stacy
Continuity Notes
The spirit of Noble Kale was last seen ruling over hell after separating from Danny Ketch, as seen in Ghost Rider (Vol. 3) #94. As explained in the Danny Ketch entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #8, Kale was later forced out of Hell when the realm was taken over again by Mephisto.
Spider-Man was framed for the murder of Joey Z in Spider-Man #88. This led to a bounty being put on his head during the Spiderhunt arc and forcing him to take on different identities to operate incognito and clear his name during the Identity Crisis arc. He eventually cleared his name last issue.
Norman Osborn has been using his influence to tarnish Spider-Man’s reputation since Spectacular Spider-Man #250.
George Stacy died pushing a child out of the way of falling debris caused by a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, while Norman Osborn, as the Green Goblin, murdered Gwen in Amazing Spider-Man #121.
Mary Jane mentions Paul’s brief association with the Friends of Humanity. They tried to court Paul into joining them from Spider-Man #82-86.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.
Spider-Man tells the terrorists that they are too early for the millennium. This statement is obviously a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
