Amazing Spider-Man Family #1

48 Hours

Peter Parker thinks about how much life can suck sometimes and how, right now, it sucks more than it ever has before. That’s because his Uncle Ben is dead and it is his all his fault..[1] Peter sits alone during the wake as friends and family come to give him their condolences. All Peter can think about is the burglar and how he could have stopped him a few days earlier as Spider-Man but did nothing. Later, this same man broke into their house and murdered his uncle. He also thinks about how he was going to use his Spider-Man persona to become a right celebrity and have some laughs while he was at it. Now he doesn’t feel like laughing anymore. Once everyone is gone, Peter looks up and sees Aunt May sitting on the couch. When he asks if she wants something, May says she’s not hungry. Peter feels the same way.

That night, up in his room, Peter looks at his Spider-Man costume and considers burning it. However, he thinks about how Uncle Ben would tell him to use these powers responsibly to help people. He thinks about what it would look like if Spider-Man acted like a hero and thinks it is ridiculous but decides to try anyway.

The first thing Peter decides to do is create a stronger batch of web-fluid. However, when he gets to work the mixture of chemicals ends up blowing up in his face. When Aunt May comes upstairs to see what happened the sight of Peter covered in goop gives her a much-needed laugh. She tells Peter to come downstairs for a midnight snack and when she asks him what he was doing, Peter tells her that if he told her, she wouldn’t believe him.

Later, once Aunt May had gone back to bed, Peter decides to go out as Spider-Man. For a brief moment, he worries what the neighbors would think if they saw him right now, and considers building a secret tunnel to get in and out of his home as Spider-Man, but dismisses the idea since he doesn’t know how to build such a thing. As he swings around the neighborhood, Peter reminds himself that this is entertainment, but dangerous work, but also reminds himself that with his powers normal crooks are no match for him. However, as he tries to swing off a lamppost, Spider-Man quickly finds himself stuck. That’s when he hears a woman calling for help after her purse got snatched by two hoodlums.

As it turns out, the thieves are just a couple of kids looking for a cheap thrill and when Spider-Man arrives to stop them he lays it on real thick, scaring the two hoodlums that they surrender instantly. He thinks that doing the “creature of the night” shtick just isn’t him and tries to sound like a heroic champion of justice when he returns the woman’s purse. However, she is afraid of Spider-Man and tells him to get away from her after the way he frightened those crooks and sicks her dog on him. Spider-Man runs up the side of a building as the police arrive on the scene and tell Spider-Man to get down. All the noise is making it hard for Peter to think and when he tries to shut them all up with his webbing, the cartridges explode in his hands. Thinking that he is a bomb wielding terrorist, the offices begin opening fire, prompting Spider-Man to make a hasty retreat up the side of the building. Peter then returns to his bedroom more flustered than before and, after looking at a photo of him and Uncle Ben, begins to cry.

The following day, Peter hopes that class will take his mind off things but as soon he arrives Flash Thompson starts hassling him right away. Liz Allan tells Flash off for being so insensitive, reminding him that Peter’s Uncle was murdered the other night and she offers him her condolences. She tells Peter that if he needs anything he need only ask. Peter can only thank her and walks away more depressed than ever. When Flash asks what Parker’s problem is, Liz stomps on his foot for his continued insensitivity. When Peter returns home, he finds Aunt May going over the bills, a daunting task for her because Ben always dealt with them. When Peter asks if they have enough money, May says that with the insurance money they’re be getting they’ll be okay for a while. When Peter suggests getting a job, May tells him to focus on his studies instead, saying that life is hard but they’ll find a way to survive. She also tells him that Ben is watching down on them and it’s their job to build a new life from here. She then tells Peter to go upstairs and work on his homework. These words mean a lot to Peter and he feels inspired. When he goes upstairs, he doesn’t see May’s brave face briefly falter before composing herself again and continuing her work.

Later that evening, Peter goes out as Spider-Man again, thinking about the different ways he could help Aunt May get money in his costumed identity, thinking he could make a living in law enforcement. He decides to go into Manhattan, figuring that the people there will appreciate his talents more than in Queens. However, as he swings across the Queensboro bridge, Peter realizes that he doesn’t like heights and has to stop to compose himself. Once he arrives in the city, Spider-Man tries to make a dramatic entrance, but all this does is make a driver swerve off and crash in an effort to avoid hitting Spider-Man with his car. When the man berates Spider-Man, he decides to take off when he spots a fire truck speeding by. He follows it to a burning building where he hears a woman pleading with firefighters to rescue her daughter and newborn granddaughter, who are trapped on the top floor. Even though Peter is afraid of getting burned, he rushes inside the burning building and saves the woman and her infant. This gives Spider-Man confidence to continue rescuing people who are trapped in the burning building finding it easier to do each time. When everyone tries to thank him all at once, Peter realizes that he doesn’t know what to say and abruptly leaves. Up on a rooftop, Peter thinks about what he just did and suddenly finds himself throwing up. Once he finishes, he thinks about how he would have made Uncle Ben proud and thinks about how he might do this again, not for fame or reward, but because it is the right thing to do.

The next morning, Peter is still feeling sick and Aunt May decides to keep him home from school. She asks him where he was last night, saying she went to check on him at midnight and discovered he was gone from his room. Peter tells her that he needed to work somethings out and tells her that he doesn’t want to tell her what he dd. Given everything that has happened this week, May decides to let it slide but tells Peter not to make a habit of it. He thanks and hugs his Aunt May and thinks about how sometimes life sucks but it is always worth living.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Aunt May, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan

Continuity Notes

1. This story takes place a few days after the day uncle Ben was shot in Amazing Fantasy #15.

Topical References

• Dated pop-culture references: Peter thinks he could get Spider-Man on the Oprah Winfrey Show. This long-running talk show ended its 25-year run in 2011.

The Final Chapter

After a battle with Doc Ook, the amazing Spider-Ape finds himself trapped in the villain’s underground lair as it slowly begins filling up with water.[1] Straining to get free from under the fallen debris he the Spider-Ape wonders if this is the end for him and his life starts flashing before his eyes. He thinks about how he was a mild-mannered ape named Peter Parker when one day, during a demonstration on radioactivity he was bitten by an irradiated spider. Discovering he was given the proportionate abilities of a spider, Peter decided to use his abilities to become a celebrity and created the identity of the Spider-Monkey to cash in on these abilities. That all ended on the night when a baboon broke into the home and killed his Uncle Ben. Remembering how Ben always told him that with great power comes great responsibility he decided to use his powers in a way that would have made his uncle proud by going out as Spider-Monkey and catching the baboon responsible for his death.[2]

Since that moment he has used his powers as Spider-Monkey to fight crime. However, it has never been easy as his double life has often come between him and his loved ones.[3] He thinks how they wouldn’t understand how, as Spider-Monkey, he has taken on some of the most dangerous villains in the world including the Green Goblin, the Lizard, Sandmonk, and the Kongpin. Most recently, he tried to stop Doc Ook from stealing the Serpent Crown which led him to this current situation. Ook escaped after telling Spider-Monkey that he would use the crown to conquer the world and make May Parker his bride. Not wanting his Aunt May to become the bride of his greatest enemy, Spider-Ape focuses all his strength and seemingly lifts the debris off himself. However, it turns out that he was actually freed by his fellow Ape-Venger, Ape X, who decided to come and lend him a hand along with their teammate, Speedball. Although Ape X was able to get the Serpent Crown from Doc Ook, the villain is still on a rampage.

Realizing that he still has a job to do, Spider-Monkey swings off to face his foe.

This story is continued in Marvel Apes #1….

Recurring Characters

Spider-Monkey, Doc Ook, Ape X, (in flashback) Sandmonk, Aunt May

Continuity Notes

1. This story takes place in the “Marvel Apes” universe which is identified as Reality-8101 in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5. This story is adapted from Amazing Spider-Man #33.

2. The Spider-Monkey origin, right down to the death of Uncle Ben, is freely adapted from Amazing Fantasy #15.

3. The scene here that shows an image of Spider-Man “pushing” Peter Parker away from Aunt May and Mary Jane is an homage to the final panel of Amazing Spider-Man #30.

Family Ties!

Spider-Man has tracked down the Lizard who has retreated into the sewers with chemicals that could save the lives of his wife and son, Martha and Billy Connors.[1] Spider-Man needs the chemicals to save their lives, but the Lizard had convinced himself that they are dealy and will kill his family. As his foe orders his horde of sewer-dwelling crocodiles to attack, Spider-Man finds himself in a fight for his life. Struck by the Lizard’s tail, the dazed wall-crawler thinks about how he found himself in this situation…

A few hours earlier, Peter Parker and his wife Mary Jane are getting ready to go out and this time Peter is the one taking forever to get ready. This is because they are going to meet up with Curt Connors. Peter wants to dress to impress since Connors always hires him as a lab assistant, but there is always a concern that Curt will turn into the Lizard since he has promised Mary Jane he would avoid being Spider-Man whenever possible. He also points out how he’d rather stay at home and spend time with his wife and their daughter, May. However, Mary Jane points out that May is sleep for the night and Mary Jane’s Aunt Anna has already agreed to watch the baby while they go out.

Soon they are at the Connors home where Mary Jane meets Martha Connors for the first time. She tells the Parkers that Curt isn’t home yet and figures he’s probably still working at the university and lost track of time. She has tried calling him but he is not answering his phone. She explains how Curt has become convinced that their water supply in their Florida home was compromised because she and their son Billy have been showing symptoms recently. That’s when Billy comes out of his room with a fever and tells his mother that he is starting to feel dizzy again. Peter decides to head over to Empire State University to go look for Curt. When he and Mary Jane leave, they are both very concerned especially since Curt hadn’t mentioned that his family was sick. When they get to Curt’s lab they find it in shambles. Looking around for clues as to what happened, Peter finds plans for a water filtration system that Curt was working on to purify the water in the Everglades. However, this drinkable water was also a detriment to Florida’s lizard population and realizes that this must have created a conflict between Curt and his Lizard persona. Suspecting the Lizard is back again, he tells Mary Jane to go call 911. However, Mary Jane tells Peter that this is not something the cops can handle and encourages him to go out as Spider-Man, saying that he is the only one who can stop the Lizard. Peter reminds her of his promise, but she insists that this is the right thing to do. Although she encourages this decision, she also cautions Peter to be careful…..

Snapping back to the present, Spider-Man evades an attack by one of the crocodiles and begins fighting off the reptiles after the Lizard’s control and quickly webs them up. The Lizard renews his attack, refusing to let him get the chemicals that will save the life of Curt Connor’s family. Spider-Man tries to reason with the creature by pointing out that Curt wouldn’t sacrifice the Lizard’s “family” for the sake of his own. Meanwhile, back at the Connor’s home, Mary Jane has returned and convinced Martha that everything is fine and that Curt convinced Peter to stick around the university to help him with his latest experiment. Martha comments that she must be very patient with her husband. Mary Jane responds by saying that they are both married to very special men who are devoted to doing their jobs, even if they are dangerous because they love their families and doing their part for the community. As Mary Jane is giving this pep-talk, Spider-Man is still fighting for his life against the Lizard. Eventually, Spider-Man gets through to the Lizard, explaining that Connors didn’t want to sacrifice the lizards of the Everglades for his own family and summoned his Lizard persona to find a way so that he could save both. Once this starts sinking in, the Lizard relents and reverts back to human form. Connors realizes what happened, but Spider-Man assures him that his transformation into the Lizard was a good thing this time.

Back home with Mary Jane and their daughter, Peter explains how Connors is going back to the drawing board with his plans, with Peter helping him out, at minimum wage. As they play with May, Peter thanks Mary Jane for being supportive of his decision to become Spider-Man this evening. She reminds Peter that she knew what she was getting into when they got married. Peter knows this but reminds her that they both agreed to shift their priorities after May was born. Mary Jane tells her that they should just take things each day as they come. Peter thinks this is a good idea and kisses his wife.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, the Lizard, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, May Parker, Martha Connors, Billy Connors

Continuity Notes

1. This story takes place in the MC2 Universe where Peter and Mary Jane are still married and have a daughter, May Parker, first seen in What If? (vol. 2) #105. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005, this world is identified as Reality-982. Earth-982 diverged from the Earth-616 universe circa Amazing Spider-Man #418. While the Mary Jane of Earth-616 had a miscarriage, on Earth-982, the baby survived.

Topical References

• Peter states that he’ll be working for Curt Connors for $8.50 an hour, which I’m assuming is meant to be the minimum wage at the time of this story since it takes place in a timeline that operates in an alternate future similar to Earth-616. This figure should be considered a topical reference as the minimum wage in New York was only around this figure in the year 2014. As I write this (August 2020) minimum wage in New York state is $14 an hour and it will continue to go up each year.

Birthday Girl

At the FEAST Center, Aunt May has been preparing a surprise birthday party from one of the center’s patrons, a young woman named Samantha Charles. However, there is a hitch in the plan, Samantha had shown up earlier than planned and while everyone quickly hid all the decorations she still found a letter written by May Parker containing hint that will lead her to the FEAST Center and a surprise. May figures that the girl is smart enough to figure out the clues in about twenty minutes. Martin Li, on the other hand, doesn’t think she can figure things that fast recalling how he was easily distracted at that age. May, however, was exceptionally smart at that age herself and decides to go out looking for Samantha. As she exits the FEAST Center, she puts in a call to her nephew, Peter Parker, and gets his voicemail. She reminds him that he is supposed to photograph Samantha’s birthday and not to forget his camera.

She goes to the location of the first clue, Mr. Egg’s convenience store. There the owner, Mister Egg, is about to catch a young man trying to steal from his store and May offers to handle the situation. She recognizes the boy as Kyle, a young man who comes to play ping-pong with his friends at the FEAST Center. She reminds him that thieves aren’t allowed at FEAST and tells him to put back what he stole and apologize to Mr. Egg. After Mister Egg scolds Kyle, May tells the boy to go to the FEAST Center for some cake later. That’s when Mister Egg recalls that Samantha was by 20-minutes earlier saying that the first clue in her letter was too easy.

Her next stop is at Juanita’s hat shop, but she learns that Samantha hasn’t been by. May thanks Juanita for her help and asks that if Samantha does show up to tell her that May is looking for her. Leaving the hat shop she calls Peter again and gets his voice mail, this time she asks Peter to call her back because she could use his help. That’s when Kyle comes up to her and — after a lecture from May on the importance of asking others — he reluctantly tells her how he recently saw Samantha outside Mister Egg’s shop earlier. A man had approached her and although Kyle couldn’t hear what they were arguing about he saw them head down Canal Street. May calls Peter again because she is getting very concerned, and asks if he can get his roommate, office Vin Gonzales, to keep an eye out for Samantha if he’s on patrol. Spotting a man forcing a young girl into a taxi cab, May mistakes her for Samantha but realizes that it is another girl who is fighting against her father who is just trying to get her to her dentist appointment.

That’s when she finds Samatha in an alley with her father, Kenneth. He dragged her there so he can sing her happy birthday and has presented a cupcake with a candle on it. May is unimpressed to see Kenneth Charles since the courts have ordered him not to come near his daughter. As she confronts Kenneth, they are all unaware that Spider-Man has arrived and he is watching this scene unfold, waiting to act if things get dangerous. Kenneth is angry at the interference and doesn’t understand why he can’t see his daughter on her birthday. Samantha has run to May who produces a can of mace and threatens to use it if Kenneth continues acting aggressively. That’s when Spider-Man leaps down to break things up and May accidentally sprays him in the face with mace.[1] Spider-Man warns Kenneth that he’ll still be watching and to be on his best behavior. May points out that Kenneth has had a history of drug addiction that was so bad that his family lost their home and reminds him that he has no legal right to visit his daughter. When he insists that he’s been clean for a very long time, May points out that this doesn’t change the rule of law and tells him that by disobeying court orders he is not helping his case. Kenneth says he just wanted to show his daughter that he didn’t forget her birthday. Samantha thanks her father for remembering and she and May head back to FEAST. Along the way, May runs into her nephew and notices that his eyes are all teared up. He tells her that he at some hot chili peppers and is invited to join them back at FEAST for some cake.[2]

Recurring Characters

Aunt May, Spider-Man, Martin Li, Spider-Man

Continuity Notes

1. May comments that the Super-Human Registration Act was supposed to get rid of “ruffians” like Spider-Man. She is referring to the law that was passed in Civil War #1. At the time of this story that law was still in force, it will later get repealed in Siege #4.

2. May doesn’t make the connection between Spider-Man being sprayed with mace and Peter’s watery eyes. This is likely due to the spell cast by Doctor Strange cast to make everyone forget Spider-Man’s secret identity after he revealed his identity to the public in Civil War #2. As explained in Amazing Spider-Man #673, not only made everyone forget his identity, but it also prevented people from putting two-and-two together and figuring out Spider-Man’s secret identity.