Spider-Man: Secret Wars #4
This story takes place during the events of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #12…
Doctor Doom has stolen the power of the Beyonder. As the heroes prepare to face him, Spider-Man suddenly finds himself in another surreal experience.
He’s suddenly back on Earth in a place called New Parker City his home after gaining ultimate power. He is interviewed by J. Jonah Jameson who now sees him as a hero and asks how the wall-crawler gained ultimate power. He begins to tell Jameson that they have Wolverine to thank but stops because they are interrupted by an attack by the Green Goblin who has just killed Peter’s Uncle Ben. Peter assures Jonah that it’s no big deal because he can bring Ben back to life and quickly webs up the Goblin in energy webbing.
When they walk outside they discover an army of super-villains which include some of Spider-Man’s greatest foes as well as the villains he fought in the Secret War. Handing the Goblin over to Jameson, he asks the reporter to hold on a second while he deals with this. When Doctor Octopus charges at the wall-crawler, Spider-Man uses his new powers to turn his old foe into a pair of trees. He then tosses Jameson a camera so he can photograph Spider-Man’s victor over his foes. With his new powers he rips Ultron in half, grows to giant size and stomps on the Wrecking Crew and the Enchantress. He then blasts the rest of the attackers before punching out Galactus with a single blow.
With the battle over, Spider-Man then takes Jameson on a tour of New Parker City, which he brought to this era from the 32nd century. That’s when Ben Parker rushes across the street to tell him that Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane have called. He is run over by a speeding car. While Jameson is horrified, Spider-Man acts non-chalant about it as he brings Parker back to life. Moments later, Ben is attacked and killed by Venom, only to be resurrected again. Jameson is amazed at Spider-Man’s new powers and asks how long he has these powers. Spider-Man says he only had them for a 10th of a second and he’ll be giving them up in a moment due to a battle on a distant world.[1]
On Battleworld, this entire scene is being watched by Doctor Doom and his minion, Klaw. He has been observing these moments as a study on humanity. He has concluded that no man should ever achieve perfection as our insecurities are what defines us as human. He explains that it was his moment of self-doubt battling the Beyonder that compelled him to contact two of his enemies in the aftermath of the battle with Galactus, namely Spider-Man and Wolverine.[2] Due to his power over time and space, Doom was able to affect the past.
One Hour Earlier
The heroes had just prevented Galactus from consuming Battleworld, forcing him to consume his worldship Taa II instead. As they watch this process happen, Mister Fantastic notices that someone is stealing some of the energy from the consumption process. That was Doctor Doom himself, stealing the power he needed to face the Beyonder. In that moment he realized that Reed Richards was the intellectual superior of both of them. He was humbled only for a moment before turning his attention to Spider-Man and Wolverine. Drawn by their memories of loss, Doom created the images of Gwen Stacy and Jean Grey to lure them away from the others.[3]
The two run after their lost loves but they quickly disappear. As the pair try to figure out where the women went they are suddenly ambushed by Dark Phoenix. She quickly encases them in spheres of mental energy. Wolverine tells Spider-Man to to hang on because there is something wrong with Jean’s scent, tipping Wolverine off to the fact that someone is messing with them. They are then pulled into space where they are pulled along by Doctor Doom as he goes to face the Beyonder. As they hit the mass of energy that is the entity behind the Secret Wars, Spider-Man and Wolverine find themselves deposited on an asteroid where they have to fight for their life against alien monsters. Suddenly, a giant-sized Kingpin lands on the asteroid. While Spider-Man is distracted by the giant Kingpin, Wolverine points out that there is something even bigger going on. He points into the sky where they see Doctor Doom locked in battle with a man who is probably the Beyonder.[4]
Now
Recounting this moment, Doctor Doom recalls how he was in the process of absorbing the Beyonder’s power when Wolverine was knocked into the Beyonder by one of the creatures fighting him below. Wolverine was suddenly given a portion of the Beyonder’s power and thought it was too much for him to contain and passed that energy on to Spider-Man. The web-slinger only had the power for a moment and after seeing what his idea of a perfect utopia was too much power to have he also relinquished the power. This allowed Doctor Doom to reclaim the last of the power for himself. Now he is full aware how one’s self-doubt can manifest into reality with this power and suspects that he will eventually be defeated, either at the hands of Reed Richards or Captain America.[5] This is because his self-doubt always leads him to think that his enemies will somehow find a way to defeat him.
Doom decides to alter reality one last time while he still has the Beyonder’s power, he reaches back and erases all of Spider-Man and Wolverine’s involvement in the battle of the Beyonder’s power as their minds will not be able to bear the knowledge they gained from their brief godhood.[6] On hour earlier, the only inkling that something was off was Wolverine momentarily can’t stop his claws from popping out. Spider-Man thinks he might have been injured and suggests that he take some time to recover. Wolverine ignores this, telling Spider-Man that he heals fast and races back into battle.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Wolverine, Doctor Doom, Beyonder, Klaw, Avengers (Wasp, Captain America, Hawkeye), Mister Fantastic, Thing, Cyclops
Continuity Notes
The running gag about Uncle Ben getting killed over and over is about how Ben Parker was murdered by a burglar due to Peter’s inaction when he first got his powers. See Amazing Fantasy #15.
Earth’s heroes battled Galactus in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #9. Doom stole the power of Galactus to battle the Beyonder and steal his power in issue #10 and 11.
Gwen Stacy and Jean Grey were the great loves of Spider-Man and Wolverine respectively. Some facts:
Gwen Stacy at this time is dead having taken a noser off the George Washington Bridge thanks to the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121.
At the time of this story everyone thought Jean Grey was dead, having sacrificed her life in a battle against the Shi’ar Imperial Guard in X-Men #137. However, it was later revealed that she was replaced by the Phoenix Force who resumed her life and it was this cosmic entity that sacrificed its life. The real Jean Grey would be recovered and freed in Fantastic Four #286.
The Beyonder appears here sporting a look he won’t adopt until Secret Wars II #3. Probably some artistic license so long time readers know what Doctor Doom is fighting. It’s certainly more dynamic than having him fight a ball of light.
This is alluding to the final battle of the Secret Wars in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #12.
This would create a divergent reality, but to my knowledge I don’t think Marvel has assigned an alternate reality.
