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Astonishing Spider-Man Vol 1 71

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Appearing in "Mad Jack"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spectacular Spider-Man #247

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Synopsis for "Mad Jack"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spectacular Spider-Man #247

After being beaten by Jack O'Lantern, J. Jonah Jameson has been hospitalized and in a coma. By her husband's bedside, Marla Jason is assured by Doctor Filmore that Jonah is going to be fine and that he needs time to heal. When she asks who could have done such a thing to her husband, Doctor Filmore doesn't have any answers for her. Once alone, Marla is relieved when Jonah wakes up and is in good spirits despite having been seriously beaten. They are soon joined by Jonah's son John and his employer Doctor Ashley Kafka. When John asks his father who beat him, Jonah insists that he doesn't remember who attacked him and tells his son to let the police handle the matter. Overhearing this from outside is Spider-Man who can't help but feel sorry for the newspaper publisher. Although Jameson has been a constant source of aggravation for Spider-Man, he gave Peter Parker a job as a photographer when he needed the money in high school.[Continuity 1] Climbing up to the roof, Spider-Man tries to think who might be going after Jonah this time when he is suddenly struck by a feeling of vertigo and manages to prevent himself from falling off the roof.[Continuity 2] That's when his spider-sense goes off. He spots the source, the villain known as Jack O'Lantern.[Continuity 3] Wondering why the villain is hovering around the hospital, he can't help but think it has something to do with Jameson's beating.

When the wall-crawler confronts Jack about what's going on, he admits to nothing and sicks his cat Maguire on the hero. While the web-spinner struggles to get the cat off his face, Jack flies around and comes up on Spider-Man from behind. Then, to demonstrate that he is much different than his predecessor, Jack pulls his pumpkin head off his shoulders and holds it out to the hero. The pumpkin suddenly explodes, knocking Spider-Man down to a nearby rooftop. With a new head in place, insisting that Spider-Man call him Mad Jack, the villain tells Spider-Man that he has a bone to pick with the Jamesons and warns the hero to stay out of his affairs. As the villain departs, Spider-Man tries to go after him but has to stop as another feeling of vertigo strikes. While at Empire State University, Mary Jane is unable to focus on her classes because she is still trying to process her recent encounter with the Chameleon. She has come to realize that when she used to enjoy the fact that she was involved with Peter Parker and his life as Spider-Man. However, now their marriage is starting to become as chaotic as her own parent's marriage.[Continuity 4] She wonders how much more chaos she can handle and thinks that the recent loss of her baby must have forced her to grow up a little.[Continuity 5] She thinks about how she has to find some kind of stability and this is why she decided to go back to school. It's then that her thoughts are interrupted by her professor, who has noticed that Mary Jane has grown distracted. When she is unable to answer his question, she is told to pay more attention. When class is over, Mary Jane is embarassed by the whole ordeal, but her friend Jill Stacy tells her not to worry about it as everyone has an off day. They briefly run into Peter, Mary Jane's husband, who can't stay because he is running late for his tutoring session and takes off.

At the Daily Bugle, Betty Brant is caught off guard by an unexpected visit from Flash Thompson. Flash explains that he called in sick to work so he could come to the Bugle and thank her for being there when he was depressed. However, Betty is too busy to listen to Flash as she has a deadline due and tells him to call her later. When Joe Robertson comes with her with more pressing work, Flash feels rejected and walks out before Betty has a chance to say anything. While at a dinner in Lower Manhattan, Marla Jameson has lunch with her stepson John and Ashley Kafka. She is happy to hear that the pair have started a relationship but she can't get her mind off what happened to her husband. Their discussion is interrupted when they notice that there is a cat under their table and that it is being very friendly to John. Unaware that this is Jack O'Lantern's cat Maguire, nobody notices John enter a hypnotic trance but are confused when John tells them that he has personal business to deal with and abruptly leaves. Incidentally, Flash Thompson is in the same dinner and has gotten drunk after being rejected by Betty. Chatting up a woman named Phantasy Applebaum, Flash invites the woman back to his apartment to see his old high school football trophies. Meanwhile, Spider-Man has come to get answers from J. Jonah Jameson. However, the newspaper publisher is unhappy to see the wall-crawler and is too busy berating the web-slinger instead of giving him any answers. Quickly realizing that he is going nowhere, Spider-Man leaves Jonah's hospital room and is glad that he was at least able to cheer Jonah up a little. Wondering his next move, Spider-Man lucks out when Mad Jack returns to the hospital.

During the ensuing battle, Spider-Man is shocked when his fist sinks into Mad Jack's head as though it were a real pumpkin. To his horror, Spider-Man struggles with his santiy when Jack's head grows in size and swallows him. Quickly deducing that this is some kind of illusion or hallucination, Spider-Man fights free of it, much to Mad Jack's amazement. Falling to the ground, Spider-Man prepares to fire a web-line when another wave of vertigo strikes him. Surprisingly, Jack saves the wall-crawler's life, telling Spider-Man that he has no beef with the hero and that his appearance here was only a distraction. Once Jack has flown off, Spider-Man realizes that Jonah is in trouble and heads back to the hospital. There he stops someone trying to smother Jonah with a pillow. Knocking the attacker aside and turning on the lights, Spider-Man is shocked to discover that Jonah's would be assassin is his own son, John.

Appearing in "From the Shadows"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spectacular Spider-Man #248

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Synopsis for "From the Shadows"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spectacular Spider-Man #248

John Jameson is being interrogated by two police detectives following his arrest. They want him to confess to trying to smother his father with a pillow in his hospital room earlier. Unfortunately, John doesn't remember any of this, but the police insist that is what Spider-Man had told him. That's when the interrogation is interrupted by J. Jonah Jameson's wife Marla, her lawyer Alana Sloan, and Doctor Ashley Kafka. Marla Jameson points out that Spider-Man is a vigilante that has had it out for her husband for years and that gives him every reason to lie about who really tried to harm Jonah. John is very confused by all of this, as he doesn't believe that Spider-Man would do anything to harm his father either. Alana tells John to keep quiet and then demands that the officers release her client if they aren't going to charge him for a crime. With no evidence to hold him the police release John into the custody of his family. They have to fight through a throng of news reporters outside the police station on their way out. Once in the safety of a limo, Ashley Kafka also tries to defend Spider-Man, reminding Marla that she has worked with the wall-crawler for some time.[Continuity 6] Unfortunately, Marla does not want to hear it.

Watching the limo pull away from the rooftops is Spider-Man who has been watching the J. Jonah Jameson since he was hospitalized. He can't wrap around the fact that, after his battle with Jack O'Lantern, that he found John Jameson trying to smother his father with a pillow. The wall-crawler can't get over the fact that John was in a trance when he was stopped and feels bad for him as Jameson has been through a lot in the past.[Continuity 7] Still, he believes that this is less a case of John's mind snapping on its own and more to do with Jack O'Lantern doing something to him. Still, he is certain that Jonah will be safer now that he is under police protection. At the hospital, Jonah is being interviewed by Sargent Stark of the NYPD, who wants to know why his son John tried to smother him with a pillow. However, Jameson refuses to believe that his son is anything but an American hero and tells the officers to get out of his room. Talking with the officers outside, Sgt. Stark wonders if Jameson is willing to sacrifice his own life in order to protect his son.

Later that evening, Jonah is awoken by Mad Jack, who managed to sneak in after putting the officers into a hypnotic trance, just like Jonah's son. The pumpkin-headed villain then reveals who he really is, a revelation that Jameson finds impossible.[Continuity 8] Jack threatens to continue attacking Jonah's family unless he gives up the Daily Bugle and says he would rather die first. Jack mocks Jonah, saying that killing him would be too easy and then vanishes into the darkness. Meanwhile, in Queens, Flash Thompson stands outside his family home trying to muster up the courage to go up and ring the doorbell. Never in his life has he ever felt a stronger urge to drink. Reaching out to push the button, Flash finds himself feeling like a scared ten-year-old all over again. The door is answered by Flash's mother, Rosie, who invites Flash in and sits him down on the couch in the living room, worried he will catch his death in the rain. Rosie tells Eugene that she is certain that his father will be happy to see him, although Flash isn't entirely convinced. Going upstairs to the den, Flash greets his father. In a foul mood, Harrison Thompson shows nothing but contempt for his son, thinking he only came by to see if the old man was dead yet, or not and tells him he can go now that he knows. Hurt and insulted, Flash storms out of the den. For a moment, Harrison realizes what he has done and is about to reach out to his son but stops himself. Seeing that her son is upset, Rosie tries to explain to Eugene that his father is unwell, but her excuses fall on deaf ears. Slamming the door on his way out, Flash comes to believe that nothing ever changes and trudges home in the rain.

Back in Manhattan, Marla Jameson is off on a rant about Spider-Man, not unlike her husband. That's when John stops her and insists that Spider-Man was telling the truth, that he did try to smother his father with a pillow in the hospital. This stuns Marla who decides to go up to her room and take a shower. Still confused by everything that has been happening, John is comforted by his girlfriend, Doctor Ashley Kafka. He still can't understand why he would try to murder his own father, someone he loved. That's when Ashley offers to put him under hypnosis in order to learn the truth. Elsewhere in the city, Spider-Man is continuing his search for Mad Jack, wishing he was out of the rain and at home snuggling with his wife Mary Jane instead.[Continuity 9] While he is distracted, Spider-Man is suddenly attacked by both a gorilla and a lion. The ambush catches Spider-Man off guard and after the beasts have overpowered him, they leave as quickly as they appeared. Recovering from the attack, Spider-Man looks into the darkness ahead to see any sign of whoever set these animals on him. There is a sudden flash of lightning that briefly reveals the form of someone who looks like Kraven the Hunter. However, Spider-Man thinks this is all in his head as Kraven has been dead for a while and couldn't possibly be alive. Although he quickly begins to question this.[Continuity 10]

Back at the Jameson penthouse, Marla is still in the shower and questioning her thoughts. Since Jonah was almost killed she has been ranting about Spider-Man like he has and tries to remind herself that she is a scientist and she needs to start thinking like one if she is going to be able to figure out who ha been trying to harm her husband. As she showers, Marla is unaware that Mad Jack is in her bedroom. Looking around, Jack stops to look lovingly at a photo of Marla. That's when he notices a book of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelly. Moments later, Marla calls out, having thought she heard someone in her bedroom. However, when he emerges from the bathroom, she doesn't find a trace of anybody.[Continuity 11] Downstairs, Doctor Kafka has placed John under a hypnotic trance. In his mind's eye, Ashley is leading John down a path flanked by demons on either side. This path leads to a massive brick wall with the visage of Jack O'Lantern painted upon it. With Ashley's help, he wills the wall to open, but he is kept at bay by a flurry of bats. Expanding his will, John causes the mental barrier to explode. Searching for what is buried on the other side, John is horrified to find that the Man-Wolf is buried deep in his subconscious and it -- the darkest aspect of his personality -- was responsible for trying to kill his father.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man returns to the hospital to try to talk to J. Jonah Jameson again. His entry prompts the police to come rushing into the room, but Jonah to tell the officers to leave. Confused, the police comply with his request, and also tells Spider-Man to leave him alone as well. When they all agree to leave, Jonah can only look at the book of Shelley poems, a book taken from his bedroom as a warning to him. Meanwhile, Mad Jack has returned to the mansion owned by his employer to tell him that he has succeeded on the job. His employer is impressed, more so when Jack burns up the million dollar payment -- saying that he did it for personal reasons. When offered another job, Jack flies away, telling his employer to go to hell. His employer, Norman Osborn, finds this request amusing since he has already been there once before.[Continuity 12]

Appearing in "Into the Light"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spectacular Spider-Man #249

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Synopsis for "Into the Light"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spectacular Spider-Man #249

Kraven the Hunter has come to a cemetery to reflect on the past. After a time, he tells his lion companion that it is time to go and focus on the future. As he turns to leave, Kraven senses someone watching him and tells them to show themselves. It turns out to be Calypso, the former lover of Sergei Kravinoff. Thinking that this man is her former love, she is not surprised to see him alive and well especially after her own recent brush of death.[Continuity 13] When she tries to kiss him, Kraven shoves her aside, telling her that the Kraven she knew is dead and that the path he walks is one that he walks alone.

In Manhattan, Peter Parker has taken his wife out to dinner at the Union Cafe.[Continuity 14] Although it is a fancy restaurant, Mary Jane is not happy with him. She explains that she is tired of Peter always being on the run either as Spider-Man, or to sell photos for the Daily Bugle as Peter Parker. More importantly, she is concerned that yet another villain -- the Chameleon -- has discovered Peter's secret identity.[Continuity 15] Although she understands what she accepted about Peter when they got married, she wonders what his responsibility to her is. She tells him that while she encourages what he does, she feels vulnerable right now and needs him to be more present for her. While at New York University Hospital, J. Jonah Jameson is getting off the phone just as his wife Marla comes to see how he is doing. When she asks who he was talking to on the phone, Jonah says it was nobody important. Marla expresses her concerns that Jonah has been acting weird since his attack and hospitalization. However, Jonah insists that everything is fine and that he wants to go home. That's when Marla notices her book of poems written by Percy Bysshe Shelley on the night table. It's strange to find it here because she thought it was at home and has been looking everywhere for it. When she asks Jonah how it got in his hospital room, he thinks how it was brought to him by Jack O'Lantern as a threat, but tells her that he has no idea. While at her apartment, Doctor Ashley Kafka wakes up and remembers that her hypnotic regression session with John Jameson resulted in John unleashing his dark side and attack her. Blaming herself for what happened, Ashley grabs her jacket and rushes outside to try and find John.

In Hoboken, New Jersey, Flash Thompson is shooting hoops when he is joined by his sister Jessie. She was surprised he called her after not hearing from him for over a year. The reunion is a happy one, and Flash gets his sister up-to-date on what's going on with his life. Things begin going sour when Flash tries to talk to Jessie about their father, Harrison. However, Jessie isn't interested in talking about their father and wants to leave his alcoholism and abuse in the past. Flash tries to push the issue, telling her that he can't let go of the past and that it still haunts him. That's when Jessie realizes that her brother is drunk. All she can say to Flash is to stop going down this road of self-destruction, warning him that this is exactly what happened to their father. As she storms away, Flash begs her to come back, but Jessie wants nothing to do with him. Meanwhile, Peter and Mary Jane are heading to Serendipity to get dessert before they go and see a movie. When Peter starts complaining in the rain, Mary Jane decides to make it fun by suggesting they frolicked in the downpour like Gene Kelly. Their merriment is interrupted by screams and they see some feral looking man running and leaping across traffic. It's too dark to get a good look at the figure, but Peter knows he has to go after this person as Spider-Man. Although Mary Jane doesn't want him to go, she quickly relents. However, Peter assures her that he will be back in time for them to see the movie.

Quickly changing into Spider-Man, Peter feels bad for leaving his wife to play hero again. However, after he briefly saw what appeared to be Kraven the Hunter earlier, he wants to make sure his old foe is deceased. However, none of this makes sense to the wall-crawler since Sergei Kravinoff has been dead for years, and his only apparent heir, the Grim Hunter is also dead.[Continuity 16] He dismisses the whole situation as another one of the Chameleon's manipulations. When Spider-Man finally catches up with the wild-man on a nearby rooftop he is shocked to discover that it is John Jameson and wonders what happened to him. Jameson attacks him with the fury of a wild animal. Spider-Man deduces that somehow, his Man-Wolf identity has come out, but without becoming the monster. Meanwhile, at the Daily Bugle, Betty Brant is busy trying to find the right wording for a story about a recently humiliated politician. Her work was interrupted when Norman Osborn enters the newsroom and commends her on her hard work. Back on the rooftops, Spider-Man struggles to keep John Jameson undercontrol and prevent him from harming himself. Unfortunately, John won't allow himself being restrained without a fight. With no other choice, Spider-Man knocks John out in order to stop him. That's when Doctor Ashley Kafka arrives and explains that she accidentally unleashed John's Man-Wolf personality through hypno-therapy. She then convinces the wall-crawler to help her bring John back to her place so she can reverse the process.

As Spider-Man goes to help Ashley, Mary Jane waits at the theater for her husband. When Peter doesn't show up, she is not surprised. While in Hoboken, Flash Thompson is driving home after a night of heavy drinking. As he swerves all over the road, he complains to himself how everyone thinks that he is nothing but a drunk now, and how he misses the glory days when he was the captain of the high school football team. He is so distracted, Flash barely has to swerve out of the way when a boy and his dog crosses the street. Although he manages to avoid hitting the kid, Flash's car hydroplanes and crashes into a tree. When the boy rushes to the wreck to see if the driver is okay, he discovers that Flash is unconcious inside. While back at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson has convinced his wife Marla to allow him to leave the hospital and check on his business. There he discovers that Betty Brant has called the NYPD because Norman Osborn showed up at the property. Jonah is upset, even when Betty reminds him how Osborn caused a lot of damage to the city room in the past.[Continuity 17] Jonah is furious that Betty would do this, telling him that Norman Osborn has every reason to be at the Bugle. This comes to a shock to everyone, but Norman tells them that as of this morning he owns the Daily Bugle.

Notes

Continuity Notes[]

See Also

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References


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