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319,444
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in: Comics, Astonishing Spider-Man Vol 1, Week 02, 1995,
and 6 more
English

Astonishing Spider-Man Vol 1 3

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Appearing in "Mother Love... Mother Hate!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #393

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Synopsis for "Mother Love... Mother Hate!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #393

At the gravesite of Gwen Stacy, a mysterious man shows up and leaves a single flower on her grave before turning around and leaving.[Continuity 1]

Meanwhile, in Astoria, Spider-Man has interrupted Shriek and Carrion just moments before Shriek can convince Carrion to murder his biological mother, Beatrice McBride. Shriek is furious that Spider-Man continues to interfere in her affairs but doesn't understand why he is silent. Beatrice calls out to Spider-Man, telling her to save her son, Malcolm. Furious that Beatrice is claiming ownership of Carrion, Shriek lashes out at her with a sonic attack. Quickly, and without a single word, Spider-Man lunges forward and savagely beats Shriek into unconsciousness. Carrion is about to attack when his mother calls out and tells him that Spider-Man is their friend. Carrion is confused and stops to think it over while the wall-crawler checks on the McBride woman. However, Carrion decides to side with Shriek and attacks Spider-Man, intending to kill the wall-crawler with his death touch. However, Spider-Man easily overpowers his attacker, and as he thrashes Carrion across the room, he finally speaks. The web-head has come to wonder what the point was to come and try to save Malcolm if all McBride is going to do is allow Carrion to remain in control and try and kill him. As he asks these questions, Shriek comes around and hears Spider-Man once more ask why he should care.

Meanwhile, Mary Jane visits Aunt May in the hospital who has been in a coma since suffering a stroke.[Continuity 2] She decides to talk to May about everything that is going on, even though May not be able to hear her. She explains that her husband, Peter, has completely withdrawn from his feelings.[Continuity 3] The recent tragedies have become too much and he has ran away from everybody.[Continuity 4] She now realizes that Peter is doing the same thing that she has been doing for years, running away from her problems. She has decided that she can't fix their marriage unless she comes to terms with her own past. Tearfully, she explains that she needs to leave and reconcile things with her father.[Continuity 5] However, Mary Jane isn't leaving May alone, she has called her Aunt Anna, who is coming up from Florida to keep an eye on her.

Back in Astoria, Spider-Man has turned the tables on Carrion and begins to beat his foe mercilessly. It's only when Beatrice McBride begs Spider-Man to stop that the wall-crawler realizes what he has done. As he apologizes, his spider-sense tries to warn him, but he is too late to evade a sonic blast from Shriek. She is disgusted that Spider-Man could so easily turn away from savagery and once more tries to get Carrion onto her side. Totally conflicted at this point, Carrion instead decides to turn his touch of death upon himself. Beatrice is horrified and tries to stop her son, but Shriek tries to stop her. However, it finally sinks into her mind that Beatrice truly loves her son. Touched by this, Shriek leaps in and uses her powers to purge the Carrion virus from within Carrion, reverting him back to Malcolm McBride. Checking on Shriek, Spider-Man discovers that she is dying and quickly leaves to get her to a hospital. Meanwhile, the mystery man who visited Gwen Stacy's grave has come to Midtown High. His silent vigil is interrupted by a security guard who asks him what he is doing. The mystery man explains that he used to go to Midtown High for what feels like lifetimes ago.[Continuity 6] The guard can understand his feelings for nostalgia but tells him to go without causing any trouble. No sooner as those words are out of the guard's mouth, does he notice that the mysterious stranger has disappeared.

By this time, Spider-Man has brought Shriek to a hospital. After she is carried away by the doctors on staff, he realizes that he subconciously came to the hospital where Aunt May is resting in a coma. He decides to finally pay her a visit. Climbing into the room, Peter removes his mask and stares at his infirm Aunt for a time before leaving. When he returns home, he finds another note from Mary Jane, telling him that she has left to sort thinks out with her father. This is yet another nail in the coffin for the wall-crawler, who goes out into the night again. Sitting atop a stone gargoyle in the middle of Manhattan, he once more considers that Peter Parker is dead and that only the spider remains.

Appearing in "Son of the Hunter"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man #50

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Synopsis for "Son of the Hunter"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man #50

After undergoing the process to give himself the powers of his father, Vladimir Kravinoff has come to the United States. Here he is training to complete the one task his father failed to accomplish before he died, destroying Spider-Man.[Continuity 7] At the mansion where Spider-Man and Kraven had their last battle, Vladimir tests his abilities by fighting a number of armed men with nothing but a knife. After defeating these men, Vladimir vows to avenge his father, then leaps out of the window into the backyard. This is observed by Vladimir's servant, Gregor, who begins to question what he has done. Meanwhile, Spider-Man is at home eating food when his phone begins to ring. The wall-crawler lets it go to voicemail. It's a call from his wife Mary Jane, who is calling for him.[Continuity 8] She urges him to come and visit his Aunt May who is in the hospital after suffering a stroke because he needs to be there for her.[Continuity 9] However, Spider-Man ignores this call, as he has abandoned his civilian identity of Peter Parker so he can fully embrace the spider.[Continuity 10] Unwilling to listen to anymore, Spider-Man leaves his home and goes web-swinging in the pouring rain.

After scouring the city, he finds a gun-toting lunatic who the Daily Bugle has dubbed the Pale Rider. He attacks the killer without a single word, easily dodging the bullets fired from his guns. Growing frustrated, the Pale Rider tries to flee the scene to kill people elsewhere but is snared by Spider-Man and left for the authorities. While back at the Kravinoff estate, Vladimir pays his respects at his father's grave. There he is joined by Gregor who gives him his hunting garb and spear. Dressed for the hunt, Vladimir is ready to begin. While at the home of Aunt May in Queens, a stranger is looking through the home.[Continuity 11] He pauses to look at a photo of a young Peter Parker with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and thinks about how happy their family was. Suddenly, he hears someone coming, and rushes to find somewhere to hide. It turns out to be Spider-Man, who spots the intruder and assumes that it is a burglar, and becomes angry.[Continuity 12] Spider-Man rushes out to the backyard but has lost all trace of the intruder. Going back inside, the wall-crawler finds the same picture of himself with his aunt and uncle and reminds himself that he became Spider-Man all for them.

Elsewhere in the city, Gregor pilots a helicopter into Manhattan and lets out Vladimir in order to begin his hunt for Spider-Man.[Continuity 13] Searching the rooftops, Vladimir finds a scrap of Spider-Man's costume, allowing him to get the wall-crawler's scent. Satisfied that he can track Spider-Man down wherever he is hiding, he orders Gregor to follow after him, prompting the servant to once more wonder what he has done. Back in Queens, the wall-crawler goes looking around the house to see if something was stolen. Up in the attic, he goes looking through an old trunk and comes across Miles Warren's old journal.[Continuity 14] This makes him think about the time that Miles Warren tried to destroy him with a clone of himself, and how he failed. This leads to thoughts about how Kraven the Hunter also tried to kill him and failed. These memories anger him, prompting Spider-Man to leap out the window, vowing that nobody can take away the fact that he is Spider-Man.

As Vladimir Kravinoff follows Spider-Man's scent across the 59th Street Bridge, the wall-crawler comes upon an elderly man being mugged by some young men at a cemetery. When Spider-Man tries to apprehend them, the youths make a run for it. However, they are snared in bolos. Looking up onto a nearby rooftop, Spider-Man spots Vladimir and mistakes him for his father, Kraven. Leaping up and grabbing this new opponent, Spider-Man realizes that this is not Kraven. Vladimir jolts Spider-Man with electricity, and then hits him with a dart that will fill the wall-crawler with fear. Introducing himself as the Grim Hunter, Vladimir tells Spider-Man that he intends to hunt him down and kill him in order to avenge the death of his father. Spider-Man tries to fight off the effects and face his foe, but can't help but run. As he tries to get across the bridge to Manhattan, he is struck by an energy beam fired from the Grim Hunter's staff. The web-slinger sinks in the water and is about to drown, if not for his thoughts of Aunt May and Uncle Ben that force him to swing to the surface. Getting to shore, Spider-Man is greeted by the Grim Hunter, but this time Spider-Man is able to knock him out with a few blows. With the Grim Hunter down, Gregor arrives in his helicopter and orders Spider-Man to stand down. Sick of being threatened, Spider-Man leaps up onto the chopper and yanks Gregor out, forcing the vehicle to crash.

Back on the ground, Gregor rushes to the Grim Hunter and tells the wall-crawler that he doesn't want to fight but is willing to protect his charge to the death. Spider-Man is furious because he made his peace with Kraven, and they have no reason to attack him.[Continuity 15] Fed up, Spider-Man webs up the Grim Hunter and Gregor and takes them to the authorities.

Appearing in "The Man Who Would Be Spider-Man!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man Unlimited #4

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Synopsis for "The Man Who Would Be Spider-Man!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man Unlimited #4

Lance Bannon has been tipped off by a man named Snake about transport of stolen goods that has been interrupted by Spider-Man. In the middle of the fight, one of the crooks strikes the wall-crawler in the leg with a tire iron. As the masked hero reels in pain, the crook also manages to rip off the wall-crawlers mask. Lance manages to get a picture of Spider-Man's face just as the police arrive on the scene.

When Peter Parker arrives at the Daily Bugle the following morning, J. Jonah Jameson berates him for not being a better photographer, showing him the front page of the Bugle which alleges to show Spider-Man unmasked. Peter is shocked until he sees the man in the photo is not him. Peter points out that they don't know for sure if this is the real Spider-Man or not. Jonah doesn't care because, even if this is a fake, the Bugle got the scoop. That's when Joe Robertson informs them that the man who is allegedly Spider-Man has already hired a public relations firm and has a scheduled press conference for the next day. When Peter offers to get to the bottom of this, Jameson tells Parker to stay out of it as it is Lance Bannon's story. When Peter gets home, he tells his wife Mary Jane that Jameson assigned Peter to photograph a flower show instead.[Continuity 16] When Mary Jane wonders why someone would want to claim they are Spider-Man, Peter points out that they stand to appropriate millions of dollars.

The next day, Peter is at the flower show dying of boredom. While across town the man claiming to be Spider-Man shows up at his press conference in a van detailed with a Spider-Man design. The man who claims to be Spider-Man comes out with his leg in a cast and walking with a crutch. He tells people his name is Phil and assures them that he is not a mutant. He explains that he is a regular man who invented technological means of pulling off his various feats. He also denies that he is a menace and uses his powers only for good. He then tells the conference that he intends to start a non-profit organization to use his inventions to help in law-enforcement while his leg heals from its injury. Among the gathered crowd is Mary Jane, who goes in to kiss the impostor on the cheek. This allows her to tag Phil with a spider-tracer so her husband can track him down later. Meanwhile, Peter has finished taking his photos and changes into Spider-Man. He then begins swinging across the city in order to pick up a trace of his spider-tracer. Unfortunately, the man who has put Phil up to pretending to be Spider-Man has detected the spider-tracer and zaps it with a device that not only destroys the tracking device but causes Spider-Man a great deal of pain. Thankfully, the wall-crawler's honed reflexes save him from a fatal fall to the street below.

Later, he spots the phony Spider-Man's van and figures it should be easy to follow. However, when the van pulls into a parking garage, it suddenly undergoes a transformation making it look like a normal van. When it comes back out again, Spider-Man doesn't recognize it, allowing Phil and his mysterious benefactor to get away. When Phil's story ends up on the front page of the Daily Bugle, Mary Jane tells Peter that this man sounds sincere. However, Peter is convinced this is the work of a conman, particularly since he is licensing out Spider-Man's likeness for everything from toys to Saturday morning cartoons. Mary Jane asks her husband if he's upset that Phil is exploiting Peter's identity, or because Phil is more successful than her husband. While at Phil's secret hideout, he gloats over the success of their scam among a room of Spider-Man merchandise. His benefactor, who turns out to be Mysterio, reminds Phil that they have a plan and reminds him that he has a speech to make the next day. The next day, Phil gives another press conference to announce his new charity. The real Spider-Man watches from a nearby building unable to believe that people would buy into Phil's lies. The only one who questions Phil's claims is J. Jonah Jameson. However, Phil promises to convince Spider-Man's biggest critic that he is genuine. To do this, Phil announces that he wants J. Jonah Jameson to join the board of directors of his new charity foundation.

When Jameson gladly accepts the appointment, the real Spider-Man crashes the press conference, unable to believe that even Jonah is buying this impostor's lies. Believing that the real Spider-Man is the impostor the crowd turns on him, but he manages to leap out of their grasp. Up on a nearby rooftop, Spider-Man cannot believe that Phil is managing to trick everyone so easily. Meanwhile, Phil returns to his hideout and gloats some more over how easily he is tricking people into thinking he is really Spider-Man. However, Mysterio warns Phil not to underestimate the wall-crawler. While back at home, Mary Jane tries to comfort her husband but does little to improve his mood. Later at the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker asks for the opinion of veteran reporter Ben Urich. Ben doesn't believe Phil is Spider-Man anymore than he himself is Daredevil. This is because Ben has been investigating Phil's claims and cannot even find the fencers who Phil apprehended the night he was unmasked. Unfortunately, the only person with the inside track is Lance Bannon. That night, Lance is given another tip to a grocery store robbery. Although Lance wonders where his informant gets his tips, he quickly becomes more interested when Phil arrives in his Spider-Van to wrap up the criminals. As this scene plays out, none are aware that the real Spider-Man has been trailing Lance all night long.

Later, Spider-Man decides to follow Lance's informant and watches as he is picked up in Phil's disguised Spider-Van. He then follows it back to the warehouse that acts as Mysterio's hideout where he catches both Phil and Lance's informant gloating over their continued deception. However, before the wall-crawler can wrap them up, he is ambushed by Mysterio who unleashes a massive animatronic Spider-Man figure to attack the wall-crawler as well as a massive spider. However, Spider-Man makes short work of these robots and takes down Mysterio with a single punch. When Phil and Snake try to make a run for it, Spider-Man webs up Snake. Phil foolishly tries to fight Spider-Man one-on-one, but is knocked out by a single flick of the finger. The next day, Mysterio's deception ends up front page news. This revelation angers J. Jonah Jameson who blames Lance Bannon for making the Bugle look bad. Noticing that Peter Parker is smirking at him, Jonah asks what is so funny. Peter says it's nothing and is ordered by Jonah to get him some antacid and an aspirin.

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References


Cite error: <ref> tags exist for a group named "Continuity", but no corresponding <references group="Continuity"/> tag was found

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