—KaineHe already has become me. In his heart of hearts, he always was. And I...I was him. But it's over now, Ben. At long last--it's over.
Appearing in "Chains"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- NYPD
- Agent Howie (First appearance)
- Agent Thomas (First appearance)
- Elizabeth's Father (Mentioned)
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
- Aunt May (Mentioned)
- Frank Capra (Referenced) (Topical Reference)
- An unnamed boy (First appearance; dies)
- Peter Parker (Mentioned)
- Gwen Stacy (Mentioned)
- Seward Trainer (Mentioned)
- Uncle Ben (Mentioned)
- Harry Osborn (Mentioned)
- Richard Parker (Mentioned)
- Mary Parker (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- North America (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- New York
- Salt Lake City, Utah (Mentioned)
- California (Main story and flashback)
- Santa Cruz (Main story and flashback)
- San Francisco (Main story and flashback)
- Golden Gate Bridge (Only in flashback)
- San Francisco Bay (Only in flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- North America (Main story and flashback)
- Hell (Invoked)
Vehicles:
- Prison van
Synopsis for "Chains"
As it turns out, this vengeful man is actually Ben Reilly, who put on the whole show in order to free her from police custody. Despite his good intentions, Janine wasn't entirely sure it was Ben and is upset with him at first because she thought he might have been Kaine.[Continuity 2] However, she is relieved to know that it was Ben after all. Ben tells her that now that she is free he is willing to leave everything behind so the pair can start a new life somewhere else. As they begin to kiss, they are unaware that Kaine is watching them from another rooftop. He was the one who set them up for the police, all part of Kaine's plan to make Ben Reilly suffer as he has. Suddenly, Kaine's body is wracked with pain due to the cellular degeneration of his body. The pain is so intense that Kaine stumbles off the rooftop and falls into the alley below. This is followed with a new wave of anger and loathing toward Ben Reilly and everything he stands for. He is so furious he refuses to wear the costume that hides his hideously deformed body and begins ripping it off his body. That's when he notices a homeless man watching him. At first, Kaine confuses this person for Ben Reilly and is about to kill them with his Mark of Kaine. However, as the homeless man begs for his life, Kaine stops himself and runs away.
By this point, Ben and Janine have ducked into a diner where they begin planning their escape from New York. As Ben plans to sneak back to his apartment to get a stash of money he has saved up, Janine asks if he is sure if he willing to give up this new life he set up for himself. He tells her that the only reason he came back to New York — his Aunt May — is now gone and there is nothing keeping him here.[Continuity 3] Even though he discovered that he is really Peter Parker, that fact is irrelevant because he has lived as Ben Reilly for so long.[Continuity 4] However, before they go, Ben needs to know what happened when Janine disappeared a year ago while they were in Santa Cruz. Janine agrees that the time has finally come to tell him the truth. As she begins to tell her story, Kaine arrives outside the diner.
Then
Ben Reilly and Janine Gadby had started a new life for themselves in Santa Cruz, taking on the alias of George and Mary Bailey. Things were good, the couple had an apartment that they lived in together. One night, as Ben was running late for his job selling septic systems by phone, Janine managed to convince Ben to be later still by seducing him.
Later that evening, after Ben had left for work, Janine's peaceful sleep was interrupted when Kaine broke into her bedroom. Ordering her to get dressed, Kaine forced her to accompany him to San Francisco. There atop the Golden Gate Bridge, he then told her about the fate of the last woman who was foolish to love Ben Reilly, a woman named Gwen Stacy, who fell from a bridge just like this.[Continuity 5] Kaine then goes on to say that he cannot stand to see Ben happy and will do whatever it takes to see it end. He then told Janine that he sees no reason to actually kill her and threatens to call the police on her if she remains with Ben Reilly. He gives her an alternative, leaves Ben and never look back, telling her that he will be better off without her.
Now
Janine then tearfully explains that she went along with Kaine's demands. In order to make sure that Ben wouldn't just follow after her, Janine wrote a convincing suicide note to leave Ben to think Janine killed herself. This comes as a shock to Ben, creating so much hurt. Ben tells her how lost he was after she left, how pointless his life was until he later began working with Seward Trainer.[Continuity 6] Despite this shocking revelation, Ben decides that it is all in the past and decides to move forward. As they get up to leave the diner, Kaine bursts up through the floor. Furious, Ben then attacks Kaine and begins beating him senselessly. However, before Ben can seriously harm Kaine, Janine gets him to stop, pointing out that this is what Kaine wants, to force Ben to stoop to his level. Still, Kaine refuses to lose and since he is laying on a stove with the gas on he causes a spark that ignites the fuel causing the diner to erupt in a massive fireball.Appearing in "Burning Bright"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Kaine (Main story and flashback)
Other Characters:
- NYPD
- Jackal (Miles Warren) (Only in flashback)
- Peter Parker (Mentioned)
- God (Yahweh) (Referenced)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- Police van
Synopsis for "Burning Bright"
Kain thinks about this for a long moment, and pulls them both out of the flames, taking them up onto a nearby rooftop. After caressing Janine's face, Kaine tells the pair of them to go and love each other and find whatever happiness they can get. However, Kaine insists that Ben kill him as he has nothing left to live for. Unfortunately for Kaine, Ben refuses to take a life and insists that Kaine face justice for all of his crimes. This angers Kaine who attacks Reilly as police arrive on the scene. One of the officers recognizes Kaine from the Peter Parker trial and orders his officers to get up on that roof and arrest him.[Continuity 7] They interrupt the battle between Ben and Kaine. Seeking to commit suicide by cop in order to end it all, Kaine charges at the officers. Although they open fire on him, none of the shots are fatal. Kaine then grabs one of the officers and leaps to another building. Surrounded by a SWAT team, Kaine threatens to kill his hostage.
By this time, Ben has recovered from Kaine's attack, but regrets that there wasn't more than he can do. Janine is afraid that the police might recognize her and suggests that they run while they are busy with Kaine. However, Ben's sense of responsibility prevents him from just sitting back and letting Kaine get taken out by a sniper. Using his shirt to cover his face, Ben then leaps to the other building and forces Kaine away from his hostage and pulls him out of the sniper's crosshairs. When they get into a nearby alley, Kaine pleads to Ben, telling him to let him die. However, Ben can feel nothing but pity for the imperfect clone and reaches out a hand. Surprisingly, Kaine takes it, accepting the fact that Ben wants to help. That's when Janine catches up with them and tells Ben that she has decided to stop running. She doesn't want Ben to give up on this new life he has created for himself. Since Ben and Kaine have confronted their own past, she has decided that she must do the same herself. As she and Ben kiss, Janine's words resonate with Kaine, who slips away and turns himself over to the police. Also turning herself over to the police, Janine soon finds herself being transported to the court house the following morning. This is the repeat of her previous arrest, as there is a throng of reporters wanting to get the story.
When one of the reporters asks Janine -- aka Elizabeth Tyne -- why she turned herself in. She explains that she had helped from above. As she is led away by the police, Spider-Man watches silently from a nearby rooftop. From there, Ben Reilly vows that he will always love Janine and watch over her as both himself and Spider-Man.Appearing in "Bug Story"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Shirley Washington
- Garon Lewis (First appearance)
- Devon Lewis
- Peter Parker
- Mary Jane Watson-Parker
Antagonists:
- Mysterio (Quentin Beck) (Main story and flashback)
- Armada (David Breyer) (Main story and flashback)
Other Characters:
- Buzz
- Hank Pym (Referenced)
- Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) (Referenced)
- Daily Bugle staff
- Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom) (Referenced)
- Tinkerer (Phineas Mason) (Referenced)
- Alistaire Smythe (Referenced)
- NYPD (Only in flashback)
- Aunt May (Referenced)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- North America
- United States of America
- New York State
- New York City
- Manhattan
- 39th Street and Second Avenue
- Daily Grind
- Avengers Mansion (Referenced)
- Four Freedoms Plaza (Referenced)
- Queens
- Manhattan
- New York City
- Oregon (Referenced)
- Portland (Referenced)
- New York State
- United States of America
- North America
Items:
- Spider-Man's Suit and Web-Shooters
- Mysterio Suit
- Juggernaut action figure (Toy)
- Wolverine action figure (Toy)
Synopsis for "Bug Story"
Meanwhile, at the Daily Grind, Shirley Washington wonders what is keeping Ben Reilly, as he is running late for his first shift since the Grind re-opened.[Continuity 10] Buzz, one of the regulars, figures that Ben is likely stuck in the subway. That's when Shirley's ex-husband Garon Lewis comes to see how her business is doing. She is unhappy that he has shown up and tells Garon that her life is none of his business. He tells her that it is when they affect the life of their son Devon. That's when Devon enters the shop and is delighted to see his father has come by for a visit. While back in the boy's room, Spider-Man breaks free from the glass jar he has been imprisoned in. Leaping onto the floor, his tries to figure out a way to contact the Fantastic Four or the Avengers to get him out of this mess when suddenly the toys come to life and start attacking him. While at the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker has accepted a staff job working at the Daily Bugle now that he has decided to stay in New York City.[Continuity 11] Jonah isn't passing up the opportunity to put Peter to work again and pairs him up with Ben Urich and his nephew Phil. Suddenly, Peter is struck with a headache and dismisses it as getting sick and hopes he doesn't pass it along to Mary Jane.
While back in the child's room, Spider-Man continues to fight for his life. His hunch about Mysterio being involved turns out to be correct, as the master illusionist is observing the battle from a secret control room. He is joined by Armada, who is not happy that Mysterio has employed his robots to bring these giant toys to life as he did not agree to put his creations in harm's way. Mysterio asks Armada to be patient, remembering how much work they put into converting a warehouse to look like a massive child's bedroom so shortly after Armada's robots broke them out of their jail cell. A plan that came to fruition when Armada's robots were able to ambush the wall-crawler and gas him before he could recognize what they were. However, can barely bring himself to sit back and watch as Spider-Man destroys his robots. With the web-spinner gaining the upper hand in battle, Mysterio decides to ramp things up by activating all the robots all at once. Still, despite the overwhelming odds, Spider-Man continues smashing the robots, further upsetting Armada. That's when the wall-crawler smashes open a robotic toy that resembles the Juggernaut causing one of Armada's robots to tumble out. Spotting the drone-like automatic, Spider-Man instantly recognizes it. Having had enough, Armada smashes out of the control room in order to battle Spider-Man directly.
Spider-Man manages to take advantage of this, leaping onto Armada and using his jet boots to redirect them up into the control booth. That's when Mysterio fills the room with mist. This doesn't phase Spider-Man who begins using his spider-sense to navigate the thick mist. He then makes contact with what he thinks is Mysterio, but it turns out to be a robotic decoy. By this point, Armada is starting to throw a fit over being manipulated by Mysterio. No longer a threat, Mysterio's sidekick is easily webbed up for the authorities and the wall-crawler departs. Meanwhile, at Aunt May's old house in Queens, Peter Parker begins unpacking dishes as he thinks about how quickly they returned to New York from Portland. Suddenly, he is struck by another powerful headache causing him to drop a dish on the ground. When Mary Jane comes to see what's wrong, Peter brushes it off as being clumsy. However, he realizes to himself that there is something seriously wrong with him and he needs to find out what it is.[Continuity 12]Notes
Continuity Notes[]
Flashback[]
See Also
Links and References
References
Cite error: <ref>
tags exist for a group named "Flashback", but no corresponding <references group="Flashback"/>
tag was found
Cite error: <ref>
tags exist for a group named "Continuity", but no corresponding <references group="Continuity"/>
tag was found