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in: Comics, Spider-Man Life in the Mad Dog Ward TPB Vol 1, Week 43, 2013,
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Changes: Spider-Man Life in the Mad Dog Ward TPB Vol 1 1

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| CoverArtist1 = Bill Sienkiewicz
  
| CoverArtist1 = Bill Sienkiewicz
   
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| Quotation =
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| ReprintOf1 = Web of Spider-Man Vol 1 33
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| Speaker =
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| ReprintOfStory1 = 1
   
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| StoryTitle1 = Life in the Mad Dog Ward
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| ReprintOf2 = Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 295
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| Writer1_1 = Ann Nocenti
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| ReprintOfStory2 =
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| Penciler1_1 = Cindy Martin
  
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| Inker1_1 = Steve Leialoha
  
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| Inker1_2 = Joe Rubinstein
  
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| Inker1_3 = Kyle Baker
  
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| Colourist1_1 = Janet Jackson
  
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| Letterer1_1 = Rick Parker
  
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| Editor1_1 = Jim Salicrup
  
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| Synopsis1 =
 
   
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| Appearing1 =
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| ReprintOf3 = Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #133
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| ReprintOfStory3 = 1
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'''Featured Characters:'''
  
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* [[Peter Parker (Earth-616)|Spider-Man]]
  
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| ReprintOf4 = Spider-Man Vol 1 29
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'''Supporting Characters:'''
  
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| ReprintOfStory4 = 1
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* [[David Stack (Earth-616)|David Stack (Captain Zero)]] {{1st}}
  
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* [[John Jonah Jameson (Earth-616)|J. Jonah Jameson]]
  
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| ReprintOf5 = Spider-Man Vol 1 30
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* [[Maybelle Reilly (Earth-616)|Aunt May]]
  
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| ReprintOfStory5 = 1
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'''Antagonists:'''
  
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* [[Wilson Fisk (Earth-616)|The Kingpin]] {{BTS}}
  
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| ReprintOf6 =Spider-Man Vol 1 31
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* [[Oswald Silkworth (Earth-616)|Arranger]]
  
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| ReprintOfStory6 = 1
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* Head Doctor {{1st}}
  
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* [[Sally Salins (Earth-616)|Sally Salins]] {{1st}}
  
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'''Other Characters:'''
  
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* Dr. Hunt {{Only}}
  
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* [[Brainstorm (Jimmy) (Earth-616)|Patient MD 2020 (Brainstorm)]] {{1st}}
  
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'''Races and Species:'''
  
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* <br/>
  
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'''Locations:'''
  
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* [[New York City]]
  
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** [[Manhattan]]
  
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*** [[Daily Bugle]]
  
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*** [[410 Chelsea Street|Peter Parker's Apartment]]
  
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** [[Queens]]
  
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*** [[Forest Hills]]
  
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**** [[Aunt May's House]]
  
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*** [[Pleasant Valley Mental Hospital]] {{1st}}
  
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'''Items:'''
  
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* [[Web-Shooters|Spider-Man's Web-Shooters]]
  
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* [[Spider-Man's Suit|The Black Costume (Not the Symbiote)]]
  
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'''Vehicles:'''
  
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* <br/>
  
   
 
| Notes =
 
| Notes =

Revision as of 03:54, 10 September 2020

Appearing in "What's the Matter with Mommy?"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Web of Spider-Man #33

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Synopsis for "What's the Matter with Mommy?"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Web of Spider-Man #33

In the family kitchen, Vicky Gibbs is haunted by her husband's career. Her hysterics are interrupted by her son Jacob who has finished packing his and his sister Tanya's bags. They are planning on leaving Vicky's husband Frank. She tries to explain the situation to her children who are confused. As they try to sneak out of the home under the cover of night. However, they are caught by Frank who has just returned home from work. Realizing that his wife is trying to take his children and leave. Seeing that they are serious about leaving, Frank tells Vicky that he doesn't care and goes into the house. Vicky tells her kids to stay put and goes in after her husband. However, Jacob decides to disobey his mother and takes Tanya back in with him, because he is certain that his mother will cave and they will be staying after all. Vicky tells Frank that she can't handle that he works for the mob anymore and that is why she wants to leave. This angers Frank, who grabs her by the arms and explains that his job is what brings them the money they need to have a happy life. When Vicky says she almost called the authorities, Frank becomes violent, but she breaks away and runs off. Vicky locks herself in her bedroom with her children. Grabbing a gun, she picks up the phone and calls Seargent Rolands of the police and asks for help. Frank forces his way into the room, disarms his wife and takes the phone away from her. Realizing she was talking to Rolands, he tells her that the situation than a marital spat. He hangs up and tells his wife that he may have just signed his death warrant.

Suddenly the phone rings and Frank answers it ready for the worst. It is the Kingpin's aid, the Arranger. He tells Frank that he is upset to hear how Frank's wife is potentially compromising their operations with threats of going to the authorities. He suggests that they send Vicky away to get some mental help. Realizing that he has to allow them in order to spare his own life and reluctantly agrees. At that moment, at the Pleasant Valley Mental Hospital, that staff of the Mad Dog Ward struggles to sedate patient Vol 1 2020. They are joined by Doctor Hope, who tells them that the Kingpin is bringing a woman to their ward. Examining 2020, Hope wants his dosage increased as the Kingpin wants them to test out their new patient. Later, at the offices of the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker arrives at a commotion at one of the windows. Going to see, he discovers that it is only a massive promotional balloon that has gotten loose and is stuck between two buildings. Walking through the office, Peter thinks about how he had made plans to see Aunt May even though he is still recovering from being buried alive, how his newlywed wife Mary Jane is off on a photoshoot in Paris.[Continuity 1] As he worries about earning money, he is oblivious to J. Jonah Jameson's tirade about the quality of his photos. To add insult to injury, Peter is complimented for his shows of a battle against Electro where Spider-Man is being blamed for causing damage to a building.[Continuity 2] Peter once again finds himself trapped in the endless cycle of taking photos of Spider-Man that ruin his reputation. Seeing what time it is, Peter realizes that he is late to meet Aunt May for dinner.

Torn between needing to take pictures and keeping a promise to his aunt, Peter goes to Queen for dinner with May. Later that evening, Peter begins walking to catch a bus back into the city when an ambulance speeds past him. This triggers his spider-sense when suddenly two children run into him. These children are Jacob and Tanya Gibbs, and they tell him that they are taking their mother to Pleasant Ville. Peter brushes off their concerns that they are taking her away to keep her quiet and suggests that they go and visit her. Jacob thinks this is a great idea and takes Tanya home so they can prepare to go see their mother. As Peter continues on his way he hopes the kids will talk to their father about it instead of doing something rash like trying to see their mother this late at night.

However, when Peter gets back to his apartment he can't sleep as he keeps thinking of the children he encountered earlier. He tries to convince himself that the situation is none of his business. However, he can't get it out of his mind and decides to check out Pleasantville as Spider-Man. At that moment, outside the facility, Jacob and Tanya are on the roof. Jacob has taken his father's gone and is intent on freeing his mother from the facility. They are interrupted by their father who has followed them. Although Tanya is happy to see her father, Jacob is not and points the gun at his father. Jacob blames his father for his mother being taken away and threatens to shoot him. Frank realizes how this situation has forced Jacob to grow up. Hearing his brother threatening to kill his father, Tanya becomes upset, telling him that if he shoots their father, he won't see their mother again. Wanting her mom, Tanya runs to the roof access door and begins pounding on it, setting off the alarm. They are quickly surrounded by guards who call it in. Learning that they are the family of Vicky Gibbs, they call the Mad Dog Ward and are ordered to bring them all down.

That's when Spider-Man swings in and knocks out most of the guards. In the confusion, Frank has ran away, and as Jacob explains everything to the wall-crawler, they soon discover that Tanya has been snatched by the last guard standing. The guard threatens to drop the child off the roof if they don't surrender. As Spider-Man tries to think about what to do next, the guard drops the child anyway. Spider-Man swings out and saves her, but he is shot twice in the chest. Landing roughly on the ground, the wall-crawler tells Tanya to run and call the police before collapsing on the ground.

This story is in Amazing Spider-Man #295...

Appearing in "Mad Dogs"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #295

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Synopsis for "Mad Dogs"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #295

Story continued from Web of Spider-Man #33...

Injured while attempting to rescue Vicky Gibbs from the Plesant Valley Sanitarium, Spider-Man is brought in by the staff nurses for immediate medical attention for the gunshot wound he suffered to the stomach.[Continuity 3] As he is brought in, his top of his costume and mask are tossed into the laundry room. The head nurse takes this opportunity to show Mary, a new employee, around the facility. They pass the "Brainstorm" room where electroshock therapy is administered, the "vegetable patch" where a lot of their disturbed patients live. They stop in the high-security ward, where patients who suffer from the ubermensch syndrome, or in other words, think they are superheroes. When Spider-Man comes to he tries to fight off the nurses and explain who he is. Only Mary seems to take him seriously when he makes this claim before he is sedated and locked in a room. With no identification, Peter Parker is registered in the Mad Dog Ward as a John Doe.

Several days later, Spider-Man has been reduced to a medicated stupor and is wheelchair bound as he recovers from his injuries. He has become known by his patient name MD336 by the other patients of the ward. Peter struggles to keep his thoughts together, but the drugs make this difficult. He holds onto the idea that he's Spider-Man, but doesn't have the strength or ambition to break free. His one friend is a patient who wears a cape, thinking that he is a superhero called Captain Zero. Peter struggles to keep his mind clear and suggests that they should revolt and break free. The other patients rally to this cause for a briefest of moments until they are all distracted by the television and wander off to do their own things. One of the few people he has started to convince to do something is Mary. Later, Peter manages to talk her into taking him to see Vicky Gibbs. Along the way, she asks him if he remembers his name, but he still can't. The whole situation with patient MD336 bothers Mary because she doesn't know why the doctors keep him so heavily sedated as she doesn't have access to his file. Still, she takes Peter to see Vicky who is in a solitary cell. He tells her that he was sent by her children, Jacob and Tanya and that he knows she doesn't belong there. He promises that he will do something to get her out of the ward, but the drugs kick in and nods off.

Meanwhile, at the Gibbs household, Jacob and Tanya attempt to fend for themselves without their mother. When their father, Frank, returns home the children refuse to eat the pizza he brought home. Jacob defiantly tells his father that they will look after themselves. This leads to an argument, and Frank tells them that he can't bring their mother home otherwise the Kingpin will eliminate them all. Later, back the Mad Dog ward, Doctor Hope continues experiments on his star patient, MD2020, aka Brainstorm. Hope intends to condition him into the perfect killing machine for his employer, the Kingpin. He hopes that with the success with Brainstorm, the Kingpin will allow him to experiment on MD336, the patient who claims that he is Spider-Man. At the recreation room, a demonstration is being made of a new type of straightjacket that are going to be given to all the patients to wear. Seeing this, Peter is horrified that they are going to be treated in such a humiliating way. This gives Parker the drive to pull the IV drip out of his arm and get out of his wheelchair. He then storms up to the staffer giving the demonstration and forces him into the straightjacket. When other staff members try to restrain Peter, he easily overpowers them with his superior strength.

Peter then whips up all of the other patients into a revolt, prompting the nurses to begin sedating everyone. His senses still dulled by drugs, Peter is also injected, putting a quick end to his mutiny. Peter watches as everyone's determination quickly fades and becomes tired himself. Almost falling over, Peter is helped back into his wheelchair by Mary. Later, when Doctor Hope hears of the day's excitement, he decides to increase the doses on his patients as punishment. His assistant, Sally Salins informs Dr. Hope that the patient calling himself Captain Zero is not responding to the Brainstorm experiments. Hearing this, Hope gleefully schedules a lobotomy for Zero.

This story concludes in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #133...

Appearing in "I Am Spider!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #133

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Synopsis for "I Am Spider!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #133

Imprisoned in the Mad Dog Ward, Peter Parker has been drugged into a stupor to the point where he barely think, let alone escape. Forced to participate in an arts and crafts exercise, Peter tries to tell the other patients that he is Spider-Man, but nobody can understand him. Shedding a tear in frustration, Peter remembers how he promised Tanya and Jacob Gibbs that he would help free their mother, Vicky, from the Mad Dog Ward after her husband had her committed.[Continuity 4] Thinking about his life outside the Mad Dog Ward, Peter laments how the drugs in his system have made him so helpless.[Continuity 5] That's when Peter is joined by the patient calling himself Captain Zero. Zero wants to know when they are going to revolt against their masters.[Continuity 6] Peter tells Zero that his idea was a mistake and someone might get hurt. That's when two of the nurses come in and tell Captain Zero that they have a special mission for him. The simple-minded Zero agrees to follow them.

That's when Mary, a nurse who has been trying to help Peter, enters the room. She tells him that they are planning to give Zero a lobotomy after he got worked up during the brief revolt the day before. When Parker suggests that they take the patients off their medication, Mary explains that they need to be weened off to prevent them from getting sick. Peter tells her to do is so he can rescue Captain Zero and Vicky and go to the police. Meanwhile, at the Gibbs household, Frank Gibbs returns home to find his children are still awake. When he orders them to bed, Jacob refuses to comply as they are still upset that he had their mother committee. Angry at his children, Frank is about to strike his son when Tanya pulls a gun on him. Realizing how out of control things have gotten, Frank explains to his children that his employers had her mother committed so she couldn't report the crimes he commits in the Kingpin's mob. He finally decides to ask his children what it would take for them to trust him again. They want their mother home and Frank, realizing that their lives are miserable with Vicky, and agrees to try and bring her back home. Since that will get them in trouble with the Kingpin he tells his children that they'll leave town and assume new identities.

At that moment, at the Kingpin's headquarters, the Arranger comes with a status report on the Mad Dog Ward. He tells his master that one of the patients is claiming to be Spider-Man. If this is true, the Arranger fears that this could jeopardize their operations. The Kingpin reminds the Arranger that he was hired to make decisions and sends him on his way. The Arranger calls Doctor Hope and tells him that he is to deal with the man who alleges to be Spider-Man however he sees fit. When the Arranger hangs up, Doctor Hope decides to continue experimenting on Brainstorm, and look into this "Spider-Man" tomorrow. He then goes into the lab where Brainstorm is being held and continues his mental conditioning. The following day, the lack of medication is causing the patients to slowly regain their facilities. Mary fears that this could be dangerous, but Peter insists that this is the right thing to do as his strength is slowly returning. Suddenly, the patients begin to revolt, giving Parker the moment he needs. Before he can leave, Mary hands him his Spider-Man costume. Wrapping it around his shoulders like a cape, Peter runs down to the room where they are keeping Captain Zero and frees him. They also find Vicky and free her as well.

He is then confronted by Doctor Hope, some guards, and Brainstorm. Spider-Man is then forced into a cell with Brainstorm. But despite the brute's conditioning, Spider-Man manages to overpower him. Just then, Frank Gibbs arrives to rescue his wife, taking Doctor Hope at gunpoint and ordering him to set himself and his wife free. With Hope as their hostage, Frank assists his wife and Peter in escaping from the Mad Dog Ward. As they escape in a car, Captain Zero watches from the rooftops, rejoying that the good guys have won. The next day, Peter returns to Happy Valley in disguise along with Ben Urich in the hopes of getting photos and exposing the Mad Dog Ward in the Daily Bugle. However, he discovers he is too late, as the Arranger has called a press conference to admit to the illegal operations at the Mad Dog War, placing blame squarely on Doctor Hope. As the pair leave, Peter bumps into Mary who has quit after hearing the bogus cover up story. while elsewhere, the Gibbs family is leaving New York City, trying to decide on a new place to call home.

Appearing in "Hope and Other Liars"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man #29

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Synopsis for "Hope and Other Liars"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man #29

Running late for dinner at his Aunt May's house, Spider-Man swings across the city. Along the way, he spots a little girl toss a teddy bear out of her apartment window. There's a man in a costume on the roof that leaps after the toy, ripping off an electrical wire to swing down and catch it. This causes debris to fall from the side of the building. Spider-Man swings down and catches it in webbing before it lands on people on the street down below. As the costumed man gives the girl her teddy bear, Spider-Man swings up and scolds him for acting so recklessly. That's when Spider-Man recognizes him as Captain Zero, a former patient of the Pleasant Valley Sanitarium.[Continuity 7] Taking Captain Zero up to the roof, Spider-Man learns that Pleasant Valley was shut down due to malpractice and that Captain Zero, aka David Stack, is now being treated on an out-patient basis. He also learns that Doctor Hope, who ran the illegal Mad Dog Ward, had agreed to be committed for his part in the criminal activities at the facility. With no idea how to handle someone like Captain Zero, Spider-Man tells him to be more careful in the future and leaves so he can dwell on this.

Meanwhile, at a city mental health clinic, Doctor Hope sits in his room droning on about harnessing the reptilian side of the brain. The facility doctors have been using this knowledge in their new experimental wing, where they have been injecting animal DNA and cybernetics, while trying to breed an army of efficient warriors. They take Doctor Hope down into this wing in the hopes that they can continue the work on his greatest achievement, Mad Dog patient 2020, aka Brainstorm.

By this time, Peter Parker has arrived at his Aunt May's house for dinner, joining his aunt and his wife Mary Jane.[Continuity 8] He has to come up with excuses as to why he looks so disheveled and why he forgot dessert, something he doesn't really like doing, even if it is necessary to maintain his secret identity. The following day, Peter is late for a meeting with J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle. When he tries to offer an excuse, Jonah isn't interested in hearing any because he has work to do. Peter is soon paired up with Maggie Lorca, a reporter covering a story on the Liars Anonymous Clinic, an organization that treats pathological liars. Peter tells her that he looks forward to working with her and they arrange to meet later that afternoon. With time to kill, Peter changes into Spider-Man and heads for home to surprise his wife. However, on the way, he spots some men attempting to steal an armored car. Trying to stop it, Spider-Man is ambushed by the mental hospital experiments. He manages to fight them off, but only webs up three of the four, the last managing to escape. After taking a few pictures for the Daily Bugle, Spider-Man wonders if his regular white-lies are doing more bad than good and if he went too easy on Captain Zero earlier.

Tracking down the novice hero, Spider-Man tries to convince him that being a hero is too dangerous. Zero takes this hard, which makes the wall-crawler feel guilty. When Captain Zero asks why Spider-Man couldn't just leave him to be happy, the web-slinger relates his most recent battle to him. Hearing what the strange thieves were saying, Captain Zero recognizes it as some of the "reptilian brain" theories of Doctor Hope. Thanking Captain Zero for the tip, Spider-Man decides to go and check it out. While back at home, Mary Jane tries to read through the latest "Secret Hospital" script, and finds that she can't stand the hack writing of the current storyline. She decides to go up onto the roof and get some sun in order to relax. There, Mary Jane finds a young boy named Daniel up on the roof. The boy is wearing a strange helmet with antenni on it. He explains that his father is a space alien and he is on their roof in the hopes of contacting him. When Mary Jane asks the boy who his guardians are, the child tells her that he is homeless. Feeling sorry for the boy, Mary Jane invites the kid in for something to eat.

By this point, Peter Parker is running late for his assignment with Maggie Lorca. When he arrives at the Liars Anonymous Clinic, he makes some excuses to Maggie about why he was late. As he snaps photos for the article, she tells him about what she learned from the clinic about chronic liars. All of this hits a little too close to home for Peter who dismisses the advice. Getting a ride home from Maggie, Peter suggests that they look into what happened to Doctor Hope as a potential freelance story, saying that they work well together. Maggie likes the idea and soon, Peter is dropped off at his apartment. Watching from the window, Mary Jane watches Peter's body language and fears that he might be cheating on her. When Peter comes upstairs, he quickly changes into Spider-Man to go out and get some air. Mary Jane begins asking him questions about his day and who dropped him off. Even though Peter's answers are matter-of-fact, she is still worried that he may be lying to her. While back at the new Mad Dog Ward, the psychologists in charge have continued Doctor Hope's experiments on Mindstorm, causing him to undergo a frightening transformation.

Appearing in "Brainstorm!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man #30

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Synopsis for "Brainstorm!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man #30

At the new Mad Dog Ward, Doctor Hope has finished the latests tests on patient 2020, aka Brainstorm, causing him to transform into a primitive beast that is ruled by his lizard brain.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man has decided to take Captain Zero under his wing and help him hone his skills so he can perform rescues without causing harm to others or damage to property. Using a dummy, Spider-Man performs a mock rescue and demonstrates to the Captain how to complete the task. However, when Captain Zero tries it out for himself, not only does he cause some property damage, he also manages to puncture the training dummy in the process. Although Zero is hard on himself for failing on this practice run, the wall-crawler tells him that he needs to continue honing his skills. Running late for a meeting, Spider-Man heads to a nearby hospital. Changing back into Peter Parker, he meets up with reporter Maggie Lorca. He offers her an excuse for running late. Hearing his explanation, she reminds him of the report they did on Liars Anonymous, and how she had a follow-up interview with the founder. He had told her that people don't just lie out of convenience, but to cover up an inability to face who they really are. Peter brushes off this insight and asks how her current investigation is going.

She has been trying to track down Doctor Hope, the former director of Pleasant Valley Mental Hospital and their Mad Dog Ward.[Continuity 9] Their search has brought them to this hospital, where Hope has been confined to their high-security wing. As they look around, Peter once again begins questioning why he lies to people all the time. He is certain that he does so to protect his secret identity, but begins to wonder if he is really hiding who he really is. Meanwhile, Peter's wife Mary Jane has come to the neighborhood of the little boy who she found on her roof earlier that day.[Continuity 10] Daniel spots her and invites her into one of the abandoned warehouses. There she is surprised to find a strange wonder-world has been constructed within. This is the world of an elderly African-American man, who has been caring for the boy. She is surprised to hear that the old man also believes that Daniel is an alien and asks Mary Jane if she wants to help the boy, she can assist in their attempts to contact his family in outer space.

Back at the hospital, Maggie Lorca and Peter Parker meet with the administrator, only to be stonewalled on getting any information on Doctor Hope. The pair leaves, with Maggie vowing to write a piece on how he refused to assist them. Once outside though, Maggie admits to Peter that she was only bluffing. However, her words bother the administrator enough that he places a call and demands something be done to distract her at the Daily Bugle while they move the Mad Dog Ward elsewhere. Listening to these orders the head doctor prepares to shut down operations and tells Doctor Hope that it is time to unleash MD 2020. Hope thinks this is mad, as his patient is not yet ready for field operations. Later, Mary Jane is waiting outside the Daily Bugle to meet her husband for lunch. Spotting Peter out with Maggie Lorca makes her upset, because she fears that the two may be having an affair, and leaves. As Peter approaches the Bugle building, his spider-sense begins to go off. He tells Maggie that he has got to go, and as an afterthought, he thinks that Mary Jane will be understanding that he missed their lunch date to investigate this warning. Changing into Spider-Man, Peter looks around from the rooftops and finds nothing amiss.

When Maggie comes out of a coffee shop, she is suddenly pulled into an alley by a massive man in a trench coat and hat. Spider-Man swings down to help her, and is horrified when he gets a good look at the reptilian face of her attacker. Removing the trench coat, the lizard-like Brainstorm attacks the wall-crawler, ranting about the mankind's return to its primitive beginnings. As they fight, Spider-Man is suddenly jolted backward by a telepathic attack that floods his mind with images of dinosaur-men, leaving him open to attack from Brainstorm. At that very moment, Mary Jane has gone to the local child welfare office. There, she is still upset that Peter stood her up for Maggie Lorca, however, she still refuses to completely believe that his regular lies are covering up a secret affair. As she sits in the waiting room, she is recognized for her role on "Secret Hospital" by one of the other women. When she learns that Mary Jane is trying to find Daniel a home, the woman figures that the boy is doomed because anyone looking to adopt a child these days is looking for a baby. She then suggests that Mary Jane should do a story about this on her soap opera. When Mary Jane points out that she doesn't have any control over her character on the show, the woman asks if Mary Jane is saying that about her character, or herself.

Back on the rooftops, Spider-Man continues to get trounced by Brainstorm and is sent falling into a nearby alley. Still being affected by the creature's mental transmitter, Spider-Man begins to flee due to a triggered fear response. Confused, he briefly sees people on the street as his friends and loved ones. All of them blame Spider-Man for lying to them all the time. Shaking his head, the web-slinger realizes that he was hallucinating. Brainstorm attacks again, taking their fight to a nearby construction site. There, the wall-crawler is stunned by another mental blast. While the hero is disorientated, Brainstorm picks Spider-Man up and dumps him inside a cement mixer and turns it on. While back at home, Mary Jane is upset that Peter didn't leave a message and decides to go out and do her own thing, figuring that when her husband is ready to deal with her, he can come looking for her. While elsewhere in the city, Captain Zero decides he has had enough practice and goes looking for crimes being committed in the area. While not far away, Maggie notices the ground starts shaking again and realizes that Brainstorm is stalking her once more. Lastly, Spider-Man struggles to get free from the cement mixer, but the images forced into his mind make it difficult and he fears that he may drown unless he can do something to free himself.

Appearing in "Trust"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man #31

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Synopsis for "Trust"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man #31

Following his battle against Brainstorm, Spider-Man was dumped into a cement mixer with a mind flooded with fear response images. Unable to pull himself out, Spider-Man managed to fire some web-lines as the cement was poured into a foundation of a construction site. Holding his breath, the web-slinger waits until his mind returns to normal. Finding it becoming hard to breathe, he wonders how deep he is and what happened to Maggie and Brainstorm.

At that time, Brainstorm had captured reporter Maggie Lorca, who had been asking too many questions about his creator, Doctor Hope. Climbing up the side of a building, the man-monster is pelted with knock out gas from arriving police officers. Although the gas knocks out Maggie, it has no effect on Brainstorm. Watching this on their monitors at the city hospital, those responsible are impressed with Brainstorm's performance. Doctor Hope, who has been pretending he was insane this whole time, decides to run this treatment on himself so that he can effect his escape. While the others are distracted, Doctor Hope slips away. At that same moment, Spider-Man struggles to free himself from the cement.

While uptown, Captain Zero is walking around looking for crimes that are being committed. He is mocked by some local kids who tell him that he should fight the monster that has appeared on Fifth Avenue. Taking them seriously, Zero thanks the kids for their help and heads in that direction. While at the Parker home, Mary Jane wonders why her husband has been hanging out with Maggie Lorca, unaware that she is a co-worker.[Continuity 11] Suddenly, the phone rings and she hopes that it is her husband Peter. It is not, but it is the Stilwell Adoption Agency, who tells Mary Jane that they have found a suitable person who is willing to adopt Daniel, a strange homeless boy that Mary Jane has been trying to find a home for. They ask her to come down right away.

As Spider-Man continues to pull himself out of the cement, Captain Zero catches up to Brainstorm and remembers him from their time in the Mad Dog Ward.[Continuity 12] Brainstorm tries to stagger Captain Zero with a mental blast but after all the treatments he received at the Mad Dog Ward have made him immune to Brainstorm's attack. Meanwhile, Mary Jane meets with Mr. Hernandez, the man who is looking to adopt Daniel. As they get to talking, Mary Jane can't help but find him handsome and is interested when she learns that he is currently single. Back at the scene of the battle, Captain Zero and Brainstorm continue to trade blows but are equally matched. As Spider-Man continues to struggle to free himself, his web-line snaps. Refusing to give up and die, Spider-Man begins to dig himself the rest of the way out. Unwilling to die, he focuses on thoughts of his wife to give himself the strength to keep on going. While at the abandoned warehouse where Daniel lives, Mary Jane tries to convince him to come with her. However, he refuses, insisting that his father is an alien from outer space that will come to him in a spaceship. When she tries to talk sense into the African-American man who has been caring for the boy, he tells her that the kid has his own mind. He then shows her a massive mock-up of a spaceship he built. When Mary Jane questions their sanity, the elderly man says that she needs to have faith.

Back at the scene of the battle, Captain Zero manages to stun Brainstorm with some live wires. When Mary Jane gets home, the old man's words have finally made sense to her and Mary Jane decides to have faith in her husband, and that he will come home to her. As she is thinking these thoughts, the wall-crawler finally frees himself from his concrete tomb. Suddenly getting some inspiration, Mary Jane calls Mister Hernandez and tells him to meet with her as she has a plan. She then calls one of her writers at "Secret Hospital" and demands he starts writing her character to be more intelligent. While on the rooftop, Captain Zero continues to electrocute Brainstorm. By this point, Maggie Lorca has recovered from the gas and tells Zero to stop otherwise he will murder Brainstorm. Not wanting to kill anybody, Captain Zero struggles to try and figure out how to stop. That's when Spider-Man comes swinging in, striking Brainstorm with a powerful blow that knocks him free from the live wire. He tells Maggie to run, and as he lectures Zero on not to become as ruthless as the villains he fights, Brainstorm recovers and attacks anew. Spider-Man tries to fight off his foe, but Brainstorm is too strong and fast for the web-slinger. Brainstorm manages to wrap him in a bear hug and starts crushing him.

Wondering what he can do to help, Captain Zero remembers the spray bottle of soapy water he carries in his pouch. He sprays it in Brainstorm's eyes, blinding the man-monster long enough for Spider-Man to break free from his grip and throw some knock-out blows. After the authorities take Brainstorm away, Maggie reports everything that happened. Meanwhile, Doctor Hope is taken away to a new facility, where he intends to begin his research anew. When Peter returns home, he is happily reunited with his wife. Then, Mary Jane can put her plan into motion. With the help of Mr. Hernandez, Spider-Man, Captain Zero and the mock-up spaceship, they convince Daniel that Mr. Hernandez is his long lost alien father. When Mr. Hernandez asks Mary Jane if she will be Daniel's adopted mother, she tells him that she is already taken.

See Also

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References


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