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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #582

MIND ON FIRE - PART TWO - BURNING QUESTIONS

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WRITER: DAN SLOTT
PENCILLER: MIKE MCKONE AND KLAUS JANSON
INKER: ANDY LANNING, KRIS JUSTICE AND KLAUS JANSON
COLORS: JEROMY COX AND CHRIS CHUCKRY
LETTERS: VC'S CORY PETIT
COVER: MIKE MCKONE AND ANDY LANNING
ASSISTANT EDITOR: TOM BRENNAN
EDITOR: STEPHEN WACKER
EXECUTIVE EDITOR: TOM BREVOORT
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: JOE QUESADA
PUBLISHER: DAN BUCKLEY

PREVIOUSLY: With the heat from police investigation into the Spider-Tracer killings at an all time high, Peter Parker takes a well needed escape from the city alongside his best pal, Harry Osborn, to New Jersey to see Harry's ex-wife, Liz Allan, and their son, Normie. Peter and Harry discuss Harry's mysterious return after his alleged death years ago, while taking on his father's Green Goblin mantle. Norman Osborn made a pact with Mysterio to cover up the circumstances of Harry's "death" and keep him in seclusion.

Meanwhile, Liz Allan and Normie took on the unenviable task of caring for Liz's half-brother, Mark Raxton, the Molten Man, whose health and mental stability have rapidly deteriorated. Harry plans to help Liz sort through ways to help her afford to care for her brother, but it's clear Raxton's anger at Osborn may have driven him past helping.

REVIEW: Harry Osborn attempts to persuade Molten Man to calm down, but to no avail. Even Liz Allan, his own half-sister, fails to convince him to stop his rampage. He just wants one thing and, that is, to kill Harry. Seeing no immediate resolution to the current situation, Peter grabs hold of Liz and little Normie and gets them out of the living room, where things are about to get deadly. He drops them in the kitchen and instructs Liz to get Normie to safety. She tries to argue with him but Peter lets her know that he'll be right behind her. Peter turns around and heads back inside. Doing some quick calculations in his head, Peter pinpoints which one of the walls is a load-bearing wall and he proceeds to put his foot through it. A second later, a huge chunk of the ceiling comes crashing down on top of the Molten Man, crushing him underneath a huge pile of rubble. Harry gets a few rocks tossed his way but he is otherwise unscathed. He feels quite lucky not to have been hurt. He assumes his opponent defeated, that is, until the Molten Man emerges from the rubble, even more bent on killing Harry.

Outside the house, Peter tells Liz to get as far away from the house as she can. He, on the other hand, is going to get help. Liz wants them to stick together but Peter doesn't want to do that. He tells Liz that his friend Spider-Man is close by and that he's going to go get him. Upon hearing this, Normie expresses his disgust – he hates Spider-Man. Peter has no time to argue with Liz or Normie, as he takes off running. After finding a secluded spot, he switches into his Spider-Man costume.

Inside their house, Liz Allan's neighbors are witnessing these events unfold in front of their eyes. Grabbing the phone, the husband dials 911 and screams at the operator to send help immediately.

Outside Liz Allan's house, Harry is trying to unlock his car; however, the Molten Man has caught up to him. Harry pleads him to listen, explaining that he has something in the car that can help him. Before the Molten Man can provide an answer, Spider-Man arrives on the scene and engages him into battle. Harry should feel lucky to have Spidey there to save his life; he is, however, rather annoyed and demands to know what Spidey's doing in Jersey, accusing him of stalking him. Spidey doesn't really answer Harry's question. Rather, he focuses on not getting killed by his adversary, who appears to be melting more than usual. When Harry utters the word "Parker", Spidey immediately assumes that Harry has figured out his secret identity. Thankfully, Harry hasn't. What he's figured out is how Spidey knew where he and Peter were going to be. Harry remembers Peter making a call to someone on his cell phone, and that someone must have been Spider-Man, which is why he's there. Spidey cannot believe his luck, so he goes with Harry's story. Harry asks Spidey if he has a plan to stop the Molten Man. Spidey admits that he doesn't have one. Harry indicates that he has a plan but he needs Spidey to keep the Molten Man occupied. He then opens the trunk of his car and extracts some kind of container with the label "Oscorp Prometheus X-90".

Liz finds her neighbors – the ones that called 911 – and asks them if they would watch Normie while she tries to stop her stepbrother from killing her ex-husband. In the background, Harry Osborn is seen loading some kind of large gun with the aforementioned container. Assuming Harry is about to kill her stepbrother, Liz races in his direction and stops him from firing his weapon.

Meanwhile, Spidey fashions himself a pair of fire-resistant gloves using his webbing. That's the only way he'll be able to land his punches without burning his hands off. Like two boxers in a ring, Spidey and the Molten Man, are giving and dodging blow after blow, in an equal fashion. However, when one of the Molten Man's feet gets stuck in the asphalt below, Spidey takes the opportunity to punch his opponent with all his might. The Molten Man lands face first into the pavement, which melts on impact. Having gained a serious advantage, Spidey starts to pummel his enemy.

Nearby, Harry explains to Liz that he's been planning to help Mark (Raxton, a.k.a. the Molten Man) for some time, ever since he revealed to her he was still alive. When Liz told him that she had moved on, he couldn't leave it like that – he had to make things right, balance the scales so to speak. When he heard about Mark's condition worsening, and how it was killing him, he decided to come back to the US to take charge of Oscorp, so he could convert their research and development towards finding a cure. Liz is rather skeptic, but Harry continues explaining that a series of experiments were conducted – the Promethean Trials – the first stage of which was the containment room Liz ordered for her brother. Harry reveals that his team designed it. Then, pointing to the weapon in his hands, Harry indicates that it was designed with an adamantium-tipped delivery system for a serum that will purge all the molten material out of him. Liz doesn't know whether to believe him or not. Spidey shows up and convinces Liz that Harry is to be trusted. Liz agrees to let Harry use his weapon. Spidey, however, has other plans. He will handle the weapon, seeing as he has spider-sense, speed and strength. With that said, Spidey throws himself at the Molten Man and manages difficultly to deliver the serum into his opponent, telling him to "just chillax".

A short time later, Harry relates to Peter what happened to the Molten Man – the serum worked; Mark is now free from the curse of the Molten Man. Mark, lying down on a stretcher, tells Liz that he thinks Harry came through for her and that he thinks Harry has really changed. Nearby, Harry asks Peter if Spider-Man is still lurking around. Peter responds that he’s on his way back to New York. Disgruntled about Peter being friends with Spider-Man, Harry tries to goad him into an argument, but Peter won't fall for it. Just then, Normie shows up – the neighbors weren't able to put him down to sleep – and he starts yelling at Harry, Peter and Raxton about being like a zombie, knowing Spider-Man, and being weird and breaking all of his stuff, respectively. Liz tells Normie to come see her. Then, she and Harry take Normie aside and calm him down, explaining that no one is normal and that his life really isn't all that bad. Liz goes on explaining that, before, his dad (Harry) was gone and they thought they were going to lose uncle Mark; but both of them are back now – not everyone gets a gift like that. She tells Normie to always remember that. She then turns to Harry and tells him to consider the scales balanced. She then reaches into her pocket and hands Harry her wedding ring, wishing him the best of luck (one can assume she is giving her blessing for Harry marrying Lily Hollister). Harry thanks her.

A few minutes later, Harry and Peter are ready to head home but a police officer tells them to sit down and wait, as they have a few questions for them. Sitting down on the sidewalk, Harry asks Peter if he has more questions for him. Peter firsts asks him if he really is alive because of the Goblin serum. Harry confirms that he is. Peter then asks about the Promethean Trials. Harry indicates that they were indeed for curing the Molten Man. Peter asks how he knew it would work. Harry responds that they tested the serum on one volunteer, Charlie Weiderman, the same guy who wrecked the Parker house in Forest Hills, which is how Harry knew to fix it. Now his turn, Harry asks Peter what his relationship with Spider-Man is. Peter answers that he and Spider-Man are friends, but not the same kind of friends as Harry and him are. Joking around with Peter, Harry asks if Spider-Man is his boyfriend, as it would explain a lot. And with that, their conversation ends.

EPILOGUE: Downstairs from the "Bar with No Name", the Bookie has achieved the impossible. He's figured out the one link between all the spider-tracer killings. Just then, the door to the Bookie's office comes crashing down – a large foot being put right through it. The Bookie is stunned. His attacker is none other than the spider-tracer killer, who – it should be pointed out – is not revealed to the reader. The Bookie has no idea how the spider-tracer killer knew that he was trying to crack the mystery. Before the Bookie can do anything, a spider-tracer is launched and it lands on his vest. The spider-tracer killer than launches himself at the Bookie.

To be continued.

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