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Marvel Knights Spider-Man #22 | |
WRITER:  Reginald Hudlin
PENCILLER: Pat Lee INKER: Dream Machine COVER BY: Pat Lee and Dream Machine COLOR: Dream Machine LETTERING: VC's Cory Petit PRODUCTION: Virtual Calligraphy ASSISTANT EDITORS: Michael O'Connor EDITOR: Axel Alonso CONSULTING EDITOR: Tom Brevoort EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Joe Quesada PUBLISHER: Dan Buckley STORY TITLE:  Spider-Man: The Other – Evolve or Die – Part Eleven of Twelve - Destiny's Child REVIEW:  Spider-Man has returned…but something else has returned with him! A vicious battle between Spider-Man and Morlun seemingly claimed the lives of both predator and prey, but then a shadowy figure emerged from Peter Parker's corpse – and broke out of Avengers Tower! That stranger was Peter himself, who shed his skin and was born again. With that rebirth came certain new powers and enhanced abilities...and the injuries that had claimed his life miraculously healed. But in the process of recovering, Peter embraced the totemic forces of the spider and that spider, the Great Weaver, has embraced him back. Now, something else has emerged from Peter's corpse – a new creature, which has covered Avengers Tower in webbing and fled into New York City. ACT 1: Spider-Man takes off after the creature to try and talk to it. Spidey tries to get her to talk to him by promising not to hurt her. The creature comes to a halt on the ledge of a building and pretty much repeats everything that Spidey tells her. To make a long story short, the creature tells Spidey that "one lives…other must live. One dies…other must die...all good.". Annoyed with her mumbo-jumbo, Spidey attacks her. Lunging at her, stingers once again emerging from his wrists, Spidey utters out loud his confusion about these new appendages, which are uncommon amongst spiders. Punching Spidey and sending him flying into a wall, the creature mentions that spiders don't have stingers yet, but in the future they will: "spiders evolve…you evolve". The creature then explains that Morlun returned for him as it was Morlun's time to feast and his (Spidey's) time to die. She tells Spidey that he did indeed die, however, the Great Weaver brought him back, as it was not his time to die. By doing so, the Great Weaver angered another who demanded that there be a cost. Confused, Spidey has a difficult time accepting that cosmic entities are fighting over him. Throwing a punch at Spidey – which misses his mark – the creature tells Spidey that "you define me, I define you. What you are, I am not. What you are not, I am". The creature then jumps off the building towards the ground several floors down below. As it hits the pavement, it dissolves into millions of tiny spiders who disappear down a sewer drain. Even more confused now, Spidey heads back to Avengers Tower. ACT 2: When he arrives at the Tower, Spidey finds the other Avengers all assembled, waiting for him; obviously, they want explanations. A short time later, in a conference room, Spidey sits down with Captain America and Iron Man. Iron Man explains that he's sent samples of webbing and cocoon to Reed Richards of the Fantastic four to see if he'll be able to give them some insight on what is happening. He then suggests to Spidey to stay put while they figure out exactly what is going on. Spidey is a tad ticked off at them for treating him like so but Iron Man explains that they are not blaming him; they’re just trying to figure out what happened. He goes on explaining that the security camera captured the action, however they still don't have the full picture; therefore, until then, they're going to have to perform more tests. Captain America, who barely speaks during the meeting, tells Spidey that he agrees with what Tony is saying. Spidey is not surprised. ACT 3: A short time later, Peter lies in bed when Wolverine enters his bedroom and pretty much tells Peter what he has known all along, which is that something just doesn't smell right and that something has changed in him. That's pretty much as far as the conversation goes, because seconds later, Mary Jane shows up in the bedroom so Wolvie takes his leave. MJ sits on the bed next to him and Peter starts to vent his frustration about not knowing what is going on and what has happened to him after fighting Morlun. All he remembers is being dead, yet now he is back. Peter goes on explaining that something just doesn't feel right, as he should be dead. He elaborates and explains that the creature said something that ties into all of what is happening: "evolve or die", which he has no clue as to its significance. MJ asks Peter if he remembers anything from his stay in the hospital after the beating he took from Morlun. Peter replies that he does not remember anything concrete; just images and flashes – he then asks her why she is asking. MJ replies that it is not important and that they'll talk about it some other time. Truth be told, MJ saw what happened to him in the hospital: he transformed into a creature himself and killed Morlun with the help of stingers protruding from his wrists. MJ tells Peter that everything is going to be fine and suggests that he gets some rest. ACT 4: A short time later, Peter has donned his Spider-Man costume and is visiting Doctor Strange to see what he has to say about all of what has happened in the recent weeks. Using a good old-fashioned magic ball, the good doctor explains that he sees him in the center of a web, a cosmic web that he can't feel physically, but that is very real nonetheless. Spidey asks if he is the spider or the meal. Dr. Strange replies that depending on his perspective, he could be either...or both. This seems to ring a bell with Spidey who recalls what the creature in the tree said to him back in Amazing Spider-Man #527: "one or the other". Spidey asks Dr. Strange if all this means that more bad guys will be coming after him. Dr. Strange replies that it means that there will be a strong corrective response. Spidey comments that he thinks he's met her. Thanking the doc, he takes his leave. ACT 5: Later on, at Avengers Tower, Peter sits on an outdoor balcony, deep in thoughts, when Aunt May shows up with some cocoa to warm him up. She knows something is wrong with Peter so she bluntly asks him to tell her. Peter explains that he feels like he's cheated death and that he shouldn't be there. Aunt May replies that she sees the whole thing as a second chance for him to live. Peter is still unsure about the whole thing so Aunt May tells him that the most important thing is that he is alive and that, all that matters now, is what he's going to do from this day on. She goes on explaining that if Uncle Ben was to return to her today, she would thank her lucky stars. Peter gives her a big bear hug and Aunt May tells Peter that he's always been special; and what happened proves it. As the two of them look out towards the City, Aunt May goes on explaining that she has every faith that great things are in store for him and that everything in his life has brought him to this point. She adds that whatever waits for him, he'll be ready for it. As she stays that, the scene moves to a nearby church where another large cocoon, containing the body of the creature Spidey confronted earlier, hangs from the pinnacle of the church. To be continued in Amazing Spider-Man #528.
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