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| Peter Parker Spider-Man #1 (99) | |
 WRITER: Howard Mackie
PENCILLER: John Romita Jr. COVER BY: John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna ALTERNATE COVERS BY: John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna INKER: Scott Hanna STORY TITLE: Power without Responsibility! REVIEW: In an epic struggle, Spider-Man conclusively beat his most tenacious foe – Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin. Still, despite his heroic efforts on behalf of the city, Spidey felt truly unappreciated by the citizens of New York – those he'd sworn to protect. And so, Peter Parker gave up his secret identity. Months have passed, and Peter lives quite comfortably in a Manhattan penthouse with his fragile Aunt May...a penthouse paid for by his absent wife's fabulous modeling income. All seemed well until another Spider-Man appeared in New York, battling a revamped Scorpion to a standstill. Now the second web-slinger has appeared again, and freelance photographer Peter Parker is on the scene to snap the action. ACT 1: Armored guys, who call themselves Agents of Anarchy, are trying to set free an international terrorist, who calls himself the Ranger, from the armored truck in which he is being held. The new Spider-Man, however, seems to have things pretty much under control...that is until one of the agents manages to release the Ranger from the truck, unbeknownst to the wall-crawler. Peter Parker, shooting pictures nearby, informs the new Spider-Man that the Ranger has just gotten away. Unfortunately, it is too late; the Ranger has faded away into the crowd. The buzzing of Peter.s spider-sense alerts him that they've got company; just as agents of the NYPD SWAT team descend upon him, weapons in hands; the new Spider-Man hastily but clumsily retreats. The agents are curious as to how Peter managed to slip through a police barricade and put himself in the middle of a terrorist jailbreak. Peter tries to explain his presence there but fails miserably. Fortunately, he is saved by the bell when Betty Brant arrives and flashes her Daily Bugle badge to the cops. They walk away without a hitch. ACT 2: A short time later, at the offices of the Daily Bugle, Betty Brant is upset that J. Jonah Jameson has rewritten her story to implicate Spider-Man in the terrorist escape. She goes as far as telling him that he is making a mockery of the Daily Bugle newspaper to satisfy his own misplaced vendetta against Spider-Man. JJJ retaliates and tells her that if she doesn't agree with the editorial policy of his newspaper, she can hit the road; he then storms off, angrier than ever. Robbie Robertson reassures Betty that her story will appear as written and sends her and Peter out on an assignment to interview Senator Stewart Ward, possibly the next president of the United States. As he and Betty are about to leave for the interview, Peter gets a 911 page from his Aunt May. He decides to check in with her. Meanwhile, in the presidential suite of a hotel overlooking the city of Chicago, Senator Stewart Ward contemplates his future...studiously avoiding his past. He starts hearing voices that tell him that "Many have died because of him and that he is a coward for not stopping it all from happening". Furious, he throws the cup he was holding into the television, which blows up. Right away, agents of the secret service storm into the room, thinking it was a gun shot. Ward lies and tells them that he tripped and the glass went flying out of his hand and into the television. What is it that he is trying to hide? ACT 3: At that moment in New York City, Peter has tried reaching Aunt May but to no avail. He resolves from leaping from rooftop to rooftop all the way to the penthouse apartment he shares with his aunt and his wife Mary Jane, who is away on a photo shoot. When he gets to the apartment, he finds May talking on the phone with Anna Watson. Once she hangs up the phone, Peter asks her what the 911 page was for. May replies that it was to inform him that Mary Jane had called earlier to tell him that she was going to be able to spend a few days home since her photo session ended earlier than anticipated. Peter is ecstatic at the news. ACT 4: The next day at JFK International Airport, Peter Parker, accompanied by Jill Stacy, a good friend of Mary Jane, waits for his wife to arrive. MJ finally arrives and jumps straight into Peter's arms; Jill Stacy awkwardly standing nearby. At that same moment, Senator Stewart Ward arrives at the airport and must make his way through a herd of journalists and cameramen. Peter's spider-sense starts buzzing, just as he notices a man lurking in the shadows. Suddenly, the man leaps from the shadow towards Senator Ward; it is the Ranger. Peter grabs MJ and Jill and pushes them out of harm's way. Agents of the Secret Service surround Senator Ward and they all start running away. Standing helplessly nearby, Peter wrestles with his conscience, reliving the death of his Uncle Ben to the hands of a burglar he could have stopped earlier that day. Suddenly, however, the new Spider-Man arrives on the scene and engages into battle with the Ranger. However, the Ranger gets the upper hand and temporarily disables the new wall-crawler. The Ranger then proceeds towards the Senator, ridding his way of the Senator's bodyguards. As he slowly approaches the Senator, Peter Parker confronts him and lands a hard punch on him; just hard enough not to reveal his super-powers. This creates an opportunity to the newly revived Spider-Man to attack the Ranger and start pummeling him silly. Peter stands in awe at the sight of the new Spider-Man, who finally stops his brutal beating when he realizes that Peter is looking at him. The new Spider-Man leaps away, telling Peter to stop following him or he'll be sorry. The Senator is safe and the Ranger is apprehended by the police. As MJ hugs him, Peter wonders about the strange connection between Senator Ward and the Ranger. Story #2
WRITER: Howard Mackie
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