At a demonstration on radiation, high school student Peter Parker was bitten by an irradiated spider from which he gained the arachnid's incredible abilities. When a burglar killed his beloved Uncle Ben, a grief-stricken Peter vowed to use his great powers in the service of his fellow man, because he learned an invaluable lesson: with great power there must also come great responsibility.

PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN

#156

Starring:

Peter Parker, aka SPIDER-MAN

Norman Osborn (in a flashback capacity)

Alison Mongrain (in a flashback capacity)

Mary Jane Watson-Parker

Aunt May Parker

Previously:

After having just defeated Mendel Stromm, better known as the Robot Master, Peter Parker was suddenly alerted via a pager that his wife, Mary Jane, was in child labor. Leaving his clone Ben Reilly, who was Spider-Man at the time and had assisted him in the battle, to query the downed villain, Peter rushed off to be with "MJ." Unfortunately, immediately after Peter's departure Ben was greeted by Stromm's employer--Norman Osborn, better known as the Green Goblin. He proceeded to knock Ben unconscious, and as for Peter, as he arrived at the hospital, he was met by a "doctor," who drugged him at the first chance. As this happened, several rooms away, MJ delivered her child, only to have it be a "stillborn." Unbeknownst to her, the "nurse," Alison Mongrain, an employee of Osborn's, secretly snatched the child--alive and well--from under the sheets and prepared her to be given to Osborn. As for Peter, he soon awoke in a Spider-Man costume to come face-to-face with Norman, who he then proceeded to duke it out with in a legendary clash for the ages. Lives of the friends that Peter had known all his life were threatened, but in the end, it was the life-ending sacrifice from Ben Reilly that helped Peter save the day, and realize that he had not been a clone after all. Peter Parker as Spider-Man was back. This story takes place several months after the events in Amazing Spider-Man #491 (50)

The Face On The Milk Carton--Part One of Ten

"Confirmation"

Some Years Ago

Orvieto, Tuscany, Italy

Norman Osborn sipped on his daquieri and looked at the aging female sitting across from him.

"Well, Ms. Mongrain?"

The woman walked to the back and produced a small bundle, which consisted of an infant that was sound asleep.

"Hmm," he thought...with a deceitful look on his face that nearly scared the wits out of Mongrain. Months ago, when she had agreed to steal away the Parkers' newborn for Osborn, she had figured that would be the end of her association with this notorious criminal mastermind and psychopath. However, that had not been the case, as while she had been enjoying her "life of freedom" in Italy, nursing this child which she figured she would soon put up for adoption, none other than her former employer showed up at her residence, all-too-casually, asking for a drink.

"And how have you been, my dear?" asked Osborn. To be perfectly honest...he looked bored. She couldn't tell if he was adressing the infant or her, so she stayed silent.

Osborn pinched the infant's cheek, causing it to cry. "Aww, there there, Ms. Parker. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm only going to place you in good hands...someone who will be quite desirous of your presence, I'm sure." He scooped up the bundle and looked at Alison for a moment, then produced a stack of hundred dollar bills, placing them on the table. "For your trouble, Ms. Mongrain."

He then turned away and left the villa on foot as she stared at the stack of bills next to Osborn's unfinished daquieri, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

That was the last time, before her dying breath where she would attempt to confess her sin to Mary Jane Parker, that she would ever see Norman Osborn.

Now

Manhattan, NY

The traffic had been stopped for hours on 46th, 47th, 48th, 49th, and other streets intersecting Broadway, and on the sidewalks, people had stopped to stare...with fascination, repulsion, and amusement. The cops ran in pursuit...but every time they got close...there was something within them that just held them back. Deep down inside, the task force knew that they would have to face their innermost fears if they got too close or attempted to reel the offender in.

Nearly 10 robberies had been committed on that same morning...and all those whom were victims were male. There was indeed a pattern.

The lead officer, who had been in hot pursuit of the thug, halted and regrouped with his men, ordering them to draw.

"Aim for the...well...you know."

His men gave him strange looks, but he silenced them with one of his own, indicating that he meant business.

They lined up, pistols cocked at the ready, and then the officer gave the word.

As they all fired for his rear end, to their amazement, he seemed to anticipate the gunshots and performed some amazing aerial acrobatic moves, dodging each and every bullet till he was out of range. Somehow, he managed to gymnastically maneuver his way to a rooftop...and then, at that point, they got the feeling that the guy had just broken home free.

As the criminal continued, he stopped, looking down and back at the pissed off cops, grinned and yelled, "YEAH!!! JUSTICE FOR NUDIES!!!!"

Unfortunately, that was his mistake.

The streaker with a felonious heart turned around to be greeted by a powerful kick in his bare nards.

He crumpled to the ground of the rooftop, where a blue and red figure, the source of the kick, came down to stand over him. He shook his head.

"And you couldn't rob a clothing store because...?" queried the costumed guy.

He then grabbed the bag that the streaker had been hoisting with him, holding the contents of his heists, and tossed it to the bewildered five-o. Then he pointed to the downed man and asked, "Want me to toss him down there too, where you guys could catch him?"

The force immediately protested against such an act, and with that, Spider-Man knew that his work here was done. He fired a web onto a building and swung into the daylight, brainstorming in regards to the headline that would grace the papers tomorrow about this one.

As he web-swung through Manhattan, stopping more traffic and eliciting stares, shouts, and other indications of excitement and amazement, he replayed what had just happened this morning. Running through it in his head made him wince, as he pieced together the bits and pieces he had seen of this guy. He had watched him for a while, trying to figure out a way to accost him without physically having to touch him, yet catch him off guard at the same time. So the guy decided to streak through Manhattan--ok, typical. But robbing stores where only males worked? Must have taken advantage of the male phobia of not desiring to touch another nude man. People stopping and staring, but not doing anything? Same reason. Being able to avoid the gunshots? He had to have been a gymnast.

But he couldn't avoid me, he thought, smiling under his mask. However, the smile quickly faded when Spider-Man realized what this really meant.

Recently, it had seemed that Peter's enemies as of late, the major villains, especially--had all been getting more and more dramatic and then in the end turning out to be really lame or having no substance behind their threats. He wondered what was up. Vulture making ominous threats of attacks after a petty robbery, and then being late for a "showdown?" Doc Ock threatening him with some "John Hancock" device. The Green Goblin trying to "defeat him by getting Spider-Man to kill him?" The Rhino being a lame thug for Hammerhead's crew, who it turned out Hammerhead pitted against Spider-Man just to get rid of them anyway? The only villain that had really challenged him was Morlun, and according to Ezekiel, a man who had appeared out of the blue telling him about Spider-myths and then had seemingly died in the final battle against the creature, there were more evil spider-enemies to come.

Months had passed, and none had showed. He could safely assume that all of that was indeed just a hoax. But this was one of the things that upset him as well. Petty thugs committing crimes that made him crack up to the point where he wondered if he would be able to successfully thwart the baddie without dying of laughter. Was it all becoming too much for him?

Maybe he needed a sidekick.

The Terrifying Termite.

Ehh...no.

Albany, NY

"OK, cut!"

She relaxed, and looked at the source of the voice, a plump, middle-aged man sitting in a director's chair.

Mary Jane Parker, the wife of Peter Parker, had finally cinched a movie deal and was now in the process of shooting for that particular film, a romantic comedy entitled Angels from Hell. She played the best friend of the lead character, a role which was just fine by her, as this was her first "real" movie and she had absolutely no idea what to expect. This particular scene took place in a mall, where MJ's character took the lead character shopping for a dinner date with her love interest.

As MJ sipped on bottled water, she stood up and looked in the crowd of people staring at the ongoing commotion taking place in this very public atmosphere. She found the person she was looking for, and grinned as she walked off set and received her with a hug.

"So, Aunt May," she asked, embracing the old woman. "How was I?"

As May pulled back, she looked at MJ and smiled, only giving her a thumbs-up sign. "Not bad. So...what's supposed to happen next?"

MJ thought about it...and then she seemed visibly shaken in response to May's question. She suddenly darkened and took a seat on a faraway bench, away from the set (and from prying eyes). Tears then began falling from her eyes.

Aunt May was shocked. "Why...Mary Jane...what's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

MJ shook her head. "May..." she began, but faltered.

"Yes, dear?" she asked.

MJ shook her head again, getting worse by the second. "Not you..." she said.

It took Aunt May a moment or two before she realized what MJ was talking about.

"Oh," she whispered, realization dawning upon her. She quietly took hold of her nephew's wife's hand, and the younger woman clasped it for strength, and then she wiped some tears with her free hand and spoke.

"I'm supposed to be a single mother...who raises her child up in such a loving manner...and then in this next scene..." she wept...and she stopped, tearing up again.

"What is it, Mary Jane?" asked May gently. "What happens to your character?"

MJ croaked back tears. "She dies in a car accident...and in the end, the lead character takes in her daughter and marries the man my character wanted her to hook up with," she wept, and after this confession she began to openly sob, hugging May and dampening her collar immediately.

"There, there, my love," soothed Aunt May. Then she steeled herself, hoping that what she was about to say wouldn't hurt MJ too hard. "Listen...Mary Jane...this may be hard for you to accept...but the loss of your daughter is something you may have to put in the past now. And no, I don't believe she's dead."

MJ looked at May, stopping her sobbing momentarily. "You really think so?" she asked, almost childishly.

May nodded firmly. "Of course, my dear. Norman Osborn may be many things, but even he is not evil enough to kill a child. Trust me. However...the girl is probably approaching three years old by now...and whoever is raising her is probably doing so with all the love and care that the girl truly deserves."

"But she's my child," retorted MJ, now getting annoyed. "What's so bad about being able to get my own child back?"
May looked gravely away from MJ. "I know this might sound hard for your to accept, Mary Jane...but to take a child away from those parents that properly raised her...woudl be to open up another can of worms...legally, emotionally, and otherwise. Ask yourself...can you or Peter afford to deal with such a thing like this in your lives? Not having a child, because I'm sure you could handle that. Rather, dealing with all the hurdles that are necessary to win her back?"
MJ looked away, not having an answer. Because deep down inside, she knew May was right.

Manhattan

As Peter swung through the air, he wondered if he should drop MJ a call from his cellphone. Before he could speak, he heard the phone ring from within his utility belt, and he quickly fiddled around in mid-air to grab his phone.

That was a huge mistake for him, however. His Spider-Sense went off just as he was fiddling.

He looked up in the air only to have his head crash into something, and his webline broke.

Spider-Man began to fall, and realized he had been attacked in the form of a huge, obese person falling on him from above...probably from a plane or a helicopter. Whichever it was, there was no way he could tell as right now his only concern was getting off this guy.

But there was no such luck, as the guy had wrapped Spidey in a bear hug. As Peter fought to get the guy off him, he looked to the ground and realized he had only one hope in the short amount of time he had.

He freed one arm and fired all his webbing to the ground to create a cushion, as best as he could, to make the impact minimal...for him.

As he hit the pavement below, in an alleyway no less, he immediately fell unconscious, but before he blacked out, the bounce off the pavement made him realize that he would live. In short, the webbing had worked.

Hours later...

Peter awoke, feeling instant pain all around his body. His back felt like it was broken, and his ribs (as usual) were toast. He tried to get up, and staggered to his feet. At least he could walk, he thought. He looked around for the fat guy that had caused this, but didn't find a sign of him. So the guy had first called Peter's cellphone to distract him, and then, when it was too late for Peter, had toppled on him--in air. An extremely risky and dangerous thing to do, but he had succeeded. Perhaps it would be best, thought Peter, if like car drivers, he did not talk on the cellphone and swing at the same time. Even a spider-sense wasn't of any use this time.

As he surveyed his surroundings, he suddenly realized he was not alone. He walked a few steps forward to find two homeless men excitedly snapping pictures of him. For a moment, he let them have their fun, and then a breeze passed through the alley and it brushed Peter's face.

His face...

Putting a hand to his cheek, Peter immediatley felt bare skin. Then he acted. He lunged at the two men and grabbed their cameras, crushing one in each hand. Then he grabbed each man by their coats and looked at them in the eye, jaw gritted. "Did you--"
One of them shook his head and babbled. "No, Mr. Spider-Man sir, it wasn't us, sir!!! We came and we found you this way!!! Honest-to-God, sir, I swear on what little I have..." with that, the guy began breaking down. Peter let him go, abruptly realizing how evil he must have seemed to this guy. He turned away.

"Look...I'm sorry. Do me a favor though, guys. Try not to make any money off of my face or this incident...and I will make sure you guys are compensated for your trouble."

He didn't hear any affirmation, only footsteps of men running away. Peter sighed, upset and now lost. He had no idea how long he had been out, and who else had been there besides those two guys. Had anyone seen him like this? Without the mask? If so--

Interrupting his thoughts, a box flew down from the abandoned building that formed the back wall, or the "dead end," of the alley. It was of cardboard, and his Spider-Sense didn't go off immediately, so he opened it up to find his mask inside, slightly damaged--probably from the fall he had experienced earlier. He immediately put it on. Was this someone's idea of a sick joke?

He looked up to find a shadowy figure looking down at him. "Don't worry, Mr. Parker. Your secret is safe is with me," he declared. Then he walked away, laughing.

As Peter tried to climb up the wall, he felt a shooting pain in his back, and stopped the chase.

This indeed, was a nice setup. What was he going to do? How many people knew? Who was that guy? And most importantly, how did he get his cellphone number?

Too many questions, he thought, groaning and sinking down in the back of the alleyway.

TO BE CONTINUED in Peter Parker: Spider Man #157 -- San Gimignano