Spider-Man: The Other
Encyclopedia
"The Other" is a comic book
crossover
story arc
published by Marvel Comics
from October 2005
to January 2006
. It was the first Spider-Man crossover since 2001
, and was published in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
#1-4, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #19-22, The Amazing Spider-Man
#525-528.
The acts are divided as follows:
The books continued to be illustrated by their regular artists throughout the crossover:
of the stages of grief.
, Kraven the Hunter
, frogs, Uncle Ben, and spidery imagery. In confronting a new villain calling himself Tracer
who is robbing a bank, Spider-Man suffers a bullet wound to the shoulder. Tracer escapes, while Peter goes to see Dr. Castillo, a doctor recommended to him by Captain America
, who treats Peter's wound and takes a blood test. Dr. Castillo later informs Peter that he is dying, which Peter relates to his wife, Mary Jane Watson-Parker
.
Later, May Parker, who wakes up from a strange dream and, after being yelled at by an emotional Peter, goes to the kitchen and finds Tracer. Tracer tells her that he is a reserve Avenger who is there to watch over her. During their conversation, he tells May that he is a machine god; in the same way that humans created gods, machines created him. Meanwhile, Spider-Man is fighting Tracer's robot followers in the city when his powers start to fail. Morlun confronts him and tells Peter that he would rather watch Peter deteriorate than fight him. Spider-Man returns home and, finding Tracer, attacks him. However, Tracer assesses his health and refuses to fight him in his current state. Peter becomes enraged at Tracer's nonchalant attitude about his plans to kill Aunt May, and strangles Tracer to death. His skin melts away to reveal a machine body. After this, Peter tells Aunt May what is wrong with him.
, who tells him that his condition is not caused by cancer or a viral or bacterial infectious disease. He is informed by Yellowjacket
that the illness was caused by a radiation-based infectious disease. Peter goes to see Bruce Banner
, an expert on radiation-based mutation. Banner tells Peter that at the rate the infection is spreading, a cure could not be developed in time to do any good. Peter then sees the Black Panther
(who had mapped the human genome
fifty years before Western
scientists) on Banner's suggestion, but he also cannot find the source of Peter's illness. Back in New York
, Peter encounters "The Ox" and, thinking him to be Morlun, fights him. In his anger, Peter almost kills him before Daredevil
stops him. Later, Peter goes to Doctor Strange
, who tells him he cannot use his magic to cure Peter and tells Peter to prepare himself for death.
Peter, Mary Jane
and Aunt May
go to Latveria to use Dr. Doom's Time Machine to see past scenes in his life, like the day Richard Parker and Mary Fitzpatrick-Parker left Peter in the care of his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. After returning to Stark Tower, Peter plans a trip to Las Vegas
with Mary Jane, namely in Tony Stark's penthouse suite. As he thinks of what it would be like in Las Vegas, Peter thinks about using his spider-sense to win at blackjack, in the hopes of making enough money for his family after he is gone, but of course, even Vegas would most likely be hit by super villains he would have to fight. In New York, Morlun is looking for Spider-Man, in vain, as Peter and Mary-Jane are in one of Stark's space pods, looking down upon the Earth.
Later, Peter tries to clear his head with web slinging. Not expecting to be attacked, Morlun takes Peter off-guard and a fight ensues that sends Spider-Man flying through J. Jonah Jameson's office. Spider-Man then moves the fight away from civilians and to Empire State University, where he was bitten by the spider that gave him his powers. The fight intensifies as momentum swings from Morlun's side to Spider-Man's side. After an exhausting array of punches and kicks, Spider-Man starts to think that he has the victory after a titanic and epic duel that raged across the city. However, an unscathed Morlun plucks Spider-Man's left eye out and devours it. Morlun then savagely beats Spider-Man into a bloody, unconscious mess.
s take the near-dead Spider-Man to the hospital
, with the Avengers
and Mary Jane Watson
on the way as well when they hear what happened on television, and they learn that Spider-Man's injuries are too severe. Morlun goes to the unconscious Spider-Man's hospital bed to finish him off, but MJ attempts to stop Morlun, who effortlessly throws her across the room and breaks her arm. Peter suddenly wakes up, and using the last of his strength, the savage, animalistic spider-side of himself takes over (granting him sharp teeth and stingers in his wrists), and he attacks Morlun, pinning the villain and impaling his arms to the floor. Peter then bites into Morlun's neck, killing him. Reverting to normal, Peter says goodbye to MJ and falls to the floor, seemingly dead. As Aunt May and Mary Jane break down over the news, Iron Man
takes Spider-Man's body, so that the public will not know that Spider-Man is dead.
Spider-Man is thought to be dead, and Iron Man transports his body away from the hospital. Mary Jane, Aunt May, and Jarvis, Iron Man's butler, meet together to grieve over Spider-Man's/Peter's death. After inspecting the body, Mary Jane talks to both Captain America and Iron Man over how to divulge the secret identity of Spider-Man. Later Wolverine unsuccessfully flirts with MJ in an attempt to deflect her mind from the loss of her husband but to no avail as Mary Jane conceives it as another one of Wolverine's attempts to seduce her into an affair. After being unable to sleep, Mary Jane has a conversation with another New Avengers member, Spider-Woman
(Jessica Drew), who tells him that their powers both derived from the spider, and that she could sense when Peter was going down, this obviously is through the mystical side of their powers. Both Spider-Woman and Spider-Man got their powers via radiation involving some form of spider DNA, and thus their powers are extremely similar. In the middle of the talk, there is an audible crash from the chamber where Peter Parker's body is kept. Mary Jane and the New Avengers arrive at the scene, to find that Peter's body has been hollowed out. Judging by the amount of glass outside the window, Captain America judges that the intruder escaped but not entered through the window. Mary Jane discovers the secret: all that is left is a skin. The scene cuts to a teacher explaining about spiders to her class and how a few rare species can shed their skin and begin anew. As the class goes to leave, we see a cocoon of webbing fastened to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Several days have passed since Peter shed his skin and begins with Iron Man flying around searching for him. Under the Brooklyn Bridge, Peter sleeps inside his cocoon and has a strange dream. A voice tells him he never understood what he was, accusing him of being too scared to truly be a "Spider-Man", only focusing on the human part and neglecting the spider part. Morlun managed to kill the human part of Peter, but the spider in him survived and killed Morlun, saving them both. The voice tells him that he will only be reborn if he accepts both parts, and warns him that Peter could be reborn very differently. Peter's soul agrees and is reborn, outwardly human. He goes to the Avengers Tower and swears to Mary Jane and Aunt May that he will never leave them again. Later in the night, Peter goes to the lab where his husk is and recalls the final warning of the voice: "Are you the man who dreamed of being a spider? Or the spider who dreamed of being a man? Are you the one...or are you the other?" Shaking off the warning, Peter removes the wedding ring from the husk and heads back to bed.
processed). Before the test could continue, Aunt May stopped it and told Peter to "go play." So Peter and Mary Jane go out and swung throughout the city, talking about how they feel about the recent events that have occurred. Meanwhile, in Stark Tower, pirate spider
s have started to eat Peter's old dead body. When Spider-Man returns, he finds the top of Stark Tower covered in webbing. Inside the tower, Spider-Man finds the pirate spiders with Peter's old body. Using Peter's skin as a base, they have formed a body of their own. Engaging in battle, Spider-Man finds that the stingers he used to fight Morlun appear once again, but he is confused because "Spiders don't have stingers!" Before anything else can happen, the pirate Spider punches through the walls of Stark Tower and runs off. Spider-Man chases it down, but then it heads into the sewer. It forms a cocoon in a church. Spider-Man tells the New Avengers he has no idea about it and they want to run some more tests on him.
In a subplot
, Flash Thompson
, awakened from a coma, attempts to get a job at the school where Peter teaches. He is missing some memories, as he still calls Peter "puny Parker" and says that he hasn't seen him since high school.
Peter follows the otherworldly being (who may be “The Other”), only for it to inform him that they are both parts of the same whole, that spider-based cosmic forces are vying for control of his life and that she (the being possesses recognizably female build) is his opposite. Apparently, although a spider-deity known as “The Great Weaver” (also seen and mentioned in Araña
: The Heart of the Spider) thought that Spidey’s death was premature and pulled him back from his fate, others disagreed – and Peter feels his life being pulled in different directions as a result, at the center of a metaphorical spider’s web where he is unsure if he is the predator or the prey.
Peter is still in a state of confusion and is having some sort of an identity crisis after his rebirth. With no time to contemplate the events of days past, Spider-Man rushes to the scene of an explosion where a building was just demolished and people are trapped under the debris. Spider-Man quickly begins to "dig" into the remains of the building, and in his attempt to find survivors, he discovers that his soul was imbued new powers from the dream, including night vision, the ability to feel vibrations through his webbing, and the ability to adhere to objects via the skin on his back, allowing him to securely carry items such as the small girl he found and rescued.
Spider-Man successfully rescues a few survivors and learns that his new powers have appeared because he is now "embracing the Other." Peter then returns home to be with Mary Jane, and they watch the nightly news which portrays Spider-Man as a hero. The issue and this storyline conclude with Tony Stark beginning work on a new costume for Spider-Man.
Each issue had a variant cover drawn by Mike Wieringo, featuring a different incarnation of Spider-Man.
When reversed, translated, and read correctly, it translates as:
"(Top, by Richard Isanove): Rest in peace / The play is over / The fat lady has sung / Death equals all things / Death is everything's final limit / Never despair! / Not all of me will die / It ain't over until it's over / Everything changes, nothing perishes / You have a big piece of spinach in your front teeth.
(Bottom, by Joe Quesada): While I breathe, I hope / Nature does nothing in vain / Look around you, remember that you are mortal / It is said that for a sick man, there is hope as long as there is life / While we have the time, let us do good / I am broken, I am not deflected / Anything said in Latin sounds profound / Get a life / How fearful is this hour / A precipice in front, wolves behind / Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you / For those in misery perhaps better things will follow / We do not fear death, but the thought of death / After the darkness, light / You're from New York, aren't you? / Royally screwed."
in one hardcover
volume in April 2006, with the promotional Joe Quesada "Vitruvian Spidey" cover (ISBN 0-7851-2188-9) and have subsequently been released as softcovers (ISBN 0-7851-1765-2, ISBN 0-7851-2812-3).
. Early on, David dropped hints that Arrow wasn't as innocent as she seemed; she had the ability to extend stingers from her wrists much like Spider-Man and to control spiders. Later on, it was revealed that she was in fact The Other from the previous storyline, and "Arrow" was a play on the word "ero", a genus of pirate spider
.
storyline, Peter's powers developed during "The Other" (and the powers obtained from his incident with the Queen) have disappeared without explanation. In an April 2008 interview regarding "The Other"'s place in continuity, Joe Quesada said that "while we won't be making any direct references to 'The Other,' it's still a part of Spidey history, and it remains to be seen how Pete lost those powers."
story about Spider-Man: The Other, written by Peter David (who had originally written a third of the story), was released on the 16th of November.
Diverging from Amazing Spider-Man #527 (Part 9), Spider-Man rejects the rebirth and attacks the spider that offered it to him. The Venom symbiote
sensed what was happening, and left Mac Gargan to seek out Peter Parker under his cocoon in the Brooklyn Bridge. It seeks him out and takes him over, filling the gap left by an incomplete metamorphosis. The new creature calls itself "Poison" and breaks into Stark Tower
and confronts Aunt May and Mary Jane. His intention is to replicate
himself within Mary Jane. Wolverine
and Luke Cage
fight Poison and are soon defeated, but then Mary Jane convinces him to leave. Poison eventually unearths the body of Gwen Stacy
and replicates, implanting the newly spawned symbiote in Gwen's body, resulting in a female Carnage lookalike.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
from October 2005
2005 in comics
- January :* January 3: Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit, dies at age 87.-April:*April 13:**DC Comics announces the discontinuation of its Humanoids and 2000 A.D. titles....
to January 2006
2006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
. It was the first Spider-Man crossover since 2001
2001 in comics
-Year overall:* Marvel Comics withdraws from the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system for its publications.- January :* January 23: Fred Ray, Superman's primary cover artist of the 1940s, passes away at age 80.- September :...
, and was published in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The title is derived from a trademark self-referential comment often made by Spider-Man , ironic in that Spider-Man is often falsely considered by the general public to be a dangerous vigilante and/or a criminal,...
#1-4, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #19-22, The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#525-528.
Publication history
The storyline was divided into four months, or "acts", and each month's issues had a different cover tint. The story is in 12 parts. The first act has red tinted covers, the second has blue tinted covers, the third has gray-black covers, and the final act has orange-yellow tinted covers.The acts are divided as follows:
- Act One, written by Peter DavidPeter DavidPeter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
, is told in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #19 and The Amazing Spider-Man #525. - Act Two, written by Reginald HudlinReginald HudlinReginald Alan Hudlin is an American writer and film director.-Biography:Hudlin is the son of Helen , a teacher, and Warrington W. Hudlin, Sr., an insurance executive and teacher...
, is told in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #20 and The Amazing Spider-Man #526. - Act Three, written by J. Michael StraczynskiJ. Michael StraczynskiJoseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
, is told in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #21 and The Amazing Spider-Man #527. - Act Four/Finale is told in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #22 and The Amazing Spider-Man #528; all three titles were written by their regular writers.
The books continued to be illustrated by their regular artists throughout the crossover:
- Mike WieringoMike WieringoMichael Lance "Mike" Wieringo , who sometimes signed his work under the name Ringo, was an American comic book artist best known for his work on DC Comics' The Flash and Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four....
in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. - Pat LeePat LeePatrick "Pat" C.K. Lee is a Canadian comic book artist, publisher, former President and co-founder of the now defunct Dreamwave Productions.-Biography:...
in Marvel Knights Spider-Man.;) - Mike Deodato, Jr. in The Amazing Spider-Man.
Plot synopsis
The first five chapters loosely followed the Kübler-Ross modelKübler-Ross model
The Kübler-Ross model, commonly known as The Five Stages of Grief, was first introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying....
of the stages of grief.
Act One
Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man) has recently been having black outs, dizzy spells, and enigmatic dreams, which includes MorlunMorlun
Morlun is a fictional comic book supervillain in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe, and a foe of Spider-Man. Morlun first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2, #30 , created by writer J. Michael Straczynski and penciler John Romita, Jr....
, Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter is a fictional character, a supervillain and enemy of Spider-Man appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Kraven's name is Sergei Kravinoff. He also appears as Xraven, with white-grey skin and red eyes, possessing the powers of X-Men. He is the half-brother of Dmitri...
, frogs, Uncle Ben, and spidery imagery. In confronting a new villain calling himself Tracer
Tracer (Marvel Comics)
Tracer is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe, in which he is an enemy of Spider-Man. His first appearance was in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1.-Fictional character biography:...
who is robbing a bank, Spider-Man suffers a bullet wound to the shoulder. Tracer escapes, while Peter goes to see Dr. Castillo, a doctor recommended to him by Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, who treats Peter's wound and takes a blood test. Dr. Castillo later informs Peter that he is dying, which Peter relates to his wife, Mary Jane Watson-Parker
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
.
Later, May Parker, who wakes up from a strange dream and, after being yelled at by an emotional Peter, goes to the kitchen and finds Tracer. Tracer tells her that he is a reserve Avenger who is there to watch over her. During their conversation, he tells May that he is a machine god; in the same way that humans created gods, machines created him. Meanwhile, Spider-Man is fighting Tracer's robot followers in the city when his powers start to fail. Morlun confronts him and tells Peter that he would rather watch Peter deteriorate than fight him. Spider-Man returns home and, finding Tracer, attacks him. However, Tracer assesses his health and refuses to fight him in his current state. Peter becomes enraged at Tracer's nonchalant attitude about his plans to kill Aunt May, and strangles Tracer to death. His skin melts away to reveal a machine body. After this, Peter tells Aunt May what is wrong with him.
Act Two
Peter goes to see Mister FantasticMister Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 ....
, who tells him that his condition is not caused by cancer or a viral or bacterial infectious disease. He is informed by Yellowjacket
Henry Pym
Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym is a fictional character that appears in publications by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber and penciler Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #27...
that the illness was caused by a radiation-based infectious disease. Peter goes to see Bruce Banner
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
, an expert on radiation-based mutation. Banner tells Peter that at the rate the infection is spreading, a cure could not be developed in time to do any good. Peter then sees the Black Panther
Black Panther (comics)
The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
(who had mapped the human genome
Human genome
The human genome is the genome of Homo sapiens, which is stored on 23 chromosome pairs plus the small mitochondrial DNA. 22 of the 23 chromosomes are autosomal chromosome pairs, while the remaining pair is sex-determining...
fifty years before Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
scientists) on Banner's suggestion, but he also cannot find the source of Peter's illness. Back in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Peter encounters "The Ox" and, thinking him to be Morlun, fights him. In his anger, Peter almost kills him before Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
stops him. Later, Peter goes to Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
, who tells him he cannot use his magic to cure Peter and tells Peter to prepare himself for death.
Peter, Mary Jane
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
and Aunt May
Aunt May
May Reilly Parker-Jameson, commonly known as Aunt May, is a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared as May Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15...
go to Latveria to use Dr. Doom's Time Machine to see past scenes in his life, like the day Richard Parker and Mary Fitzpatrick-Parker left Peter in the care of his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. After returning to Stark Tower, Peter plans a trip to Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
with Mary Jane, namely in Tony Stark's penthouse suite. As he thinks of what it would be like in Las Vegas, Peter thinks about using his spider-sense to win at blackjack, in the hopes of making enough money for his family after he is gone, but of course, even Vegas would most likely be hit by super villains he would have to fight. In New York, Morlun is looking for Spider-Man, in vain, as Peter and Mary-Jane are in one of Stark's space pods, looking down upon the Earth.
Later, Peter tries to clear his head with web slinging. Not expecting to be attacked, Morlun takes Peter off-guard and a fight ensues that sends Spider-Man flying through J. Jonah Jameson's office. Spider-Man then moves the fight away from civilians and to Empire State University, where he was bitten by the spider that gave him his powers. The fight intensifies as momentum swings from Morlun's side to Spider-Man's side. After an exhausting array of punches and kicks, Spider-Man starts to think that he has the victory after a titanic and epic duel that raged across the city. However, an unscathed Morlun plucks Spider-Man's left eye out and devours it. Morlun then savagely beats Spider-Man into a bloody, unconscious mess.
Act Three
Before Morlun can kill Spider-Man, the police show up and Morlun leaves Spider-Man's bloody, unconscious body, planning to finally drain his life force when the hero is alone. The paramedicParamedic
A paramedic is a healthcare professional that works in emergency medical situations. Paramedics provide advanced levels of care for medical emergencies and trauma. The majority of paramedics are based in the field in ambulances, emergency response vehicles, or in specialist mobile units such as...
s take the near-dead Spider-Man to the hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
, with the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
and Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
on the way as well when they hear what happened on television, and they learn that Spider-Man's injuries are too severe. Morlun goes to the unconscious Spider-Man's hospital bed to finish him off, but MJ attempts to stop Morlun, who effortlessly throws her across the room and breaks her arm. Peter suddenly wakes up, and using the last of his strength, the savage, animalistic spider-side of himself takes over (granting him sharp teeth and stingers in his wrists), and he attacks Morlun, pinning the villain and impaling his arms to the floor. Peter then bites into Morlun's neck, killing him. Reverting to normal, Peter says goodbye to MJ and falls to the floor, seemingly dead. As Aunt May and Mary Jane break down over the news, Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
takes Spider-Man's body, so that the public will not know that Spider-Man is dead.
Spider-Man is thought to be dead, and Iron Man transports his body away from the hospital. Mary Jane, Aunt May, and Jarvis, Iron Man's butler, meet together to grieve over Spider-Man's/Peter's death. After inspecting the body, Mary Jane talks to both Captain America and Iron Man over how to divulge the secret identity of Spider-Man. Later Wolverine unsuccessfully flirts with MJ in an attempt to deflect her mind from the loss of her husband but to no avail as Mary Jane conceives it as another one of Wolverine's attempts to seduce her into an affair. After being unable to sleep, Mary Jane has a conversation with another New Avengers member, Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman is the codename of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Marvel Comics' then-publisher Stan Lee, said in 1978, shortly after Spider-Woman's debut in Marvel Spotlight #32 Spider-Woman is the codename of several fictional characters...
(Jessica Drew), who tells him that their powers both derived from the spider, and that she could sense when Peter was going down, this obviously is through the mystical side of their powers. Both Spider-Woman and Spider-Man got their powers via radiation involving some form of spider DNA, and thus their powers are extremely similar. In the middle of the talk, there is an audible crash from the chamber where Peter Parker's body is kept. Mary Jane and the New Avengers arrive at the scene, to find that Peter's body has been hollowed out. Judging by the amount of glass outside the window, Captain America judges that the intruder escaped but not entered through the window. Mary Jane discovers the secret: all that is left is a skin. The scene cuts to a teacher explaining about spiders to her class and how a few rare species can shed their skin and begin anew. As the class goes to leave, we see a cocoon of webbing fastened to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Several days have passed since Peter shed his skin and begins with Iron Man flying around searching for him. Under the Brooklyn Bridge, Peter sleeps inside his cocoon and has a strange dream. A voice tells him he never understood what he was, accusing him of being too scared to truly be a "Spider-Man", only focusing on the human part and neglecting the spider part. Morlun managed to kill the human part of Peter, but the spider in him survived and killed Morlun, saving them both. The voice tells him that he will only be reborn if he accepts both parts, and warns him that Peter could be reborn very differently. Peter's soul agrees and is reborn, outwardly human. He goes to the Avengers Tower and swears to Mary Jane and Aunt May that he will never leave them again. Later in the night, Peter goes to the lab where his husk is and recalls the final warning of the voice: "Are you the man who dreamed of being a spider? Or the spider who dreamed of being a man? Are you the one...or are you the other?" Shaking off the warning, Peter removes the wedding ring from the husk and heads back to bed.
Act Four
Peter gets a check up from Stark. As it turns out, Peter's wounds from his old enemies have been healed, including his missing left eye, and even the tonsils he lost in fourth grade have reappeared. As Stark puts it, Peter's "odometer had been reset" (this would be the first time he had an exoskeletonExoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
processed). Before the test could continue, Aunt May stopped it and told Peter to "go play." So Peter and Mary Jane go out and swung throughout the city, talking about how they feel about the recent events that have occurred. Meanwhile, in Stark Tower, pirate spider
Pirate spider
The family Mimetidae, commonly called pirate spiders, are spiders which typically feed on other spiders.The family Mimetidae contains roughly 200 species divided among 12 genera, of which Mimetus and Ero are the most common. Mimetids are usually yellow and brown and are usually 3 to 7 mm long...
s have started to eat Peter's old dead body. When Spider-Man returns, he finds the top of Stark Tower covered in webbing. Inside the tower, Spider-Man finds the pirate spiders with Peter's old body. Using Peter's skin as a base, they have formed a body of their own. Engaging in battle, Spider-Man finds that the stingers he used to fight Morlun appear once again, but he is confused because "Spiders don't have stingers!" Before anything else can happen, the pirate Spider punches through the walls of Stark Tower and runs off. Spider-Man chases it down, but then it heads into the sewer. It forms a cocoon in a church. Spider-Man tells the New Avengers he has no idea about it and they want to run some more tests on him.
In a subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
, Flash Thompson
Flash Thompson
Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a supporting character in Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 ....
, awakened from a coma, attempts to get a job at the school where Peter teaches. He is missing some memories, as he still calls Peter "puny Parker" and says that he hasn't seen him since high school.
Peter follows the otherworldly being (who may be “The Other”), only for it to inform him that they are both parts of the same whole, that spider-based cosmic forces are vying for control of his life and that she (the being possesses recognizably female build) is his opposite. Apparently, although a spider-deity known as “The Great Weaver” (also seen and mentioned in Araña
Anya Corazon
Anya Sofia Corazon is a fictional half Mexican and half Puerto Rican superheroine in the . She formerly went by the codename Araña, but is currently known as Spider-Girl.-Publication history:...
: The Heart of the Spider) thought that Spidey’s death was premature and pulled him back from his fate, others disagreed – and Peter feels his life being pulled in different directions as a result, at the center of a metaphorical spider’s web where he is unsure if he is the predator or the prey.
Peter is still in a state of confusion and is having some sort of an identity crisis after his rebirth. With no time to contemplate the events of days past, Spider-Man rushes to the scene of an explosion where a building was just demolished and people are trapped under the debris. Spider-Man quickly begins to "dig" into the remains of the building, and in his attempt to find survivors, he discovers that his soul was imbued new powers from the dream, including night vision, the ability to feel vibrations through his webbing, and the ability to adhere to objects via the skin on his back, allowing him to securely carry items such as the small girl he found and rescued.
Spider-Man successfully rescues a few survivors and learns that his new powers have appeared because he is now "embracing the Other." Peter then returns home to be with Mary Jane, and they watch the nightly news which portrays Spider-Man as a hero. The issue and this storyline conclude with Tony Stark beginning work on a new costume for Spider-Man.
Variant covers
- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 - Classic outfit.
- Marvel Knights Spider-Man #19 - Black, symbioteSymbiote (comics)In the Marvel Comics universe, The Symbiote is a specific parasitic species of extraterrestrial organism...
outfit. - The Amazing Spider-Man #525 - Ben ReillyBen ReillyBenjamin "Ben" Reilly is a fictional character in the . He is a clone of Peter Parker , and is prominent in the "Clone Saga" story arc...
as Spider-Man. - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2 - The "Amazing Bag-Man" costume, consisting of a Fantastic FourFantastic FourThe Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
outfit with a paper bag over the head. - Marvel Knights Spider-Man #20 - The Scarlet SpiderScarlet SpiderScarlet Spider is a fictional character who appeared in the Marvel Comics series Spider-Man. His costume was designed by Tom Lyle. The identity of the Scarlet Spider has been used by several characters: Ben Reilly, Peter Parker , Joe Wade , a group of three Michael Van Patrick clones working with...
costume, as worn by Ben Reilly, and briefly by Peter Parker. - The Amazing Spider-Man #526 - The six-armed Spider-Man, from The Amazing Spider-Man #100-102.
- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3 - The "Cosmic Spider-Man"/Captain UniverseCaptain UniverseCaptain Universe is a disembodied superhero in Marvel Comics' universe who was created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden, and first appeared in Micronauts vol. 1 #8. It is the guardian and protector of Eternity...
outfit. - Marvel Knights Spider-Man #21 - The "Spider-Armor", from Web of Spider-ManWeb of Spider-ManWeb of Spider-Man is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran for 12 issues between 2009 and 2010.-Volume 1:The first...
#100. - The Amazing Spider-Man #527 - Spider-Man 2099Spider-Man 2099Spider-Man 2099 is a fictional comic book superhero, created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi in 1992 for Marvel Comics' Marvel 2099 line. His secret alter ego is Miguel O'Hara, a brilliant geneticist living in New York in the year 2099 A.D...
- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4 - The outfit Peter Parker wore in Amazing FantasyAmazing FantasyAmazing Fantasy is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics from 1961 through 1962, and revived in 1995 and in the 2000s. It is best known as the title that introduced the popular superhero character Spider-Man in 1962...
#15 when he tried out for wrestling. - Marvel Knights Spider-Man #22 - Peter Parker in street clothes, with his costume visible under his open shirt.
- The Amazing Spider-Man #528 - Spider-HamSpider-HamSpider-Ham is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic funny animal parody of Marvel Comics' Spider-Man, created by Tom DeFalco and Mark Armstrong....
, as voted for by retailers and fans. - In addition, The Amazing Spider-Man #529's third printing featured the new "Iron Spidey" costume.
Promotional material
As in Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, there is Latin written backwards on Joe Quesada's promotional image for the crossover.When reversed, translated, and read correctly, it translates as:
"(Top, by Richard Isanove): Rest in peace / The play is over / The fat lady has sung / Death equals all things / Death is everything's final limit / Never despair! / Not all of me will die / It ain't over until it's over / Everything changes, nothing perishes / You have a big piece of spinach in your front teeth.
(Bottom, by Joe Quesada): While I breathe, I hope / Nature does nothing in vain / Look around you, remember that you are mortal / It is said that for a sick man, there is hope as long as there is life / While we have the time, let us do good / I am broken, I am not deflected / Anything said in Latin sounds profound / Get a life / How fearful is this hour / A precipice in front, wolves behind / Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you / For those in misery perhaps better things will follow / We do not fear death, but the thought of death / After the darkness, light / You're from New York, aren't you? / Royally screwed."
Collected editions
All twelve issues were collectedTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
in one hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
volume in April 2006, with the promotional Joe Quesada "Vitruvian Spidey" cover (ISBN 0-7851-2188-9) and have subsequently been released as softcovers (ISBN 0-7851-1765-2, ISBN 0-7851-2812-3).
Miss Arrow
Peter David continued The Other in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man with the character of Miss Arrow, a nurse that attended Midtown High School and became romantically involved with Flash ThompsonFlash Thompson
Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a supporting character in Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 ....
. Early on, David dropped hints that Arrow wasn't as innocent as she seemed; she had the ability to extend stingers from her wrists much like Spider-Man and to control spiders. Later on, it was revealed that she was in fact The Other from the previous storyline, and "Arrow" was a play on the word "ero", a genus of pirate spider
Pirate spider
The family Mimetidae, commonly called pirate spiders, are spiders which typically feed on other spiders.The family Mimetidae contains roughly 200 species divided among 12 genera, of which Mimetus and Ero are the most common. Mimetids are usually yellow and brown and are usually 3 to 7 mm long...
.
Continuity
During the course of the One More DaySpider-Man: One More Day
"One More Day" is a four-part, 2007 comic book crossover storyline, connecting the six main Spider-Man series concurrently published by Marvel Comics at the time. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada, with art by Quesada, this story arc concludes the fallout of Spider-Man's actions...
storyline, Peter's powers developed during "The Other" (and the powers obtained from his incident with the Queen) have disappeared without explanation. In an April 2008 interview regarding "The Other"'s place in continuity, Joe Quesada said that "while we won't be making any direct references to 'The Other,' it's still a part of Spidey history, and it remains to be seen how Pete lost those powers."
What If?
A What If?What If (comics)
What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...
story about Spider-Man: The Other, written by Peter David (who had originally written a third of the story), was released on the 16th of November.
Diverging from Amazing Spider-Man #527 (Part 9), Spider-Man rejects the rebirth and attacks the spider that offered it to him. The Venom symbiote
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
sensed what was happening, and left Mac Gargan to seek out Peter Parker under his cocoon in the Brooklyn Bridge. It seeks him out and takes him over, filling the gap left by an incomplete metamorphosis. The new creature calls itself "Poison" and breaks into Stark Tower
Stark Tower
The Stark Tower Complex is a fictional high-rise building complex which appears in publications by Marvel Comics. Located in Manhattan, New York City, the complex is named after its owner Tony Stark who is the alter ego of the superhero Iron Man. The structure is composed of a 93-story Main Tower...
and confronts Aunt May and Mary Jane. His intention is to replicate
Replicate
Replicate may refer to:* In biology, replication is a process by which genetic material, a cell, or an organism reproduces or makes an exact copy or copies...
himself within Mary Jane. Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
and Luke Cage
Luke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
fight Poison and are soon defeated, but then Mary Jane convinces him to leave. Poison eventually unearths the body of Gwen Stacy
Gwen Stacy
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy appears as a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 ....
and replicates, implanting the newly spawned symbiote in Gwen's body, resulting in a female Carnage lookalike.
External links
- New Spider-Man Costume Revealed??, NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
- I've Been Better, a critical analysis of The Other