Spider-Man: Back in Black
Encyclopedia
"Spider-Man: Back in Black" is a five-part 2007 Marvel Comics
storyline written by J. Michael Straczynski
and illustrated by Ron Garney
(penciler), Bill Reinhold
(inker), Matt Milla (colorist) and VC's Cory Petit (letterer). All parts were published in the comic book series The Amazing Spider-Man
#539-543. The story takes place immediately after Marvel's Civil War
event and what happened to Spider-Man
, Mary Jane Watson
, and Aunt May
in after the event. The story is about Spider-Man's anger and determination to find Aunt May's shooter. Hence, he wears the black suit, modeled after the alien symbiote
, to emphasize his humorless aggression. He is often seen in action without his mask on, as well, showing his rage and thirst for vengeance.
is given a message by a police officer, Charlie. He quotes Euripides
, who wrote "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.
" (from Medea
, citing it as his favorite saying).
MJ meets Peter in Times Square
, and Peter tells her to do anything she can to keep Aunt May alive while Peter will find evidence of the assassin. He swings away, "to do what I do best . . . I'm going to hurt someone." He visits the shooter's perch -- restraining a police officer with a thick coat of webbing. Inside, he finds a sniper scope there. He leaves without freeing the police officer. He then breaks up an illegal weapons sale (still in the same "civilian" clothing since the shooting) and interrogates the criminals about the unusual sniper scope. When a gun-runner hesitates to answer Peter correctly, Peter breaks the mans hand in his grip ("It snaps like dry wood"). MJ visits Aunt May in the hospital and a doctor tells her that May's not going to make it. Peter swears that he won't stop until he finds who is responsible, and puts on his black suit. "I will find them. And when I do----I'm going to kill them".
in the case of Gwen Stacy
, Peter Parker's first true love). The dealer then tells Peter that the assassin who purchased the scope was named Jake Martino. Peter (still in the black suit) looks for Jake Martino in a police laptop and finds his address. He goes to Martino's apartment but Martino has already left. The apartment owner talks to him, tells him two men were looking for Martino as well, and tells him that Martino has left for the subways. Spider-Man confronts Martino, beats him brutally, breaks his arm, unmasks again, then questions him about who hired him ("I'm going to kill you. AFTER you tell me who hired you. Tell me now, and I'll end this fast. Hesitate, drag this out...and I'll show you depths and levels of pain you've never even DREAMED of.") Just when Martino is about to tell the name, he is shot through the chest. Peter attaches one of his spider-tracers
to the second assassin before he escapes. The Police arrive to help Martino and Spider-Man goes along with Martino's ambulance, which takes them to the same hospital where Aunt May is staying. MJ meets Peter and tells him that May's not going to make it. Martino succumbs to his injuries. Spider-Man finds the second shooter, who appears to be calling someone. Peter webs up the mouth of the assassin and hears who is on the phone. He realizes the caller is Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. "You're going to see a lot more people being taken to the hospital before this day is out."
Charlie visits Fisk again and Fisk asks if Charlie could do something for him. Charlie agrees, as long as the request doesn't break any rules. The Kingpin replies that it's beyond the rules, and then destroys his table, which is stacked with millions of dollars in cash - a king's ransom. He tells the police officer to share it with his fellow policemen, and Charlie releases Fisk. Fisk then asks Charlie to bring his traditional clothes.
Peter ties the second shooter, Jim, in a sewer where he is attacked by rats. Peter threatens the shooter by talking about the food chain. Jim tells he'll do anything and Peter tells him that he could let no one get close to his family.
Peter travels to the hospital and transfuses some of his blood to May to cure her. He then goes to the prison to confront the Kingpin."End of the road, Fisk. You. Me. Right now."
Peter visits May, and MJ tells him that they have to let May get transferred to a less expensive hospital. Peter says his reason for placing May in that hospital is that it is the best, but agrees that they can no longer afford it."I guess all we can do is wait for the inevitable...I suppose that's all any of us can wait for."
After the nurses complete a blood test for May, Peter steals the report and sees that it did not work. A second report is given to a police officer named Delint. They have a short conversation, at the same time the head nurse talks with Delint about the missing first report, radiation in May's blood, and them paying in cash. She also tells her opinion of the story, then tells Delint that MJ is still upstairs. Delint goes up to May's room and Peter, sensing him, hides. MJ opens the door for Delint (who reveals himself as Lieutenant Detective Robert Delint) and the lights go out. Peter appears and knocks the officer out.
The two realize that Delint is crooked and therefore they have to transfer May immediately. Peter finds himself breaking the law nine times in order to facilitate the transfer of his aunt, which causes him to doubt his own beliefs. "I have become the very thing I set out to fight. A criminal."
, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
, and The Sensational Spider-Man volume 2
. They were later collected as:
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...
storyline written by J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph 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,...
and illustrated by Ron Garney
Ron Garney
Ron Garney is a comic book writer/artist, known for his work on books such as JLA,The Amazing Spider-Man, Silver Surfer, Hulk, Daredevil and Captain America.-Career:...
(penciler), Bill Reinhold
Bill Reinhold
Bill Reinhold was born March 18, 1955 and is a 1982 graduate of the American Academy of Art in downtown Chicago.-Biography:Reinhold has been drawing and inking comic books professionally since 1981. He's done work most notably for First Comics, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics. Reinhold is known...
(inker), Matt Milla (colorist) and VC's Cory Petit (letterer). All parts were published in the comic book series 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...
#539-543. The story takes place immediately after Marvel's Civil War
Civil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
event and what happened to Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, 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...
, 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...
in after the event. The story is about Spider-Man's anger and determination to find Aunt May's shooter. Hence, he wears the black suit, modeled after the alien symbiote
Symbiote (comics)
In the Marvel Comics universe, The Symbiote is a specific parasitic species of extraterrestrial organism...
, to emphasize his humorless aggression. He is often seen in action without his mask on, as well, showing his rage and thirst for vengeance.
Part 1
Peter Parker, Mary Jane, and Aunt May are outside when an assassin shoots May. Mary Jane attempts to contact 911, but they have no time, so Peter (without taking the time to change into his Spider-Man costume) transports May to the hospital via web-slinging. Peter hides from the hospital staff but still hears that May has lost a lot of blood. Meanwhile, in prison, The KingpinKingpin (comics)
The Kingpin is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . Kingpin is one of the most feared and powerful crime lords in the Marvel Universe. The character is a major adversary of Daredevil, the Punisher, and Spider-Man...
is given a message by a police officer, Charlie. He quotes Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
, who wrote "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.
Whom the gods would destroy
"Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad" It may also refer to:*Whom the Gods Would Destroy, a novel written by Richard P...
" (from Medea
Medea (play)
Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centers on the barbarian protagonist as she finds her position in the Greek world threatened, and the revenge she takes against her husband Jason who has betrayed...
, citing it as his favorite saying).
MJ meets Peter in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, and Peter tells her to do anything she can to keep Aunt May alive while Peter will find evidence of the assassin. He swings away, "to do what I do best . . . I'm going to hurt someone." He visits the shooter's perch -- restraining a police officer with a thick coat of webbing. Inside, he finds a sniper scope there. He leaves without freeing the police officer. He then breaks up an illegal weapons sale (still in the same "civilian" clothing since the shooting) and interrogates the criminals about the unusual sniper scope. When a gun-runner hesitates to answer Peter correctly, Peter breaks the mans hand in his grip ("It snaps like dry wood"). MJ visits Aunt May in the hospital and a doctor tells her that May's not going to make it. Peter swears that he won't stop until he finds who is responsible, and puts on his black suit. "I will find them. And when I do----I'm going to kill them".
Part 2
Peter begins hunting down more sniper scope sellers. While beating up the last one, Peter throws the seller out of the window, but then catches him with a line of webbing to his foot (this life-saving attempt, while succeeding for the black-market gun-dealer, possibly infamously failedThe Night Gwen Stacy Died
"The Night Gwen Stacy Died" is a story arc of the Marvel Comics comic book series The Amazing Spider-Man #121-122 , that became a watershed event in the life of the superhero Spider-Man, one of popular culture's most enduring and recognizable fictional characters. The two-issue story, written by...
in the case 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 ....
, Peter Parker's first true love). The dealer then tells Peter that the assassin who purchased the scope was named Jake Martino. Peter (still in the black suit) looks for Jake Martino in a police laptop and finds his address. He goes to Martino's apartment but Martino has already left. The apartment owner talks to him, tells him two men were looking for Martino as well, and tells him that Martino has left for the subways. Spider-Man confronts Martino, beats him brutally, breaks his arm, unmasks again, then questions him about who hired him ("I'm going to kill you. AFTER you tell me who hired you. Tell me now, and I'll end this fast. Hesitate, drag this out...and I'll show you depths and levels of pain you've never even DREAMED of.") Just when Martino is about to tell the name, he is shot through the chest. Peter attaches one of his spider-tracers
Spider-Man's powers and equipment
Spider-Man's powers, abilities, and equipment are used by Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man in tandem to combat his many foes. He receives most of his powers when he is bitten by a radioactive common house spider...
to the second assassin before he escapes. The Police arrive to help Martino and Spider-Man goes along with Martino's ambulance, which takes them to the same hospital where Aunt May is staying. MJ meets Peter and tells him that May's not going to make it. Martino succumbs to his injuries. Spider-Man finds the second shooter, who appears to be calling someone. Peter webs up the mouth of the assassin and hears who is on the phone. He realizes the caller is Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. "You're going to see a lot more people being taken to the hospital before this day is out."
Part 3
Peter figures out that Martino was hired to kill him, not May. He asks the assassin about why they decided to kill Martino. The man merely replies that he knew something Fisk didn't know, and that is the only information he knows.Charlie visits Fisk again and Fisk asks if Charlie could do something for him. Charlie agrees, as long as the request doesn't break any rules. The Kingpin replies that it's beyond the rules, and then destroys his table, which is stacked with millions of dollars in cash - a king's ransom. He tells the police officer to share it with his fellow policemen, and Charlie releases Fisk. Fisk then asks Charlie to bring his traditional clothes.
Peter ties the second shooter, Jim, in a sewer where he is attacked by rats. Peter threatens the shooter by talking about the food chain. Jim tells he'll do anything and Peter tells him that he could let no one get close to his family.
Peter travels to the hospital and transfuses some of his blood to May to cure her. He then goes to the prison to confront the Kingpin."End of the road, Fisk. You. Me. Right now."
Part 4
The Kingpin and Spider-Man face off and Fisk calls Peter a "chump" for believing in the greater good. Fisk's taunts enrage Spider-Man to the point of nearly killing Fisk. Spider-Man tells him that he is not going to kill him, but Peter Parker is. He continually tortures Fisk, until Fisk says that if he is going to kill him, he should do it now. Spider-Man says that he will not kill Fisk yet, but he will if May dies. He leaves the prison, and Fisk and all the inmates return to their cells.Peter visits May, and MJ tells him that they have to let May get transferred to a less expensive hospital. Peter says his reason for placing May in that hospital is that it is the best, but agrees that they can no longer afford it."I guess all we can do is wait for the inevitable...I suppose that's all any of us can wait for."
An incident on the fourth floor
Peter chats with an unconscious May while MJ sleeps. Peter suspects that May might have built a resistance in her body to counter his earlier blood transfusion. The hospital reverend arrives, and asks if they have any plans for a funeral.After the nurses complete a blood test for May, Peter steals the report and sees that it did not work. A second report is given to a police officer named Delint. They have a short conversation, at the same time the head nurse talks with Delint about the missing first report, radiation in May's blood, and them paying in cash. She also tells her opinion of the story, then tells Delint that MJ is still upstairs. Delint goes up to May's room and Peter, sensing him, hides. MJ opens the door for Delint (who reveals himself as Lieutenant Detective Robert Delint) and the lights go out. Peter appears and knocks the officer out.
The two realize that Delint is crooked and therefore they have to transfer May immediately. Peter finds himself breaking the law nine times in order to facilitate the transfer of his aunt, which causes him to doubt his own beliefs. "I have become the very thing I set out to fight. A criminal."
The nine felonies
- Failing to file a police report on a gunshot wound.
- Assaulting a police officer.
- Wrongful imprisonment.
- Fleeing the scene of the crime.
- Grand theft auto. (Peter steals the hospital van that was used to transfer May.)
- Breaking and entering. (Peter had to dress up like one of the hospital nurses.)
- Reckless endangerment. (Peter carries May pretending to be a dead body across the hospital.)
- Forgery. (Peter fakes Uncle Ben's signature in an authorization for patient transfer stolen by MJ.)
- Fraud. (Peter and Mary-Jane pretend May was authorized to transfer into another hospital.)
Prequels, sequels, and tie-in outside of Spider-Man Comics
- Aunt May was shot at the last issue of Civil War: The Amazing Spider-Man. Jake Martino's motives, as well as Kingpin's, were also revealed.
- In World War HulkWorld War Hulk"World War Hulk" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self titled limited series and various other titles published by Marvel Comics in 2007, featuring the Hulk....
, Spider-Man was spotted wearing the black suit.
- The story is concluded in Spider-Man: 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...
. After One More Day, Spider-Man: Brand New DaySpider-Man: Brand New Day"Brand New Day" is the title of a run of comic book storylines in The Amazing Spider-Man, published by Marvel Comics in 2008. It chronicles the start of Spider-Man's adventures in the aftermath of the big status quo change in the "One More Day" storyline, and continues afterwards into "Spider-Man:...
begins.
- In the story arc "Grim Hunt" Spider-Man once again dons the black suit.
Collected editions
"Back in Black" ran through the three Spider-Man titles that were being published in 2007: The Amazing Spider-ManThe 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...
, 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,...
, and The Sensational Spider-Man volume 2
The Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2)
Sensational Spider-Man is the name of a comic book series starring Spider-Man and published monthly by Marvel Comics for 41 issues between 2004 and 2007...
. They were later collected as:
- Spider-Man: Back in Black - reprints Amazing Spider-Man 539-543 and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #17-23 and Annual #1 (hardcover, 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2904-9; trade paperback, 2008, ISBN 0-7851-2996-0)
- Spider-Man, Peter Parker: Back in Black - reprints Sensational Spider-Man #35-40 and Annual #1, Spider-Man FamilySpider-Man FamilySpider-Man Family is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It began as a series of one-shots written and penciled by various writers and artists before becoming a bi-monthly ongoing series with the first issue cover-dated February 2007. Its initial writer was Sean McKeever...
#1-2, Spider-Man: Back in Black Handbook and Marvel Spotlight - Spider-Man: Back in Black (hardcover, 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2920-0; trade paperback, 2008, ISBN 0-7851-2997-9)