Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Beyond Corporation
- Maxine Danger (Main story and flashback)
Other Characters:
- Ben Reilly
- Hobgoblin (Photo)
- Venom (Eddie Brock) (Mentioned)
- Vermin (Edward Whelan) (Mentioned)
- Vulture (Adrian Toomes) (Mentioned)
- Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius) (Mentioned)
- Eartha Kitt (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Dr. Karlin Malus (Mentioned)
- Dr. Ashley Kafka (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- Daredevil (Matt Murdock) (Named only)
- Black Cat's Crew
- Shriek (Frances Barrison) (Mentioned)
- Rhino (Aleksei Sytsevich) (Mentioned)
- Herman Shultz (Mentioned)
- Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff) (Mentioned)
- Lizard (Curt Connors) (Mentioned)
- Carrion (Malcom McBride) (Mentioned)
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
- Mary Jane Watson
- Janine Godbe
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for 1st story
Day Zero: Felicia Hardy meets with Steve Rogers at his old haunt, Catwiches, and impresses him along with the other bar patrons by eating a great number of chicken wings. Impressed, he agrees to join her asking what she'd need of him, and she brings up Peter Parker; how he'll head out again the second he's able and get himself killed if he isn't ready. As Steve agrees to make him ready, he states upon their exit how he never knew his pub served champagne, only for Felicia to tell him she brought it from home.
Day One: The following morning, Black Cat and Captain America take Peter to the hospital roof, telling him that he will not be allowed to return as Spider-Man until he passes their test. Desperate and eager to return to action, Peter wants nothing more than to get back into the suit. However, Felicia tells him Mary Jane gave her the suit and won't give it to him while Ben Reilly is active as Spider-Man, asking what is he going to do about it.
Day Two: Swinging over the city, Peter reflects on not wearing the suit at the moment but is content with just the Web-Shooters and Bagman mask. He soon voices his knowing how to web swing since his youth, but Felicia is quick to note he is an adult now who barely made it past an almost ruinous injury. Equating his web-swinging to Eddie Brock, Felicia doesn't want him to miss one cable and get hurt, so she aims to teach him fine swinging and style again.
Day Three: Peter is wearing more clothing to keep warm, thinking how Felicia is great at her maneuvers but he is still better himself. She hurries him to be better than yesterday, doing a dive while narrowly avoid a crowd having lunch for Peter to replicate. He fails at it by impacting some tables in apology, mentally pondering things he's bad at while downsizing himself for being bad at web swinging; something he loves doing.
Day Four: As Felicia leads Peter on chase training, she calls for a break seeing him out of breath, giving him some water and orange slices Cap packed for him. She notes his weak performance, calling his 75% performance should be equal to her 100% given his superpowers; reminding him that she wasn't bitten by a radioactive Eartha Kitt. Even though he notes her bad luck, she points out it's only a little at a time, while he is "Spider-Man" and if he wants that title back then he needs to be in shape for it. As Peter points out she called him Spider-Man, she acknowledges such but still won't give him his suit; much to his chagrin.
Day Five: At night, Cap mentions to Peter why Felicia couldn't simply give him the mask, with Peter emphatically noting that as his main argument with her. Felicia returns to introduce her crew, Dr. Boris Korpse and Bruno Grainger, for their latest "exercise". Bruno greets Cap fanboy-like before Felicia calls him back, as Peter asks what the exercise of the night is. Felicia gleefully smiles to tell them it's a simple "catch the robbers" chase as she and her crew robbed the jewelry store that Cap and Peter were waiting outside of the whole time. As her getaway car races off, the two heroes look to each other before charging in pursuit themselves.
Day Six: Peter spars with Steve on the rooftop as Felicia sits back with popcorn and fine wine to watch men wrestle. As the begins, Steve notes his progress but also reminds Peter that he's faster than he is currently presenting himself. Peter is frustrated his sluggishness is his present state, but Steve voices he'll help Peter return to form, bringing up how many young men in his day weren't ready and died young because of it. But as Peter now has time and the mentors, Steve invites him to give it his all.
When Peter web swings to a staged robbery, he notices his body's pain and acknowledges his being unprepared to be Spider-Man again. Starting the encounter, he is quickly overwhelmed and fatigued, with Felicia and Steve putting the scene on pause for him. But while Peter sees their patience, he feels guilty for disappointing them and himself, feeling he must do better because he is Spider-Man; voicing he is ready to go again.
Right Now: Ben is recovering from a recent memory readjustment, and is asked to test his recollection with images of villains, groaning at the continuing list. After some time, Ben continues to read off various villains in the Spider-Man's Rogues gallery, while presenting a stable surface layer yet a hole still lingers in his mind. With his testing done, Ben is being let out by his doctor. But when she brings up the Great Power quote, Ben is confused not knowing the quote at all.
Meanwhile, in a Beyond observation room, Dr. Ashley Kafka demands from Maxine Danger to know when she'll be let out, while Maxine lords over that she has the unilateral power to free Ashely, voicing that she has rights. However, Maxine points out how Dr. Ashely Kafka is legally dead and notes her finding Dr. Malus's blood work falsifications which "verify" the current Ashley's wrongful legitimacy as living. Enraged, Ashley screams that she is indeed Dr. Ashley Kafka, but Maxine points out she is really a clone and thus in a precarious situation in regards to her treatment with human rights recognition. Maxine brings up how Beyond was looking away from such legalities when Ashley worked for them until her "betrayal" as Ben's therapist.
Psycho-analyzing her focus on betrayal, Maxine interjects that she isn't malleable like her patients, having undergone an unethical and illegal experimental psychotropic vision quest years ago. Acknowledging Ashley's gifted abilities as a psychiatrist, Maxine voices how she wants clear up her insubordination. But should Ashley not cooperate, then Beyond will find other uses for her as a clone, presenting the containment of an unknown substance to strengthen her point to the frightened Ashley.
Epilogue: Mary Jane returns from her adventure with Black Cat,[1] mocking Felicia's parting words to her. But upon opening the door is given a fright by the surprise meeting of Janine Godbe with the Beyond Master Data Drive. Janine is hoping to talk with her about the secrets she uncovered... and is also curious about her attire.
Solicit Synopsis
• With NYC reeling from Doc Ock’s attack, Captain America and Black Cat need to know something…
• …if Ben Reilly is really down, is Peter Parker able to step up and be Spider-Man again?
• You may think you know where this story is going, but you do not.Trivia
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- Peter Parker reprises his infamous paper bag mask (the Bombastic Bag Man) from Amazing Spider-Man #258 and Spectacular Spider-Man #256. On day 2, he wears his "ANIMAL" crop top from Amazing Spider-Man #249. On day 5, he wears a version of Matt Murdock's "I'M NOT DAREDEVIL" shirt from Daredevil (Vol. 3) #7.