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Astonishing Spider-Man Vol 1 6

Quote1  You've changed, Parker. You used to have a sense of humor. What happened? Why are you so angry?  Quote2
—Ben Reilly

Appearing in "Power and Responsibility - Part Four: Higher Ground"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spectacular Spider-Man #217

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Synopsis for "Power and Responsibility - Part Four: Higher Ground"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spectacular Spider-Man #217
This story is continued from Spider-Man #51...

Having come to the Ravencroft Institute to observe the psychology of super-powered individuals, the mysterious Judas Traveller has found himself facing a once in a life time opportunity: The chance to compare the psychology of Spider-Man and his long lost clone, Ben Reilly.[Continuity 1] With the two Spider-Men side-by-side, Traveller uses his powers to make both men lose conciousness. While outside, a barrier prevents the authorities and the press from seeing what is happening inside. Among those gathered are Doctor Ashley Kafka, her assistant Edward Whelan, and John Jameson, Ravencroft's chief of security. They still don't understand why a renowned psychologist like Traveller would take control of the facility. Likewise, they are concerned about Traveller's threats to either kill the patients or unleash them upon the public.[Continuity 2] Back inside, Judas as turned attention away from the Spider-Men to observe Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage. He finds the symbiosis between a serial killer and an alien creature fascinating. His observations are interrupted by Boone and Medea who inform him that they have placed the Spiders in the basement. Judas instructs Mister Nacht to get into place to observe the experiment. That's when the Scrier warns Judas that the barrier outside is pushing his powers to the limits. He then tells Chakra to release the prisoners, as he had no intention of ever killing them.

When Spider-Man and Ben Reilly wake up in the basement, the wall-crawler attacks his duplicate, thinking he is involved with Judas Traveller. Spider-Man thinks that this is yet another ploy to drive him mad. Ben tries to convince him otherwise, as when Spider-Man states that he had his powers back in junior high, Ben reminds him that Peter Parker didn't get his powers until high school.[Continuity 3] This angers the wall-crawler, who tells the clone to stop calling him Peter, insisting that he only is Spider-Man.[Continuity 4] Ben wonders what is wrong with Spider-Man, who is grimmer and has a darker attitude than the clone remembers. Before he can get any answers, a group of Ravencroft inmates comes crashing into the room. When Spider-Man savagely attacks them, Ben pulls him away. He tries to remind the wall-crawler that he is a hero, but Spider-Man tells the clone he has no idea what tragedies he has recently endured.[Continuity 5] Ben tells Spider-Man that if the life of Peter Parker is so painful, he will gladly take him. When Spider-Man refuses, Ben begs Spider-Man to work with him to get the situation under control.

Hearing this, Mister Nacht returns upstairs to tell Judas Traveller that the Spiders are working together now. That's when Medea asks if she can eliminated them, but Judas tells her to be silent. That's when Chakra enters the room with an envelope she found that was post marked from a week ago. Judas explains that it is yet another deception integral to the game that they play. With time growing short, Traveller tells the Scrier to shut down the force field and that the rest prepare for their imminent departure. Outside, Ashley Kafka and the others witness as the energy barrier goes down. They are then overwhelmed with knock out gas making everyone outside falling asleep. Meanwhile, Mary Jane is on a flight to Pittsburgh to visit her family.[Continuity 6] During the flight, she is recognized by her seatmate from her role on "Secret Hospital". As she keeps up her end of the conversation, she can't help but worry about everything her husband Peter is going through.[Continuity 7] Suddenly, Mary Jane feels sick and she rushes to the washroom to throw up.[Continuity 8]

Back at Ravencroft, the two Spider-Men have fight off the the gang of inmates that ambushed them. Running upstairs to get out of the basement, they are barred by a lunatic named Wild Whip. When Ben Reilly recognizes the villain, Spider-Man realizes that his clone operated as a hero in the past. Ben admits that there were some momentary exceptions to his self-imposed exile.[Continuity 9] Although they are ambushed, the pair manage to knock out Wild Whip, but not before Ben notices how out of practice he is. At the top of the stairs, they find Carnage waiting for them. At that moment, Judas Traveller leaves a letter in Ashley Kafka's office, finishing the scheme Judas Traveller before he and his allies leave. Back downstairs, Ben points out that they can't let Carnage get past them because he could kill the other inmates. This moment of mercy, begins to make Spider-Man remember everything he used to stand for.[Error 1] Working together, the two Spider-Men manage to knock Carnage out.

As they rush upstairs, the pair begin to trade quips as Spider-Man begins to lighten up. Spotting Traveller and his minions making their escape and rush outside. While Spider-Man goes after Judas, his clone has a bone to pick with Boone and Medea.[Continuity 10] However, when Ben leaps inside their getaway vehicle, he discovers there is nobody inside. Suddenly, the car explodes, apparently killing the clone. Rushing inside to face Judas Traveller, Spider-Man fails to stop his foe who makes him pass out with a hypnotic suggestion. By this point, Kafka and her co-workers wake up and rush inside and find Spider-Man blacked out on the floor. With the prisoners contained again, they begin trying to make sense of the encounter. That's when Edward finds a letter from Judas Traveller, postmarked from a week before. Opening it up, they discover a letter from Traveller stating that he couldn't make it to his scheduled appearance. Falling for this, they wonder who the man they faced really was. At that moment, Traveller and his minions are driving away in a limo. Inside the car, Judas congratulates them for a job well done. As Spider-Man appears to be returning to his previous value system, the arrival of the Spider-Clone intrigues Traveller as well. Judas figures both need further observation.

Back at Ravencroft, the authorities search the wreckage of the blown up car and find no trace of a body inside. This leaves Spider-Man wondering if this was yet another manipulation created by Judas Traveller. More confused than ever, Spider-Man swings off to figure it out. Meanwhile, not far away, Ben Reilly is alive and well and walks away from the scene. He wonders what to do next. Should he remain in New York City, or should he continue going north on his self-appointed exile?

Appearing in "Power and Responsibility - Part Three: A Heart Beat Away!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man #51

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Synopsis for "Power and Responsibility - Part Three: A Heart Beat Away!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man #51
This story continues from Amazing Spider-Man #394...

The Peter Parker clone stands over the unconscious body of May Parker, wishing she could hear him.[Continuity 11] He tells her that he is not really her nephew, but a clone calling himself Ben Reilly after his memory of Uncle Ben and May's maiden name. That he had met the real Peter Parker, and it didn't go over very well.[Continuity 12] Moments earlier, he was visited by the astral form of a woman named Chakra.[Continuity 13] She told Ben that Spider-Man is at Ravencroft and gave him a choice: Come and save Spider-Man's life or do nothing and he will die. The death of the real Peter Parker would give Ben the opportunity to take over Peter Parker's life, something that he has been yearning for years. However, even though he is a clone, his memories are the same of Peter Parker. As such, he believes that May raised them both, convincing him what he needs to do. Pulling a Spider-Man mask and gloves out of his backpack, Ben decides to go to Ravencroft.

Not long after Ben Reilly has left, the nursing station gets an alert that May Parker is flatlining. Her doctor, Julia Caputo, rushes into the hospital room and discovers that May is still alive, that a cable from her heart monitor came loose. As they reconnect it, they notice that Peter Parker is not in the room and none of the nurses saw him leave. At that moment, the Spider-Clone swings across the city, realizing he couldn't resist playing hero. He wonders if he'll die this time around and finally put his suffering to an end. While at Ravencroft, Judas Traveller watches Spider-Man from his cell and is unimpressed with what he has seen. He is joined by his assistant Mister Nacht who informs him that Chakra contacted the Spider-Clone and he may be on his way. He tells Nacht to send out Boone and Medea to go outside and provide a suitable greeting for their guest. As short time later, the Spider-Clone arrives outside Ravencroft and sees the barrier around the institution. Although the barrier is keeping the authorities and the press away, Ben is surprised when he is able to pass through it unmolested. On the other side, his spider-sense warns him just in time to leap out of the way from a shot fired at him by Medea. Back inside, Spider-Man struggles to get free so he can stop Traveller from killing or setting free the other inmates. However, Judas is still flooding his mind with images. In his mind, Spider-Man is caught in a massive web surrounded by his various foes and loved ones. He tells them to all go away and leave him alone. That's when he is joined by a vision of his clone who offers to help Spider-Man fight everyone off. Watching Spider-Man struggles with all of this in his mind, Judas Traveller begins to wonder what kind of man Spider-Man is.

Meanwhile, Ben Reilly manages to slip past Medea and Boone and gets into the facility. However, his ability to escape doesn't last long as the pair come back inside and find him. As Ben continues to fight the duo, Spider-Man struggles with Traveller's invasive thoughts. No matter what is thrown at him, Spider-Man continues to remind himself that with great power comes great responsibility. As Ben manages to defeat his attackers and continues his hunt for Spider-Man. At that moment, Spider-Man orders Traveller to get out of his mind and finally breaks free of his shackles. As Spider-Man breaks out of his cell, he is quickly overpowered by Judas Traveller. However, that's when the Spider-Clone comes crashing into the room. The pair vow to work together to defeat Traveller once and for all.

... The story continues in Spectacular Spider-Man #217.

Appearing in "Strangers"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man: The Lost Years #1

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  • Truck
  • Ambulance
  • Bike

Synopsis for "Strangers"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spider-Man: The Lost Years #1
It is 10 pm in the evening just outside of Salt Lake City as traffic pushes along the highway in a heavy rain. Suddenly, a truck driver suffers a heart attack causing him to jackknife his vehicle. However, before oncoming vehicles can slam into the truck, a man leaps out and pushes the truck over the shoulder and down the side of a cliff. Retrieving the driver before the truck crashes, the mystery man then gives the trucker CPR. By the time the authorities arrive on the scene, the trucker is loaded into an ambulance. Asking eyewitnesses, the police learn that the mystery hero left just as soon as he appeared, not sticking around to be congratulated for saving a life. Not far down the high way, this mystery man -- Ben Reilly -- continues down the long road he has been on for the last three years. He felt compelled to save the man due to the spider-sense that rang in his head, despite the fact that he believed that becoming Ben Reilly stipped him of all the past responsibilities that shackled Peter Parker to use his power for good.[Continuity 14]

Meanwhile, in the city, the imperfect Peter Parker clone known as Kaine has tracked Ben Reilly to Salt Lake City. Waiting for his prey to arrive, he sits by himself and nurses a bottle of vodka he purchased in a bar. His peace and quiet is interrupted by a prostitute who offers to show him a good time. However, when he ignores the woman, her pimp tries to start a fight with him. Without saying a word, Kaine quickly grabs the man by the head nad beats his head on the table until he is unconscious. Getting up, Kaine gives the prostitute some money, telling her not to spend it all in one place and begins walking out of the bar. On his way out, he is stopped by a blond haired woman named Louise Kennedy. Impressed by Kaine's show of strength, she asks for his name. Sizing the woman up, the clone tells her that he was never born and therefore never had a name, but she can call him Kaine. As he leaves, Louise is interrupted by Jimmy the Mouth, a local crook who wants to get down to business. Punching the portly criminal in the stomach, she tells him to keep his hands to himself.

The following morning, Louise is lost in thoughts about Kaine as her partner, causing her to lose her train of thought while talking to her partner Jacob Raven. Regaining her composure, she tells him how she has been playing Jimmy the Mouth, so he tells her where they can find the operations of Jimmy's uncle, a drug dealer named Vincent Tannen. Although Louise is certain they can bag Tannen and strike a huge blow to the drug trade in Utah. Raven isn't so optimistic about that given Vincent's influence in Salt Lake City. This upsets him, as he considered these sorts of things happen in other cities like New York or Chicago. Despite how disappointing this is, Jacob has faith that if he does the right thing, he can make a difference. When Lousie chides him for his Mormon upbringing, he shrugs it off, telling her that his motivation is a matter of faith. At that same moment, from his jail cell, Vincent Tannen is sitting pretty comfortably even though he is incarcerated. He is visited by one of the guards who gladly agrees to make arrangements to have someone brutally beaten. While at the local university, Ben Reilly manages to secure a job in the science department thanks to false credentials and a letter of recommendation from Seward Trainer. Although he doesn't feel right about using fraudulent information to get the job, he pushes this thought out of his head, reminding himself that he is qualified to do the work thanks to the implanted memories of Peter Parker that are in his mind. Going to a local diner for breakfast, Ben is instantly smitten by the redhaired waitress, a young woman named Janine Godbe.

While he is placing his order, Jacob Raven comes in to order the usual. Not knowing how Raven was at the time, Ben instantly liked the guy because the officer reminded him of his Uncle Ben. As Raven picks up his food to go, Reilly can't help but notice that Janine is unnerved by the officer's presence.[Continuity 15] Deciding he likes the woman, Ben tells her about how he is new in town and doesn't know anybody and clumsily asks if she would go out with him for dinner. At first, she says no, but when Reilly pays for his meal and heads out, she changes her mind, much to his delight. By this time, Louise Kennedy is working undercover, dropping money off to some drug dealers on behalf of Jimmy the Mouth. However, when she tries to arrest the man, she finds herself surrounded by gunmen. Before they can kill her, Kaine comes crashing in through one of the windows. For some reason, Kaine has been drawn to this woman, prompting him to come to her rescue. Catching the armed drug dealers by surprise, Kaine kills them all before the Lousie's astonished eyes. In the aftermath of the battle, Kennedy asks what they should do next, Kaine tells her that he has a few ideas.

Later that day, Louise's partner Jacob just misses the bus back home and curses himself for being so out of shape. Suddenly, a car pulls up next to him and some armed men forced him inside. While elsewhere, Ben Reilly crashes his motorcycle because his spider-sense goes off warning him of some serious danger. Unable to ignore it, Ben follows the signal to a nearby house that suddenly explodes into flame the moment he arrives. Despite his misgivings, Ben cannot avoid being the hero and leaps inside the burning building to look for survivors. He finds a woman and her child inside the house and quickly carries them outside and disappears before the authorities arrive. Later, at the home of Louise Kennedy, a romantic moment with Kaine is interrupted by a phone call. Louise is upset to hear that her partner has gone missing and his family narrowly avoided getting killed by a bomb that was planted in their home. Disturbed by this, Louise tells Kaine to hold her and never let go. Meanwhile, Ben Reilly listens in on the doctors at the hospital and learns that Raven's wife is going to be okay. No wanting to be the hero anymore, or be in costume, Ben Reilly decides to leave things for the police to handle, unaware that at that very moment the husband of the woman he saved is being held at gunpoint.

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