Picking right up from last issue, Spider-Man’s
spider-sense goes crazy as the Man-Wolf leaps at his prey! The two tumble off
the roof and Spider-Man catches them both with a web-line, before swinging back
around to attack the Man-Wolf. During their fight, Spidey notices the glowing
pendant around the Man-Wolf’s neck and feels like he’s seen it before. The two
then notice the moon starting to set, causing the Man-Wolf to flee before he
turns human once again! Spider-Man moves to chase after him but ends up tripping
over a trash can, too woozy from the scratch the Man-Wolf gave him back at
Jameson’s apartment. The Man-Wolf escapes and Peter wearily makes his way back
to his own apartment, his mind racing over this new mystery. Peter passes out
as he contemplates who the Man-Wolf is and why Jameson would try and protect
him.
The next morning, Mary Jane is having breakfast with
Flash and Randy, when Flash notes that MJ seems down. Mary Jane tries to put a
smile on her face and admits she’s been brooding about Peter and how he’s been
doing. Just then, Harry comes in and completely ignores the group, earning some
derisive comments from Flash. Mary Jane admonishes him and tries to console
Harry, but he flips out on her, and even goes so low as to threaten her! MJ
runs out of the diner in uncharacteristic tears, and Flash and Randy decide not
to get involved. Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson stops by his son’s apartment,
worried about what he may find. He finds John passed out on the couch, in the
same outfit the Man-Wolf was wearing, no longer able to deny the truth! He wakes John up and demands an explanation for what happened,
reassuring him that he only wants to help. John recounts how he was part of a
top secret mission to the moon, and while there, he found a strange glowing
rock. He took the rock back with him and fashioned it into a pendant to wear
around his neck. Then one night, while wearing the pendant, the full moon
arose, transforming John for the first time into the ferocious Man-Wolf, and
despite John’s best efforts, the transformations have been happening each month
ever since!
Several hours later, Peter finally awakens from his
long sleep and swings over to the Daily Bugle to see if Robbie can help him
regarding the pendant. However, as soon as he enters Robbie’s office, Jameson
enters with police! They spray tear gas, forcing Spidey to exit back out the
window. However, the mixture of the tear gas and the scratch from the Man-Wolf
cause Spidey to pass out once more and fall into an alley below! An hour later,
Peter trudges to Mary Jane’s apartment where he practically collapses inside.
Though Mary Jane is concerned, the morning’s incident with Harry plus Peter’s
recent treatment of her causes her to get fed up, deciding to no longer try to
get involved if they’re going to keep taking her for granted, and kicks Peter
out of her apartment. Hours later, John’s fiancée Kristine arrives at his
apartment for a date, but thinks he’s intentionally ignoring her when she sees
him in the window despite not answering the doorbell. Little does she know,
John is once again transforming into the Man-Wolf, with Jameson unable to do
anything! The Man-Wolf escapes out of the skylight and quickly turns his
attention on the fleeing Kristine!
Around the same time, Spider-Man swings around while
venting his frustrations about everyone’s reactions to his bad mood lately,
feeling he’s justified given what happened. Spidey then has a sudden
realization that the outfit he saw the Man-Wolf wearing was made of the same
material used for spacesuits for astronauts. Putting two and two together, he
swings over to John’s apartment just in time to prevent the Man-Wolf from
killing Kristine. He tussles with the Man-Wolf once again, until he’s able to
rip the pendant right off! This causes the Man-Wolf to revert back to John
Jameson as Jonah runs up to attend to his son. Spider-Man suggests calling a
doctor for him and chews Jonah out when he’s initially worried about the
publicity this might bring. Spider-Man stalks off, ignoring Jonah’s attempts to
talk to him, the day saved, but with a heavy heart.
Excelsioring your collection