The great Kyle Baker tags in on inks here. His sumptuous inking dulls the clean precision of Martin’s line as seen last issue, but adds a pleasing fluidity, also. Another really good example of just how much control the inker has over the finished product. Anyway, as we jump in, Peter Parker is being rushed into The Mad Dog Ward on a gurney by two jaded guys and a new hire who dares to be concerned about their patient.
That guy casually tossing Peter’s Spidey shirt over that guy’s head for laughs in a book so very obsessed with maintaining his secret identity is oddly powerful to me. It pretty efficiently says “Peter’s really in trouble here.” They wheel Peter into a room in the ward where they keep people who think they’re superheroes.
Peter instinctively tries to break free, but they wrestle him down and drug him up some more. The new girl, Mary, worries they’re being too rough, and Peter tries to tell her he’s Spider-Man, but of course, they all say they’re superheroes in here. He’s “admitted” as a John Doe, given the number Mad Dog 336. We jump ahead several days (Several days! I hope MJ’s still in Paris, Peter disappearing again so soon would be too much) to Peter all doped up and now just another patient in The Mad Dog Ward. He tries to remember why he’s here as a doctor presses a patient to prove he’s Jesus, as he believes he is.
Witness Chekov’s Giant Dude. Peter blearily suggests they should do something to get out of here, but he’s not capable of much conscious thought. Later, Mary the nurse wheels Peter down a hallway, doing him a favor even though she could get in trouble, telling him he’s on a ton of drugs because he’s supposedly dangerous.
They’ve come to see Vicky. Peter sometimes remembers she’s why he’s here. He says he’s met her children, and she perks up. Peter gets upset that she’s in here instead of with her children, says he should do something, and then falls asleep. Meanwhile…
Grim stuff. Dad is smiling uncomfortably wide when he gets home, asking how their day was and trying to buy their kindness with pizza, but the kids aren’t having it. Frank blows up at them, saying either their mom stays in The Mad Dog Ward or The Kingpin’s mob comes for the whole family. Back at the “hospital,” things are getting worse…
Patient MD2020, aka Brainstorm, is being molded into a new assassin for The Kingpin, you see. The scientist programming him thinks that he really wants to be working on MD336, but he’s not allowed yet. He’s the only one who knows that’s the real Spider-Man. Speaking of whom, Peter is in the rec room as a bunch of extremely creepy new suits for the patients show up…
This makes Peter so angry he stands up out of his wheelchair and ties the guy demonstrating up in his own creepy gimp suit. One of the orderlies tries to dose him, but he bodyslams that guy for his trouble.
The revolt is shortlived, though, as more goons rush in and begin tranquilizing everyone, including Peter. Just like that, everyone’s docile again. Peter feels bad for getting everyone worked up and subsequently beat up, and worries they’ll all be punished because of him as Mary helps him to his wheelchair.
That doesn’t sound good. Come back next time to see how Spidey gets outta this one.