This issue begins in the morning, when Peter should be catching the bus, but he is not doing well after all he went through last night. Aunt May can see he’s bad off and lets him stay home, asking Gwen to get his homework for him. Then we turn the page for a real stunt:
Ultimate Ben Reilly!
The 90s Spider-Man cartoon had this awful theme song, which included a robot voice going “Spider blood! Spider blood! Radioactive spider blood!” Which is insane. But I feel like it’s the theme to this page.
I gotta say, that’s some immaculately rendered stubble on Curt. That is a whole lot of little dots. Cut to Peter getting a call from Curt, desperate to meet and talk about his blood. Despite feeling terrible, Peter is convinced it’s important. So they meet at a diner or something, and Peter is really sick, but Curt explains that he’s been looking at Peter’s blood. Peter immediately assumes he found something terrible.
Curt thinks what’s happened to Peter’s DNA could be the beginning of cures for diseases. Or it could be nothing at all. But he needs a win, and he wants Peter’s permission to study it. It says it would be unethical to just do so, he wants Peter to give him the greenlight. He says he’ll never reveal where the DNA sample came from, and anything that comes of it, they’ll split 50/50. He says it’s almost a responsibility to try to do something with this, and that’s the magic word. Peter agrees. Then we jump ahead 2 months, which is so, so much easier to do in this continuity in than the main one…
Ultimate Punisher is trying to execute an unnamed villain in a purple suit for robbing a bank, but Spider-Man is on the scene. He really has to go to the bathroom and wishes he wasn’t, tho.
That’s pretty funny.
Purple Guy… maybe Boomerang despite not having any? He calls Spider-Man “mate” Anyway, he offers our man $20,000 to swing him to safety, but Spidey just webs up and Punisher up for the cops and leaves. The internet says that was, indeed, Boomerang. But he’s covered in weird little circles that look like octopus suckers, and he has no boomerangs? Well, anyway, next Peter’s off to see Curt Connors to get a cut patched up. He says Curt’s looking healthy, and Curt says they got their project funded for the year, and that he’s going to dinner with his kid, so it sounds like his life’s going better. Peter asks if he can see the project, but Curt reiterates that he’s going to see his son, and asks if they can do it tomorrow. Peter agrees and takes off. Then Curt goes back into his lab…
Well, that’s pretty unnerving! Meet Ultimate Carnage. Gonna be a weird one. The fact that they’re just letting this happen is so funny. Not the most ethical scientists!