Ultimate Spider-Man 38
From Ultimarvel
“Father's Pride”
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inker: Art Thibert
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Publication Date: May 2003
• On the football field at Midtown High, Peter in his civilian clothes, faces Eddie Brock in the Venom suit. Peter tries to talk Eddie down from acting, telling him that this isn’t him, it’s the suit. Eddie attacks him regardless. Peter keeps trying to talk to him during the fight, not wanting to hurt his friend.
• Eddie collapses in pain as the suit attempts to eat him. He regains control and begins to attack Peter again. Peter flees the field, with Eddie in pursuit. Peter realizes by watching him, that Eddie isn’t in control, the suit is. Peter wonders if Eddie exposed himself to this on purpose, if his friend really hates him that much.
• Peter leads Venom into the city. He fights him atop a rooftop, throwing the two of them off into a power line. Venom takes the resulting shock, immobilizing him for a second and exposing Eddie, who calls out to Peter. When Peter approaches to help his friend, the suit takes over and grabs Peter. It draws him inside the black mass, in an attempt to devour him. Eddie screams that this is Peter’s fault, that his own father was a genius, and that Eddie has to do this because the suit needs Peter to survive.
• Peter breaks free of the suit’s grasp. He proceeds to beat Venom with a tire taken off a destroyed car that the two landed on. Venom continues to scream accusations at Peter. During this, the police arrive and open fire on both of them. Peter jumps out of the way, clinging to a nearby building for safety. Venom is driven backwards by the gunfire, into the broken power line from earlier. There is an explosion, which leaves nothing but black smoke. The police then turn their guns on Peter, whose identity is only hidden by a hooded sweatshirt. Peter leaps away as the cops open fire.
• Peter is shown in his basement, in obvious mental anguish, listening to a video recording of his father.
Notes:
- The beginning and end of this issue are narrated by a video recording of Richard Parker directed to Peter. He talks about the history of cancer and the life decisions that led to his pursuit of the research. He comforts himself with the statements that he gets to watch his son grow up.
- Richard Parker mentions that neither Reed Richards nor Tony Stark came close to his and Ed Brock Sr.’s discoveries. The comment about Reed Richards is non-canon because at the time of the recording, Reed would be around 10 years old.
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