Ultimate Spider-Man 44
From Ultimarvel
“Tampered”
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inker: Art Thibert
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Publication Date: October 2003
• At the Parker home, May receives a phone call from Mr. Ayers, who identifies himself as Peter’s geometry teacher. He informs May that Peter did not show up in his school that day, and was missing before the incident at PS44 (Ultimate Spider-Man 41) was announced that caused school to be dismissed early. May hangs up the phone and tries to control her temper, she quietly asks Gwen if she knows where Peter is at, to which Gwen replies no.
• May through the basement door, demanding to know if Peter is downstairs in his lab. She then tries to open the door and finds it locked. Getting increasingly upset and continuing to yell Peter’s name, May takes a fire extinguisher and uses it to break the doorknob off of the basement door, much to the shock of Gwen.
• Peter awakes from a dream where he is sitting in a library, to find himself on a medical examination temple surrounded by Charles Xavier and the X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Colossus, Beast, and Kitty Pryde). Peter looks shocked and then takes in his surroundings. He begins to look panicked and asks what happened.
• Storm relates to Peter the events that occurred after the X-Jet was damaged in Ultimate Spider-Man 43. Jean Grey used her telekinesis to leave the plane and pursue the falling bodies of Geldoff and Peter Parker as they fell. Storm then tried to keep the plane in the air with her wind abilities. Both were successful, with Storm stopping the plane’s descent and Jean catching both boys, though Peter was mere inches from hitting the ground, losing consciousness in the fall.
• Peter then realizes that he has been unmasked by the X-Men and begins to freak out. In his ranting, he mentions that every time he turns around “someone finds out that he is Peter Parker”. Kitty then states that they didn’t know his name before then, and Peter slaps his own face in embarrassment of revealing himself while the watching X-Men hold back laughter.
• In the basement of the Parker house, May examines Peter’s lab and tries to discern her nephew’s whereabouts. She attempts to use his computer but it is password-protected. May then leaves, missing a glass lens from Peter’s mask that is lying on the computer desk.
• At Xavier’s school, Peter, now masked again, watches as Xavier examines Geldoff who has been sedated with a telepathic suggestion. Peter asks if Geldoff is indeed a mutant and Xavier explains that he does not know. Furthermore, Xavier is interested in the case because Geldoff appears to be a mutant but is not registering on Cerebro, a mutant tracking network. Xavier hypothesizes that Geldoff is the subject of a mutant related genetic experiment. He believes that someone genetically altered Geldoff’s placenta while he was still in the womb by injecting it with the isolated mutant gene. Xavier mentions that placenta tampering is illegal in most countries, including Latveria from which Geldoff originates. Xavier believes that after this tampering, the project was abandoned.
• Xavier expresses his desire to present Geldoff to a couple of science organizations, generating pressure to cause the U.N. to pressure countries who currently turn a blind eye to this kind of research. Peter is offended by this idea of using Geldoff merely as evidence and giving him no choice in the matter. In his mind, he has a vision of grabbing Geldoff and escaping the mansion, fighting the X-Men along the way. Xavier, being a telepath, can see this vision and asks Peter what good this would do. Xavier consoles Peter by telling him that he will have a talk about his plans.
• Geldoff, in a seemingly drugged state, apologizes to Peter for showing off and wants him to know that he wasn’t going to try to hurt Peter. Peter accepts the apology and then realizes that he is late in getting home.
• Peter receives a ride home and enters his basement to find May waiting for him, stating that they need to have a talk.
Notes:
- Mr. Ayers introduces himself as Peter’s geometry teacher, however in the classroom pictured in Ultimate Spider-Man 43, the writing on the chalk board and the flasks on the desk indicate that he is actually a chemistry teacher.
- When Xavier introduces the X-Men to Peter , Beast makes the comment “Uncanny”, referencing the title of the original X-Men comic in the Marvel 616 continuity, the Uncanny X-Men.
- Upon Peter’s awakening at Xavier’s school, Kitty Pryde immediately asks Peter how old he is. This continues to illustrate her crush on Spider-Man. Kitty will follow up on this crush in Ultimate Spider-Man Annual 1, where she will call Peter and ask him out on a date.
- Even though Kitty tells Peter that they did not know his name before revealing it, Xavier call him by the name Peter telepathically in his dream, indicating that he found the name out at least, but was most likely withholding it from his students.
- Charles Xavier states that the genetic alteration done to Geldoff were done in the womb and 15 years ago, making him age 14 or 15.
- Peter’s shirt is replaced by the X-Men with a T-shirt bearing the “X” symbol. He is wearing this when confronted by May.
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