Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #103

Issue Details

Synopsis

COMPULSION! Spider-Man is present for the interrogation of a university student named Barry. Declining to have a lawyer present, Barry tells Jean DeWolff what they had done was out of compulsion. He explains that he and his friends at Empire State University had grown bored with their academic pursuits and sought some form of amusement. It was all the idea of his classmate, Ashley Cranford, and insists that nobody was supposed to get hurt. He begins telling his story.  Hearing all this so far makes Spider-Man think about how sloppy he has been getting if college kids could so closely connect Peter Parker with Spider-Man. Barry goes on to explain the next part of their plan, to create a non-existent super-villain to pit against Spider-Man.  In the hospital,[Continuity 5] Captain DeWolff asks Barry why he made the effigy to look the way it was. Barry explains that it was to point out the connection between Spider-Man and the Daily Bugle. Spider-Man breaths a sigh of relief that these youths had not discovered his secret identity. That's when a nurse comes in to scold Jean DeWolff for smoking in the hospital. Spider-Man asks the nurse how Thomas is doing and she informs them that he has burns of 90% of his body. This causes Barry to choke up a bit, swearing to DeWolff and Spider-Man that they didn't intend for anyone to get hurt. That's when Ashley continues, explaining that they had no idea that someone would really take on the identity of Blaze.  With their story done, Captain Jean DeWolff tells the two young men to go home, but to show up at the police station at 10 am the next morning with lawyers for formal charges. When Ashley and Barry leave, DeWolff asks Spider-Man if he is satisfied. He is, as is Thomas, who was not really injured at all but was wearing makeup to make it look like he was horribly burned. That's when "Blaze" comes out of hiding as well, he was actually the Human Torch in disguise. Jean DeWolff asks for the trio to fill in the blanks for her so she can understand what happened.   Thomas explains that he decided to do something about the situation after he saw the Blaze video on the news. He approached Peter Parker and told him all about it in the hopes he can contact Spider-Man. Parker says he can't and suggests that Thomas try to get in touch with the Human Torch. Thomas then went to the Baxter Building, where he found both the Torch and Spider-Man.[Continuity 6] Spider-Man is furious and wants to teach the kids a lesson, but both Thomas and the Human Torch suggested a more subtle approach. That's when they put together the entire ruse to trick Ashley and Barry. After hearing all this, Jean DeWolff is furious to hear that they played such a prank, or that she went along with it and warns them against pulling a stunt like this again. Spider-Man points out that it was for a good cause because Ashley and Barry seemed to learn their lesson.   However, Spider-Man wouldn't think so if he could hear Ashley assuring Barry that the police have nothing on them. On their way to the elevator, he tells Barry that, at worse, they would be charged with misdemeanors. As they enter the elevator, Ashley is already thinking of a new scheme, asking Barry if he knows just how well the president is protected...