Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #110

Issue Details

Synopsis

ALL MY SINS REMEMBERED With Betty Leeds at the mercy of the Sin Eater, Spider-Man and Daredevil rush to her aid. Fearing that she may have been murdered by the serial killer, he thinks back to how Betty was his first love.  At the home of J. Jonah Jameson, where Betty has been staying, the Sin Eater stands in front of a desk chair with a hole blasted through it. However, he did not hit Betty, as she quickly slipped under the desk. The Sin Eater is surprised that he missed his shot. When she confirms that she works for J. Jonah Jameson, he attempts to choke her to death with his shotgun. As she gasps for breath, Betty asks the Sin Eater why he is committing his murders. The Sin Eater explains that he wants to kill Jameson because he opposes masked vigilantes, he killed Reverend Finn because he was against capital punishment, Judge Rosenthal because he went easy on criminals, and Jean DeWolff... because he felt like it. While he is explaining this, Betty manages to get a hold of a letter opener and stabs the Sin Eater in the leg.  Before the Sin Eater can harm Betty further, Spider-Man comes crashing through the window. The Sin Eater tosses Betty at the hero to give him time to reload his shotgun. The hero webs the barrel shut, then yanks the gun out of Sin Eater's hands. Spider-Man breaks the shotgun over his knee and attacks the villain. Knowing that the Sin Eater is really Detective Stan Carter, he is enraged when Carter claims that they are alike. Losing his temper. Spider-Man begins mercilessly beating the Sin Eater. He is angry not just because of the murders he committed, but how Stan strung him along and pretended to be Spider-Man's friend. The wall-crawler's rampage is stopped by the arrival of Daredevil, who stops Spider-Man before he kills Carter. However, the wall-crawler refuses to stand down, so Daredevil has to put himself between the hero and the killer. He tries to convince Spider-Man that the only threat in the room is himself, angering the web-slinger is sick of Daredevil's constant recriminations, the two come to blows. Their struggle takes them out onto the street while they argue over ideologies on crime fighting. Ultimately, a combination of Spider-Man's blind rage and Daredevil's enhanced senses prove to be the wall-crawler's undoing and he is knocked out by Daredevil. In the aftermath of the battle, Daredevil considers the fact that he also lost someone close to him thanks to the Sin Eater. He wonders if Spider-Man feels too much about this case, or if he doesn't care enough.   Not long after the arrest of Stan Carter, the press swoops in and tries to investigate Betty and Marla Jameson. Betty is disgusted that the press is sensationalizing the danger she was in. As the news that the Sin Eater was a police detective becomes public knowledge the public is outraged. Other officers wonder what sort of backlash they're going to get from the public. At a bar, some patrons complain how the police are always covering for each other. Elsewhere in the city, a young boy is found at the window of his apartment is told to go back to bed. When his father wonders where their portable television is, the boy thinks how surprised his parents will be when Santa Claus returns with a new television he traded the portable model for. The next morning at the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker arrives to see J. Jonah Jameson returning from the distributor's conference in Florida. He is furious about the who ordeal but suddenly changes his mood when Peter informs him that the Sin Eater had been captured after putting Marla's wife at risk. Peter finds some perverse joy in telling Jameson that it was Spider-Man who saved her life and caught the killer. In the office, Peter gets a call from his Aunt May, who is worried about her tenant Ernie Popchik. He left the house after the news about the Sin Eater and took his old service pistol. He assures his Aunt that he will try to keep an eye out for him.  Overhearing this, Joe Robertson assigns Peter to take photos for a vox populi article about the Sin Eater.   At that very moment, aboard a subway train, Ernie Popchik reads the newspaper and thinks about how unsafe the city has become. He is on his way to the World Trade Center, but when some young men get onto the train and try to hassle him for money. Panicking, Ernie pulls out his gun and shoots the three men and flees the train when it stops. Soon, the news that Stan Carter is being transferred to Rykers Island is leaked to the media and made public knowledge. As the situation unfolds, police chief James D'Angelo, District Attorney Blake Tower, and an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. discuss the Stan Carter case. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent explains that Stan might be found not criminally responsible for his crimes. He explains that Stan was a test subject for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s research and development division. There he was injected with drugs like PCP and Angel Dust so they can study the apparent strength enhancement functions of these drugs. During this program, Stan became increasingly paranoid and because acting violently toward authority figures. When Carter was later retired from S.H.I.E.L.D., they were certain that the drugs were out of his system. He figures that the recent death of Stan's partner pushed him over the edge. This does not impress Blake Tower, who has a public relations nightmare on his hands. Their meeting is soon interrupted when an angry mob forms outside the police station and begin protesting.   Spider-Man arrives on the scene and begins taking pictures. Suddenly, Daredevil arrives on the rooftop and the two begin arguing their ideologies on how to handle this situation. That's when the police send officers out in riot gear to hold back the crowd while they transfer Stan Carter to Rykers. Suddenly, a full-on riot breaks out, led by Carl Weatherby, Jean DeWolff's step-father. Daredevil leaps down to try and stop the riot, but Spider-Man refuses to get involved. That is, until, Daredevil is swarmed by rioters and calls out to Spider-Man. When the wall-crawler turns to walk away, Daredevil calls out to him by his first name.   This reaches Spider-Man who swings down and fights the mob off Daredevil. He then prevents Carl Weatherby from strangling Stan Carter to death. They pull Carter to safety until the police can disburse the mob and turn Stan back over to the authorities. In the aftermath, Spider-Man is surprised that Daredevil has figured out his secret identity. To make things even, Daredevil tells Spider-Man that he is really Matt Murdock. Spider-Man finds this incredible to believe and suggests that they go back to his place to talk in private.   At Peter apartment, out of costume, explanations are made all around.  Murdock gets Spider-Man to admit that he leaped into the crowd to help because Daredevil thought what he was doing was right. Murdock applies this logic to the fact that everyone deserves a fair trial under the law, even Stan Carter. Their discussion is interrupted by a phone call. It's Peter's Aunt May, who tells Peter how Ernie shot three youths and turned himself in to the police. Overhearing this, Murdock grabs the phone and offers his services, promising to do everything he can to ensure that Ernie gets a fair trial. Finally seeing Matt Murdock's point, Peter agrees when Matt tells her that he will give her faith that the system works.