Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #8

Issue Details

Synopsis

RETURN TO SENDER Spider-Man is sitting on a rooftop and is approached by a cat. He thinks about how his Aunt May told him to stay away from cats because she thought he was allergic. He wonders how many ideas that people have of others are wrong. He also wonders how much he knows about his wife, Mary Jane Watson, and if she is allergic to cats.  He also wonders what his wife would think if he brought a cat home when suddenly his spider-sense begins to go off. He narrowly avoids an energy blast that was shot in his direction. Leaping over to see where the shot came from, he watches a ship carrying two armored men chasing after a woman. These are Purifiers under the employ of the High Evolutionary and they are seeking to eliminate the girl below.  Spider-Man recognizes the technology from similar men he fought earlier with Daredevil.  Catching up to the woman they are chasing, the wall-crawler is shocked to discover she looks like his former girlfriend Gwen Stacy. This shocks him because Gwen Stacy is dead.  This woman is horrified to see Spider-Man tries to flee. When the web-slinger tires to follow after her, the Purifiers blast at him again. Spider-Man tries to stop them, they teleport away. He can hardly believe that the woman he saw was Gwen Stacy, but has to get home before this woman gets to his home.   Meanwhile, aboard a massive submarine in the middle of the ocean, the Purifier known as Doctor Quint reports back to the High Evolutionary to tell him that they failed in capturing Gwen Stacy. When Quint asks why she is so important, the Evolutionary explains that she is a genetic freak that needs further examination. The secrets her body contains are an important part to his plans to purify the human race so they are ready to reach their next level of evolution. With that, the High Evolutionary turns into pure energy and leaves the vessel. Back at Peter and Mary Jane's condo, Spider-Man digs through his drawers for a photo album. He struggles with the mix of emotions he feels after seeing the woman who looked like Gwen Stacy. Just then, Mary Jane returns home from shopping. She begins telling him about her plans but notices that her husband's mind is on something else. That's when he reveals to her that Gwen Stacy is back. At that moment, the High Evolutionary has reached the Celestials massive ship in deep space. He has come seeking the Young Gods who have been honing their powers under the Celestial's care after they were transformed into superhumans by Earth's many pantheons in order to prove to the Celestials that humanity is a viable species.[Continuity 5] The High Evolutionary boards the ship where he witnesses Junipur and Katos training the Young Gods in the use of their powers.   The training session becomes heated until Varua detects the High Evolutionary's presence aboard their ship. The Evolutionary is revealed when Daydreamer uses her mental powers to make the intruder visible. At this point, the High Evolutionary is disappointed as he was expecting to see gods, but found only children with god-like power and departs. The Young Gods fail to stop the High Evolutionary from departing. However, Daydreamer uses her powers to probe the intruder's mind as he departs. They are horrified to see that the High Evolutionary is plotting genetic suicide on the planet Earth. Although Katos thinks that this is a problem for the human race to solve, Junipur disagrees. One-half of the Young Gods agree with Katos, however, Bright Sword, an Isralie, refuses to allow another holocaust much like his people suffered during World War II. The other half of the Young Gods agree, and upon Bright Sword's orders, Highnote sings out a song spell that teleports Bright Sword's allies to Earth.  Back on Earth, Mary Jane is hurt that Gwen Stacy is apparently back, thinking that she pales in comparison compared to Gwen. Peter reassures his wife that this isn't Gwen Stacy, but the clone that was created by Miles Warren. He assures her that he has gotten over the death of Gwen and that Mary Jane is the one he truly loves. Suddenly there is a knock on the door, and Peter braces himself for who he expects on the other side. It's the clone of Gwen Stacy who immediately rushes into Peter's arms. This opens up his bathrobe and she sees that Peter is wearing a Spider-Man costume. Horrified, the clone flees the scene. Peter scrambles to go after her when Mary Jane points out that he still loves Gwen Stacy. Peter admits that he is confused but that the clone is confused and needs help. Mary Jane tells him to go to her aid and sort out his feelings once and for all, or not come back. Outside, Spider-Man swings down and pulls the clone of Gwen out of traffic before she can get struck by the traffic. She accuses Spider-Man of murdering her father, but he tries to explain that George Stacy sacrificed his life to save a child from falling debris.  Suddenly, Spider-Man is blasted by a Purifier wearing a suit of battle armor. The Purifier then grabs Gwen and begins to teleport away. Unwilling to lose Gwen again, Spider-Man leaps at the Purifier and is teleported away with them.   Finding himself in the High Evolutionary's submarine, where he is ordered to be removed and Gwen to be taken to a gene tester. Spider-Man defends himself against the other Purifiers while Quint places Gwen in the gene scanner. Suddenly, Bright Sword, Highnote, Daydreamer, Mindsinger, and Splice teleport into the facility. While the Young Gods deal with the Purifiers, Spider-Man goes looking for Gwen and finds her in the gene tester. He leaps down to free her but is grabbed by another Purifier. Suddenly, the rest of the Young Gods arrive, having decided to go after their teammates and rein them back in. Soon the Young Gods are battling each other, creating more chaos while the High Evolutionary goes over the readings from his scan of the Gwen Stacy clone and he is not happy with what he sees. Meanwhile, the Young Gods who have sided with Katos gain the upper hand, thanks to the direction from Calculus. However, the battle is turned when Daydreamer uses her powers to incapacitate Calculus, ending the battle. At that moment, Spider-Man has broken free from the Purifier and manages to free the Gwen Stacy clone from the gene tester. Spider-Man hugs her and assures her that she is safe because is with him, Peter Parker. However, he pulls away from her and tells the Stacy clone that no matter what he felt for the original Gwen Stacy, she is dead and Peter loves someone else. The Gwen clone pleads with Peter not to leave her alone. Spider-Man assures her that he will help her get back home once he gets some answers.   He approaches the Young Gods as Caduceus uses his powers to heal Calculus' damaged mind. The Young Gods have come to the conclusion that perhaps they should stay out of the affairs of humanity if it means fighting among themselves. After briefly explaining who they are to Spider-Man, Highnote teleports the Young Gods away. That when the High Evolutionary confronts Spider-Man and the Gwen Stacy clone. Spider-Man demands to know what he wanted with the clone of Gwen Stacy. The High Evolutionary explains that he wanted to confirm if she was a clone or not. He then reveals a shocking revelation: This woman is not a clone of Gwen Stacy.  He theorizes that Miles Warren used a woman with a similar genotype and created a genetic virus to change the woman so she resembled Gwen Stacy down to a genetic level. After this revelation, the High Evolutionary uses his powers to teleport Spider-Man and the woman who was once believed to be a clone to be teleported back to New York City.    After hearing that she is not really a clone of Gwen Stacy, the woman breaks down and wonders what she will do next. Suddenly, Daydreamer of the Young Gods arrives and having sensed "Gwen's" distress, has come to help. Using her powers, Daydreamer uses her powers to remove the illusions from her mind and apparently restoring the woman to her true form. Her mind at ease, the woman once thought of as Gwen Stacy walks away. It's only once she is gone that Peter realizes he never learned her real name. However, this whole experience has helped him sort out his feelings. Peter returns home to Mary Jane and tells her that he still loves Gwen Stacy, but she is gone for good. Although he still loves Gwen, he points out that he loves Mary Jane, even more, assuring her that Gwen Stacy is part of his past, and Mary Jane is his future.