Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #60

Background

Peter was imprisoned awaiting trial for full multiple murders in Utah on the basis of fingerprint evidence. He didn't do it and his clone Ben Reilly has swapped places with him so Peter can be with his pregnant wife, Mary-Jane. MJ has been told that there could be a problem with the baby she's carrying due to Peter's infected blood. Judas Traveller has been revealed as some sort of mysterious, well traveller, who is hundreds of years old and is searching for the true meaning of evil and good. Peter saved his life after he had played with the time continuum. A new Green Goblin has appeared - and seems to be a good guy - and the mysterious character of Kaine is still over-looking the events in Peter's life. Also, the Jackal has yet another Peter clone.

Story 'The Truth Is Out There'

Kaine / Spidey / Stunner are all fighting. The building they're in collapses with Stunner under the rubble. Spidey tries to look for her in the rubble but she dematerializes. Spidey KO's Kaine, webs him up and looks to take him to the court.

The prosecution is ending his summary in court, saying Peter should be found guilty and sentenced to death. Just in the lobby, Kaine breaks free and battles with Spidey. He says he won't let Spider-Man risk himself for Ben, then pulls off his mask revealing himself as - the first clone. He says he will use all his strength and power to make sure Pete's life is never in danger. He says that's why he set Ben up on a murder charge.

Kaine says he will not save Ben, so Spider-Man decides to unmask in court. Kaine rushes in after him and grabs the DA, putting the Mark of Kaine on him and confessing to framing Peter. He then launches himself at Ben (who the court thinks is Peter) ready to kill him.

General Comments

The action has picked up quite a bit here and we're now ready for the big finale. The cliffhanger is a pretty good one and not as contrived as some of the recent ones have been.

Overall Rating