Ultimate Spider-Man: Origins
Issue: #33
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inker: Art Thiebert, with Rodney Ramos
Colors: Transparency Digital

We begin with Peter beating himself up over his break-up with MJ. He berates himself and actually picks up the phone to call her, then changes his mind and flings the phone across the room; the phone breaks. He begins to move boxes as he searches for the pieces of the phone, and discovers a door in the wall. Behind the door are stacks of cardboard boxes, a wooden sled, and other items. Peter opens one of the boxes. It contains photos of him as a boy, his parents when they were alive, and his father with a lab partner. Digging further into the box, Peter finds a videotape, and heads upstairs to play it. He passes Aunt May and Gwen Stacy in the kitchen, where they’re making cookies and Aunt May is relating a humorous story about a Jimi Hendrix concert. Peter turns down an invitation to help with the cookies. Gwen comments to Aunt May that he’s struggling with a bad break-up. Aunt May feels she should talk to him, but finds she can’t think of anything to say.

The video is a recording of a picnic. A very young Peter is trying to tell his dad about penguins, but gets hit in the head with a Frisbee. The boy throwing the Frisbee is Eddie Brock, a childhood friend of Peter’s. The Brock and Parker families (including a much younger Aunt May and Uncle Ben) all appear on the tape. The conversation moves to the discussion of Ed Brock, Sr. and Ray (Richard) Parker trying to get publicity for a medical research project they’re working on. They decide against it until they get further along with the research. The tape ends with Peter talking about different types of frogs.

Both Peter and Aunt May respond to seeing their dead loved ones on the tape. May explains that Peter and Eddie Brock played together for many years, until both his and Peter’s parents died in the same plane crash. She suggests that Peter track Eddie down and give him a copy of the tape. Peter locates Eddie at Empire State University and calls him. They agree to meet on campus.

Peter likes his first look at college life (including the girls), and he and Eddie catch up over coffee. They talk about high school (Eddie belittles the entire experience), and Peter reveals that he’s been reading over his father’s notes. Eddie has, too – in fact, he’s gone beyond reading them, and is actually doing experimental work to carry on their fathers’ work. He takes Peter to the lab and shows him a beaker full of dark liquid – their inheritance.

Submitted By: Seldes Katne