The issue picks up where issue 2 left off: the fight between Revenant and Spider-Man. Revenant charged Spider-Man with energy forcing him to move quickly out of the area to not harm people. Spider-Man used his webs to go high in the sky, and there was an explosion. Revenant did this in the first issue as well with an elderly woman. When Revenant charged Spider-Man with energy, he was pretty sure Spider-Man would survive. He’s been trying not to hurt Spider-Man since he encountered him.
Currently, Miles Morales is lying in a pile of rubble, beaten and barely conscious. Martin Moore, aka Revenant, is standing over him. The comic does not show it, but Revenant had to look for Spider-Man to find him. Remember, there was an explosion.
Revevant notices Spider-Man is still breathing and says that it’s inconvenient. Revenant tells Spider-Man he doesn’t want to kill him but he will have to hurt him. He blasts Spider-Man with a hard-light energy stun to make sure he stays down, leaving Spider-Man temporarily paralyzed.
Revenant drags Spider-Man off to a deserted subway station platform. He casually snaps a wooden barrier in two and sits down near a burning barrel to talk. Spider-Man lies motionless on the concrete floor, waiting for his venom-blast ability to flush the paralysis out of his system.
As they wait, Martin shares information about his powers. He can construct solid weapons out of hard light. He never asked for this. He hates what he has become and misses his old life. Revenant asked how Spider-Man got his powers. Spider-Man tries to keep Revenant talking, saying it was due to a spider bite? Revenant points out that both of them were altered by situations beyond their control.
The Sin of Jefferson Morales
While Spider-Man tries to buy time, we learn how Martin ended up in this nightmare. Years ago, Martin was trying to catch a bus out of New York City to escape town. Fisk’s men found him, grabbed him at gunpoint, and brought him back to Wilson Fisk.
When Fisk confronted Martin about the leak, Martin insisted he never squealed and blamed Jefferson (Miles’ father) for setting him up. Fisk didn’t care whether Martin was innocent or guilty. Martin thought Fisk was going to kill him. Fisk said he needed to make an example out of him.
Fisk shipped Martin off to a black-site facility in South America. There, scientists subjected him to painful experiments without any anesthesia. They injected Martin with mutant-growth hormones to mutate his muscles and build a human weapon.
While Revevant was telling Spider-Man this, Spider-Man responded it wasn’t Jefferson’s fault Martin chose to work for Fisk. We don’t know why Martin was working for Fisk but let’s keep it real: Fisk is not a man to say no to and expect it to work out well. The reason S.H.I.E.L.D. picked Martin: he doesn’t act like a criminal. He’s the good guy and he easily trusted Jefferson.
It’s kinda weird that Jefferson went undercover using his real name, isn’t it?
You know what else is weird? Revenant didn’t take off Spider-Man’s mask.
Martin is Fueled by Anger
Fisk suggested Martin use his anger towards Jefferson to help him endure the pain. The agony of those experiments broke Martin’s spirit, but his hatred for Jefferson kept him going. He held onto the rage like a lifeline. While locked up in a cell, he learned how to channel his pain into power, eventually forging a solid-light sword with his mind.
He used that blade to slice the cell bars and cut down the guards blocking his path. After walking for two days, he accepted a harsh reality. He couldn’t go back to being Martin Moore.
Back in the present, Spider-Man tries to reason with him. He tells Revenant that Fisk is the real monster, not Jefferson. Revenant realizes Spider-Man is protecting Jefferson like he did on the street and how he protected Jefferson’s wife at the hospital.
Revenant figured out Miles Morales is Jefferson’s son and he’s Spider-Man.
That’s when Spider-Man makes his move. He uses his webs not to fight Revenant, but to get out of there. With his backpack and kicks (shoes), he heads home. Where did the backpack come from? Who knows but he thinks: Now you know what kind of Jefferson Morales is.
Armed with the information that Miles is Spider-Man, Revenant also realizes that Miles sees his father differently. In the mainstream comics, Jefferson takes pride in doing things by the book. This Jefferson is morally not that guy.
The Aftermath at Home
While Spider-Man and Revenant were having their talk, Jefferson decided to finally tell his wife Rio what happened in the past that led to Revenant wanting revenge. Let’s be clear: Jefferson isn’t doing this because he had a change of heart. Revenant’s actions forced Jefferson to tell Rio. Jefferson told Miles what happened in issue #1 and made the choice to continue to hide it from his wife. How long? Long enough for Miles and Val to go on their tea date.
Jefferson: “… and that’s why he came to the hospital. Because I used him.”
Rio: “What else don’t I know about you, Jeff?”
You can see the pain in her eyes. Wait until she finds out he told Miles and not her.
Miles sits in the open window of their front room in his Spider-Man suit, with the mask off. I know, that doesn’t make sense if his identity is a secret. It’s late and he’s battered, bruised, and emotionally drained.
Going to his room, he sees his father in the hallway. Jefferson says it’s late, are you good? Miles avoids looking at him and says, “Yeah, just tired”. Jefferson knows things aren’t okay.
Once Miles gets inside his room, he tries to absorb what he learned. Around 1:00 AM, Miles sits on his bed (still in his Spider-Man suit), pulls out his phone, and calls Val. She answers saying it’s 1:00 AM, are you okay?
Miles: “Can we talk? I just need to talk to somebody. And you said I could be honest, right?”
That’s how the issue ends.
About the Foreshadowing…
This is some of what I said about issue #2:
It’s easy to assume Miles is going to tell Val he’s Spider-Man:
- I said Val will figure out Miles is Spider-Man because Miles will disappear when he is with her and Spider-Man appears. That’s how Martin figured out Spider-Man is Jefferson’s son. Miles kept protecting Jefferson.
- In issue #1, Miles talks with his bestie about working hard to have a normal life. In this issue, we learned that Martin reflected and realized he can’t have a normal life – returning back to Martin Moore. He’s not Revenant.
- Rio thought Jeff was being honest with her. How will Val feel when she learns Miles kept it a secret from her? Being around Miles puts her in danger which makes the relationship not normal, especially since Revenant knows Miles is Jeff’s son. The fact she bluntly said honesty is important probably has Miles feeling a certain way.
- Because he’s feeling a certain way about Val is why he’s not making the wiser decision to talk to his best friend or the Spidey family about this as they know the truth and can give better advice.
- Miles wouldn’t want Val to feel about him how he and his mother feel about Jefferson. Forgetting she’s basically a stranger…
Yes, it’s looking like Miles is going to tell Val he’s Spider-Man. I’m holding out hope that his desire to tap that ass is going to be thrown to the wayside and Miles is going to realize, like Martin did: he can’t have a normal life. Learn from Martin! He didn’t know Jefferson well enough to trust him. Miles doesn’t know Val well enough to trust her. Miles has a spider sense to warn him of threats but it is not as strong as Peter Parker’s. Miles can’t see into the future to trust she will hold his secret for life.
Instead, he should be talking to his parents to inform them that Revenant knows his identity. How are they going to keep their family safe? Revenant wants Jefferson to suffer but he doesn’t want to physically hurt Spider-Man. He didn’t want to physically hurt Rio. Making sure everyone knows what Jefferson did would cripple Jefferson’s reputation.
What better way for Jefferson to feel pain than to ensure he loses everyone he loves and his reputation… making sure he can’t be Jefferson Morales anymore.
Hopefully, there will be a redemption arc for Revenant. Instead of focusing on getting even with Jefferson, he can use his powers for good. He did ask Spider-Man why he does it. To ensure no one else suffers like he did.
