Identity Within Part II

It’s the end of 2017. With the year finally winding down, Tony and the others have somehow survived three near-catastrophes, one wedding that never made it to the vows, and enough collective trauma to make reaching New Year’s feel like an accomplishment in itself. They’ve been drowned, poisoned, beaten, scorched around the edges, and otherwise introduced to just about every terrible idea OsCorp ever managed to put its name on. 

Needless to say, Tony’s about ready to call it a year.

Unfortunately, Norman Osborn doesn’t seem particularly interested in letting him. Months spent chasing Osborn through courtrooms, corporate records, and one disaster after another have gotten them nowhere. Worse, every chance Norman gets seems to end with someone else paying for it. After what happened at the wedding — and especially after what happened to Peter — Tony’s patience has finally run out. He’s done waiting for another lawsuit, another mistake, or another attack. This time, he intends to make sure Norman doesn’t get another chance.

Meanwhile, Peter’s beginning to wonder how useful Spider-Man has actually been lately. Every time he thinks he’s getting better at this whole superhero thing, something bigger comes along to knock him flat on his butt again. Considering his ongoing streak of kidnappings and catastrophic blood loss, maybe sitting this one out wouldn’t be the worst idea he’s ever had.

Besides, Iron Man and Captain America can handle Norman Osborn. Whatever that thing was at the wedding, it’s so far out of Spider-Man’s league Peter can barely see the league from Queens. Maybe knowing when not to throw himself at the homicidal green monster was the sign of maturity he’d been waiting for all along.

But with Osborn showing no signs of stopping, and Tony preparing to finally put an end to the nightmare OsCorp started, Peter may discover that the people he expects to finish this fight won’t always be there to fight it for him.

Sooner or later, he might have to start giving Spider-Man a little more credit, and he just might have to figure out what that looks like without Tony there to show him.