Spider-man Database

Sensational Spider-man Vol. 2 Issue 37

Cover scan uploaded on Apr 22, 2007 by WallCrawler

Synopsis:

Submitted by: WallCrawler on Apr 25, 2007

In the midst of transformation, Dr. Calvin Zabo  is ruminating on Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" - namely, how every time he takes his own formula, he wonders how Stevenson knew - how he could describe the change so accurately. At the end of this inner monologue, Zabo is no longer in control, but instead Mr. Hyde is behind the reigns. He readies himself for Spider-man's intrusion.

Meanwhile, elsewhere under the streets of Manhattan, using the device rigged to trace back the tracking signal, Spider-man comes upon an underground chamber with vaulted ceilings and many rooms, all with large glass walls, not unlike a terrarium. Investigating closer, Spider-man finds rooms behind the glass - each decorated like an average teenager's room. Finding them empty, save for one that houses his student that was recently abducted, Jordan Harrison.

Attempting to break Jordan out, both of them learn that the glass is pretty unbreakable. While attempting again to penetrate the barrier, Peter Parker learns of Jordan's abduction and how he was told that his mother was murdered at the hands of his captor, that the same fate would befall his girlfriend if he didn't cooperate. Jordan remembers the name of his captor - and for the first time Peter knows who is behind this twisted experiment. Just then his spider-sense alerts him to the danger he is in. Turning around he sees a hulking shadow rounding the stairway behind him.

We cut to Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, bringing yet another Spider-man impostor into custody at the precinct where Detective Fogg and Dr. Curt Connors are looking after the other subjects of Zabo's experiment. Fogg tries to oust Spidey's whereabouts from Cat, who remains tight-lipped about the subject. However, Fogg wants to let Peter Parker know of the one last missing teenager, and that his mother is alive.

Back underground, Hyde makes good his attack, and subsequently cracks the nearly impervious glass that imprisons Jordan Harrison. While Spider-man keeps Hyde occupied (namely by being thrown through walls and blasting Hyde with steampipes) Jordan applies the science lessons he acquired while a student in Mr. Parker's class and frees himself from his prison.

Hyde muses about the meaning of his alter ego's experiment while trying to taunt Spider-man, revealing to him the reasons: To attempt to "dissect [his] psyche" in order to "find out what drives men like [him]." At this, Spider-man presses the advantage of surprise and attacks, webbing both of Hyde's eyes. Jordan Harrison makes his way through the dark tunnels while Hyde rips the webbing from his eyes, bringing his eyelids with it, telling Spider-man that he embraces pain, doesn't deny his darker impulses, wants to "peel back the layers of humanity and see what animal heart beats underneath."

Jordan Harrison comes upon the lab in which Zabo mixes his experimental chemicals while Hyde taunts Spider-man with the question of whether he has embraced his darker self, displaying it with the black costume that he wears. Back in the lab, Jordan stands over the beakers and vials, realizing that they are dangerous.

Hyde has Peter up against a wall, crushing him with his weight. Mentioning Peter's ailing aunt seems to be the last straw, and Spider-man breaks free of Hyde's deathgrip with a powerful kick to the face. Just then Jordan appears with a smoking flask of liquid, ranting about what was done to him, about his mother's "death", how Hyde/Zabo deserves to die. Jordan's darkness mirrored in Peter's own mind, Spider-man knows that he can't let the inevitable happen and manages to web the flask of liquid, what turns out to be Hydrogen Fluoride, as it soars from Jordan's hand toward Hyde. Peter wasn't quick enough to save Hyde's face of eyesight, but eventually he subdued him.

In the end, Peter, conversing with the Black Cat, is left wondering how Jordan will react to his urges that overtook him in the sewers beneath Manhattan - how close he came to killing Hyde in cold blood, and how he now has to live with that part of himself for the rest of his life.