In this era of the Spider-Man's stories, Ezekiel appears to Peter and tells him about his mystical connections someone said.
Ezekiel & Morlun
Spider-Man meets EzekielWhile swinging around as Spider-Man, Peter is confronted by a wealthy CEO named Ezekiel who knows of Peter's dual identity and possesses spider-like super-powers like Peter. After leading Peter on a chase, Ezekiel tells Peter that receiving his powers may not have been an accident and that the spider that bit him may have intended to give him his powers before it was killed by the radiation, stunning Peter. He also tells Peter that his powers have made him a representative of totemistic forces and warns him of a powerful totem eater named Morlun who will eventually come to to hunt him down and kill him. Because Ezekiel admires Peter's heroics, he wants to help him and he offers him the protection of a safe house that will prevent Morlun from finding him but Peter refuses to hide. While Peter was applying for a job as a science teacher in his old High School, Morlun, the totem eater Ezekiel spoke of, watched Peter from afar causing Peter's Spider-Sense to trigger at a very high degree. Later on, when Peter was saving people from a burning building, Morlun appeared and punched Spidey through the building and on to a car. Spidey attempted to fight Morlun off but he was clearly out-matched by Morlun who showed no sign of fatigue.
Spider-Man vs MorlunMorlun revealed that he is Spider-Man's natural predator and that he will stop at nothing from killing him and feeding on his spider-totem. Spider-Man, barley surviving the battle, managed to escape and sought Ezekiel's help. However, Ezekiel tells Peter that there's nothing he can do now that Morlun has found him because Morlun possesses the unique ability of tracking his prey anywhere once contact has been made. Distraught, Peter leaves and he is attacked again by Morlun. As they fought again around , thinking he will die, Peter calls MJ and Aunt May, telling them that he loves them. Just when Morlun was about to feed on Spider-Man, Ezekiel appeared just in time, saving Peter and even managing to draw blood from Morlun. However, they were still out-matched and Morlun fed on Ezekiel and threw his seemingly dead body into the waters below before walking away.
After failing to find Ezekiel's body, Peter takes a sample of the blood Ezekiel made Morlun shed during the fight to his home and studies it. After studying the blood, Peter reasones that because he recieved his powers from the bite of an irradiated spider, he can re-dose himself with radiation thus making his blood unpalatable for Morlun. Spidey infiltrates a nuclear power plant and doses himself with a radioactive fluid before seemingly collapsing. As expected, Morlun, accompanied by his servant Dex, made his way to the power plant and attempted to feed on the unconscious Spider-Man. However, as soon as Morlun touched Spidey, he was poisoned by the radiation Peter dosed himself with and began to grow weak. Spider-Man then starts to mercilessly beat Morlun around the plant. As Morlun pleads Spider-Man to spare him, promising to leave and never return, Spidey ponders wether he should kill Morlun or not. However, Dex makes this decision instead and kills Morlun with a gun because he can no longer handle his master's mistreatment. As Morlun dies, he tells Peter that it wasn't personal, he was just hungry. Feeling sympathy for Dex, he lets him go and goes to Ezekiel's building to inform the board of the CEO's death. However, when he arrived the building was empty and he was relieved to see Ezekiel, alive and well, leaving in a limo.
Shade
Spidey vs ShadeSome time later, Jenny, a homeless student Peter befriended informed him of the disappearance of some other homeless kids so Peter goes to investigate as Spider-Man. He witnesses a guy known as the Shade attempting to kidnap some kids so he tries to fight him but the Shade demonstrates the power of intangibility before teleporting away to the Astral Plane. With the help of Doctor Strange, Spider-Man gains access to the Astral Plane where Shade is keeping Jenny whom he had just kidnapped, and the other disappeared kids whose energy he intends to use to maintain his physical form. Spidey destroys Shade by punching him into a mystical cocoon and rescues the other children. On his way out of the astral plane, Spidey is confronted by a mystical spider creature who tells him "You who are of us...and not of us...your time is not yet. Leave."
Shathra
Spidey vs ShathraAfter Spidey's battle with Shade, the mystical spider predator known as Shathra the Spider-Wasp sensed Spidey's presence and tracked him down to Earth where she intends to feed him to her off springs. Spidey has a quick fight with Shathra before managing to escape. Shathra then takes a human form and goes to the Daily Bugle where she claims that she and Spider-Man are lovers and starts pulling fake claims on live TV to disgrace him. This angers him and he goes to the Daily Bugle to fight her, as she wanted: an enraged Spider-Man to feed to her children. She then takes her true form and poisons him. As he was about to die from the poison, Ezekiel returned and saved him by bringing him to a temple in where he was healed. Shathra followed him there but she was defeated by a more focused Spider-Man and was eaten by a swarm of spiders. Ezekiel told Peter that this is part of the "food chain".
After his fight with Shathra, Peter has a conversation with Ezekiel who continues to tell Peter about his connection to mystical totemistic forces. He also warnes Peter that Morlun and Shathra are not the only ones hunting him and another more powerful foe is coming for him. After the conversation, Peter leaves and decides to go to to sort things out with Mary Jane once and for all. Ironically, Mary Jane is thinking the same thing and decides to go to . With neither having any luck in finding the other, they both decide to return from where they came.
And even if it`s not an actual part of The Spider Totem, the following story (in ASM 491) is still the continuation of the previous part. This is how it goes.
By coincidence, Peter and MJ bump into each other in the airport. However, their reunion is cut short by the appearance of Doctor Doom, who is targeted by some suicide bombers. After Spidey and Captain America (who happened to be in the airport, as Dooms bodyguard) take down the bombers, Peter introduces MJ to Captain. In the end, they both realize how much they need each other because Mary Jane is what keeps Petey going on as Spider-Man and they finally reconcile. Also, because Aunt May knew Peter's identity, she and MJ became much closer.
The Book of Ezekiel
Ezekiel tells Peter about the GatekeeperSome time later, Spidey met up with Ezekiel after taking down a thug and invites him over for dinner. After dinner, Ezekiel warns Peter of the coming of the being known as Gatekeeper, who controles mystical forces. Ezekiel says that since Peter received his powers by accident, the Gatekeeper sees him as unworthy to be in possession of the powers so he will try to kill Peter. Ezekiel tells Peter to go to Africa with him where it's safe but Peter refuses. Some time later, swarms of spiders invade New York and attack civilians. Spider-Man tries to save as many civilians as he can when Ezekiel calls him and says that the Gatekeeper he mentioned has arrived to kill Peter and he urges to go with him to Africa but Peter wants to stay and help the people. The spiders gather to form the body of the Gatekeeper Ezekiel was talking about and he tells Peter that bugs are important to the
The Gatekeeperworld and the spiders are the hunters of the bug-world. Spider-Man attempts to fight the Gatekeeper but he is easily outmatched and the Gatekeeper continues to tell him that he was chosen by mystical forces to recieve his powers as has become a natural hunter because of all the pent up anger he carried throughout his life. Peter is confused because it contradictes with what Ezekiel said and the Gatekeeper reveals that Ezekiel is a pretender who is unworthy of his powers because he "stole" them. Spider-Man later wakes up, battered and bloodied, to see Ezekiel menacingly standing over him and saying that he has to kill Peter because the Gatekeeper will only allow one of them to live. Peter realizes that all of the supernatural menaces he has recently fought were really after Ezekiel. They fight but Ezekiel defeats Spider-Man by drugging him with a
Ezekiel reveals his true motivessyringe. Ezekiel chains Peter to a column in a temple and stabs him with a knife to have his blood flow into the spider runes on the floor. Then a giant spider monster (probably the Gatekeeper) appears, ready to kill Peter as Ezekiel walks away. In a state of panic, Peter uses his spider-sense to bond with Ezekiel's mind where Ezekiel sees all the heroic things Peter has done with his powers and he comes to the realization that he has wasted his life by only seeking wealth and that Peter is the worthy hero so he goes back and has the spider monster kill him instead of Peter. A shaman named Miguel who was at the runes buries Ezekiel and tells Peter that Ezekiel has redeemed himself by saving Peter. Peter asks Miguel weither his powers came from science or magic, and Miguel tells Peter that they came from both because they co-exist and in any case Peter was meant to have them.
Collected Editions
Non-U.S. Editions
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