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00:00Hello, MCU fans. Today is going to be my Spider-Man 94, issue number four, breakdown and review.
00:06Of course, this five-issue limited series continues the awesome Spider-Man the Animated Series from the 90s.
00:12And I apologize in advance, my nose is still a little stuffy, I'm sure you can tell that, but I've had a lot of people asking about this breakdown.
00:18So, let's get right to it. There will be spoilers, but as long as you're okay with that, then let's dive right in and see what we can find out.
00:25Don't forget, we have a December contest running all month long. Be subscribed or leave a comment, you could win a book or a steelbook. Best of luck.
00:31We also have a membership option with lots of cool perks, so you might check it out.
00:34Plus, hang around until the end of the video, and I'll talk about the Doomsday Countdown rewatch on the Discord.
00:40Alright, so this is Spider-Man 94, issue number four, which obviously heavily features Kraven the Hunter.
00:45So, the main cover is the one you see over on the left, but there are some alternate covers that are pretty cool.
00:50We've got this one that's like a Morland action figure.
00:52We've got this one that has the Kingpin kind of driving what's going on in the background, and Kingpin does appear in this issue, so that's cool.
01:00Then we get this one with Null, which I promise you, Null does not appear in the issue.
01:04And then finally, we have this one with the Spider-Slayers, which also don't appear.
01:07But I love all the alternate covers. Very, very cool.
01:10Alright, so this issue starts with a summary of the previous issue.
01:13Cain, the failed clone of an immortal being named Morland, broke into the house of Aunt May and confronted Mary Jane.
01:20Meanwhile, after escaping the trap of his captor, a battered Spider-Man found himself face-to-face with Kraven the Hunter.
01:27But is he friend or foe?
01:29Alright, so the very first panel tells us something very interesting about Fisk.
01:33So this is at the Sims Foundation, and Sims himself is saying,
01:38Mayor Fisk? Governor Raleigh? Distinguished guests, I'm grateful for you all to be coming this evening and witnessing the unveiling of my greatest achievement.
01:47Well, wait a minute. Mayor Fisk?
01:49Now, Governor Raleigh, I've looked everywhere. I can't find one in the comics, so I think that's a brand new character.
01:55But Mayor Fisk?
01:57Alright, let's talk about this.
01:58So the last time Fisk appeared was in season number 5, in episode number 6, Six Forgotten Warriors, Chapter 5, The Price of Heroism.
02:06And notice Electro was a key figure in that episode.
02:09Also notice it took place in November of 1996, at least according to the timeline that I put together.
02:15Alright, so in that episode, in fact, Electro badly injures Fisk, says all of you, your abilities are pathetic.
02:22And then by the end of the episode, we see Fisk being taken away in an ambulance,
02:26and notice Spider-Man saying, Fisk, you'll be okay, they'll get you to a place where you can recuperate.
02:31So if you remember the original series, Fisk wasn't necessarily a good guy,
02:34but certainly wasn't in criminal trouble when we left things off.
02:38Alright, so that's November of 1996.
02:41Okay, so if we go to our timeline, which remember, I'm keeping both the X-Men timeline at the top,
02:46and Spider-Man timeline at the bottom, and in the middle is any time the two series cross over.
02:50Well, if Kingpin's last appearance was in November of 1996, and then I think issue number four is still taking place in the June timeframe of 1997,
02:59how did he go from, well, not being a mayor in November 1996 to being the mayor in June of 1997?
03:07And this gets especially tricky, because there's a mayoral election in November of 1997.
03:11So what is going on?
03:14Well, I mean, the only way I can make this work is, well, if we pull a trick from Daredevil Born Again, right?
03:20He ran in a recall election.
03:22I've been informed I have the 25,000 signatures, and ultimately he was elected the 112th mayor of New York City,
03:29but it was an off-election cycle because it was a recall of the existing mayor.
03:34But honestly, that does seem a little weird to recall the mayor in the same year they're actually having an election.
03:40So, I don't know, we just kind of have to let it go, but I'd love your thoughts.
03:45How on earth did he become mayor?
03:47Anyway, though, back to the comic.
03:48So Sims is saying, I've asked you all to come this evening to witness my greatest achievement,
03:53and that is Project Loka, the world's most advanced, most miraculous solar power plant,
03:59capable of providing affordable, clean energy to the entire East Coast of the United States.
04:04Now, if you remember the name Loka, that was his home world that we learned about in the previous issue.
04:10So he's naming his project after his highly advanced home world.
04:14All right.
04:15So then he says, this, of course, is merely a model of the complex I've built upstate,
04:19but it's a fairly accurate one.
04:21So Kingpin is very surprised.
04:22He's like, how have we not heard of this until now, Mr. Sims?
04:25To which he says, well, let's say I like surprises.
04:28And then I totally can hear Kingpin from the animated series saying, I don't, right?
04:34Can you hear his voice?
04:35I love it.
04:36And then he says, what, pray tell, will this miracle of yours cost my city?
04:40Not a cent, Mayor.
04:41It's my gift to you.
04:43Well, forgive my skepticism, Sims, but I'll believe in your miracle when I can see it with my own eyes.
04:48To which Sims says, oh, you will see it in a matter of weeks, perhaps less.
04:53Weeks, says Kingpin?
04:54Your project is near completion?
04:57It is complete, he says.
04:58We just need to run some final tests.
05:00And Kingpin responds, I'm not a man who's easily impressed, but if this is true, if you can actually do this, to which he says, oh, I most certainly can.
05:10And soon enough, I'll be able to expand locus reach across the country and across the planet.
05:16Okay, let's just be honest.
05:18There is no way this is good, right?
05:20This is going to end very poorly for, well, the country and the planet if his plans go into fruition.
05:26All right, so Kingpin says, you're either mankind's savior or the most magnificent fraud I've ever encountered.
05:33And Sims responds, the former, I assure you.
05:36What you see here, Wilson, is only the beginning.
05:38Our world has lived in darkness for far too long.
05:42And I have every intention of finally turning on the light.
05:46A new age is upon us.
05:48Oh, man, this is not going to end well, right?
05:50But he says, but for now, there's some urgent business I have to attend to first.
05:57Oh, man, we all know where he's going, right?
05:59He's going back here.
06:00So meanwhile, we got to catch up with Spider-Man.
06:02Remember, at the end of the last issue, it looked like he was going to be impaled with Craven's spear.
06:07But nope, sure enough, when he says for a moment there, I thought you were going to, and Craven says, kill you?
06:13I have not come here for you, Spider-Man.
06:15We laid our quarrels to rest long ago.
06:18And we'll talk more about that in just a second.
06:19He says, no, I've come hunting bigger game.
06:23And notice, upper left corner, chapter four, hunted.
06:26So Craven reaches down his hand, and Spider-Man decides, well, I guess my only choice is to trust him.
06:32Then Craven catches us up on what he's been up to since we've last seen him.
06:36He says, I trust you remember the love of my life, Dr. Mariah Crawford, or as I sometimes called her, my sweet Calypso.
06:44So the last time we saw her, Calypso was kind of going mad, right?
06:47And Craven says, and I'm sure you also remember what happened to her when the wonder drug meant to cure her of a terrible disease transformed my love as it had once transformed me into a feral beast.
06:59But with your help and the black cats, we administered the antidote that saved Mariah's life, restored her to sanity and health.
07:08And you and the cat earned my eternal gratitude that day.
07:12So yeah, you might remember this episode.
07:14This is actually how the episode ended.
07:16Here's Craven saying, I vow to stay by her side and protect her always.
07:21All right.
07:21So this timeline actually works much better than the kingpins.
07:24So the last time we saw Craven was in season four, episode number four, Partners in Danger, part four, The Return of Craven.
07:32Notice that that's in July of 1996.
07:35And again, if we look at our timeline, since it's now June of 1997, that means it's been about 11 months since we've seen Craven.
07:42So that works perfectly.
07:44So now he's going to fill us in on what he's been doing since then.
07:47So he says, we went back to our African home and for a time we were happy there, Adam and Eve in our own personal Garden of Eden.
07:54But then, like Adam and Eve, we soon found our paradise invaded, not by a serpent, but by death.
08:02For you see, our cure was only temporary.
08:04The wonder drug had done irreparable damage to Mariah's cells.
08:08And so, with heartbreaking swiftness, she grew weaker and weaker.
08:12And in a matter of months, my beloved died in my arms.
08:16The only woman I ever loved, and she was torn from me.
08:19Can you imagine what that's like?
08:21Of course, you're probably thinking the same thing as me.
08:23Yeah, Spider-Man's like, oh, I don't have to imagine, Sergei.
08:26I've lived it.
08:28He certainly has with MJ, right?
08:30So, Craven says, then you know the fog of soul-crushing grief that enveloped me.
08:35A grief that only deepened.
08:37When, going through Mariah's research papers, I discovered that she knew the serum was killing her.
08:42I knew, too, that the traces in my blood would one day kill me as well.
08:49Why she died first when I imbibed the serum before her, I can't say.
08:53But I knew, then, what I had to do.
08:56Drink from the fountain one last time.
08:58Let it fill me with the strength and cunning of a hundred jungle beasts.
09:02Yes, that would hasten my end.
09:04But I would die as I lived.
09:06A hunter.
09:07But who, I wondered, would be my final prey.
09:10Then I heard the legends about an immortal being who sustained himself by consuming the life force of the innocent.
09:17And I tracked him from city to city, continent to continent, astonished to discover that this demon, this Morlin, walked among us in plain sight.
09:28As the inventor and philanthropist, Ezekiel Sims, I've stalked that monster for months, and he has been unaware of my presence.
09:35But now the game must end.
09:37Now I must complete, say it with me, class, my last hunt.
09:43I love it, right?
09:44Craven's last hunt.
09:45What does that immediately make you think of?
09:47Well, the incredible six-part storyline that was entitled Craven's last hunt.
09:52It went through Web of Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man, and Spectacular Spider-Man for six glorious issues.
09:58Really, one of the best series.
10:00One of the best six-issue arcs, for sure, in Spider-Man's history.
10:03Love it.
10:03But things are about to take a turn for the worst, as Spider-Man says, uh-oh, and Craven says, I feel it too, Spider-Man.
10:10And sure enough, they see a bunch more of those nasty beasts that Spider-Man fought one of them, if you might remember, in the previous issue.
10:17But we'll have to wait a bit before we find out what happens, because now we're going to pick up with Kane and MJ having a heart-to-heart.
10:24So Kane says, why do I love you?
10:27Who are you?
10:28MJ says.
10:29What do you want?
10:30He says, I don't know.
10:31I don't know.
10:33It's Parker, the spider.
10:35It's like he's inside my head.
10:37His thoughts, his feelings, tearing me apart.
10:41And MJ's like, Peter?
10:43Where is he?
10:44What have you done to him?
10:45He says, I've done nothing.
10:46It's my father who, who, what, she says.
10:50Look at her with that baseball bat.
10:52Do not mess with MJ.
10:53Dang.
10:54Anyway, Kane says, the pain.
10:57So much pain.
10:58Well, what is it?
10:59What's wrong?
11:00Asks MJ.
11:00I told you, he says, I don't know.
11:04I was there with the spider.
11:05I touched him, and all that he is flooded my being.
11:10But then, he says, I understand.
11:13My father, Morland, he has granted me life and taken it away over and over and over.
11:19He thought I was damaged, a failed clone.
11:21But each time I was born again, I was evolving, growing stronger, wiser.
11:26Moreland robbed me of the memory of those many lifetimes.
11:29But I have them all back now and more.
11:33My psyche is opening in a whole new way.
11:36I'm able to touch the thoughts of the people around me.
11:40That's why I know Parker.
11:41And yes, you, so intimately.
11:44All right.
11:44So let's take a little pause there for a second.
11:46I mean, they're definitely explaining why Kane would have Parker's memories.
11:49You know, when he touched him, they flooded into him.
11:51But let's be honest.
11:53That looks just like Peter Parker.
11:55Or at least the Peter that's being drawn in these issues, right?
11:59I'm still wondering if there's some connection between Peter and Kane.
12:03We'll have to wait and see, right?
12:04But it sure looks like it.
12:07All right.
12:07Anyway, Kane then says, Parker's love for you, it permeated me, settled into the depths of my being.
12:14Morland always told me that love was a weakness.
12:17But I see now that it may be humanity's greatest strength.
12:21And MJ says, tell me more about Morland.
12:24Who is he?
12:24What does he want with Peter?
12:26And he responds, how to explain a primal force that's far more than a man,
12:32that's walked this earth for a millennia.
12:34All I can say is that his intentions are noble, but his means are often deadly.
12:39And I'm sorry to say your husband will be a casualty of Morland's cause.
12:44Yikes.
12:45So MJ says, no, you can't let that happen.
12:48You can't let Peter die.
12:49You have no idea what we've been through to find each other again.
12:53It can't end like this.
12:56And Kane asks, you, you expect me to stop Morland?
13:00He's my father.
13:01He, and MJ says, you have to.
13:05So Kane stares her down for a few seconds, trying to decide what to do,
13:09but then finally leaves and says, I'll try.
13:13All right.
13:13So then back to Craven and Spidey, who are now fighting for their lives.
13:17Spider-Man says, I ran into one of these beasties before.
13:20Of course, last issue, right?
13:21Best guess is they're a food source Morland's created here in his labs, genetically engineered
13:27totems for him to feed on.
13:29Craven says, well, I assure you one thing, Spider-Man, they won't be feeding on us.
13:33And Spider-Man says, I admire your positive attitude, Sergei, but these things look like
13:38they could tear us both apart.
13:40And then he thinks to himself, Spider-Sense is buzzing like mad.
13:44Meanwhile, Craven takes one of them out.
13:46Yikes.
13:47That, he ain't gonna walk away from that, right?
13:49And his lion takes out another as Spider-Man realizes there's some greater danger, but
13:55I won't be able to get a fix on it while I'm wrestling with this oversized crustacean.
13:59So he snaps his claws.
14:01Oh man, look at the thing, screaming in pain.
14:03Ouch.
14:04Then he says, hey, not so hard.
14:06I've had enough aches and pains as it is.
14:08And that weird thing is fighting him, right?
14:10But then he finally realizes, that device, that's what's been getting my Spidey Sense
14:14in an uproar.
14:15And if my guess is right, and then he webs at it, rips it off the wall, and says getting
14:20rid of it might just save all our lives.
14:23I was right.
14:24That device was emitting some kind of signal that was driving the totems to attack us.
14:28And now that it's disabled, they might help us take Morland down.
14:33So yeah, he tries to reason with them.
14:35Listen to me, all of you.
14:36We mean you no harm.
14:38And I think that together we can, and well, so much for that, because Morland zaps them
14:45all into non-existence, right?
14:47He says, do you really believe these lumbering brutes can understand you?
14:51But actually, notice, he still looks like Ezekiel Sims at this point.
14:55But he says, you were correct, Spider.
14:57And yes, I have been watching and listening this whole time.
15:01I was attempting to create synthetic totems to fuel my immortality.
15:06But they provided minor nourishment at best.
15:09Spider-Man's like, you, you murdered them.
15:12And he responds, your outrage is misplaced.
15:15They would have died soon anyway.
15:17But let me divest myself of the lie that is Ezekiel Sims, and face you as the eternal truth
15:23that is Morland of Loka.
15:25A trick I learned from a shapeshifter in India a thousand years ago.
15:28But before he can finish, he's cut off by Kraven's lion jumping at him.
15:33He says, how touching, Kravenoff.
15:35Your pet seeks to protect you.
15:37And it looks like he might get him trapped, right?
15:39As he says, and really, what better way for a loyal servant to die than sacrificing himself?
15:44Oh man, this ain't gonna be good, right?
15:47For his beloved master.
15:48And he cracks his neck.
15:50Oh man, that's painful, right?
15:53And Kraven shouts out, I'm gonna try again to pronounce this.
15:56I'm sure I'm gonna do it wrong.
15:57He shouts out, Gulyadkin, as he knows that he has lost his prized pet and now, basically,
16:04his best friend.
16:06So, Kraven is out for blood.
16:08Spider-Man says, Kraven, don't.
16:09He wants you to attack him.
16:11He's going to.
16:12Kraven does not care.
16:13Keep out of this.
16:14Morland says, oh, I've been aware for months you've been stalking me, Kravenoff.
16:19It amused me to let you believe you were winning the game.
16:22But now, you're just another obstacle in my way.
16:26But ooh, Kraven draws first blood right through him.
16:30I mean, that took out those creatures before.
16:32But nope, that is not gonna take out Morland.
16:34Kraven says, die, damn you.
16:36But he says, better man than you have tried.
16:38And like you, they failed.
16:41Man, he's not even injured.
16:43He's not even hurt by that.
16:45Goodness gracious.
16:46Then he says, this is your last hunt.
16:50As Spider-Man realizes he's draining the life out of him, killing him.
16:55And he says, feels like my ribs are cracked.
16:57And I might just have a concussion on top of that.
16:59But I've got to get up.
17:00I've got to.
17:02And then in comes Kane.
17:03Let him go.
17:06He says, you seek to do good in this world, Father.
17:09But at what cost?
17:11How many innocent lives have been lost along the way?
17:14And he gets a good punch in.
17:16Man, ouch.
17:17I am not your puppet anymore.
17:20But Morland says, do you know what you really are, Kane?
17:24And he leaps on top of him and says, a walking abomination, imperfectly fashioned from my own cells.
17:32How could you possibly imagine you're anything more?
17:36Okay.
17:37Well, now he's saying that Kane is from Morland's cells.
17:40So maybe he's not Peter's cells.
17:42I don't know.
17:43I'm just, I really, really think Peter has something to do with it.
17:46But anyway, he says, the next time I rebirth you.
17:49And he strangles him and says, I'll wipe those pathetic delusions from your mind.
17:55Oh, man.
17:57Then look at the goop in his hands.
17:58He says, but perhaps I won't resurrect you again.
18:02Perhaps at long last, Kane, you've fulfilled your purpose.
18:07As he squeezes that goop.
18:08Oh, man.
18:09Savage.
18:10And then he turns to Spider-Man.
18:13As have you, Parker.
18:14It's been a delightful dance, but it's over.
18:17If prayers give you comfort, now would be the time to...
18:20And then we hear this gurgling, this bubbling, this blurbing, right?
18:26And Morland turns and says, what in the name of...
18:30And then we see the creature that has risen behind him.
18:33The evolution of Kane.
18:35As he says, astonishment and fear.
18:38Two emotions I've never seen cross your face before.
18:41Father.
18:42But it's an appropriate reaction.
18:44You should fear me.
18:45And so should the world.
18:48And then Spider-Man is saying,
18:49I'm not sure what just happened, but I know it's not good.
18:54Oh, man.
18:55Right?
18:55What an issue.
18:56Now we have the final issue coming up next to be human.
19:00Hmm.
19:01Man.
19:02Really good issue.
19:03Right?
19:03Really good issue.
19:04All right.
19:04So really quickly, a reminder.
19:06This is the timeline.
19:07Right?
19:08And I'm still convinced we're in June of 1997.
19:11You can check earlier videos for why.
19:13But more importantly, all of this is happening over the span of just a few days.
19:17So basically, we're still in June of 1997.
19:19Which is well before Spider-Man's appearance in X-Men 97 in November of 1997.
19:25And of course, that's when we saw Peter, MJ, and Flash.
19:28So very, very cool.
19:29All right.
19:30So now we wait for issue number five to arrive on January 21st.
19:34And again, I apologize for getting this out a little late.
19:37But also for, you know, my stuffy nose.
19:39But anyway, looks like the next issue is going to be crazy.
19:43So let me know your thoughts.
19:44Are you enjoying it so far?
19:45And are you excited for it to come to conclusion next issue?
19:49You know I love to read and respond to everything.
19:51And don't forget, December contest.
19:52Be a subscriber, leave a comment, win a book, or a steal book.
19:55And there's that membership option in case you're interested in that.
19:57And I promised I would talk about the Doomsday Count and I watch on the Discord.
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