| "The Death of Jean DeWolff" | |
|---|---|
Cover of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man 110 (Jan 1986)., the issue containing the final part of the storyline. Art by Rich Buckler featuring Spider-Man (in his black costume) fighting Daredevil. |
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| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Publication date | October 1985 – January 1986 |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Title(s) | Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #107 – #110 |
| Main character(s) | Spider-Man Daredevil Sin-Eater |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Peter David |
| Penciller(s) | Rich Buckler |
| Inker(s) | Kyle Baker Brett Breeding Pat Redding Josef Rubinstein |
| Letterer(s) | Phil Hugh Felix Rick Parker |
| Colorist(s) | George Roussos Bob Sharen Nelson Yomtov |
| Collected editions | |
| The Death of Jean DeWolff | ISBN 0871357046 |
"The Death of Jean DeWolff" is a four-part story arc featuring the popular Marvel Comics comic book superhero Spider-Man. It comprises the comics Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #107 – #110 (October 1985–January 1986).[1] The story was written by Peter David, penciled by Rich Buckler, and inked by Brett Breeding, Josef Rubinstein, Kyle Baker and Pat Redding. It was the first professional comic book writing assignment for David.[2]
In this arc, Peter Parker (Spider-Man) hunts down the person who murdered Police Captain Jean DeWolff, one of his closest friends. When the murderer kills another person close to Daredevil, the two superheroes pair up to find the murderer. Over the course of the story, matters between both heroes become hostile as Spider-Man has much more militant ideas on how to deal with the killer than the lawyer Daredevil. When the two encounter the murderer, there is a shocking climax which redefines the relationship between the two superheroes. With this series, the strong professional friendship of the two New York adventurers was established.
Contents |
Shortly before Christmas, after capturing a trio of muggers assaulting Ernie Popchik (an elderly friend of his Aunt May's), Spider-Man learns that his close friend, NYPD Captain Jean DeWolff, has been killed in her sleep by a close-range double-barreled shotgun blast. Stricken with grief, Spider-Man checks out the police officer in charge of the investigation, Sergeant Stan Carter. Carter tells Spider-Man that Jean "spoke very highly" of him, and Spider-Man says, "I liked her too."
Meanwhile, attorney Matt Murdock (the civilian identity of Daredevil) is assigned to represent the muggers at their arraignment; he succeeds in getting them released on bail. Peter, who witnesses the hearing, is disgusted, and Matt also feels guilty (he also realises that Peter is Spider-Man as he recognizes his heartbeat, having fought alongside Spider-Man before). However, the judge presiding over the case — Murdock's friend and mentor, Horace Rosenthal — scoffs at Murdock, calling him soft and unwilling to do the dirty work of the law. Suddenly, an armed and masked madman breaks into Rosenthal's chamber and tries to shoot the judge. Unwilling to give away his secret identity in front of Rosenthal, Murdock hesitates, and the assassin kills Rosenthal.
After shooting Judge Rosenthal, the masked killer escapes in the bedlam. On the streets outside, Spider-Man attempts to halt the killer's escape. The killer opens fire on Spider-Man, who leaps above the scattergun blasts. The bullets hit a crowd of bystanders, killing one person and wounding others. When the killer freely admits to slaying Jean DeWolff and the judge, Spider-Man is momentarily shaken, and loses the upper hand in the battle. The killer - who identifies himself as the "Sin-Eater" and announces his mission to kill "sinners" - manages to escape from Spider-Man. Spider-Man is loath to let the Sin-Eater elude him, but he first priority is his concern over whether or not Aunt May had been hit by a bullet.
After paying a visit to Stan Carter (who reveals the folklore behind the term sin-eater), Spider-Man checks out Jean's apartment for possible clues, and makes a startling discovery whilst rifling through Jean's personal effects: Jean was apparently romantically interested in him. This revelation makes the loss of the Captain twice as hard for Peter, who attends Jean's funeral. At Rosenthal's funeral, Murdock recognizes Sin-Eater's heartbeat, but again, he refuses to speak out, not daring to blow his identity. Later that night, the priest who officiated Jean's funeral, Father Bernard Finn, hears the confession of an unknown man - the Sin-Eater. After confessing, Sin-Eater shoots the priest in the face.
A media circus breaks out in the city over the Sin-Eater murders, with an opportunistic community leader, Reverend Jackson Tulliver, feeding the flames of public discontent. Spider-Man's friendship with Stan Carter deepens; Carter assuages Spider-Man's guilt over not being able to prevent the death of the bystander during the Sin-Eater's shootout earlier. Feverishly, Daredevil and Spider-Man separately comb the underworld, including paying a visit to the Kingpin.
An armed man, wearing the Sin-Eater's costume, attacks the Daily Bugle, wanting to kill J. Jonah Jameson (who is actually on vacation). He takes Bugle editor-in-chief Joe Robertson hostage at gunpoint, but is overwhelmed by Peter Parker. The culprit is arrested and identified as Emil Gregg, who claims that he "couldn't resist [the] voices in the night." Gregg claims that he hoped to be caught before he actually killed Jameson, even if this made the "voices" angry. Gregg's shotgun is identified as the same weapon used to murder Jean and Judge Rosenthal. However, Daredevil - who does not recognise Gregg's heartbeat as that of the Sin-Eater he encountered before - is convinced the police have the wrong man.
Daredevil tells Spider-Man that Emil Gregg is not the Sin-Eater. Spider-Man is skeptical of Daredevil's claim, but accompanies Daredevil to investigate Gregg's apartment. The two have an argument over their respective approaches to hunting down the Sin-Eater; Daredevil is angry towards Spider-Man for endangering the life of Gerald Jablonski, a drug-pusher whom Spider-Man leaned on for information on the Sin-Eater's whereabouts. Spider-Man and Daredevil find out that Gregg's apartment is next door to Stan Carter's, and subsequently realize that Carter himself is the Sin-Eater, via the discovery of the Sin-Eater's weaponry and costumes in Carter's apartment. Gregg - already in a mentally-imbalanced state at the time - overheard Carter's voice from next door, as Carter recorded a taped diary of his Sin-Eater activities (accounting for the "voices" Gregg heard). Gregg, convinced that he himself was the Sin-Eater, donned one of Carter's spare costumes, took one of Carter's shotguns, and attempted to carry out Carter's plan to kill J. Jonah Jameson. Spider-Man and Daredevil realise that the attempt on Jameson's life by the real Sin-Eater is imminent. Carter/Sin-Eater breaks into the Jameson house intending to kill Jonah, but only finds his secretary Betty Leeds, who is watching over the house. Betty - who is sitting in Jonah's chair - is mistaken for Jameson by the Sin-Eater, who opens fire.
Betty manages to dodge the Sin-Eater's shot. Although the Sin-Eater realizes that Jameson is not home, he considers Betty to be a viable target, as she works for Jameson. The Sin-Eater explains to Betty the motivations for his cold-blooded murders[3], before Spider-Man and Daredevil break in and save Betty. Spider-Man, who had considered Carter a friend, loses his temper and beats Carter into a pulp. Carter apologizes for his crimes after Spider-Man rips off his mask, but this only increases Spider-Man's anger. Spider-Man beats Carter so severely that Daredevil has to pull him away; even Betty is shocked by Spider-Man's brutality. The two superheroes fight, with Daredevil taunting Spider-Man as the real criminal, and an increasingly-agitated Spider-Man accusing Daredevil for being a hypocrite who protects felons. Daredevil subdues Spider-Man, but feels guilty about doing so (Daredevil also concedes that Spider-Man would have easily defeated him, had the webslinger been in more control of his actions). Meanwhile, en route to the World Trade Center in a New York City Subway train, Mr. Popchik is threatened by three teenage muggers. In self-defence, he pulls a gun, shoots, and seriously injures one of the youths. He is arrested, and awaits a hard sentence.
Stan Carter is brought to jail, and the news that the Sin-Eater was really a policeman shocks the city (some outraged citizens even believe that the NYPD must have known the Sin-Eater's identity, and covered up Carter's crimes). The police are informed by agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that Stan Carter had been subject to a covert super drug project, was driven insane, and is therefore not responsible for his actions.[4] Spider-Man and Daredevil watch as an angry mob - including Jean's stepfather - besieges the police station. Armed with riot gear, the police exit the station and try to board Carter onto a truck bound for Riker's Island. However, the mob forces itself onto the police, threatening to lynch Carter. Daredevil throws himself in between, but is overwhelmed by the mob, and his radar sense is nullified by the sheer number of heartbeats. When Spider-Man turns his back, Daredevil cries out "Peter!", pleading him to save Carter. Spider-Man is so startled hearing his real name that he obeys and swings both Carter and Daredevil to safety. After the crowd is dispersed, Carter is safely loaded onto the police truck. Daredevil reveals his own secret identity to Spider-Man, who discovers that Daredevil is blind. After discussing their differing views on the law, Matt offers Peter any legal help he can give to free Aunt May's friend, Mr. Popchik. In the end, the two heroes part in friendship.
Created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema, the acerbic Jean DeWolff had been a supporting character in the Spider-Man comics since her first appearance in Marvel Team-Up #48 (August 1976), and was familiar to readers as one of Spider-Man's few allies in the police force. According to Peter David, "The Death of Jean DeWolff" came about at the behest of Jim Owsley, at that time editor of the Spider-Man books: "I was going to be started on Spectacular Spider-Man and editor Jim Oswley wanted to shake up Spider-Man and the fans. He wanted to see a story in which Jean DeWolff was killed and there were all sorts of cover ups in the police department. So in answer to the second most-asked question I get at conventions, the answer is – Owsley wanted to kill her. Not me. I actually had storylines planned with her alive."[5]
Owsley himself said, "I didn't much care for the whimsical tone of Spectacular Spider-Man, and tried to nudge writer Al Milgrom out of the seat in favor of the brilliant newcomer Peter David... I put Peter David and Rich Buckler on Spectacular, focusing on stories with a serious, "grown-up" tone and more complex themes."[6] David combined Owsley's idea of killing off Jean DeWolff with story ideas of his own: "I wanted to do a story in which Spider-Man was confronted by a villain committed crimes so heinous, so appalling, that Spider-Man was pushed to the edge and over. It always struck me as unrealistic how super heroes could turn fights on and off. When you're in a fistfight, adrenaline flows, your heart is thumping. If you knock the guy down and he's not getting up, most times you kick him because you're so pumped and angry. You don't back off and say "Had enough?" Usually someone has to pull you off the guy. I wanted to do that to Spider-Man because I felt it would bring some hard-edged reality to him. I also wanted to do a story underscoring the philosophical differences between Daredevil and Spider-Man... "The Death of Jean DeWolff" incorporated all three stories to varying degrees. This was accomplished when Owsley came over to my house early one evening and stayed until after midnight as we hammered out all the kinks in the story in a marathon, four-issue’s-worth head-banging session."[7]
Jim Owsley has recalled the impact of the shotgun-blast ending of Part 3 of the story, "a cliffhanger so intense, in fact, that we briefly considered pulling it. It scared the crap out of me, and I was 23. I was imagining soccer moms buying [Spectacular Spider-Man] for their kids by rote, not realizing Sin-Eater was blowing away Betty Brant Leeds inside."[6]
Peter David revealed that the idea of the Sin-Eater came from an identically-named character in the 1979 television film The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel, as well as claiming that "virtually no readers, judging by the letters, tumbled to Stan Carter being the Sin-Eater, even though much of his dialogue fairly screamed it. I knew they wouldn't. First off, I named him Stan. Stan is a friendly name to readers after years of association with Stan Lee. Second, I made him Jewish. Isaac Asimov said if you want to have someone who evil intent must be hidden, make him Jewish and have him speak in semi-Yiddish inverted sentence order. You know. Like Yoda. ("So a murderer that makes me?") Readers will mentally categorize this as someone who is friendly and even comic relief. Works it does."[8]
David also praised the story's artist, Rich Buckler, "whose dynamic and energetic storytelling and gritty texture brought the story to pulsing life. He gave it the kind of down-and-dirty feeling that we were looking for. Kind of Spidey meets Hill Street Blues."[9]
At the time of its original publication, "The Death of Jean DeWolff" was considered to be a groundbreaking comic book story. Peter David noted that "we flew in the face of standard comic book tradition by giving a character, not a noble death in battle at the climax of the story, but an inglorious death, in her sleep, at the beginning."[10] The antagonist of the story is not a supervillain with fantastic powers, but a psychopathic vigilante with a shotgun; also, rather than presenting the bylines at the beginning of each installment, the stark, white-on-black credits were presented dramatically in the last panel of each chapter.
"The Death of Jean DeWolff" is still considered to be one of the most popular and acclaimed Spider-Man arcs, collected by Wizard Magazine in its "Best of Spider-Man" hardcover edition.[11] Comics Bulletin called the story an exploration of "moral relativism amongst superheroes, the flaws of the criminal justice system, and the feelings of rage and desire for vengeance", lauded the "organic and convincing" clash of values between idealist Daredevil and pragmatic Spider-Man. Daredevil is seen as more mature, but also "selfish" (he kept his secret identity instead of saving the judge's life), and Spider-Man is seen as "righteous, but blinded" for doing what his conscience tells him but giving in to bloodlust. The arc was called "not perfect, but successful and dark" and was given four out of five stars.[12]
Peter David has recalled mixed emotions about the arc: in a 1990 installment of "But I Digress", his then-weekly column in the Comics Buyer's Guide, David stated he was unnerved by the stream of fan mail demanding he bring DeWolff back, and how "Spidey Editor Jim Owsley was even told by confident fans at an Atlanta Con, "Nah, she's not really dead."" David however firmly refused to bring her back, arguing a resurrection in a comic book death-style would weaken the story.[13] David also stated that this story established him as a writer, but he was also pigeonholed as a writer of grim and gritty stories.[14] In 1990, David conceded that "people still tell me that "The Death of Jean DeWolff" is their favourite of my work. Time has passed, and I think I've done better since...Still, if I never wrote another word, readers still felt this story was the best I've ever done, I suppose I could live with that."[15]
The second part of the story, "Sin of Pride," contains a visual in-joke - in the fifth panel of the third page, a crowd scene features a man who looks like actor Charles Bronson, reading a newspaper with the front-page headline "VIGILANTE STRIKES AGAIN." Bronson played a New York-based vigilante in the Death Wish film series.
When Spider-Man discovers Jean's personal photo collection of him in "Part 2: Sin of Pride," he remarks, "I haven't seen so many clippings since that dying little boy's collection." This is a reference to Timothy Harrison, the child Spider-Man visited in the story "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" (The Amazing Spider-Man #248, Jan. 1984).
"Part 3: He Who is Without Sin" has a scene in which the Kingpin dictates a letter to a prospective assassin-for-hire, "Ms C.B. Kalish." This name is an in-joke in reference to Carol B. Kalish, at that time, Marvel's Direct Sales Manager and Vice President of New Product Development. Kalish was a good friend of Peter David, who worked under her as a sales assistant. David credited Kalish with having made him a comics industry professional.
On the first page of "Part 4: All My Sins Remembered", when Spider-Man remembers his teenage past with Betty Brant, the flashback panels are drawn in the style of Steve Ditko, who drew the original stories those moments were taken from.
"What's that pounding? At the door? In my head? I wonder why I feel so relaxed? And I wonder... Why was I just thinking about my life just now?" (Jean DeWolff's final thoughts, in "Part 1: Original Sin".[16])
"You don't understand. I really want to clean your clock for you. And my analyst said not to repress frustration." (Spider-Man to one of Mr. Popchik's muggers, in "Part 1: Original Sin".[17])
"Hitler deserved to die... And so do assassins and cop killers. Scum like that. Whatever else he is, Spider-Man is not one of those." (J. Jonah Jameson to Joseph "Robbie" Robertson, in "Part 1: Original Sin".[18])
"Was she doing some sort of study on me? No, she would have kept that at her office. She kept these because she liked them. But...she never said anything particularly warm to me. Heck, she usually chewed me out. It can't be. She couldn't have cared for me. Why didn't she ever say anything if she felt... And maybe I would have... We could have... It can't be true. She was always so cool, so aloof. Blast it, why did she have to be that way?" (Spider-Man reacting to Jean's apparent romantic interest in him, in "Part 2: Sin of Pride".[19])
"Bless you Father, for you have sinned." (The Sin-Eater, before he shoots Father Bernard Finn in "Part 2: Sin of Pride".[20])
"I am stunned that the police are unable to protect a holy man in this city. I just hope that, since Reverend Finn was Black, he will not receive short shrift at the hands of the detectives." (public statement of Reverend Jackson Tulliver, in "Part 3: He Who is Without Sin".[21])
"I did not like Captain DeWolff, nor Judge Rosenthal. They were both honest...and honest people bore me. But someone who kills Priests I have no truck with. Priest killers polarize cities, and such cities are harder to control." (The Kingpin to Spider-Man, in "Part 3: He Who is Without Sin".[22])
"This was putting a man in fear for his life for your own reasons. And I don't care how noble your motives were. It still stinks." (Daredevil to Spider-Man, in "Part 3: He Who is Without Sin".[23])
"No. It can't be. If you can't tell the victims from the killers anymore, then there's nothing..." (Spider-Man, when confronted with evidence that Stan Carter is the Sin-Eater, in "Part 3: He Who is Without Sin".[24])
"I wanted Jameson because he opposes masked vigilantes. I killed the priest because he opposed capital punishment. I killed the judge because he coddled criminals. And I killed Jean DeWolf...because I felt like it." (The Sin-Eater to Betty Leeds, in "Part 4: All My Sins Remembered".[25])
"You were laughing at me all along, right, Carter? Acted like a friend when it was all a sick joke. You disgusting..." (Spider-Man to Stan Carter, in "Part 4: All My Sins Remembered".[26])
"I try to aid the justice system. Supplement it. But you... You try to supplant it. Be judge, jury, and executioner, all rolled into one. I don't know all the answers, but that isn't one of them." (Daredevil to Spider-Man, in "Part 4: All My Sins Remembered".[27])
"You're twisting everything! You should be a lawyer." (Spider-Man to Daredevil, in "Part 4: All My Sins Remembered".[28])
"Wonderful. Just wonderful. I've got a political and PR hot potato. And now you're saying because your scientists screwed up...I may have a accept an insanity plea. The public's going to crucify us! This lunatic kills Black priests, for pity's sake. But it's possible that the doctors could certify him "okay" after a year of medical observation...and he could walk with no jail time." (District Attorney Tower to a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in "Part 4: All My Sins Remembered".[29])
"We have to have our system, Peter, or it falls apart. And, if it doesn't work, we make it work. We don't just ignore it." (Matt Murdock to Peter Parker in "Part 4: All My Sins Remembered".[30])
The third part of the "The Death of Jean DeWolff," "He Who is Without Sin," includes a one-page scene featuring a thief dressed as Santa Claus. This storyline was later resolved in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #112 (Mar. 1986); in this same issue, it is revealed that Ernie Popchik was released from jail after the grand jury refused to indict him. In "Mayhem!" (Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #113, Apr. 1986), Mr. Popchik, hounded by the media, returns to Aunt May's boarding home. The muggers he shot at, seeking revenge, break into the home and take Mr. Popchik, Aunt May, and the other boarders hostage. Spider-Man manages to subdue three of the muggers, before defeating the leader by webbing his gun. At this point, Aunt May's fiancé, Nathan Lubensky, opens the blinds, and a police sniper outside shoots and kills the leader. Aunt May is unnerved by Nathan's actions, which led to the youth being killed unnecessarily. Mr. Popchik feels guilty for causing the situation and leaves Aunt May's home.
Peter David later brought the Sin-Eater back in a three-part storyline in The Spectacular Spider-Man #134-136 ( Jan.-March 1988), drawn by Sal Buscema and inked by Vince Colletta. Although this storyline (informally known as "Return of the Sin-Eater") was less acclaimed that its predecessor, it did explore the origin of the Sin-Eater, and his attempted rehabilitation, in depth (it also revealed why Carter really killed Jean DeWolff: he was in love with her, and that made his Sin-Eater persona jealous). Set approximately one year after "The Death of Jean DeWolff" (by which time, Peter Parker had married Mary Jane Watson), the sequel revealed the extent of Stan Carter's physical incapacitation as the result of his beating at the hands of Spider-Man, and Spider-Man's own feelings over crippling Carter. After his arrest, Carter was put in psychological and medical care. S.H.I.E.L.D purged all the drugs from his system, but Carter still had visions of his Sin-Eater persona, as well as being unable to walk or talk properly. After his release, Carter had trouble readjusting to society, and was perpetually haunted by visions of his alternate persona the Sin-Eater, as well as having to deal with continuing public outrage over his crimes. Finally succumbing to his madness, Carter put on his Sin-Eater costume, took a shotgun, and threatened to kill a child right in front of the police. After casting the hostage aside and aiming his weapon at the police, Carter was shot and killed; it was then discovered that Carter's own shotgun was empty. Carter's final words were "I've.... won. Sin-Eater d-dead. Now I can live..." Carter had become so troubled that he believed that he and the Sin-Eater were two different people.[31] Peter David described the conclusion of this story as a "dramatic, tragic, and perhaps, merciful ending" for Stan Carter.[32]
Further repercussions caused by the Sin-Eater come to light in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (May 1988), which reveals that Daily Globe journalist Eddie Brock had written an exposé of the man who claimed to be the Sin-Eater, Emil Gregg. Unfortunately for Brock, Gregg was a compulsive confessor, and the revelation of Stan Carter being the real Sin-Eater led to Brock being fired and losing his wife. An angry Brock blames Spider-Man (who captured the real Sin-Eater) for the derailing of his career and life, the catalyst which resulted in his becoming the super-villain Venom. This story, written by David Michelinie, retcons the events of "The Death of Jean DeWolff," in which Gregg's claim to be the Sin-Eater was not publicly revealed via a newspaper story by Eddie Brock: dressed as the Sin-Eater, Gregg outed himself by storming into the Daily Bugle and threatening to kill J. Jonah Jameson, and was identified after he was subdued and arrested. Also, Gregg was originally presented, not as a prankster, but as a mentally-troubled man who truly believed he was the Sin-Eater after overhearing Stan Carter's voice.
The Ultimate Marvel version of Jean DeWolff (Jeanne DeWolfe) died in Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Brooks. She was shot by the Punisher (who has a similar modus operandi to the Sin-Eater, but is usually shown as a protagonist) for being corrupt.
The storyline has been collected as a trade paperback and as a hardcover: