Warning! Spoilers ahead for Amazing Spider-Man #53

In the latest issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker is dead. He was killed in a deal meant to save his friends from Kindred, who is quickly becoming one of Spider-Man’s greatest foes of all time. While fans have known Kindred’s true identity for a few issues now, this current installment of Nick Spencer’s Last Remains storyline finally has Peter learning who Kindred really is and also provides the shocking confirmation about Kindred’s past in the Marvel Universe.

Kindred has been tormenting Spider-Man for the better part of two years now as a demonic presence in his life. Not only has he been entering Peter’s dreams, but he also resurrected foes such as Mysterio and Sin-Eater to manipulate Peter’s life, building up to what looks to be his final act unleashed in Last Remains. Absorbing all of the sins and power collected by Sin-Eater after he cleansed several criminals (like Green Goblin Norman Osborn), Kindred corrupted all of Peter’s Spider-Allies and turned them into Spider-Demons under his control. Not only did he have them wreaking havoc in the city, but he eventually set them upon each other, threatening to have them tear one another apart. Desperate to save his friends, Spider-Man makes a deal with Kindred: his life for theirs. Kindred agrees and releases his control over the other Spiders, but immediately snaps Spider-Man’s neck and kills him.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Now, fans are treated to a retelling of One More Day’s ending in The Amazing Spider-Man #53 from Spencer and Mark Bagley. However, a slight change to the original dialogue has made all the difference, confirming the theories that Kindred is seemingly from before the Marvel Universe changed from Spider-Man and Mary Jane’s deal with Mephisto. After the deal was struck and Spider-Man’s life was altered where he and MJ were never married, several other elements changed as well (like Spider-Man regaining his secret identity). Furthermore, Spider-Man and MJ no longer remember their past marriage or the deal that they made.

However, another element was the return of Harry Osborn, who was thought to have been dead. One More Day retconned his death, with Harry claiming that he had been in rehab overseas in Europe. At a surprise party for Harry that Peter attended on the first day of his new life, Harry said that the worst thing about rehab was that the parties sucked. However, Amazing Spider-Man #53 changes the line “rehab” to “hell”. This confirms that Harry did actually die, but was resurrected as the demon Kindred, somehow being unaffected by Peter’s deal with Mephisto (perhaps because he made his own deal while in hell?). After giving this revelation to Peter, Kindred resurrects Spider-Man, with Peter finally knowing that Kindred is indeed Harry.

The issue ends with Kindred removing his bandages covering his face, revealing his true self to a shocked Peter. However, Harry tells Peter that what he wants matters much more than who he is. Kindred recently just showed Peter that he has dug up all of the most important lives Peter had lost, such as George and Gwen Stacy, Jean DeWolff, Marla Jameson, Flash Thompson, and of course: Uncle Ben. So far, there’s no telling as to what Kindred/Harry’s endgame might be, but it can’t be good. It doesn’t seem as though Kindred wants to kill Spider-Man just yet, seeing as how he just resurrected him to torment him even further.

In any case, this issue not only sees Peter finally learning that Harry is the one behind the Kindred persona, but also that the infamous and controversial One More Day storyline is definitely going to play a factor going forward. Could it perhaps even be undone? Fans will have to wait and see as Nick Spencer’s Amazing Spider-Man run continues from Marvel Comics.

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Kevin Erdmann
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Kevin Erdmann is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers. With a major in Cinema Studies and a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin is pretty sure he’s writing for the right site. While Kevin is a huge Marvel fan, he also loves Batman because he’s Batman and is a firm believer that Han shot first. Disney also shares a big part of his fan patronage. Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

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