Spider-Man went to Doctor Strange for help and ended up returning to the Spider-Totem, where his entire life’s mission changed forever.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #51 by Nick Spencer, Patrick Gleason, Edgar Delgado & VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Right now, Spider-Man is in the fight for his life against a mysterious bad guy known as Kindred. As far as Spider-Man knows, Kindred is a demon, and the villain has done nothing to show Spider-Man that he’s really an old friend. Kindred brought Sin-Eater back from the dead and used him to gain powers from some of Marvel’s strongest villains.
Kindred also proved he has access to the Spider-Totem. He is currently controlling Madame Web, meaning he can follow Peter wherever he goes. He possessed the heroes connected to the Spider-Totem that are close to Spider-Man, including Silk, who battles Spider-Man and Doctor Strange in this issue. It made Peter believe he needed to return to where he discovered the Spider-Totem the first time.
Spider-Man went to Doctor Strange and told him some of what was going on. He left out some key issues, though. He told him part of what was needed to know, but the fact he didn’t reveal that he was fighting a demon named Kindred was a problem. Strange still believed they were fighting Sin-Eater, and when Spider-Man didn’t tell the Sorcerer Supreme the truth, how could he expect help? He also withheld a major truth from back in the day when he made a deal with Mephisto in “One More Day.”
Doctor Strange didn’t help Spider-Man when he learned Peter did something he shouldn’t have done. However, Spider-Man was able to get Black Cat to help him by breaking into the Sanctum Sanctorum to steal the Hand of Vishanti, which Spider-Man used to go into the astral plane to find Kindred without Doctor Strange’s help. Spider-Man realized too late that it was all a trap and nothing there was what it seemed — not like the last time he traveled to the astral plane. That is notable because that last time he visited the astral plane was the first time he saw the Spider-Totem.
In Amazing Spider-Man #42 by J. Michael Straczynski, John Romita Jr., Scott Hana, Dan Kemp and RS & Comicraft’s Wes Abbott, he Spidey needed Doctor Strange’s help as well. Spider-Man was battling a villain known as Shade in that issue, an intangible astral projection who could remain on Earth for one day for every person he traps in the astral plane. Spider-Man used the Hand of Vishanti to get into the astral plane and took the fight to Shade, where he was able to beat him, trap him where he was holding the people he took into the astral plane and then save everyone.