"(Mid) American Gothic!"
Writer: David Michelinie
Penciler/Inker: Todd McFarlane
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colorist: Gregory Wright
After receiving a job offer to become the chief assistant of the experimental division of "On-Line Research" (a company name which probably brought to mind different things in 1988), Peter Parker travels to Emporia, Kansas, to take a tour of the new facility where he could be working.
While touring the grounds, Peter witnesses an argument between construction boss Wes Cassady and Dr. Royce Nero, but before introductions can be made, an acetylene torch backs up and threatens to blow up a shed of gas bottles, and the construction site is evacuated. Quickly changing into his Spider-Man costume, Peter surveys the escalating damage, but before he can react, Wes Cassady zips across the grounds at superhuman speed and kick-rolls a truck bed full of fiberglass over the fire, putting it out.
Later that night, Spidey confronts Cassady at his home and asks for an explanation of how he got his powers, which include the proportionate strength and speed of a jack rabbit, and the ability to tell when a hunter's eyes are on him (also known as "jack rabbit sense"). Having kept his powers a secret even from his family, Cassady is eager to finally get the story off his chest. It's a pretty amazing origin, too. You see, Cassady was...well, he was:
Now that is a solid origin. Spidey tries to talk Cassady into taking great responsibility for his great power, but Wes is reluctant, probably because he is so embarassed by how he got his powers. His shame is so great, in fact, that when Dr. Nero later goes crazy and tries to kill Spider-Man with a laser, all Cassady can do is watch, wanting to help but paralyzed at the possibility of being outed as "the guy who got bit by a radioactive jack rabbit." (Spidey beats Nero anyway).
Laser attacks aside, Peter ends up wanting to accept the job, but Mary Jane is reluctant to move from New York to Kansas. And then Peter tells her about the radioactive jack rabbits, so basically they end up staying in New York.
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