It’s a bonus episode where we have to talk about cricket and Spider-Man India to tie into Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Universes and Issues Covered:
- Earth-50101 – Spider-Man India #1-4
Check out the image gallery and notes after the jump.
Earth-50101
Spider-Man India #1-4
Writer – Suresh Seetharaman, Sharad Devarajan, and Jeevan Kang as writer and artist with Gotham Studios Asian on colors, Dave Sharpe letters, Jytsna Doomse on inks and Ashwin Chikerur on Colors for issue 4
Pavitr Prabhakar is an orphan living with his Aunt Maya and Uncle Bhim who have worked to get money to send him to Heritage International, a school in Mumbai. Unfortunately when he goes there, he’s immediately called out because he’s not like everyone else – since he grew up in a poor village, doesn’t have good clothes, etc. Meera Jain, who Pavitr somehow knows, who is the hot girl at school talks to him, relating how when she first went to the school, she was called out for wearing traditional Indian clothing instead of more western fashions like she wears now. Apparently she still changes clothes instead of dealing with the issues, like off the bat, lots of questions going on here. She tells him to keep going – and most of this explanation is from research because there are no editorial notes explaining the situation for a western audience.
Meanwhile at the Oberoi Corporation, Nalin Oberoi, a businessman, is looking for a mysterious amulet and the main thing stopping him is a village nearby.
When Pavitr gets home Uncle Bhim tells him that he has gifts and needs an education to foster those gifts so he can help people and change the country and gets the “with great talent and power, comes great responsibility.”
The next day, Oberoi receives the amulet he wanted and it turns him into a big demon.
Pavitr is getting chased by bullies from the school when a figure he previously saw in a dream, pulls him away, scaring off the bullies and tells him he needs to be the avatar of virtue and righteousness to fight against the new force of evil and he finds himself on top of a building with a Spider-Man costume. As he starts to explore his powers, he remembers he was supposed to meet Uncle Bhim at the station and then hears the call for help from a woman who is about to be mugged. He for a second decides to go elsewhere, Uncle Bhim shows up to stand up to the muggers and gets stabbed and Spider-Man swings by, the woman points to where the muggers have moved to drive off – which raises questions – like why did they try and mug a random woman in an alleyway. He stops a car, almost kills them and one of the muggers pleads he has a family to feed and he stops but not before saying Uncle Bhim did too.
At school, Pavitr is back a week later and Meera offers to talk when Flash the school bully tries to interrupt. Pavitr tells Flash to back off, Flash insults his dead uncle to Peter throws him into the hallway. The Principal catches this and goes to punish Flash while the cricket coach asks him to join the team, and then Meera asks him out and he turns her down.
Spider-Man starts fighting crime, webbing criminals and when he gets home he finds out from Maya that their home village has been destroyed and they just have their apartment now, apparently? It’s really unclear.
Nalin Oberoi meanwhile has been communicating with the demons possessing him and finds they are worried about the pure mortal who will be able to stop them from performing the ritual to open a portal to release demons on Earth. They know who Pavitr is and Nalin accepts his duty.
The Doctor Octopus who is never given a name goes to talk to Oberoi in his human form who looked up Pavitr and hands over the information and isn’t sure why the kid is special.
Meanwhile at the cricket game that Pavitr invited Meera to, the school is playing the Xavier Institute and the game is close but Pavitr is bad at cricket and hits the ball bad and cricket is confusing so they lose the game when Doctor Octopus now with four energy arms appears.
Pavitr runs to change as he is chased and Octopus wants to defeat Pavitr so Oberoi will make him not be a demon. The fight ends up in the streets of Mumbai and Spider-Man ultimately lets Octopus go to help save people and in the end Pavitr gets home and is in trouble with Aunt Maya for being late.
Pavitr goes to school the next day and talks about the heroes with Meera and Flash and when he gets home, he finds Maya is missing and the letters NO are written on the wall in flames which he knows means Nalin Oberoi somehow. Pavitr tracks him down by attack Oberoi’s base and finds he’s at the refinery where demons are already being released and Oberoi attacks Octopus for wanting his humanity back.
Spider-Man swings in and sees Oberoi has Maya and Meera and does the “you can only save one” but Octopus saves Meera after Pavitr saves Maya and somehow super fast reveals his identity as Octopus and Oberoi attack. This time Oberoi actually kills Octopus and Pavitr tells Meera to leave with Maya.
The two fight and Oberoi tries to release Pavitr’s dark side which is a venom but Pavitr reflects on the messages he got from Uncle Bhim which doesn’t entirely fit in here, the goodness banishes the demons from Oberoi, and Pavitr steals the amulet and throws it out closing the portal.
Flash meanwhile made a fan club for Spider-Man, Pavitr gets a kiss from Meera, Pavitr celebrates Diwali with Aunt Maya and Venom is out there still surviving.
Earth-50101