Spider-Island
Spider-Island is a 2011 comic book storyline starting in The Amazing Spider-Man and crossing over into other comic books published by Marvel Comics, most of which were limited series or one-shots specifically for this storyline. The main plot involves the inhabitants of Manhattan Island mysteriously gaining powers similar to Spider-Man. It features the return of the Jackal and the Queen to the Marvel Universe and laid the ground work for the second volume of the Scarlet Spider series. The main story overall received positive reviews, with critics praising its action, humor, style, and plot.
Plot
Infested
"Infested" was a series of six back-up stories that were at the end of regular issues of The Amazing Spider-Man. They were in issues #659, 660, and 662–665. These stories featured the Jackal and his experiments that led to the "Spider-Island" story. These were compiled in a comic book reprint called Amazing Spider-Man: Infested, which was released on August 31.Spider-Island
The prologue outlines Peter Parker's life up to the start of Spider-Island. He is seen effortlessly neutralizing a robbery by Hydro-Man, as well as stopping a normal robbery. He puts in some time at Horizon Labs; finally, he visits Shang-Chi, his martial arts mentor who is teaching him "The Way of the Spider", as seen in the Free Comic Book Day edition of The Amazing Spider-Man. Madame Web warns Spider-Man of the events that are to come, but Spider-Man dismisses the warnings as nonsense. Meanwhile, the Jackal is seen recruiting spider-powered criminals for his project, along with a severely mutated Kaine, now called Tarantula. He has a large secret lab, in which clones of Miles Warren are seen to be working. The Jackal has a mysterious female benefactor called the Spider Queen.Peter's girlfriend, Carlie Cooper, shows him she has spider-powers. He and Carlie hear a news report telling of several hundred New Yorkers who have manifested spider-powers. The Jackal is behind the disturbance, as he has collected several prominent crime figures with spider-powers and given them Spider-Man outfits. The Avengers attempt to defend the city against spider-powered hooligans.
Although Shang-Chi confirms Spider-Man's identity to the other heroes, he is nevertheless ordered to stay out of the fight due to the inability to distinguish him from the other Spider-Men. However, inspired by a conversation with Mary Jane, Peter is able to rally various other New Yorkers to help him stop the villainous Spider-Men by posing as another random spider-powered citizen like them. As Anti-Venom works on curing various Spider-People of their powers, Madame Web reflects on the need for both Agent Venom and Anti-Venom to fix the Spider-Island problem. Meanwhile, Carlie and Peter attempt to investigate the Jackal's lab, reasoning that he is the most likely candidate to have caused this event, unaware that they are being watched. Jackal is seen working on the Spider-King by filling with tiny spider embryos.
Horizon Labs works with Reed Richards to find a cure for the spider-powered people while the Avengers and other heroes try to keep Manhattan quarantined. While at an abandoned lab at Empire State University, Peter and Carlie are attacked by Chance, Scorcher, and White Rabbit, who all have spider powers. When White Rabbit attacks Carlie, Peter uses some moves he learned from Shang-Chi to knock out the villains. Carlie takes the villains to the precinct and tells Peter that she wants to have a talk with him and Spider-Man, to Peter's dismay. Jackal has been watching them and tells Tarantula to study the tape of the fight as he will soon be tested. The Avengers close off Manhattan keeping everyone in the city. Reed Richards develops a vaccine that can keep people from gaining spider powers, but does not cure people who already have them. As J. Jonah Jameson is about to get the vaccine, Reed tells him he has been infected. Anti-Venom continues to cure the victims of Manhattan, while Madame Web passes out from too many spiders accessing the web of life. Carlie is told that Spider-Man is waiting for her at the top of her precinct. Carlie and Spider-Man head to take down another spider-powered villain as Carlie becomes suspicious of where Peter is. When they arrive at the scene, they find a six-armed Shocker. Shocker reveals that he wants money so that Mad Thinker can cure him. Shocker then pulls off his mask to reveal he is slowly mutating into a spider-like creature. Just as Spider-Man tries to piece everything together, Carlie begins to mutate. The Spider-Queen tells the Jackal that all the infected people of Manhattan are beginning to mutate, and New York will soon belong to her.
Mary Jane Watson evades the citizens who have been transformed into spider-like creatures. When Spider-Man tries to get a mutated Carlie to Mister Fantastic, more spider-like creatures begin to appear, making it hard to find out which one is Carlie. As Jameson ends up becoming a spider-like creature and defeats a Spider-Slayer, the Spider-Queen uses her Web of Life to control the spider-like creatures. Mary Jane also develops spider powers, while Madame Web loses her precognition.
Despite Jackal's contrary advice, Reed Richards and Horizon Labs manage to develop a serum from Anti-Venom's symbiotic antibodies, able to kill the Spider-Virus and instantly reverse the mutations. The Spider Queen sends Tarantula to break into Peter's personal lab. Peter discovers the break in and stops Tarantula from poisoning the serum. As Tarantula, now more physically powerful and still enabled with a functioning Spider-Sense, starts gaining the upper hand, Reed Richards mentions to the Horizon Labs scientists how Spider-Man lost his special sense. The Horizon Labs scientists manage to jury-rig a counter-frequency, restoring Peter's Spider-Sense to an enhanced level. Now fully empowered, Peter bests Tarantula, drowning him in a pool of serum. Tarantula emerges from the pool with his mutation gone and his clone degeneration reversed. The now healthy Kaine shakes off Spider Queen's mind control and offers to help Peter. Meanwhile, a side effect of the counterfrequency used on Peter restores Madame Web's and Spider Queen's connection to the Web of Life. Spider-Queen uses an evolved version of her sonic scream to kill Jackal, and realizes she has been given the whole powers of the Web, becoming a Spider-Goddess.
By the time Captain America and Venom reach the Spider Queen, she uses her enhanced powers to evolve into a massive spiderlike creature of enormous strength, siphoning new power from every individual infected by the Spider-Virus. Mary Jane discovers her long-term relationship with Peter has given her a partial immunity to the Spider-Virus, and uses her newly acquired spider powers to reach the Horizon Labs and reunite with Peter. Meanwhile, Peter has Kaine outfitted with the Spider-Armor from "Big Time", which deflects Spider Queen's sonic scream. Kaine, Mary Jane and Spider-Man join the fight, as the whole heroic community of New York tries to prevent Spider Queen and Madame Web's apocalyptic prophecy. When Spider-Man seems about to lose, Mary Jane reminds him that as powerful as Spider-Man could be, she had always trusted the brain power of Peter the scientist. Leaving Kaine behind to fight with the other heroes, Spider-Man and Mary Jane flee to the police precinct and steal Doctor Octopus' Octobots, which Spider-Man converts into a small army of Spider-Slayers, each one carrying a dose of the cure. While Mary Jane bravely defends him, Peter uses the antenna on the Empire State Building to reverse the mutation of a large part of New York's population at once. Emboldened by Spider-Man's example and seeing Spider-Queen losing her powers, Kaine has himself thrown in her mouth using the Spider-Armor to deflect the sonic scream and spider-stingers to slay the Spider Queen. While Madame Web claims that her prophecy entailing "The Hand of Spider-Man" felling the Queen must had been wrong, Kaine claims that he was merely an executor and Spider-Man's bravery and quick thinking enabled him to deal the final blow. The Jackal, in disguise as part of Damage Control, harvests some of the deceased Queen's marrow for use in future cloning experiments. Atop the Empire State Building, Mary Jane admits her love for Peter, but he does not hear her. They stay there to rest, musing about the aftereffects of having the whole of New York walk a mile in Spider-Man's shoes.
The following day, Peter discovers from Doctor Strange that the psychic blindspot created to protect his secret identity has now been compromised. This was due to Peter revealing his spider-powers in a viral video to encourage other New Yorkers to use their new spider-powers for good. As a result of this, Carlie is able to deduce who Peter actually is. Tired of being lied to, Carlie accuses Peter of being a mask for his "true self" and breaks up with him. Peter locates Mary Jane and administers the antidote to her, albeit with some reluctance on her part. The two bond with each other over their recent experiences. Mary Jane tells Peter to look at the Empire State Building, onto which is projected a red and blue color scheme. This is the citizens of New York's way of saying "thank you" to Spider-Man for his heroic deeds during the crisis.