The Amazing Spider-Man: True Purpose is a Spider-Man/Marvel Universe crossover fic by Secret Agent Man Jp
. It opens near the end of Avengers vs. X-Men, but in this version of events Spider-Man is killed by Magik during his confrontation with the Rasputin siblings. As the heroes mourn his loss, they are unaware that the wall-crawler’s spirit has been summoned before the Living Tribunal by various other higher powers, who not only put him on trial to determine the survival of the human race but reveal that he is now destined to be the next host to the Phoenix Force. Returned to life after Hope restores the mutant race, Peter must now prepare for his new destiny, which includes becoming the leader of the Avengers Unity Division… and forming more than a few new relationships with certain other heroes.
The fic can be found here and here.
’’The Amazing Spider-Man: True Purpose’’ contains the following examples:
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: While Spider-Man was only briefly a mentor figure to Hope during their time in K'un-Lun in canon, here not only does Hope call him her friend in her confrontation with Wanda, but he remains a key figure in her life after the Phoenix crisis is over. Hope has such a high opinion of Spider-Man that when faced with the question of what to do with herself after the mutants have been restored, she asks Peter for his opinion, and when he affirms that she can do whatever she wants to do with her life Hope explicitly asks to join his new team.
- All-Loving Hero: It’s noted more than once that Spider-Man doesn’t truly hate anyone, even making jokes about Illyana killing him by suggesting that she did what so many of his enemies and a few friends have threatened to do to make him shut up.
- An Arm and a Leg: During the fight with the Red Skull’s minions, Red Sonja cuts the Skull’s left hand off.
- Ascended Extra: This seems set to apply for Black Cat and Mary Jane, as Mary Jane has begun permanently ‘sharing’ her body with Red Sonja and the two women took part in the confrontation with the Red Skull after he took Charles Xavier’s brain; Captain America himself declares that at least Red Sonja can now be considered a reserve Avenger.
- Berserk Button: Magik killing Spider-Man earned Scott and Emma the ire of basically every hero out there, ranging from Iceman being horrified at the news that Spider-Man was dead to Valeria Richards actively drawing up plans for doomsday weapons to use against the mutants. Rogue also provokes outrage from the Thing when she asks why people are making a big deal about Spider-Man’s death when as far as she knows most people found him annoying.
- Best Her to Bed Her: Sonja’s vow of celibacy unless she is defeated in battle prompts her to briefly fight with Spider-Man, but the fight soon ends when he is able to take her sword and hold it to her neck, Mary Jane observing that Sonja can’t win from this position even if they both know Peter won’t go all out.
- Beyond Redemption: Several characters make it clear that they won't forgive the X-Men for Spider-Man’s death, to the extent that Valerie Richards is shown contemplating making weapons to go after the team even after the crisis is over. Only the fact that various higher powers brought Spider-Man back to life guarantees that others won't outright condemn the X-Men for the wall-crawler’s death, and it’s often noted that the X-Men would have been on trial for war crimes if Spider-Man had remained dead.
- Big Bad: Just as in canon, the Red Skull seems set to become this for the new Avengers/X-Men team.
- Big Damn Heroes: When the Avengers are fighting the spirit of Daniel Drumm, they are surprised when Drumm’s attempt to use Spider-Man as his host is interrupted by the “return” of Red Sonja (once again sharing a body with Mary Jane).
- Borrowed Catchphrase: When the brainwashed Cap throws his shield at Spider-Man, Peter catches the shield, puts it on his arm, and thrusts it into the air while yelling “Avengers Assemble!” at his new makeshift ‘team’.
- The Cavalry Arrives Late: The Human Torch shows up at Avengers Mansion just after the heroes present have defeated Daniel Drumm (although all concerned parties quickly realise he was mainly there to try and flirt with Red Sonja rather than purely to help).
- Chick Magnet: Spider-Man’s status as this is brought up; when Red Sonja makes her debut and affirms that she is there to rescue her ‘love’, Iron Man openly questions how Peter can declare himself unlucky when he has the attention of women like that.
- The Chosen One: As in canon, Hope is ultimately this to the Phoenix Force, but Spider-Man is shocked to learn that he is essentially the chosen representative of various higher powers as well, to the extent that he is called upon to defend Earth and humanity’s right to exist before entities such as the Living Tribunal. Notably, after Hope achieves her destiny to restart the mutant race, she asks Peter for advice on what to do with herself next, and when told to do what feels right, she chooses to join the Avengers Unity Squad led by Spider-Man, choosing to be a hero over trying for a ‘normal’ life.
- Clark Kent Outfit: Mary Jane’s changes to Red Sonja appear to be a mystical version of this, to the extent that Steve and Tony both need to be explicitly told that Sonja is Mary Jane despite having regained their memories of when she and Peter lived at Avengers Tower. After Hope Summers sees Sonja during the battle against Daniel Drumm, when she first meets Mary Jane Hope assumes that MJ is a relative of Sonja as Mary Jane is “smaller and daintier” than her other identity.
- Classical Anti-Hero: Peter is meant to guide Hope, but reeling from his insecurities, he’s far from an infallible role model.
- Combat Pragmatist: In the confrontation with the Red Skull, Rogue ultimately accepts Spider-Man’s orders that she stand back so that others can attack the Skull directly, as while she’s particularly angry at the Skull’s use of Xavier’s powers Rogue is also currently the only one who can stop the Skull using those abilities to control others.
- Crushing Handshake: When facing the S-Men, Spider-Man takes Honest John’s hand only to crush it, making it clear that just because the man is currently using the image of Ben Parker that won’t stop the wall-crawler hitting him.
- Declaration of Protection: Carol Danvers basically makes one when she informs Captain America that she’ll be joining the new Avengers Unity Squad to keep an eye on the likes of Rogue in case anyone resents Spider-Man coming back instead of Xavier.
- Due to the Dead: After Spider-Man’s death, the inhabitants of K'un-Lun agree to keep his body safe in a temple until the current crisis has been resolved and the Avengers have time for a more detailed funeral. Thor also takes a moment alone with the corpse to affirm that Spider-Man is worthy of a place in Valhalla for his sacrifice. When the gathered heroes return from the final battle with Scott/Dark Phoenix to find Spider-Man’s body has apparently been desecrated, Thor, the Thing and Carol Danvers are particularly enraged at what someone has done to their friend before they learn that this was actually part of a complex cycle that brought Spider-Man back to life.
- Exact Words: When some of the other Avengers ask how Spider-Man knows Sonja, Sonja replies that he’s seen her naked; technically accurate, save that he saw her body naked while Mary Jane was in control rather than Sonja.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: The idea of Spider-Man being this is analysed from various perspectives. When Rogue questions why so many people are taking the wall-crawler's death so hard when she’s heard so many complaints about his attitude, Ben Grimm and Logan make it clear that those who took the time to truly know Spider-Man outside the mask deeply respected his attitude and his drive to do the right thing. Rogers and Red Sonja note later that what makes Spider-Man a good choice to lead the planned Avengers Unity Squad is that he’s been able to work with so many other heroes, and even the occasional team-up with his villains, despite how so many find him aggrivating.
- In contrast to Spider-Man, during the final fight with Scott and Emma, Bobby notes that nobody’s that sorry about having to fight the former White Queen since in her case people more tolerated her attitude for her skills rather than actually liking her, as opposed to Spider-Man being annoying on occasion but respected by those who counted.
- Grand Romantic Gesture: When Peter discusses his plans to take a vacation with Mary Jane/Red Sonja and Felicia, Sue Storm slaps Reed for not having thought of doing the equivalent with her for a while.
- Has a Type: When Hope reveals that Cable had various magazines with pictures of Mary Jane Watson in them, both Tony and Logan think Cable has an Oedipus Complex.
- The Hero Dies: The fic basically opens with Spider-Man dying during the war against the Phoenix Five, although he is brought back to life a few days later.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Yu-Ti lampshades this trait in Spider-Man, commenting on whether he will instil self-loathing into Young Hope. Spider-Man takes it in stride, calling his self-flagellation one of his superpowers.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: When the Red Skull attacks with a mind-controlled Thor, Spider-Man is able to grab Mjolnir and use it to knock Thor back.
- Honorary True Companion:
- During the clash with the Red Skull’s forces, Red Sonja and Black Cat are basically affirmed to become reserve Avengers, as they won’t join the new team but will help out if they’re available.
- When Beast brings young Spider-Man to the future with the young X-Men, he seems to have swiftly become this to the other time-travellers, with young Jean stepping into protect the young Spider-Man from his future self (who assumed the time-travellers were clones) and the young X-Men inviting young Spidey to join them as they go to confront present-day Scott.
- I Hate Past Me: A minor example, as Peter is annoyed that his younger self doesn't listen to him as he attempts to avoid giving away future information.
- Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: Emma Frost is only informed while she's being taken to prison after her defeat that Spider-Man has been brought back to life.
- Insecure Love Interest:
- Carol Danvers’ crush on Spider-Man motivates her to join the Unity Squad to protect him, but at the same time she feels that she can’t compete with his more established relationships.
- For all her apparent confidence, Felicia is this to the initial ‘triad’ of herself, Peter and Mary Jane, feeling that Peter is so good and Mary Jane is such a better fit for him that Felicia can’t really understand what they both see in someone as flawed as her.
- Kick the Dog: Magik killing Spider-Man ultimately amounts to this, as she and Colossus already had him pinned down and injured and he couldn’t have actually hurt them anyway.
- Living Bodysuit: Mary Jane is basically this for Red Sonja, as she gives Sonja permission to use her body to fight alongside Spider-Man, but the two alternate control (and Sonja is able to change Mary Jane’s appearance just enough that people who see the two women think they’re different people).
- Mistaken for Cheating: When the new Unity Squad see Spider-Man come downstairs in the mansion closely followed by Black Cat in a manner that makes it clear they spent the night together, certain parties assume Peter’s cheating on Mary Jane/Red Sonja before the redhead in question appears and clarifies that it was a threesome.
- Moment Killer:
- After Peter and Mary Jane have spent the previous night celebrating their reunion in the newly-rebuilt Avengers Mansion (currently Peter’s property and not occupied by anyone else), they come downstairs in their underwear the following morning only to find Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine and Hope Summers in the main hall.
- Peter has to deal with this again when he comes downstairs (this time wearing his mask and the lower half of his costume) after a pleasant weekend with Felicia and Mary Jane/Red Sonja, only to find most of the planned Unity Team there along with Steve and Tony.
- More Deadly Than the Male: Scott and Emma were effectively the ruling couple of Utopia, but the latter was more willing to use violence to achieve their goals, such as showing no regret over a vision of Spider-Man's future death.
- My Future Self and Me: When Hank brings the original five X-Men into the future, he also brings Peter’s past self.
- My Greatest Failure: Invoked; while this wasn't his greatest failure, Spider-Man talks with Hope about the death of Sally Avril, the short-lived ‘Bluebird’ (as recorded in Untold Tales of Spider-Man), as an example of why he feels responsible when people he cares about join him in the field.
- Mythology Gag: Grady Scraps of Horizon Labs observes that the end of the world is likely to be a zombie apocalypse as that’s one threat the superheroes couldn’t defeat due to the danger of superpowered zombies, an assessment proven correct in the world of Marvel Zombies.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Hope reveals that part of the reason the original Dark Phoenix crisis happened was that Xavier’s attempt to control Jean’s powers basically crippled her so that she couldn’t channel the Phoenix Force properly.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: During the final confrontation with Phoenix-Cyclops, Xavier states that Scott was winning when the Avengers and X-Men were divided, but Magik murdering Spider-Man gave the teams a reason to stand together as enough people on both sides liked the hero to want to stop those responsible for his death.
- One-Steve Limit: After the original X-Men and young Spider-Man come into the present, it is noted that the younger versions will all be known by nicknames to distinguish them from their older selves; Pete, Jeannie, Scotty, Bobby and Hank (with the older Beast and Iceman being Robert and Henry); young Warren will just be known by his name as his future self won't appear that often.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: During the confrontation with the Red Skull’s forces, Spider-Man is privately ecstatic when he actually manages to catch Mjolnir and throw it back at the mind-controlled Thor, musing that he’s basically giddy at the idea that he’s worthy to wield the weapon even if he quickly recognises the need to focus on the current battle.
- Polyamory:
Word of God confirms that Spider-Man will have eight partners (nine depending on if Red Sonja is considered a separate person) in this fic; Mary Jane/Red Sonja, Felicia Hardy, Black Widow, Silver Sable, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Wanda Maximoff, and Carol Danvers. - Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Essentially Peter’s first team as leader of the Avengers Unity Squad is Red Sonja, Black Cat, Rogue, Havok, Wolverine, Hope and the Scarlet Witch, which is far from a traditional Avengers line-up (mainly consisting of those available heroes who weren’t affected by Red Skull’s influence). The ‘official’ team line-up for the Unity Squad is later established to be Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Captain Marvel and Thing for the Avengers and Havok, Rogue, Wolverine and Hope for the X-Men, with Red Sonja (and potentially Black Cat) on the reserves.
- Refuge in Audacity: It’s noted that this is the reason the young Spider-Man agreed to accompany the original X-Men into the future with Beast; he felt that Beast’s story was so crazy it had to be true.
- Reset Button: When Hope receives the Phoenix Force, she is able to use it to undo most of the damage done by the war against the Phoenix Five, but cannot revive Xavier or Spider-Man as the Phoenix is angry at Xavier for his role in unintentionally crippling Jean (Hope only learns later that Spider-Man has been revived by other means).
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: When Peter’s enhanced spider-sense gives him a vision of him being attacked by Wolverine, Red Hulk, Luke Cage and Thor, he correctly deduces the Avengers are about to face a foe that can possess people. He’s just wrong that this foe was possessing his attackers, as the spirit of Daniel Drumm was actually possessing Spider-Man himself.
- Running Gag: When Spider-Man comments on shaving Beast as payback for his time-travel escapade, all of the present X-Men, ranging from the younger Bobby to the present Kitty Pryde, wonder what Beast would look like hairless.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Invoked when the young Spider-Man tries to return to his time as he feels he can't contribute to the current situation, but ultimately the machine doesn't work.
- Secret Identity: Spider-Man maintaining this is significant after his death, as Rogue in particular asks why his death is a big deal when nobody really knew him and he wasn’t anyone important. The Thing affirms that the web-slinger deserves respect for going out as a hero and also trying to protect his friends and loved ones in his civilian life; Ben explicitly draws Rogue’s attention to the fact that most heroes only associate with others who are capable of defending themselves, whereas Spider-Man had several civilian contacts he wanted to protect.
- Simple Solution Won't Work: It's explicitly stated that relying on the past Charles Xavier to erase the Original X-Men's memories of their time in the future is too risky, in case Xavier glimpses details of his future such as his time as Onslaught.
- Shout-Out:
- During the final clash with Cyclops-as-Dark-Phoenix, Spider-Man appears to Hope as a ghostly apparition and tells her “You will go to the Dagobah system”.
- When Peter comments “Two days of all work and no sleep make Spider Zzzzz”, he expresses approval when Hope identifies that as a reference to The Shining.
- When facing Mzee, the turtle-like member of the Skull’s S-Men, Spider-Man describes him as a "Mario villain reject".
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: When Spider-Man shows up to assist in protecting Emma Frost’s prison transfer, Emma attempts to taunt him about how his death didn't have that much of an impact because he never did anything important, but Spider-Man, aware that he was genuinely mourned by the people whose opinions he actually cares about, simply wraps a piece of metal around Emma to keep her contained (observing that if she wants to show off her body everyone there has seen better) and then webs her mouth shut, casually observing that was something important for the moment.
- Smooch of Victory: Spider-Man receives one from Silver Sable after helping her stop a bomb threat.
- Something Only They Would Say: Spider-Man’s sense of humour is basically his business card, with everyone from old friends such as Logan to newer acquaintances like Hope immediately concluding that they’re addressing the real web-slinger (even when he was apparently dead) when he makes a particular kind of joke.
- Spot the Impostor: Invoked when Honest John appears as Uncle Ben to Spider-Man; while Honest John’s powers make Peter feel as though he’s facing Ben Parker, he knows that the real Ben would never have expressed this kind of hatred for mutants.
- Superpowered Evil Side: Red Sonja is loosely this for Mary Jane; they both love Spider-Man and wouldn’t do anything to upset him, so Sonja wouldn’t do anything he wouldn’t approve of, but she’s more willing to take a ruthless course of action than Mary Jane would choose if she was in control. The two personas also have to negotiate regarding changing Sonja’s attire to something less revealing so Mary Jane doesn’t feel as awkward about being so exposed.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Rogue basically seems set to be the member of the Unity Squad who has the most difficulty with Spider-Man, to the extent that she is the only member openly angry about how Spider-Man is alive instead of Xavier (Carol and Ben are definitely Peter’s friends over Xavier's, Logan and Hope are just glad one of the two is still alive, Thor and Wanda liked both men but weren’t especially close to either before the War, and Havok is more willing to let the matter go). Ben Grimm in particular objects to the idea of joining the team simply because he would have to work with Rogue, although Spider-Man convinces him to join regardless because when the team’s goal is to improve relations between the Avengers and the X-Men Peter doesn’t want to fire Rogue simply because she doesn’t get along with him.
- They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Brought up when various X-Men join the other heroes after Spider-Man’s death; when Iceman refers to the Thing as "Ben", the Thing makes it clear that only his friends can use that name and as far as he’s concerned Iceman is no longer a friend considering that one of his teammates killed Spider-Man.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Spending time with Spider-Man and learning from his example prompts Hope to start considering the benefits and risks of a normal life, as opposed to her more cynical attitude from being raised by Cable.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- As in canon, Hope delivers one of these to Wanda, blaming her for the current crisis and in particular the death of Spider-Man.
- The Illuminati (Captain America, Iron Man, Mister Fantastic and Doctor Strange) are all shocked when Spider-Man reveals his past deal with Mephisto and his new role as the future host of the Phoenix, although a talk with Doctor Strange in particular helps to assure them that he’s thought about the consequences of both and is making plans to deal with the Phoenix.
- Spider-Man gets to deliver his own version when he literally shakes Beast for bringing his younger self and the original five X-Men into the future.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: When Hank brings the young Spider-Man into the future along with the original five X-Men, Peter’s initial assumption is that he’s dealing with clones rather than time travel as he’s more familiar with clones.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
- Invoked by proxy when Steve Rogers talks with Charles Xavier after Spider-Man’s death and reflects that it actually hurts that the wall-crawler’s last words expressed doubt that he was good enough, Rogers affirming that he’s always been impressed at how Spider-Man remained a hero when he endured so much trauma that it would almost be expected for the wall-crawler to turn to villainy.
- When Sonja’s spirit initially offered Mary Jane her sword, MJ expressed concern that she wasn’t strong enough to deal with the burdens that weapon would place on her. Sonja reminds Mary Jane that while she left Peter on occasion, she always came back to him and the two made each other stronger, Mary Jane accepting her relative isolation from the wider world so long as she could be with Peter.
- You Should Have Died Instead: Invoked in spirit when Spider-Man comes back to life while Charles Xavier stays dead, as various characters observe that when only one Avenger and one X-Man died in the conflict, certain X-Men are likely to be angry that the founder of the X-Men is the one who didn’t get to come back.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: More accurately, Peter is embarrassed when Tony expresses pride in Peter having spent the weekend engaged in a threesome with Mary Jane/Red Sonja and Black Cat (technically a foursome, but Mary Jane and Sonja couldn’t be present at the same time).
