3. What If The Alien Costume Had Possessed Spider-Man ?
Originally published What If? Vol. 2 #4 (1989) Instead of enlisting Reed Richards to help remove the symbiotic costume as he does in Amazing Spider-Man #258, Peter Parker is instead completely consumed by the oily alien, which leeches nearly all of his energy. This may not be the most poignant, timely or brilliantly executed issue in the What If? series, but I'll be damned if it isn't the most enjoyable. The symbiote - which eventually comes to be known as Venom in the regular Marvel continuity - moves from Spider-Man to Hulk (above) and then on to Thor, draining superpowers as it goes and causing chaos in the superhero community. While the ever-strengthening alien is fun to watch as it rampages through Marvel's finest, two other points of interest make this one of the best What If? stories ever. The first is the fate of Peter Parker: after the symbiote disengages from the webslinger's body, he is so spent from the ordeal that he has lost 50 years of his life. He will die of old age soon, but not before visiting his Aunt May one last time for a hazy goodbye. This scene is heartbreaking, considering that the death of Spider-Man is actually pretty commonplace in What If? stories. This one nails it. The second interesting point is that the alien symbiote, not referred to as Venom just quite yet, is very much a character of its own. It has a personality, it has a motive, and through a host it has a voice. We witness a strange battle within Peter Parker as the alien overtakes him - "Help meHelpMeHah! Forget it! I don't want your help!" By no means is this representation of the personality of the alien exclusive to this What If? issue, but here it is particularly hard-hitting. And for bonus points, the climactic scene features Black Bolt ("who, at Reed Richards' urgent summons, teleported here from the moon!" Yeah.) Black Bolt's power comes from his supersonic voice, and while you'd think that would get old quickly, it really never does for me. He's a great character and it's great to see him make the cut in this issue alongside the more popular Marvel superheroes.
