THE NEOGENIC NIGHTMARE
Chapter VIII
This episode is the collision of philosophies, the moment Spider-Man’s mutation forces the world to see him not as a hero, but as prey. The Man-Spider prowls the city, feral and uncontrollable, and two hunters close in: the Punisher, armed with absolute judgement, and Sergei Kravinoff, driven by primal instinct. Their duel is not simply over a creature. It is over ideology — whether monsters should be destroyed or mastered.
Punisher embodies eradication. His war on crime leaves no room for mercy, and when he corners the Man-Spider, his intent is execution. Sergei intervenes, not to save Peter but to claim him, to prove his dominance as the world’s greatest hunter. Their clash is brutal, a contest of steel and savagery, each man convinced his philosophy is the only truth. In the chaos, the Man-Spider escapes, his humanity flickering only when he recognises Debra Whitman and Flash Thompson as friends, saving them from Morbius’s hunger. Even in monstrosity, Peter’s core remains.
The episode thrives on inversion. Spider-Man, once protector, is now the hunted. Punisher, once saviour, becomes executioner. Sergei, once predator, becomes unlikely ally. The lines blur, and the question sharpens: is Peter Parker still inside the creature, or has the mutation erased him entirely? The hunters fight each other as much as they fight the monster, their rivalry exposing the fragility of their own codes.
The climax is not triumph but compromise. Sergei frees Punisher, proposing alliance, and together they subdue the Man-Spider. Mariah Crawford arrives with the serum, offering fragile hope of restoration. Duel of the Hunters ends not with victory, but with uncertainty: the monster restrained, the cure untested, and the haunting truth that Peter Parker’s greatest battle is not against hunters or vampires, but against himself.
The warehouse burns as Punisher clashes with the Man-Spider, the explosion a symbol of Peter’s mutation spiralling out of control. Punisher escapes through cold efficiency, commanding his Battle Van back to base, while the creature flees into the shadows. Across the city, Dr. Mariah Crawford listens to the news and makes her choice: she calls Sergei Kravinoff, summoning the hunter to New York to tame the monster her friend has become.
Punisher prepares for war, aided by Microchip, his arsenal sharpened for the hunt. At the same time, Mary Jane wakes at Aunt May’s, the absence of Peter gnawing at them both. Their decision to go to the police underscores the tragedy: while loved ones search for the boy, the boy himself has vanished into monstrosity.
The Man-Spider is cornered again, immobilised by Punisher, only for Sergei to intervene. Two hunters collide, their philosophies clashing as much as their weapons. In the chaos, Man-Spider escapes into E.S.U., where Morbius strikes at Debra Whitman and Flash Thompson. Yet even in his monstrous form, Peter recognises his friends, saving them from Morbius’s hunger. It is a flicker of humanity in a body that no longer feels human.
Punisher, ensnared in webs and left hanging in a cave, is freed by Sergei, who proposes alliance. Together, they battle the creature, their combined strength finally overwhelming him. Mariah arrives at the moment of reckoning, offering the serum that may restore Peter to himself.
The Man-Spider is a creation of the animated series, although since its release there have been several mutations similar in the comic books.
Thwip Quip: Since Spidey doesn’t say much in this episode, we’re going to give this one to Kraven, who spends the episode buddy-copping with the Punisher, who clearly has an effect on the Hunter, who offers Frank this compliment: “We would be magnificent together.”
X-Cess Minutiae 
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