Pumpkinhead

Gwen Stacy sighed in annoyance as she looked herself over in the mirror, realizing that she was probably the only superhero in New York who had to worry about split ends. Fighting the cold-wielding Blizzard hadn't done much for her complexion, nor had the various scrapes and bruises she'd suffered from the icicles and snowballs Blizzard wielded. Granted, she'd become used to such problems ever since she'd begun fighting crime as the spectacular Spider-Woman, ranging from hiding her injuries with makeup to treating her skin and hair with the right mix of oils, creams and lotions so that she could keep up her appearance. Doing it on a budget had been even trickier, given how long she'd spent living paycheck to paycheck. Social media sites like YouTube had been a huge help, of course-many of the beauty gurus who'd made videos with makeup advice had provided her with helpful tips.

She laughed at herself for a moment, amused at how annoyed she could get over something so trivial. When compared to fighting crazed supervillains and protecting the innocent, or even just making sure to do well in her studies, being concerned with beauty and makeup hardly compared in importance. That said, Gwen continued to do it anyway. She did it partly because her good looks were a point of pride for her, but more particularly because it was something that never seemed to change.

Considering everything she'd been through in the last fifteen months since her spider-powers had started to develop, Gwen needed all the stability she could get. Even though things were much better for her than they used to be, the knowledge that her old enemy Jack O' Lantern was still on the loose, and taunted her with the fact that he could reach her any time he wanted, still gave her nightmares.

SPIDER-WOMAN #53

"PUMPKINHEAD"

"Good morning, Mom," Gwen greeted her aunt as she came downstairs.

"Morning, sweetie," Helen replied, as Gwen set about making some breakfast. "Have a good sleep?"

"Better than before," Gwen smiled, always cheered up by how well her mother was doing these days. "How about you?"

"Not that great," Helen sighed.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked in concern.

"Remember how we found out that your father was a big tax cheat, and that we were going to be responsible for the back taxes he owed?"

"I wish I could forget," Gwen frowned.

"Well, I got a letter from the IRS yesterday informing me just how much money we owe in back taxes," Helen winced. "I managed to pay a lot of it off by letting them seize your father's assets, and I've been setting a lot of my own pay aside to pay it off ever since I started working again, but we're still going to be $40,000 short."

Gwen choked on her milk when she heard the figure.

"Forty thousand dollars?" she balked. "Where are we going to get that kind of money?"

"I wish I knew," Helen groaned. "I honestly have no idea," she continued, seemingly to lose all of her energy at once as she slumped down at the table.

"How can you be responsible for his tax cheating?" Gwen asked incredulously. "Isn't there some way you can get exempted from it? I mean, you weren't involved with any of that stuff," she pointed out.

"I tried that," Helen frowned. "The problem was that your father filled out all the tax forms, and got me to co-sign them. I applied for this thing they called 'innocent spouse relief', but I was denied. They claimed that we benefited because George paid to put you through school and for your first apartment even after we separated."

"He just did that to keep up appearances after he kicked us out," Gwen protested. "That's bullshit!"

"Don't I know it," Helen muttered. "I just wish I knew what to do…"

"I know what I'm going to do," Gwen replied quietly. "I'm getting a job."

"But what about school?" Helen asked in surprise.

"I just won't go," Gwen replied. "I mean, I can get another waitressing job or something like that, and do acting and modelling work in between. I've done it before, after all."

"And you gave yourself a nervous breakdown," Helen reminded her with a frown.

"That was because I was still going to school full-time as well. Look, you guys have been letting me stay here rent-free, so it's time I paid you back."

"You've been doing all of the housework around here," Helen reminded her daughter once again.

"So?" Gwen shrugged. "We can just start dividing it up again. I don't see what's so hard about this!"

Helen just smiled sadly at that, before coming over and hugging Gwen tightly.

The month of April had just begun, and spring was in full bloom on the Empire State University quad. To Gwen, it was a welcome sight, a sign of renewal and a time to discard the old stresses and worries. Spring Break was coming up next week as well, which for most students was a wonderfully welcome time to unwind after exams.

Of course, there were most people, and then there was Gwen. All she could think about was somehow trying to track down Jack O' Lantern and finally bring him to justice. He could strike at anyone she cared about, at any time, and if she didn't do something…

Gwen was jolted out of her reverie by her friend Liz Allan calling out to her. Looking up in surprise, Gwen made sure to smile as Liz came over. The two girls began walking down the quad together as they talked.

"What are you doing for Spring Break?" Liz asked Gwen.

"I'm not really sure," Gwen admitted. "I'll probably just take it easy, hang out with you guys. Why, did you have something planned?"

"Harry's planning a big trip to Daytona Beach for Spring Break," Liz replied. "Didn't I tell you?"

"I might have forgotten about it," Gwen admitted sheepishly. "Who else is going?"

"As many people as we can bring," Liz grinned. "Kong and Kitty have said they're coming, and Kitty's seeing about maybe getting her cousin Ben Reilly to join us. Would you and Randy be up for joining us?"

"How much is it going to cost?" Gwen asked uncertainly.

"Harry's paying for it all," Liz smiled brightly. "He got a lot more money from selling all of his father's assets," she continued, referring to Harry's father, the infamous chemical tycoon and supervillain Norman Osborn, "and he wanted to celebrate. So, what do you say?"

"I'll have to talk to Randy," Gwen said truthfully, "but I don't see why we can't join you!" she continued brightly, although this time she was lying.

"Hey, that's great!" Liz grinned, before turning to walk towards the building that led to her next class. "See you then!" she called back, waving to Gwen.

Gwen waved back, a smile on her face, but she cursed herself for lying to Liz. She would have loved to join Liz and Harry on the sunny Florida beaches, and she knew that Randy would have been thrilled to be there, too. But she also knew that there was no way she could leave New York so long as Jack O' Lantern was on the loose, particularly when he could just as easily massacre anyone and everyone she cared for while she was off playing in Florida.

Gwen knew that Jack O' Lantern was going to strike, and she knew that she had to be ready when he did.

Harold and Sierra Weston were forced to watch their son be slowly killed by choking to death from the poisonous gas of his pumpkin grenade, before they were decapitated by the energy bolts of his wrist blasters.

Roger Petersen had been smothered by his ghost grabber.

Hiroshi Suzumiya was torn into a bloody mess by his clawed gauntlets.

Mario Calamino was forced to swallow his exploding miniature pumpkin grenade, his wife had her head torn off by his unearthly strength and their daughters were slowly burned to death by low-intensity blasts from his wrist blasters.

Jack O' Lantern had been laying low ever since he escaped from prison, but he had returned to the scene with a vengeance. He felt almost euphoric as he went on a bloody killing spree, reveling in the pain and horror he was inflicting on his victims, his hysterical laughter blending with their screams of terror and their pleas for mercy. He was a storm of murder and destruction, always staying several steps ahead of the police and any superheroes that might have been trying to catch him, even though he was committing his murders in broad daylight. Nothing and no one seemed to be able to stop him as he left gore and death in his wake.

Now, more than ever, he truly felt alive.

Word of Jack O' Lantern's rampage had spread like wildfire through the media, and Kitty Pryde had felt a distinct sense of panic when she'd heard about it. She possessed a unique perspective on the matter, given that Jack O' Lantern was really her maternal uncle, Steven Mark Levins. Kitty was all too aware of the threats Jack O' Lantern had made against his relatives in particular, and she was frantically running home to try and do something, anything, to protect them.

She couldn't help but freeze at the cackling laughter she heard looming from up above, and screamed as she saw the razor-edged boomerang bats flying towards her. Instinctively activating her mutant phasing powers, Kitty let the bats fly through her as she kept running, but she stopped once again as the energy blast ripped through the pavement in front of her.

Looking up, she saw what was, to her, the most terrifying sight in the world. Riding a hover platform ringed with what looked like human skulls, his boots and gauntlets resembling human bones, the chestplate on his armor crafted to look as if it was covered in tiny skulls, and his head a nightmarish flaming pumpkin with a demonic leer, Jack O' Lantern loomed over his niece. He was splattered with gore and blood from his gruesome "pleasure", and his bone-chilling laughter pierced Kitty's ears, terrifying her to her very soul.

"What's the matter?" Jack O' Lantern rasped gleefully. "Nothing to say to your dear old uncle? I thought we were closer than that!"

"Stay away from me!" Kitty screamed, turning to run, but she found herself suddenly entangled by the ghost grabber Jack O' Lantern threw down to entrap her. She tried phasing through it, but to her horror she found that her phasing powers were useless against the infernal device. She screamed again as she was electrocuted by the grabber, as Jack O' Lantern's cackling reached a new level of insanity. Helpless and unable to escape, she was lifted into the air as Jack O' Lantern took to the skies, ready for the final phase of his plan.

Looking forward to a relaxing Saturday, Gwen had spent most of the morning and the early part of the afternoon relaxing and studying for exams. Her mother Helen and Aunt Nancy were visiting some friends, and her cousin Jill was at a sleepover, so she had the place to herself. It hadn't taken her long to heal from her fight with Blizzard, and she was looking forward to a day of peace and quiet. She intended to start the hunt for Jack O' Lantern the next day, but for now she needed to unwind.

Unfortunately, when she booted up her computer after finishing her studying, Gwen's blood ran cold when she saw the headlines on the website that she'd set as her browser's default site. Her old enemy Jack O' Lantern had returned, and he had gone on an insane killing spree that no one seemed able to stop, before kidnapping Kitty Pryde. Gwen felt a rising sense of horror as she read through the article, and realized just how familiar the names of many of Jack's victims were. They were the same people Vincent Gonzalez and his gang of thugs had targeted for criticizing him and supporting her. They'd passionately spoken up in her defense, had been violently attacked by Gonzalez and his men, and now they were all dead.

They had been murdered because they'd admired and supported her.

It was her fault they were dead.

All of Gwen's old anger came roaring back as her cold shock turned into white-hot fury.

She recalled the violence and trauma these people had already suffered at the hands of Gonzalez and his thugs.

She recalled the angry, accusing glares Randy had given her when he'd learned that Jack O' Lantern knew her secret identity.

She recalled the way Jack O' Lantern had nearly killed her Aunt Nancy and sixty other people, as well as all the other people he'd successfully murdered, because she'd hadn't lived up to her responsibilities and captured Jack O' Lantern the first time she'd fought him.

She recalled the way her father had used to treat her mother Helen like a punching bag, cheating on Helen before throwing her and Gwen out of the house because Gwen wasn't able to protect her mother.

She recalled all the accusations Vincent Gonzalez had thrown at her about how many people had died because she hadn't been able to stop the supervillains from killing them.

She recalled all the burned and dead victims of Supercharger's crazed rampages, people he'd murdered to force her to fight him.

She recalled the harassing phone call Jack O' Lantern had made to her, reminding her that he always knew where she was, and was always watching.

She recalled the demonic, grinning jack-in-the-box Jack O' Lantern had planted in her bedroom, entering her home, just to let her know he could do so any time he felt like it.

She recalled how her spider-senses seemed to be malfunctioning, before realizing that Jack O' Lantern must have been somehow manipulating them to make her doubt herself.

Pure anger had taken over as Gwen changed into her Spider-Woman costume, and she suddenly felt her spider-senses reactivate. In her mind, the signal was as clear as a bell, and she knew exactly where to go to finally deal with Jack O' Lantern once and for all.

It was her fault that this monster was still on the loose, and it was her fault that all his victims were dead. They'd supported her and believed in her, and she'd let them down.

She could imagine what Kitty Pryde was going through, knowing all too well what Jack O' Lantern was capable of.

It was her fault that Kitty was suffering, and it was her responsibility to end it.

It was her fault, and it was her responsibility to set things right.

And make Jack O' Lantern pay.

Her spider-senses led Spider-Woman into the maze of tunnels beneath New York City, and finally to one particular abandoned subway station that Jack O' Lantern was using as a lair. She knew he was here-his sickening, twisted laughter echoed through the tunnels, and the very air itself seemed to reek of his cruelty and hatred. Soon, she emerged into a large room, bare except for rubble and debris, and a large pair of double doors that stood to her left.

Easily pulling the doors open, Spider-Woman charged in, screaming Jack O' Lantern's name angrily. She heard a plaintive, muffled cry, and spun around to see Kitty suspended in a large iron cage hanging from the ceiling, entrapped in one of Jack O' Lantern's ghost grabbers. She sprang forward, but was suddenly stopped by a massive wall of steel that emerged from the ground and rose all the way up to the ceiling, completely entrapping her.

Not deterred in the least, Spider-Woman began pounding on the steel wall, but stopped and looked up when she heard the hissing sound. Gas was filling the confined space, causing Spider-Woman to cough and hold her breath as she continued trying to break through the wall. Her punches didn't work, her sting blasts were useless, and even swinging into and kicking the steel wall with a webline didn't work.

Spider-Woman was climbing to the top of the ceiling to try and tear the wall away where it connected with the ceiling when she was no longer able to hold her breath. Coughing and gagging from the gas, Spider-Woman lost her grip on the wall and fell back to the ground. Everything seemed to spin all around her, as Jack O' Lantern's laughter resumed. Her vision began swimming in and out of focus as she looked up at the wall. A TV monitor was built into the steel wall, displaying a picture of the room outside. Kitty was still suspended in her iron cage, and Jack O' Lantern himself had appeared, laughing hysterically.

Spider-Woman tried to stand up again, but now she felt her anger being replaced by a growing sense of fear and panic. Jack O' Lantern's laughter echoed in her ears as she felt a horrible presence, a certain indescribable something that she knew was approaching and that she was powerless to fight back against.

That was when the nightmare began.

"What are you doing to her?" Kitty screamed, almost out of her mind with fear as she saw what was happening to Spider-Woman.

"Showing her the truth about herself," Jack O' Lantern leered, smiling widely behind his pumpkin mask as he watched his most hated of enemies suffer. "Tell me, have you ever read the Sherlock Holmes stories?"

Kitty only stared back in silence, too horrified to respond.

"They were all true, you know," Jack O' Lantern continued, turning back to look at Spider-Woman through the two-way monitor into her steel prison. "Every one of them really happened. Arthur Conan Doyle merely acted as Dr. Watson's literary agent. One in particular was called The Adventure of the Devil's Foot, where Holmes and Watson investigated a particularly gruesome scene. Two men were found driven stark raving mad, while a woman was struck dead with pure fright. Holmes eventually discovered that they were poisoned with Radix pedis diaboli, or 'devil's-foot root', as it was more generally known."

Kitty was trying very hard to avoid sobbing in fear.

"Devil's-foot root is a herb from Africa, that the Africans used only in the direst criminal punishments," Jack O' Lantern said, the sickening grin on his pumpkin mask seeming to grow wider. "Anyone unlucky enough to breathe in the fumes the root gives off when it's burnt starts to suffer from nightmarish hallucinations that will either drive them mad with fear, or simply kill them, if they aren't strong enough to resist the fumes."

"You're insane," Kitty barely managed to whisper, although Jack O' Lantern heard her loud and clear.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Jack O' Lantern replied, before he began cackling hysterically as Kitty broke down sobbing.

"Oh, it's not so bad, Kitty," Jack leered once he'd calmed down. "You see, with my knowledge of biochemistry I altered the properties of the devil's-foot root a little bit. Spider-Woman isn't going to die from my little concoction. No, I have other plans for her!"

Kitty shuddered all over, trying desperately to phase through Jack O' Lantern's ghost grabber and the cage she was trapped in, but she was completely helpless.

"The problem with your generation is that so many of you have so little fire, so little spirit," Jack O' Lantern grinned. "Spider-Woman was different. When she first started out, she was so full of anger, brutalizing her enemies and nearly hurting so many innocent bystanders with her recklessness. But then she got soft, she started getting control of herself, and she put more emphasis on protecting weak, pathetic wastes of skin like you. Karen and Jennifer did such a poor job raising you, they snuffed out any hope I might have had for you, Ben and all the rest," Jack continued, referring to his sisters Karen and Jennifer, and all the children they'd had.

"But now, with the help of my little root, I'm bringing Spider-Woman back to who she truly is. She tries to deny it, but you could see it in the way she acted when she came in here, so full of rage and hate. You see, Kitty, I'm not getting any younger, and I could do with someone to pass my legacy on to. And who better to inherit my mantle than the person I hate most in all the world, the person who dared to interfere with my fun, the person who I've broken beyond recognition?"

"It's beginning, Kitty," Jack O' Lantern smiled broadly, as Spider-Woman slumped down on the floor of her steel prison and seemed to pass out. "The first part of my greatest triumph. Nothing, and no one, is going to be able to stop me! And with my new little heir by my side, New York's going to be mine for the taking!"

Kitty tried to shut out Jack O' Lantern's insane, maniacal laughter by closing her ears, but the laughter pierced through her hands as if they were nothing. The laughter pierced her mind and soul, sending shivers down her spine and making her feel like she was trapped in a nightmare.

A forever nightmare, one with no beginning and no end.

"HaaHAAHHaaahAAAHaaahhhaaahHA ahhaHHHAAAAHAHAHAha!"

(Next Issue: Kitty Pryde is not the only one suffering a nightmare, as Spider-Woman falls victim to the hallucinations of Jack O' Lantern's poisons. As she falls victim to all her old anger, guilt and self-doubt, can she possibly hope to survive Jack O' Lantern's assault on her very identity? All this and more in Spider-Woman #54: Breakdown!)