Defender of Earth-50101’s Mumbai, India, Spider-Man swings through the city to save the day, living up to his uncle’s ideals that with great power comes great responsibility.
Power and Responsibility
When Rakshasa demons roam Earth-50101, a millennium ago, a great warrior prince leads humanity in a war that ends with the final surviving demons banished via a mystic amulet. The trapped demons hungered to return.
In modern times, the demons choose businessman Nalin Oberoi, owner of the Oberoi Corporation, as their pawn. The forces of light, represented by the mysterious Master Weaver, likewise selects a champion, Pavitr Prabhakar, born in a provincial Indian village near where the amulet had been hidden. Orphaned as a child, Pavitr is raised by his Uncle Bhim and Aunt Maya, and proves to be an exceptional student. When Pavitr wins a partial scholarship to the prestigious Heritage International School in Mumbai, Bhim and Maya moved to the city, despite struggling to pay the remaining fees. Pavitr hates his new school, where he’s tormented by bullies led by school cricket star Flash Thompson. The only bright light at this school is his sole friend, fellow student Meera Jain. Uncle Bhim consoles Pavitr, telling him not to hate those who mistreat him, and reminds him that his intellect is a great talent, a great power, which comes with great responsibility.
Shortly after Pavitr moves to Mumbai, Oberoi’s men murder everyone in Pavitr’s village to obtain the amulet, which transforms Oberoi into a gigantic green goblin-like Rakshasa. The next day, the Master Weaver confronts Pavitr and informs the confused teen that it’s his destiny to oppose the unleashed evil using the power of the spider that weaves the intangible Web of Life. Engulfed in magical light, Pavitr finds himself clad in a web-patterned costume and discovers he possesses superhuman powers.
Reveling in his new abilities, he begins web-swinging across Mumbai, but ignors a woman being mugged, telling himself the police would intervene. Instead, moments later, Uncle Bhim tries to stop the attack but is fatally stabbed. Hearing his uncle’s dying cry, Pavitr races back and then brutally apprehends the killers, stopping his attack only when he recalls Bhim’s words about responsibility.
Powers of a Spider
As Spider-Man, Pavitr has superhuman strength (lifting at least one ton), speed, reflexes, endurance and equilibrium, and his precognitive spider-sense warns him of approaching danger. Able to stick to and scale walls, he can also produce webbing from his forearms, allowing him to entangle and cocoon opponents or swing between buildings.
Pavitr also possesses a genius intellect with a knack for robotics. He creates autonomous drones that monitor the Web of Life and can to fix complicated communication devices.
Empowered Enemies
The demon-possessed millionaire Nalin Oberoi set his sights on Pavitr and sends a demon, Dr. Octopus, after him, and eventually engages in a brutal fight with the wall-crawler.
Pavitr also goes up against the vampiric family known as the Inheritors who eat the life force of Spider-Totems across the Multiverse. Though Pavitr first defends other Spiders against the Inheritor known as Karn, Pavitr is vital in turning him to the side of the Spiders.
Allies in Spider-Armies
The Master Weaver is Pavitr’s spiritual guide, not only informing him of his destiny to fight evil, but encouraging and empowering him to do so. His family and friends like Meera Jain, are his closest allies. When his aunt’s life is threatened, Pavitr lets Meera in on his secret alter-ego.
Pavitr teams up with the Multiversal Superior Spider-Army and the larger Spider-Army against the Inheritors. During this time, he feels like a facsimile to Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man, from Earth-616. He expresses his concern to Billy Braddock, AKA Spider-UK (Earth-833), who shares his experience as part of the Captain Britain Corps and how each member is unique. He also points out that Spider-Man could be a pale reflection of Pavitr, which helps shift Pavitr’s perception of himself.
Spider-Man’s Story
As Spider-Man, Pavitr began fighting crime, but the demons ordered Oberoi to free them when the stars aligned at the start of the Diwali festival of lights, and warned him of Prabhakar’s threat. After his investigators identified Pavitr’s loved ones, Oberoi used the amulet to transform an unidentified doctor on his staff into a six-armed demon. Promised that his humanity would be restored if he captured Spider-Man, the doctor attacked Heritage International. Spider-Man eventually drove off the demon, whom he dubbed Dr. Octopus after hearing his foe mention his doctorate.
Oberoi next kidnapped both Maya and Meera, luring Spider-Man to confront him as Oberoi began the portal-opening ritual. Unwilling to see the world destroyed, Octopus switched sides, saving Meera while Spider-Man rescued Maya, but apparently paid for his rebellion with his life. Exposing Spider-Man to the amulet, Oberoi began to transform Pavitr into a Venom-like spider-demon, deliberately enraging his foe with the knowledge that he had ordered Pavitr’s village slaughtered. Recalling Bhim’s words, Pavitr rejected his rage, driving the demon taint out of both himself and Oberoi. Amnesiac, Oberoi was institutionalized; Maya likewise recalled nothing after her abduction, while Meera, now aware Pavitr was Spider-Man, began dating him.
Sometime later, when Earth-001’s Inheritors began slaughtering spider icons across the Multiverse, Pavitr was attacked by the Inheritor Karn, but was rescued by Earth-616’s “Superior” Spider-Man (Otto Octavius, AKA Doctor Octopus, in Peter Parker’s body). Escaping interdimensionally, Pavitr joined Octavius’ Superior Spider-Army, which subsequently merged with Peter Parker-616’s larger Spider-Army.
Noticing the similarities between himself and Parker, Pavitr became worried that Peter was the real Spider-Man while he was merely an expendable echo, until Spider-UK reminded him that he was a hero regardless. His confidence restored, Pavitr helped convince Karn to switch sides, and assisted the Spider-Army in defeating the Inheritors, after which he returned home to his own reality.
When the Multiverse later collapsed, Pavitr was active in the Arachnia domain on Battleworld, a planet created by Earth-616's all-powerful Victor von Doom, AKA Doctor Doom; however, Pavitr recalled his former life as only hazy dreams. Teaming with other displaced Spider-Totems, Pavitr helped battle corrupt Arachnia baron Norman Osborn.
Pavitr then joined the Web-Warriors to protect the Web of Life and Destiny. The Warriors helped protect his home dimension from an army of Venom-like demons who drew their power from an ancient amulet. They also faced an army of interdimensional Electros that left Spider-UK and Mayday Parker, AKA Spider-Woman (Earth-982), stranded. In helping retrieve them, the Warriors inadvertently damaged the Web, causing realities to bleed together, and making their teleportation and communication devices unreliable. Pavitr and Peter B. Parker, AKA Spider-Man Noir (Earth-90214), and Peter Porker, AKA Spider-Ham (Earth-8311), were soon stranded on Earth-90214 and taken hostage by Harry Osborn, who had claimed to be the Spider-Man of his world of Earth-22916. While the other members of the Web-Warriors fought the Electros, Harry reversed engineered one of the Spiders teleportation devices, and dragging Pavitr and Peter B. with him, he traveled to Loomworld (Earth-001) to destroy the Web where Karn protected it. Spider-Ham secretly followed.
Once there, Pavitr warned Karn that Harry was out of his mind, but Karn faced him alone as Benjamin Parker (Earth-3145) took Pavitr and Peter B. with him to battle the Electros. They defeated the Electros but despite Karn’s efforts, Harry had damaged the Web to near collapse. Pavitr and the Spider-Totems worked together and using the full electrical capacity of the Electro army that they now controlled, coupled with music from Hobie Brown, AKA Spider-Punk (Earth-138), and Gwen Stacy, AKA Ghost-Spider (Earth-65), they shook up the whole web and disabled Harry. Spider-Ham was there to deliver justice. Pavitr and the Web-Warriors remained resolved to arise to any new challenges that would come their way.
When the Inheritors attempted to return and not only regain their immortality using cloning technology, but also revive their father, Solus, Pavitr joined other Spider-People to fight them. Together, they defeated Solus and his children, giving them a second chance in cloned newborn bodies.
