The moment Anansi shrank, Peter, with the help of Venom, got back on his feet. He swiftly tore apart the webs Anansi had set and picked up Mjolnir again.
"How do you feel, kid?"
Old Hawkeye got out of the car and walked over to Peter, who was holding the hammer. Peter shook his head. "I'm okay, but he's definitely not gone for good. He'll be back. Anansi's right; just because I found a way to counter him doesn't mean I can beat him. I'm not Thor, and I can't win this way."
"So what do we do?"
Peter was trying to think of a plan, but then, they saw Anansi returning, infinitely enlarging himself from the Quantum Realm. The latter sighed as he looked at old Hawkeye, and before Peter could react, he shot a web from his wrist and connected it to Hawkeye.
Instantly, Hawkeye's eyes became vacant (even though one was a prosthetic). He seemed to be seeing something. Noticing this, Deadpool charged forward again, was punched to the ground by Anansi, and also fell into a vacant, dazed state.
Next was Ashley, who had been the last to charge. All three of them were down in a single blow.
"They're much simpler than you. Each of their desires is easy to fulfill, and they will lose themselves in it. I don't even know what wish to give you. The only world you would be satisfied with is a perfect world that no longer needs any superheroes, a world that doesn't even exist in universes without superheroes."
Anansi said with a hint of exasperation, "And if I were to show you a perfect world like that, it would only prove that you can still hold that hammer."
From start to finish, the illusions or stories Anansi created for Peter were meant to make him lose the worthiness to wield Mjolnir, but it seemed impossible. Peter looked at Anansi, then suddenly said something.
"Actually, this hammer isn't hard to pick up."
"For you, maybe so."
"No, I'm serious."
Peter's words made Anansi look at Mjolnir, and he asked in disbelief, "You mean... are you saying that anyone can actually lift this hammer? That it's just lying there for the taking?"
That was pretty much it. When Peter had taken hold of Mjolnir, he had heard Thor's dying call: Anyone who was willing to be a hero, willing to protect this world on the brink of destruction, could lift Mjolnir and become the new Thor.
So, in the final moments of his life, Thor had relaxed the conditions. But for forty-five years, those who had tried to lift the hammer were all bullies or greedy individuals who overestimated themselves. The oppressed civilians, the silent heroes who had lost hope—no one had ever thought they could lift Mjolnir, unaware that as long as they had the courage to try, anyone could.
"And it also reminded me of how to defeat you."
Anansi was stunned, then he started to laugh. "What nonsense are you talking about? Are you serious? Do you really think you can beat me with that hammer?"
"Yeah, why not?"
Looking at Anansi, who was standing not far away, Peter took a deep breath. He didn't choose to charge forward but slammed Mjolnir heavily onto the ground. He wasn't attacking the ground; he was using his power as a "Patriarch" totem to tear through the fabric of reality. Then, Venom spread out from the Iron Spider suit, grabbing Anansi's limbs and pulling him toward the rift of the multiverse.
"What are you doing?"
Anansi resisted the symbiote's pull and asked. Peter, meanwhile, extended Mjolnir into the spatial rift and asked a question.
"I was thinking, if there's a hammer that can lower its requirements enough for a Spider-Man to lift it, how many other Spider-Men in the multiverse could lift Mjolnir?"
"You want to use the Web of Destiny to summon the Spider-Totems who have lifted Mjolnir in the multiverse to help you?" Anansi laughed with disdain. "You fool. Such people are few and far between. What can a handful of lightning bolts do?"
"A handful? Ha, I guess liberal arts majors aren't good at math." Peter gripped Mjolnir with both hands, having Venom use all its strength to pull Anansi closer. As he opened the rift, he used the divine power on Mjolnir to resonate with the entire multiverse through the Web of Destiny.
Peter could see that neither Miguel nor Anansi used the Web of Destiny to travel the multiverse; only he could see it when he traveled. The difference was that only a Spider-Totem could resonate with the Web of Destiny, and he was now searching for those Spider-Men who were worthy of Mjolnir.
"Don't you know that even a fraction of a countless number is still a countless number?"
Upon hearing this, Anansi's face changed. He looked at the hammer still in the裂隙 of reality in disbelief. He understood that if this immense power didn't hit him, it would have nowhere to go and might even destroy the entire planet. He began to tear at the symbiote on him, but Venom was clinging to him precisely to prevent him from escaping or being an illusion; how could it let him go?
Anansi shot a web at the mountain, sticking to the peak to stabilize himself. And it was at that moment.
Ashley Barton broke free of Anansi's control and bit through his web.
"No!!!!!"
Losing his anchor, Anansi was yanked by Venom to Peter's side. Then, a blow, gathering the power of all the Spider-Thors in the multiverse who had responded to Peter's call, smashed into Anansi's face. This was the third time he had been hit by a punch in the same manner. This time, the immense power didn't send Anansi flying. The pure white lightning struck Anansi and then pierced through the atmosphere, heading straight into deep space at a speed faster than light, dissipating into the cosmos.
Anansi's already dark skin was now steaming. He fell to the ground, his eyes wide with shock. Peter sighed, placed Mjolnir on top of him, and then sat down, utterly exhausted, watching Ashley try to lift the hammer without success.
"How did you wake up?"
"I dreamed I was the boss of the entire wasteland. It was a great dream, except for one thing: my useless old man was cheering in it, too." Ashley looked at Hawkeye, who was lying on the ground having a pleasant dream. "Those two things—making my old man proud and me becoming the boss of the entire wasteland—can't exist together."
"A story can't satisfy two diametrically opposed dreams," Peter said, looking at Ashley. "The only way to solve that problem is to find a new one. After all, you can't replace your father."
That part about Mjolnir isn't something I made up; it's a real setting. In certain situations, Odin and Thor can relax the worthiness criteria for Mjolnir—in the DC vs. Marvel crossover, when Superman returned Mjolnir, Thor explained it that way.
Though I think Superman could have lifted it even without the relaxed conditions.
Anansi is probably the enemy I've spent the most time on so far. He's been in four chapters and still isn't dead, so he's quite impressive.