Richard Parker was a well-respected biochemist, physicist, geneticist, and engineer employed in the late 80's and early-to-mid '90's by a privately funded laboratory with the complete financial support and backing of industrialist Norman Osborn. Richard dedicated his work to researching and discovering a cure for cancer. In 1991, he invited his former college buddy and roommate, Curtis Connors, to join him in the lab and lend his own expertise to finding a cure. Connors, who had just gotten out of the military after the unfortunate loss of his arm and had been searching for a job, eagerly accepted his old friend's offer and soon began aiding Richard in his research by focusing on tissue regrowth.
During the following year their lab at the Lee-Ditko Research Center grew by accepting an assistant, Miles Warren, a skilled biochemist, and geneticist. By this time Curt began to closely study the regenerative properties of reptiles, while Richard thought he had a breakthrough with a liquid he had designed to be a fast-acting healing agent. This liquid succeeded in it's purpose in small-scale tests in a sterile environment, and Richard quickly constructed a prototype delivery method - small, high-pressured canisters with fine-tipped nozzles to be loaded into a special spray-gun - that could fire the liquid at an accelerated speed with the purpose of focusing the spread.
Unfortunately, the liquid itself had an unintended side-effect where, upon contact with high-levels of oxygen, it would harden into a super-strong, malleable adhesive. This discovery in itself could have been put to beneficial use if the adhesive didn't suffer from a breakdown between bonds and dissolve after only a couple hours. With his creation deemed a failure, Richard packed up the research for the botched healing agent and delivery system and instead turned his attention to a new idea of designing a different healing agent that would bond to an individual, and completely repair them from the inside out.
With Curt's assistance, after just two years of hard work and dedicated research, the two scientists created a bio-suit that Richard believed would revolutionize the world. Designed to be 'worn,' the suit would have the purpose of repairing any damage to the host, physical or otherwise, including overcoming and eliminating cancer cells attacking the body. Once again, however, Doctor Parker's creation wasn't as pure and elegant as the general concept had been. In this case, while the suit did in fact provide significant healing attributes, as well as greatly increased physical traits, when a sentient creature was bonded to the suit, it would, however, overwhelm the host, and amplify negative and hostile emotions, as well as inexplicably 'feeding' on adrenaline to sustain itself. When exposed to a sickly mouse, the bio-suit completely healed the rodent, making it exceptionally healthy, far beyond the norm, but also caused it to go feral, and eventually die. Saddened, Richard had decided to store the prototype suit safely away until he could go over the research more thoroughly and determine where he had gone wrong.
Despite Parker taking a step-back from his project, however, it would turn out to be the most important aspect of his life as it brought him the attention of two organizations. Advanced Idea Mechanics, an extremist group of progressive scientists and inventors set on violent technological revolution through terror, somehow received wind of Richard's research, and the results of the bio-suit project, and set their sights upon it. Plotting to either kidnap or murder Parker, and take the prototype and all his research notes, A.I.M. was opposed by the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. This secret government agency intercepted radio traffic of the extremists' plans and sent an agent to protect Doctor Parker, whom they had already had their eye on as a potential asset.
Agent 16 - Mary Fitzpatrick - was dispatched and successful in staving off the abduction/murder with the help of Parker himself, and the handful of A.I.M. operatives were apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D.. Impressed with how he handled himself under pressure, Agent 16, under the orders of the S.H.I.E.L.D. director, attempted to recruit the brilliant scientist to their organization. Parker, not interested in joining what he considered a "super secret spy agency," turned down the offer. However, Agent 16 would return several times in the following months to utilize Richard's expertise on certain subjects, and the two soon developed a rapport, becoming intimate not long after. Despite his desire not to hold an official position at S.H.I.E.L.D., due to his knowledge of the existence of the classified organization, as well as his connection to Mary, Richard Parker soon found himself as a frequent consultant for the agency.
As life continued on, Doctors Parker and Connors found themselves continuing old projects and beginning new ones respectively, with Curt making several advancements into his own research on human-animal cross-genetics. In 1996, Richard and Mary became engaged and wed, not soon after learning of Mary's pregnancy. In April of '97, the two welcomed their son, Peter Benjamin Parker, into the world and named Curtis and his wife, Martha, as Peter's godparents. Due to both Richard's and Mary's important careers and busy schedules, the two were often forced to leave behind their infant son under the care of Ben and May Parker, Richard's older brother and sister-in-law.
Over the course of four years, Richard made great strides in determining where he had gone wrong previously on the bio-suit project, and Mary retired from active service as Agent 16 to focus more on the caring of their son. Tragically, at the height of Richard's research, and with Mary finally finding time for Peter, the two were killed in a freak car accident that left only two horribly burned corpses in its wake, as well as a newly orphaned, four-year-old Peter Parker. Ben and May Parker gained custody of their nephew, a task they were ready for as they had practically raised the boy from birth anyways.
Norman Osborn ended up attending the funeral and introduced himself to Ben and May as the financial backer of Richard's research, and claimed he had considered Ben's brother a close friend. After offering his condolences - and money to match the bills of the funeral - he suggested Peter might need a friend to help him cope during this difficult time, and explained his own son, Harold, was of the same age. May thought this was a good idea and a play-date between the two was arranged. And thus the close friendship of Peter Parker and Harry Osborn began.
At the age of eight, Pete and Harry met and befriended another youth their age who had just moved into Peter's neighborhood, Gwendolyn Stacy, a tomboy-ish girl who fit right in with the pair, and the three soon developed an unbreakable bond. Several years later, Peter's Uncle Ben suffered a stroke which resulted in mobility issues with his right leg, forcing him to use a cane and undergo physical therapy, as well as costing him his job. Despite the disability checks he received, the Parkers had a hard time affording Ben's medical bills and treatments on top of the everyday domestic bills. This incident marked the beginning of the Parkers' financial woes.
Months later Pete and Harry incur the wrath of their fellow student, Eugene "Flash" Thompson, during a history lesson wherein Peter made a joke at Flash's expense after the latter gave an absurd answer to the teacher's question. This prompted the larger boy to physically bully the two for years to come, Flash's antagonistic behavior only worsening as time went on. It was also around this time that Peter, now in middle school, discovered after taking an aptitude test his natural genius in various academic fields including mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Gwen was also found to possess a high intellect and affinity for applied science and other fields rivaling Peter's own. Although those around him - his aunt and uncle, Gwen, and especially his scientist godparents - showed pride and enthusiasm over Pete's natural gifts, Peter himself didn't seem to revel in or enjoy his academic talents. This was the opposite of Gwen who soon joined the school's science club, looking forward to the day she could put her intellect to practical use. Despite Pete's lack of joy he was soon enrolled in the advanced placement courses his middle school - and later high school - had to offer, along with Gwen.
A year later Harry found his own talent and passion in photography. This, coupled with Harry's seeming lack of academic gifts, put him and his father at odds. Norman views photography as a weak, and pathetic hobby and potential career not befitting an Osborn. Norman - who, as Harry once told Peter, was already a cold and distant parent - became severely disappointed and disapproving of his son, and often resorted to verbal abuse to bestow upon Harry "what it means to be an Osborn." This increased hostile atmosphere at home led Harry to spend more time at the Parker residence where he frequently would spend the night. He soon began to consider Uncle Ben and Aunt May as surrogate parents, a feeling only strengthened due to his and Peter's near-brotherly bond.
Adolescence & The Incident
Two years later, in 2011, at the age of 14 Peter and co. entered Midtown High School. It was here they met Eddie Brock Jr., a junior and Midtown's star quarterback. Eddie was the one who finally put Flash Thompson in his place, and prevented him from bullying Pete and Harry. Eddie, an all-around nice guy, instantly took a liking to Peter - who, along with Harry, was in stagecraft and drama classes which Eddie interned for - and they became relatively close, albeit unconventional, friends.
During the early days of freshman year, Gwen began to dress in a more 'girly' fashion and shed some of the aspects of her tomboy appearance; growing her hair longer, wearing skirts more often than her formerly signature baggy jeans and overalls, and wearing modest amounts of make-up. And although she was still the same-old Gwen more-or-less, still participating in the same-old nerdy activities she always had, Harry noticed her new look and soon developed a crush on his childhood friend. For her part, though, Gwen had already developed her own growing interest and attraction to Peter a couple years back, unbeknownst to him.
Not long into the year Peter, on one of his routine monthly visits to his godparents at Connors' lab, experienced a life-altering event. Shortly before Peter's visit, a containment unit housing one of Curt's experiments, a genetically engineered spider, somehow became ajar and allowed the specimen to escape through a small opening. Before Curt had a chance to realize the spider was missing, though, Pete was knocking on the door to his lab, and Curt began his monthly ritual of pestering Peter to embrace the sciences. During a time where Curt was away on an important call, and Peter was readying to return home, he was suddenly bitten by a strangely colored spider with a red and blue abdomen. Pete slapped the spider from his arm and immediately stomped on it out of fear and retaliation. Oddly enough, however, the arachnid didn't die and continued to crawl away, avoiding Peter's onslaught of stomps. Although slightly creeped out, he didn't believe there to be any venomous spiders in the area, nor was Peter aware at the time of his godfather's specific experiments, and so he left to catch the bus back to Queens without mention of the event to Curt.
Over the following few days, several changes took place with the young Peter Parker. First, on the following Friday from the incident, Peter awoke to discover that his vision had inexplicably improved itself seemingly overnight, and he no longer required the glasses he had worn since a child. It seemed, as far as Peter could tell, his other senses were performing at levels far beyond the norm. Next, during the subsequent school hours, he would every-so-often experience an odd tingling sensation in the back of his head, usually whenever Flash would ready a spitball. In gym class, Peter found himself out-performing various students that were athletes on various sports teams. It all culminated when, later at home, Pete nicked his finger with a kitchen knife while preparing dinner, and watched in panicked awe as the cut near-instantly healed itself.
Fearful of what was happening to himself, he called upon Harry, explaining all these new changes to his best friend, as well as recounting the tale of the strange spider which Peter only now was connecting to Curt's lab research, and the two determined the arachnid the only logical source of these changes and improvements to Pete's body. Over the following three weeks, Peter's musculature visibly enhanced, giving him a lean, athletic build he hadn't previously possessed and granted him increased strength. Pete and Harry would test the extent of the former's new-found capabilities and physical prowess, and make several discoveries, including the strange precognitive sense that manifested as a tingling in Peter's head at any signs of danger, and the miniature, retractable, barbed hairs on Peter's fingertips and toes that allowed him to cling to surfaces, much like a spider, Harry had pointed out.
Misguided Acts & Origins of a Hero
Not long after, Peter learned of the growing financial difficulties his aunt and uncle had been hiding from him for years. He came to the realization that he could utilize his enhanced capabilities to earn some quick cash for his aunt and uncle. However, after days of thinking, Peter couldn't come up with a fast enough solution using his new skills that didn't involve either becoming a guinea pig for science or less-than-moral activities. After one night when their power was shut off - Ben and May claimed it was faulty wiring - he broke down and relented that he would need to turn to criminal means to secure enough money. Afraid and racked with guilt, Pete decided to break into and rob a local convenience store late at night after it had closed. When he finally worked up the courage to do so, however, he backed out at the last minute deciding that this wasn't right nor was it the life he wanted to live. Ironically enough, though, and against all odds, on his way home Peter came across a man who had apparently decided, as had Peter, that tonight was the perfect time to break into and steal from a local store.
Initially intending to phone in the robbery to the police, Pete hesitated when faced with this opportunity. He could steal from the thief. Somehow in all his desperate genius he managed to convince himself that this would be different than actually robbing a store; this was a criminal he would be taking from, not some innocent store owner, and he would certainly put the money to better use was the argument he made to himself. So, once the burglar began to make his getaway through a back street, Peter jumped him, tearing the bag of money from the man's hands before running like Hell. He wasn't able to make a clean escape, however, as the robber had seen Peter's face and managed to follow him back to his street where the would-be-thief watched Pete enter his home.
Peter, upon returning at such a late hour, was greeted by the unhappy faces of his aunt and uncle who demanded to know where he had been all night with Peter unable to make up a suitable excuse, his mind too addled by an adrenaline rush, was thoroughly scolded and informed he was grounded for a week. Peter finally made it up to his room where he stashed the bag of money before proceeding to slip out of the house through his window, deciding he needed to go for a walk to work out his mixed feelings over the crime he had just committed. He didn't get too far, though, as after a couple minutes of walking around the block he heard the distinctive pop of gunfire and the screams of his Aunt May. Rushing back home at full-speed Peter witnessed a man, dressed in similar clothing to the one he had just stolen from, run out of the house and down the street, clutching several pieces of jewelry and a wallet.
Unbeknownst to Peter, after he had snuck out the man that had followed him home had burst through the front door and confronted Ben and May, demanding to know where his money was. With Ben and May not understanding, the man had pulled a gun and demanded they give back his loot. Ben, realizing what Peter must have been up to, and desperate to keep his nephew safe - who he still thought was upstairs in his room, probably hiding - had suggested the man had the wrong house, but to take whatever he wanted from them - money, jewelry, electronics - so long as he left them unharmed. The man, not sure that this was in fact the house he had thought he saw the kid enter, relented and began to relieve Ben of his wallet and May of her jewelry. But when the man, in a fit of anger and impatience over May's fumbling with her watch, pointed his gun at her, Ben had shouted in protest and jumped for the gun, which went off after a brief struggle.
Peter, afraid for his family, ignored the man running away, entering the house to find his uncle on the floor, bleeding out from a wound to the stomach, and May collapsed in tears over his body. Pete tells his aunt to call 911 while he tries to stop the bleeding. Ben, through gritted teeth and coughs of blood, in his final moments, struggled to give Peter a life lesson over doing the right thing and living an honest life, not wanting his nephew who he viewed as a son to become a petty criminal and thug. The last thing Ben managed to say before his life left him was "with great power, there must also come great responsibility."
Peter spent the next few months in a severe depression, the guilt of his uncle's death eating away at him. It took him four months and the help of his friends, the Connors, and May to finally begin his return to normality. It took him a further month before he decided he would live up to Uncle Ben's expectations and wishes by using his abilities to live an honest, responsible life, and help others in need. By late March, with Harry as his confidante, he soon began to venture out into the city to prevent similar robberies and muggings as the one he had regretfully committed that lead to all his pain and suffering. After several trial runs and errors, Peter began to get the hang of things and designed an outfit he would wear while stopping crime so as to not be recognized. This first costume consisted of a long-sleeved, red t-shirt, blue jeans, blue socks - to allow the hairs on his feet to successfully cling to surfaces - and a red ski mask with swim goggles over his eyes. The colors were chosen as an homage to the spider that had bitten him.
Two months later, after having successfully stopped several dozen crimes in progress, it soon became evident to Peter that several of the muggers he continued to encounter had the same face, and were, in fact, the same people. He realized that by not aiding in the apprehension of the criminals he stopped he was only delaying the crimes from happening, not truly stopping them. Pete, deciding he needed some kind of tool to allow him to capture these thugs, remembered something he had seen little over a year ago. Back on his fourteenth birthday, his Uncle Ben had presented Pete with all of the research notes and equipment Richard Parker had kept with his personal belongings in hopes that Peter may find interest in them and finally become inspired by science. Peter had, however, simply breezed through the notes, finding some things interesting, but nothing particularly exciting at the time. Now, though, he recalled reading about one of his father's experiments, a fluid deemed a failure due to unwanted hardening and adhesive properties. Going back through the boxes of papers and mechanical devices, Peter found the notes on the properties of the liquid, some remaining cartridges of the fluid, and several prototypes of the gun-like device that was created to 'shoot' the liquid out.
Not wanting to look like he was carrying a weapon, Peter began modifying the devices into something less clunky and easily concealed, finally putting his genius intellect and natural talent for engineering to use aside from school work. The result was two of the miniature canisters being mounted on gauntlet-like devices to be worn around Peter's wrist and forearm. It was considerably more difficult to recreate the fluid successfully from the samples he had remaining and his father's notes, but after several weeks he finally succeeded. After Harry saw them in use and noted that the strands of adhesive resembled a spider's web, he jokingly referred to Pete as a man-spider. This further inspired Peter, and he developed a spider motif he would sew into his red shirt. He also discovered that he could, with training and effort, use the 'webs' as a means of transportation by using them to swing from structure to structure. With both costume and spider-like abilities, rumors began circulating around the criminal and law-enforcement worlds, and soon the myth of what would be Spider-Man was born.
Rough Beginnings & First Encounters
With his new self-enforced duties as Spider-Man, Peter would find it affecting his normal life. In the early months of his sophomore year, his friendship with Gwen Stacy, whom Pete had barely seen in recent months so distracted was he with his new identity, would be tested as he frequently was forced to bail on previous plans. The tension between the two would peak half-way through the school year as Peter got a taste of his first, genuine encounter with an enhanced criminal. A costumed individual with powerful, advanced gauntlets capable of firing off pressurized, vibrational shock waves appeared on the scene in early March robbing a bank. In Peter's first attempt to stop the dangerous criminal, he was thoroughly trounced by Shocker, sustaining several rib injuries before the fight was ended by oncoming police sirens.
Two days later, on a study date with Gwen, Pete overheard a radio dispatch to Gwen's father, Captain George Stacy of the NYPD, regarding the same man from the other day holding up a different bank. Making a poor excuse as to why, Peter left Gwen, upsetting her, and causing further strain on their relationship. Upon arriving on the scene as Spider-Man, he got into another skirmish with the man, now known as The Shocker - dubbed by media mogul and Daily Bugle owner J. Jonah Jameson. This time, there were already several officers in a stand-off with Shocker, who blasts away a cop car as a distraction to escape down an alley. Spider-Man chased him down, and managed to snag the bag of loot from him, but was once more pummeled by a shock wave from the gauntlets and knocked to the ground. Before Shocker was able to finish the injured Spider-Man off, though, a lone cop who had followed the two into the alley fired his gun in a panic at the sight of what he believed to be two mutants, scaring the criminal off. Peter attempted to hand the bag of cash over to the officer, thanking him, but the young cop, still afraid, fired once more. It was at this point that Peter discovered he was capable of avoiding close-range gun fire thanks to his spider-sense, and managed to get away.
After his previous run-in with Shocker, Peter was plagued by new difficulties with the Daily Bugle television network covering the story of the attempted robbery and ensuing police stand-off by claiming that Shocker had a partner, a mysterious red and blue dressed man who had allegedly assaulted a cop to allow Shocker to escape. Though, J. Jonah Jameson, who was leading the ranting report, made sure to praise the heroic efforts of the officer who managed to retrieve the stolen money from the criminals. On top of this, Gwen laid into Peter the very next day for ditching her, though she did give him a second chance, telling him to come to her house later that day to work on their assignment together, to which he gave his promise. Unfortunately, on the way back from school, Pete learned that Shocker was at it once more, and the young hero struggled momentarily with the decision to be Spider-Man and help, or be a good friend and keep his promise. His uncle's final words echoed in his memory, amd Pete called Gwen to inform her he would be late, claiming he left his textbooks at school, then dashed off towards the midtown bank Shocker was reported to be at, vowing to put an end to things.
Spider-Man arrived to discover Shocker was fully taking on several squads of policemen, Captain Stacy among them. A handful of officers were already on the ground, injured, and the media was there covering the chaos. Wasting no time, Peter leaped into action, engaging the costumed criminal in full view of police, and having to dodge their gunfire more than once. This third bout between the two was prolonged, and brutal, with Spider-Man at a severe disadvantage due to Shocker repeatedly targeting the cops, as well as bystanders. Each time Spider-Man would rescue the innocents from collateral damage at the expense of getting increasingly hurt himself, taking several direct blasts from the vibro-shock gauntlets in the process. Just about out of web-fluid, Peter used the distraction of a police helicopter flashing their spotlight on Shocker to get in close, a solid punch connecting with his midsection, to finally knock the man unconscious, ending the fight. Shocker is arrested and later revealed to be Herman Schultz, a former Army sergeant, and known mercenary. Captain Stacy, having witnessed Spider-Man's heroism firsthand, prevented the officers present from arresting him, too. When asked by the captain what his name was so as to spread the word of his good deeds, the web-head claimed "just your friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man" before swinging away.
Although in great pain, Peter bandaged himself after returning home, taking several Aspirin, and hobbled over to Gwen's house to keep his promise. Despite being two hours late, she accepted his apology and explanation of the route from school being blocked off from the chaos in the borough. This would set a precedent, however, for Peter wherein he would be forced to leave Gwen, and others, at inopportune times, and Pete is made to come to terms with the fact that his new life would lead to him lying to those he cared for on a regular basis. The following day, Spider-Man would be all the Midtown students talked about in class, with Flash Thompson showing off a YouTube video of Spider-Man fighting Shocker to just about everyone. The Daily Bugle, for their part, continued the bad press by labeling the battle as a fallout between criminal partners over money disputes, with J.J. Jameson leading the charge.
For the rest of sophomore year, Peter would grow accustomed to combating those who would be labeled "super villains." In April, a previous employee of Norman Osborn's, Adrian Toomes felt he had been gravely wronged, and his life ruined by the unscrupulous businessman who, Toomes claimed, had stolen his flight-tech prototype and designs, fired, and blacklisted him from the industry. Calling himself the Vulture and utilizing a modified version of the last remaining prototype he had, Toomes took to the skies with razor-edged mechanical wings, hunting the mogul. Had it not been for Peter visiting Harry at the Osborn's city home, the Vulture likely would have succeeded. As it was, however, it was Spider-Man Toomes ended up encountering, and it was Spider-Man who subsequently, and swiftly, defeated the would-be-killer. Harry, who witnessed the incident just outside his window, is awed at his friend's newfound heroic role.
Less-than-a-month later, Spider-Man faced off against the third super criminal of his career, the intimidating Rhino - so cleverly named by the Daily Bugle. Having undergone apparent genetic treatments as well as cybernetic enhancements, the hulking figure wore, or rather was bonded to, a mechanical suit of highly destructive capabilities. Despite being the most physically imposing foe Spider-Man had faced by far, Rhino would also turn out to be one of the easiest. A fatal oversight and design flaw in his suit quickly led to his defeat, as his pores were obstructed and, without a cooling agent of some sort, overheated from exertion. Unable to be treated with the majority of his body covered in tough polymer and cybernetic parts, the man - Alexander O'Hirn, former boxer and another mercenary - died from hyperthermia while in custody. The Rhino's presence would, however, lead to several big changes in New York City: the correctional facility on Ryker's Island being adapted into a jail for non-mutant costumed criminals, as well as the NYPD commissioning a new department and task force, the Major Crimes Unit led by one George Stacy, in order to better accommodate offenders of Rhino's nature in the future.
Two similarly easy foes Spider-Man would face before the Summer began were the equally ridiculous Boomerang - a buffoon in a motorcycle helmet who simply tossed around the eponymous children's toy - and Stilt-Man - a man... on stilts - partnered together and attempting to rob small family businesses. Not Peter's proudest accomplishment, and Harry would remind him of the encounters for months to come.
Following the continued exposure of Spider-Man, and Jameson's crusade against him, The Daily Bugle offered substantial sums of cash for anyone able to secure publishable, genuine photos of the "masked creep." Knowing Peter's family was struggling financially, Harry proposed a plan to his friend to utilize Harry's photography skills and capture a handful of photos they could sell to the Bugle. Although hesitant at first, Peter accepts in the end, and, impressing Robbie Robertson - senior editor at Daily Bugle Communications - with the pictures, Harry soon gets a legitimate freelance job at the news network. Harry's father is not pleased with this development, and relations between the two become more hostile than before.
At the same time, Curt Connors, seeing Spider-Man's visage and actions - specifically utilizing the web-fluid he was familiar with Richard Parker inventing - plastered all over the tv and internet, as well as noting his godson's recent behavior, was able to deduce the identity of Spider-Man, confronting Peter at the end of Summer. Initially worried he would be told to give up his alter-ego, Peter was surprised to find his godfather quite supportive and understanding. The scientist went so far as to design a brand-new suit for Spider-Man, both practical and aesthetically pleasing in its simplicity, and aid Peter in fashioning new, stronger fluid. Pete and Curt would also finally discuss the nature of his research, and Peter would learn the spider that bit him had been genetically engineered by Curt himself.
At the beginning of the next school year, Peter fought against his first true superhuman to date when he encountered Max Dillon, the post-graduate student of Doctor Connors. The young man had worked on harnessing bio-electricity when a lab accident occurred while both Curt and Max were working in separate sections. While Curt got away seemingly unscathed, Dillons was left with a horribly scarred visage and uncontrollable fits of vastly increased bio-electric energies which would continually damage his surroundings. Although not a villain nor criminal, several misunderstandings and Max's own berserk nature after the transformation led to Spider-Man and Dillon squaring off after the latter arrived at Connors' home demanding a cure. Although Peter recognized that Max was mostly a victim in all of this, he couldn't allow him to hurt innocents with his rage and incredible new powers, and Spider-Man is forced to knock Max into the Connors' swimming pool, short-circuiting his abilities and rendering him unconscious. Afterward, several strangely dressed men with government identification arrived to bring him into custody and special containment.
The following few weeks were relatively normal until rumors of a monstrous creature roaming the underbellies of New York began circulating throughout Peter's school, accompanied by various memes of the old "alligator in sewers" variety. On a dare from Harry, Pete, as Spider-Man, investigates and finds himself face to face with a large, roughly humanoid figure with dark green scales covering its body, and an oversized tail. After a failed attempt to communicate, Spider-Man gets into a tussle with the apparently feral creature, resulting in a large gash down his chest and the humanoid reptile fleeing. Spider-Man followed from a distance, wary of his weakened condition, and tracked the creature to a surprising place - the Lee-Ditko Research Center. He watched as it climbed through a window, and slowly transformed, shedding the visage of large, lizard-like monster to that of an unconscious and small, naked, one-armed man. Stunned, Peter was faced with the knowledge that his beloved godfather was the monster that had been terrorizing the streets of New York from below.
Taking the time to safely secure Curt in his office, Peter waited the night out until his godfather awoke the following day. Curt, hazy on the details, and fearful of what was happening to him, recounted to Peter how the week after the lab accident with Max Dillon, he began feeling ill but showed no symptoms of any sickness. That weekend, just a handful of days before Peter found him, Curt awoke to discover his arm that had been amputated decades before had miraculously grown back, completely healthy. Quickly performing tests upon himself, he discovered present in his DNA substantial amounts of his cross-genetics experimental serum he had been testing on the day of the accident. Still feeling ill, Doctor Connors didn't have long to celebrate the success of his research nor the return of his arm before strange things began occurring and his transformation into the lizard-being took place. It seemed that for the past four days Curt had been trapped in his own mutated body, unable to control himself as he acted upon base animal instincts. It wasn't until the fight with Spider-Man that the lizard had exhausted itself, and eventually changed back into the mild-mannered scientist.
With this knowledge in mind, and unsure when or if the transformation would take place again, the two began pouring over Connors' notes and research, desperately trying to figure out a cure. It took hours before they came up with a derivative of the original serum, but the pair was unable to create it in time before Curt once more transformed, destroying several pieces of lab equipment, and ran off. Peter, racing against time, used all of his natural genius and scientific knowledge to piece together the cure. He managed to track down the Lizard, following the path it left behind until he realized it was heading to Curt's own house. Racing there, Pete was able to barely fight off the strong creature, refusing to strike back, and administer the new serum before it had the chance to break into the Connors home. Although returned to his normal human self, and apparently cured of the transformation, the two took no chances, monitoring him for the following weekend before safely concluding the nightmare was over.
Despite the situation itself being terrible and unfortunate, it resulted in a pleasant outcome as Peter, proud of himself for utilizing his intellect, finally became interested in science, and soon found himself working in the lab alongside his godfather, having applied for and earning an internship his school had been offering several months later. Gwen Stacy also began interning for Doctor Connors, having applied for the same position, and the two friends began to spend more time together once again. This served to repair their fraying relationship from the past year, bringing them closer together, and renewing Gwen's old crush.
At the tail-end of Peter's junior year of high school, he encountered yet another new villain, albeit one incredibly similar. Much like with Rhino the previous year, this new foe was both a mix of mechanical and genetic engineering. Unlike the Rhino, however, this one would prove incredibly dangerous. Bonded to a tough, cybernetic armor with a distinctive scorpion theme, this incarnation of the very similar battle suit was slimmer, although still quite larger than Peter, and clearly designed for more mobility and speed without sacrificing too much power. It also lacked the severe design flaw of the Rhino suit, having both internal fans and several vents to compensate for overheating while active.
With the long, powerful, and deadly bladed tail that this scorpion figure could manipulate seemingly at-will, he gave Spider-Man the toughest fight of his life to that point, nearly killing him in their first encounter several times. And, unlike with the previous villains he had faced, the Scorpion had no interest in petty criminal activity, instead apparently only intent to hunt Spider-Man, and end his life. The two fought numerous times during the week, and each bout Spider-Man was overpowered, and out-matched as his opponent clearly had extensive combat training, only barely managing to get away after each scrap. It wasn't until their fifth and final encounter that Spider-Man prevailed, and only due to the intervention of Captain Stacy and his Major Crimes Unit. Once the Scorpion was arrested and transferred to Ryker's Island, his identity was released. Just as Shocker and Rhino before him, MacDonald Gargan was yet another mercenary, one who had been dishonorably discharged from the Navy SEALS several years prior.
Peter, recognizing a pattern, and the clear and distinct connection between the Rhino's advanced battlesuit and that of the Scorpion's, begins to ponder the meaning behind it. Not believing it a coincidence that three of his foes had been mercenaries utilizing highly-advanced tech, Pete considered the possibility that someone was creating enhanced soldiers for some purpose, though why they seemed to be after him as Spider-Man he wasn't sure.
At the beginning of senior year, Flash Thompson dumped his long-time girlfriend, Sally Avril, who had been overhead calling him a brainless oaf she was only with for his looks. This only increased Flash's tormenting of Peter and Harry, which had resumed once Eddie Brock graduated two years earlier. Unfortunately, Harry would take the brunt of the resumed and increased bullying as Peter was either away on hero duty, or busy with lab work at the research center most of the time. Also at the lab, Pete and Gwen were joined by a new face, transfer student Debra Whitman, who became the latest intern to be accepted. Despite Gwen's relatively obvious crush on him, Peter was oblivious and soon became infatuated with the brilliant Debra.
Later that month, a junkie named Edward Whelan broke into Curt's lab looking for drugs, but instead found one of the latest formulas, this one derived from various rodents. Stealing the vials, he shoots up the serum and later mutates into a rat-like creature, causing problems for the citizens of New York much like the Lizard before him, but unlike Curt, Edward has some control over his actions and genuinely enjoys, to an extent, the feeling of his transformed state. After it wears off several days later, he returns to the lab intending to steal more but encounters Debra running tests. Attacking her, she is saved by Peter, out-of-costume, and the junkie runs off. Making sure Debra was safe, Pete gave chase but struggled to follow Whelan.
Recounting the incident to Curt, and lamenting his inability to track the perpetrator, the older scientist begins work on a new device for Peter to utilize in his role as Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Debra, impressed by Peter's bravery from earlier, asks him out on a date. They schedule it for the following day, but Peter is forced to postpone as Whelan, in the Vermin form once more, shows up terrorizing citizens in Queens and Spider-Man has to intervene. This time, he is able to subdue Whelan before he hurts anyone else, and administer a similar cure to the one used on Curt the year before that the scientist had spent the previous day devising.
The following week, Doctor Connors reveals what he calls the "spider-tracers" - tiny little electronic devices that would allow Peter to track anything or anyone he planted it on for a range of, roughly, a mile. Together they spend the next few days testing it and learned to tune it so that Peter's spider-sense could directly react to the signal. Pete and Debra also got their first date together during this time, surprisingly uninterrupted, much to the chagrin of Gwen who quickly grows jealous of Debra. Over the following couple months, the two would go on several more dates, both clearly interested in one another, but neither able to make much time for a serious relationship with their respective busy schedules.
In the Winter, a new and deadly foe made himself known. Short and stocky, this man was not bonded to a suit but had two very close similarities towards the Scorpion Peter had faced-off with the previous year. First were the telescoping, metal, bladed and clawed tentacle-like appendages attached to a harness the man wore that behaved very similarly towards Scorpion's tail in that it operated without any apparent controls, and near-instantly, able to lash out far faster than mechanical devices of that size and weight should be capable of. The second similarity was even more dangerous, however; this man was after Spider-Man purely, uncaring for any life of crime, following the wall-crawler across the city one night before confronting the hero. It was an uneven fight as the powerful mechanical arms assaulted him, unrelenting, and left Spider-Man battered and bruised in defeat. For some reason, however, the man seemed uninterested in actually killing him, seemingly satisfied with the absolute one-sided fight, and left as quickly as he had arrived.
Peter, though, had been able to place one of the tracers onto a tentacle at the end of the fight, and the severely beaten young hero followed the man back what appeared to be his personal workshop. Pete waited for the man to remove the harness before confronting him. Despite being weak and injured, Spider-Man quickly defeated the now unarmed assailant. Before leaving the workshop, though, Peter acted on a hunch and searched the building. In a locked file cabinet, he found a myriad of documents and blueprints belonging to one Otto Octavius - Peter would later search online to discover he was a talented and intelligent engineer, physicist, and inventor previously hired by a German think-tank before mysteriously disappearing several years ago. The blueprints detailed various designs on high-tech weaponry and advanced combat suits, including those bonded to the Rhino and Scorpion, as well as the vibro-shock gauntlets Spider-Man had first run into a couple years previously, and plans for "thought-control neuro-interface technology."
Along with the documents, he found notes on several test subjects and potential candidates, among them were listed the three aforementioned mercenaries, and comments regarding "field testing the equipment against the Spider." It seemed most of the answers Peter had previously bee wanting were here; who had designed the tech and suits, who had hired and engineered the mercenaries, and why they were after him specifically. A separate comment in the notes regarding Otto's employer, though, sparked new questions of who was in charge of these experiments, and for what ultimate purpose. Peter called in the NYPD's Major Crimes Unit to apprehend Otto, all the evidence they needed there. On the way to Ryker's Island, however, the vehicle transporting the criminal scientist was attacked, and Otto disappeared, his whereabouts unknown.
2015 and the latter half of Peter Parker's senior year at Midtown High School would bring with it the most significant and dramatic changes in his life since the incident and death of his uncle. In January, Gwen, frustrated at Peter's obtuseness and his attention towards Debra, finally mustered the courage to confess the feelings she had held for him since they were pre-teens. At the same time, Harry Osborn, under both the bullying by Flash Thompson, and the verbal abuse and belittling by his father at home which had intensified in recent months due to many of Norman's business contracts falling through, coupled with learning of Gwen's feelings for Peter, and not himself, attempted suicide. On top of this, Peter's Aunt May suffered a small heart attack brought on by stress. With both the latter two events occurring, Pete and Gwen let her confession fall to the wayside as they focused on the two people they cared deeply for.
Beginning in January, Spider-Man begins encountering a man aboard a flying, glider shaped device vaguely reminiscent of the Vulture's wings, who wore a dark-green and black, armored combat suit and helmet depicting the face of some horribly wicked creature. In their first skirmish, the newcomer and Spider-Man trade blows almost evenly, the man's reflexes able to keep up with Spider-Man's, and the handful of specialized grenades he used able to keep the hero at a distance. Despite getting the upper hand several times in the bout, the masked man flees before the fight could continue. The Daily Bugle, having televised the fight live, names him the Goblin. Peter would have a second, third, and fourth encounter with the Goblin over the month, all evenly matched for most of the fights until, at the end, Spider-Man would get a brief advantage when the villain would falter slightly before flying away, and ensuring he wouldn't be followed by throwing thermite grenades at the surrounding public. Despite attempting to place tracers on the Goblin several times, the signal would always disappear after only minutes.
All throughout March, April, and the beginning of May, Peter would be plagued and harassed by the Goblin. Each time the man would appear when Spider-Man was distracted or caught off-guard while dealing or having just dealt with another situation or criminal. Each time the Goblin would fight him to a near-standstill, then abruptly leave. Never attacking in the same area, always switching up the time of the assault, and sometimes going more than a week without making himself known, the Goblin would continue to strike at Pete whenever he was unprepared or tired, cackling insanely the entire time. The constant barrage of ambushes and hit-and-run tactics day after day, keeping him off-balance, began affecting him severely. His grades slipped, his relationship with Harry and Gwen worsened - each feeling like they were being ignored after the suicide attempt and confession respectively - and he was constantly weary. So exhausted was he that, one morning, he arrived at school late, still wearing the top half of his Spider-Man costume. Luckily for him, however, there hadn't been anyone around to notice as classes had already begun, and he quickly covered up with an old t-shirt from his backpack. The Goblin's incessant, maniacal laughter haunted Pete's every dream and waking moment. It reached the point where Peter became half-afraid to put on the suit, knowing that somewhere out there
he was waiting.
The end of the first week of May ended these encounters when Spider-Man, having just sluggishly defeated a common street gang after narrowly dodging a shotgun blast, his shoulder grazed, is pounced upon by the Goblin from behind while swinging; Peter's exhausted mind unable to react to his spider-sense's warning fast enough. Attacking Spider-Man viciously, the Goblin tears into him savagely, burning and cutting his torso, and breaking Spider-Man's right arm. Cackling triumphantly, his maddened voice the sound of nightmares, he torments Spider-Man by slowly peeling the hero's mask off, and making claims of finding and torturing Spider-Man's loved ones once the Goblin discovered his true identity, describing in detail how he would flay them alive. Upon being unmasked, however, the Goblin visually recoiled at Peter's face and grabbed his own helmet-covered head in some sort of agony. Battered and broken, Pete used this opportunity to escape.
Terrified, and broken both physically and emotionally, Peter wouldn't put on the costume or leave his house again for several days. He turned away those who came to see him and claimed to his aunt that he was terribly sick, which she believed given how pale his face had become. Four days after the brutal beating he had received at the hands of his living nightmare, the Goblin seemed to make good on his promise to find his family as he learns that his godfather was attacked at his lab and put in the hospital. Later that same day, Harry is beaten half-to-death inside his own home. Both of them unconscious in hospital beds, Peter is worried for his aunt, and only leaves the house to briefly visit and check-up on Curt and Harry.
The very next day, while Peter stayed home to guard Aunt May, the Goblin struck again, this time at Midtown High. The villain bombed the building and campus in search of someone, and would have killed Debra Whitman with one of the grenades if she hadn't have been saved by Flash Thompson. The Goblin ended his attack on the school by kidnapping Gwen Stacy, and Peter, hearing of the attack, rushes to Midtown High to discover the campus in flames, and a wing of the main building caved in. Not long after, he received a video text from a blocked number. He watched as the Goblin held Gwen by her arm over the edge of the Queensboro Bridge, and threatened to drop her if Peter didn't get there soon.
Upon arriving in costume, though forgetting his web-shooters in his haste, Peter watched as the Goblin pressed a button, declaring he had placed several bombs on the bridge that would detonate in just under a minute, and that Peter had a choice: save Gwen, or save all of the innocents. Unable to waste time and try to think of alternatives, Pete begs the Goblin to let Gwen go. The villain, cackling as he does, acquiesces, dropping her from the top of the bridge. Peter's body reacts on instinct, leaping off of the bridge after Gwen and catching her in his arms. Knowing at that height she wouldn't be likely to survive the fall, Peter rotated his body to take the brunt of the impact from the water below. At the same time his back slammed into the water's surface, he heard several explosions ringing out above from the bridge.
Despite cushioning her from the impact, Gwen wasn't breathing as Pete drug her body to land. His mask removed, he began administering CPR, desperately trying to revive her. Gwen's eyes snapped open, coughing and sputtering water from her lungs, and saw Peter's face before her in Spider-Man's garb. Although shocked at this revelation, she admitted it shouldn't have come as such a surprise to her given all that had happened in the past few years. She pulled herself close to Peter and kissed him deeply, then slid his mask back into place and told him he had a job to do, and more people to save.
Back on the bridge, he found several flaming cars, all empty, but no other signs of destruction. The Goblin's threat had been nothing more than another mind game, likely attempting to force him to choose the "greater good" of rescuing multiple people on the bridge from the threat of death and cause Peter to be the one who would have allowed Gwen to die. His spider-sense tingled, and Peter leaped away from two of the Goblin's grenades. The two fought once more, the upper sections of the bridge their battleground. Both were determined to end things then and there, but the Goblin underestimated Peter, believing he'd still be emotionally weak and exhausted as he had in their last fight, but the near-death event with Gwen and her acceptance of who he was had given him a peace-of-mind not felt for the past few months, and the Goblin quickly began losing that final match. In a flurry of attacks, Peter knocked the Goblin from his glider, which fell into the water below, and landed a punch directly onto the Goblin's helmet, cracking it down the center. With a mix of screaming and cackling, the man that had been haunting Peter's every day, plaguing him with nightmares, threw off his helmet.
Just as The Goblin had been shocked upon seeing Spider-Man's face revealed, Peter was stunned in disbelief. Standing before him was a man he had known for most of his life, and Pete couldn't make sense as to why he would do this. Norman Osborn, the father of Peter's life-long best friend, stood before him. His face was twisted in fury and madness, eyes bloodshot, and Norman couldn't seem to stop laughing in that hideously maniacal way. Peter tried to reason, to figure out what had happened, to ask Norman why he was doing this. The man snapped, shouting at Peter that Norman was gone, that Peter had ruined his life, his career, and his business. Norman, he claimed, no longer existed; it was only the Goblin now. Spider-Man, he screamed, had stolen everything from him, and he was going to steal everything from Spider-Man in return.
Norman took out a small bottle and dumped the contents, pale green pills, into his mouth. He gripped at his chest, wincing in pain briefly, before cackling once more and diving towards Peter. Despite everything Norman had done to him in the past few months, despite attacking Harry and Curt, and nearly killing Gwen, Peter couldn't bring himself to fight back. The man was still Harry's father, something was clearly wrong with him, and if Peter were to hurt Norman in the state he was in, or if Harry were to discover who his father had become, Pete wasn't sure if his best friend, recently coming off a suicide attempt, would be able to handle it. So, with Harry in mind, Peter dodged every swing and punch Norman threw at him, his attacks becoming increasingly wild. Pete continued to try to reason with Norman, but that only made the man scream/laugh more and push the attack harder.
As it carried on, Norman's swings became sluggish, his movements slowed, and his maniacal screaming turned into shrieks of pain. Whatever Norman had been taking to give himself these enhanced abilities, and whatever was in those pills he had downed, Peter realized, was having a negative effect, probably exacerbated from taking too much at once. Norman clutched at his heart, then clawed at his head, tearing his hair as the screaming fit continued. Unsure of what to do, Peter tried to approach, but Norman lashed out. The screams abruptly stopped, however, as Norman collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing. Peter did all he could, trying to save his most-dangerous enemy, but Norman was unresponsive, and the convulsions soon died away leaving a limp body with no pulse to be found.
Although still shocked and disbelieving, Peter, not wanting Harry to learn the true fate of his father, removed Norman's body armor and all Goblin related items before bringing his lifeless body to a hospital. Later that night, Harry Osborn awoke from his own hospital bed to learn that his father had been pronounced dead from an apparent drug overdose just a few hours earlier.
Interlude & New Beginnings
As things wound down, injuries healed and the seniors of Midtown High graduated. Harry, struggling to deal with everything that had happened to him recently - his depression, the death of his father and subsequent takeover of OsCorp and loss of his family fortune - left the city to receive counseling. Curt Connors, his research funding largely gone with the death of Norman, accepted a position at Empire State University as the newest professor of biology. Peter, somewhat traumatized from recent events, took a break from being Spider-Man, opting to use the Summer to spend time with those close to him, and work on repairing relationships.
At the onset of September, Peter and several of his friends transitioned to life at college. Pete, Gwen, Debra Whitman, and Flash Thompson all entered Empire State. Peter and Gwen, having had several months to sort out all that had happened and their own feelings, began dating at the start of the semester. Debra and Flash, after the latter had saved the former during the Goblin's attack, had also begun seeing one another over the Summer. Debra's influence on Flash was incredibly positive, and the former bully began this new chapter of life by apologizing to Peter for all the years of bullying, confiding in Pete about his own insecurities over academic performances and the pressure put on him by Flash's father. Over the first few weeks at ESU, Peter and Flash developed a surprising friendship, overcoming their past history. Gwen and Debra too, now that the former's jealousy had passed by, became fast friends, the two blondes bonding over their mutual love for the sciences and spending hours in the lab together. Eddie Brock, now a junior at ESU, reunited with Peter, and the pair renewed their high school friendship.
It wouldn't be until November that Peter would don the costume again. With the half-year of Spider-Man being inactive, street crime had once more risen, and seemingly become much more organized than ever before. Only days after returning to the suit, Spider-Man encountered several particularly dangerous thugs. Calling themselves the Enforcers, and claiming to represent someone named the Rose, they went around to the various street gangs in the city co-opting or dismantling them. As their operation grew, so did the levels of crime they committed, and Spider-Man fought them off several times before finally taking them down. This sped up the rate of Rose's operations, however, and over the course of the next couple months, Peter would find himself knee-deep in the seedy underworld of New York and organized crime.
In January Peter found himself face-to-face with the Rose for the first time, and, although he was simply a man in a purple mask, the cohorts he surrounded himself with her far more dangerous and intimidating. The assassin called Spot, capable of using dimensional portals to strike from all angles; the mutant Swarm and his body of sentient insects; and Iceberg, the superhuman with the power to control ice. Together they nearly defeated him, but using his cunning, Spider-Man was able to trick Iceberg into freezing Swarm's insect-hive form, then knocking the confused villain out, but not before Spot was able to escape with Rose.
The following month Spider-Man's image would be plastered online, his character and reputation desecrated as video evidence is shown of the web-head murdering a security guard in cold-blood after a bank heist. Peter would find himself struggling to clear his name as this doppelganger continued to commit crimes in his image, and seemingly disappeared each time without a trace. It would be more than a week before the real Spider-Man could catch the pretender in the act, squaring off with him on live television, and proving without a doubt that he was innocent of the fake's crimes. Not that it mattered to J. Jonah Jameson, who, even after the duplicate was revealed as Dmitri Smerdyakov - a known and wanted shape-shifting felon going by the alias of Chameleon - ramped up his crusade against Spider-Man. It was only the words of Betty Brant, a renowned blogging journalist for the Daily Bugle Communications website, that stemmed the tide of hate against him, albeit only slightly.
With the increased coverage of Spider-Man and the loss of their previous Spidey photographer, Jonah began offering the same large sums of cash for great pictures of Spider-Man as he once did all those years ago. Needing the steady income, and wanting to offer alternative stories than the Bugle's usual "Spider-Man: Menace!" Peter, in his second semester at ESU, began taking photography and journalism courses. It was in these classes he ran into Jessica Jones, a former classmate of his from Midtown High who, admittedly, he hadn't known very well back then. With both these courses and a few lessons from Jess, Peter began taking his own photos of himself in costumed action. By early May, Pete became the new freelance photographer for the Bugle regarding any and all Spider-Man activity, much to the annoyance of J.J. Jameson who found Peter's photos lacking in their portrayal of "the freak's true criminal nature."
Late May Peter would have two more encounters with Rose and Spot, leading to the defeat of both, and the arrest of the latter - Rose managing to escape once again. Once in custody, Spot, real name Jonathan Ohnn, would make a deal with authorities to give up the location of Rose's base in return for leniency on his sentence. Captain George Stacy, who had become an ally to Spider-Man over the years, tipped the hero off to Rose's base of operations. Spider-Man arrived before the Major Crimes Unit and managed to defeat all the thugs present, including the returned Swarm and Iceberg, but the Rose was nowhere to be found.
By mid-Summer of 2016, organized crime in the city was at an all-time high, with the Campisi Crime Family, the Puerto Rican Army, and Rose's own unnamed organization being some of the most prominent all vying for territory in different sections of the city. No matter how much time and effort Spider-Man would put into ridding the streets of these mob families, gangs, and crime organizations, he made very little progress. On top of all of this, Peter continually heard whisperings among the daily thugs he took down of a so-called "Kingpin of Crime" with grand ambitions. Although no one would talk about this Kingpin figure, several criminals arrested due to Spidey would mention Rose, indicating his continued presence in New York's underworld.
With their first year of university finished, the foursome of Pete, Gwen, Debra, and Flash would spend the remainder of their Summer together, growing closer as friends. Occasionally they would be joined by Eddie Brock, the five of them together all taking a road trip to Boston the week before the next term was to begin to take in and enjoy the sights. Sadly, though, the fun times would have to end. With September having arrived, the first day of Peter's sophomore year at ESU beginning, and organized crime in the city still rampant, he will have to once more handle the load of boyfriend, student, photographer, lab intern, and superhero.
