Journal Entry #3
Interesting fun fact, apparently spiders don't shoot out webs. They have these special organs called spinnerets that allow them to create their webs, which they have to slowly weave. If they tried to shoot them out like I would eventually be doing as Spider-Man, it would cause them immense amounts of pain and could potentially damage their spinnerets (and more than likely kill them.)
Apparently while I got the adhesion, agility, spider-sense and proportionate strength of a spider, I didn't get the spinnerets (which looking back I'm thankful for because considering where actual spiders have their webs come out of... Yeah let's not go there.)
Well, being the science nerd I was I decided to go with the obvious solution. Build my own webs.
Since my band broke up after the Battle of the Bands (To make a long story short our drummer's parents got transferred to another state, our bass player decided he'd rather play classical, and our lead singer got offered a solo deal which he took without a second thought.) I didn't have much to do aside from hanging out with Thorax, so after school the two of us would meet up and work on what would eventually become the Mark I Web Shooters. We floated a bunch of different designs before settling on wrist mounted devices, as they'd be easier to use than if they were handguns.
The design we settled on was a bit clunky, but still functional. A carousel loaded system which would feed me the next cartridge of web fluid when the current one ran out, with a trigger that would only activate when I pressed my middle and ring fingers on the triggers built into the glove. This way I wouldn't accidentally shoot a web line if I made a fist or grabbed something. A nozzle just above my wrist would shoot the webs as either small shots or thick web lines, with plans to eventually modify them for other firing modes when I got the components. A small but powerful battery in each web shooter would power the air jets that would propel the web fluid out.
The web fluid itself was a bit more complicated. Fortunately Google exists, so it wasn't too hard to find out what spider webs were made of. Also I'm very good at chemistry, so I was able to come up with a formula for synthetic webs that would function just as well as the real deal, but also have greater tensile strength. It took about two days and several failed batches, but I eventually made the first batch of web fluid. The webs themselves stuck like instant super-glue and were strong enough to hold up a large truck engine. Yet like most spider webs they were biodegradable, meaning they dissolved after roughly an hour.
Then the time came to test the web shooters.
I put on one of the web shooters with the glove on, aiming it at a target. "Got the camera ready, Thorax?"
Holding a small camcorder, Thorax nodded. "We're rolling."
"Fire extinguisher?"
He nudged it with his foot. "Always."
"Okay, Web Shooter Mark I Testing. Test #1 in 3... 2... 1!"
I pressed my fingers on the trigger-
-and it sparked before starting to smoke. Before I could try and take it off Thorax blasted it with the fire extinguisher until it stopped smoking. "Thank you."
"Anytime."
After replacing the fried components and did a bit of tweaking we tried again.
"Test #2 in 3... 2... 1!"
I pressed my fingers on the trigger-
-and it didn't fry itself this time.
But it did spray me in the face with strands of webbing. That was not a fun hour of waiting for it to dissolve.
So once I replaced the cartridge and modified the nozzle, I tried again.
"Okay, third time's the charm. Test #3 in 3... 2... 1!"
I pressed my fingers on the trigger-
-and a single web shot fired out and nailed the target dead center. I couldn't help but smile, so I tried again and fired a web line, pulling the target done with a swift yank of my strength. "Yes! Ladies and gentlemen, we have achieved the impossible! We have made the first ever artificial spinnerets!"
"And the first ever synthetic webs," Thorax added. "Now you just need fangs, eight legs, venom sacs-"
"Very funny, Thorax."
Thorax chuckled, before looking at my web line and asked "You think it could hold your weight?"
"I know it can. Why?"
He grinned. "I have a crazy idea."
"Thorax, this is either your greatest idea ever, or your dumbest."
We were standing on top of a ten story apartment building, overlooking the street. I made sure my web shooters on and tight, and prepared myself for what I was about to do.
"Hey, hold on." Thorax then pulled out a red balaclava mask from his backpack. "Wouldn't want your face ending up on Youtube if somebody got you on their cell phone."
I briefly pondered why he had this before slipping it on I said "Thank you."
Holding the camcorder Thorax said "Okay. Web Swinging Test #1 in 3... 2... 1!"
And with that, I jumped off of the ledge.
One thing people would probably ask me is how it feels when I web swing. Truthfully, it's hard to describe. I mean, half the time I'm praying that I don't misjudge how long my web line is and pray that I don't become a smear on the pavement.
The other half is the feeling of weightlessness, of this strange joy that comes when I'm swinging through the air and feeling the adrenaline rush.
But as the old saying goes, the first time is usually the worst.
I will not lie, I screamed as I fell for a few seconds before I shot out the web line at the building across the street, nailing it and pulling myself into the swing. It felt great, the wind in my face, the adrenaline pumping through my veins...
...and then I noticed that I was getting a bit too close to the building.
Moving quickly I let go of the line I was holding and shot out another one while pivoting my body, snagging another building and swinging towards it. I repeated the process, before finally web zipping back and then crawling up the building I had started at.
Thorax was beside himself with joy. "I can't believe that actually worked!"
Taking a deep breath and taking of the mask, I replied "I can't believe I let you talk me into doing that."
"Hey, it worked. And you looked freakin' awesome!"
Seeing the footage on the camcorder I said "Yeah. I guess I did."
The next day at school I saw Bulk Biceps handing out flyers for something. "Hey Bulk. What'cha got there?"
He handed me a flyer. "There's this wrestling gig downtown Friday night. They're offering three thousand bucks if you can last three minutes in the ring with their champion."
"That sounds awesome."
"YEAH!"
Honestly it did. I didn't have a job so any money I got usually came from either Uncle Ben or Aunt May, my cut from the gigs my band did (which wasn't much and since we broke up, you get the idea) or some odd jobs I occasionally did for my neighbors. And truth be told I hated asking for money from my Aunt and Uncle. They have bills to pay and yet they're still willing to give me money for any of my science projects (and I'm not talking about the ones for school.)
Frankly, getting three grand for them seemed like the perfect way to pay them back.
Looking back to Bulk I said "You have a good day, Bulk."
"YEAH! You too, man!"
I was already forming the plan in my head as I walked to my next class.
"Dude, you're crazy."
I rolled my eyes at Thorax's response to my plan, having expected it. "Come on, Thorax. With my superpowers, I can last longer than three minutes with some champion."
"Yeah, wouldn't that be considered cheating?"
"Not really. Do you know how many pro wrestlers take performance enhancers?"
"Fair enough. But still-"
"Uncle Ben has always told me that with great power, there must also come great responsibility. What greater responsibility is there than one's family? This money could help pay off a majority of the bills they're trying to pay. Plus, the whole event would be a good way to test my powers further than what we're doing in here."
"You've never wrestled before. Professionally, anyway."
"Neither have half of the guys on WWE, but nobody calls them out on it. I can do this."
Thorax sighed. "Okay fine. But if you're going to go to some WWE knockoff, you're gonna need a costume. Preferably something that covers your face because in the off chance that your Aunt and Uncle might see this on TV, they'll probably recognize you in an instant."
"Definitely a good point. We also don't want it to be too bulky or too heavy. And we also have to make it on a small budget."
"How small?"
I pulled out my wallet and pulled out all the cash I had. "A whopping twenty bucks."
"Eh, we've done more with less. Remember when we made that bird costume for our biology class."
"Five bucks and a lot of feathers we got from Rarity. And a lot of black spraypaint."
"Yeah. We can work with this. It'll definitely look cheap, but it'll be functional."
"How bad could it look?"
The final product was a pair of blue pants and a blue long-sleeve shirt, with red boots and gloves. The red balaclava was back on my head, now with the addition of a pair of goggles sewn in that didn't hamper my vision. The web shooters were over my gloves, and over all of this was a red hoodie with a spider-logo sewn onto the front and the back.*
It was cheap, clearly homemade, and may have been the lamest excuse for a costume the world had ever seen.
But it was functional and it kept my identity hidden, and that was good enough for me.
Thorax looked at me and said "Now you just need a name. Something related to your powers. Like, 'The Human Spider.' Or maybe 'Arachnid Man.'"
I snorted. "Let's just go with Spider-Man."
Thorax grinned. "Well, not the worst wrestling name I've ever heard. But for that extra pizzazz, how about 'The Amazing Spider-Man?'"
"That my friend, sounds great."
"No my friend," Thorax said. "It sounds like a franchise."
I couldn't help but smirk at that. Because in all honesty it did.
Scorpion first dude, let electro come later, once spiderman has more villains already under his belt.
Scorpion! That's a much better start for Spiderman, as Electro is considered to be much more powerful.
Oh, I hope Lizard is in this soon too. Flash needs some tragedy in this, and Lizard is a very tragic villain.
9562934
I plan to start the villain after the next chapter, so we'll wait and see what everyone thinks until then.
But thanks for your vote!
9562991
I do plan to put Lizard in this, probably after Spider-Flash beats his fourth or fifth villain. Considering we already have Shocker and Vulture down, that means we have three more to go before The Tragic Case of Doctor Connors and The Lizard.
Thanks for the vote!
9563002
Okay. I'm glad you'll be doing Lizard. That's good, as Spiderman has a giant rogues gallery you can play with.
9563014
Yeah. Some of which I've probably never heard of.
9563037
You don't want a list. Its super long, trust me.
9563048
I'm mostly just sticking with the ones I know, though a few of these won't be showing up until Book 2 or 3.
Shocker (Done)
Vulture (Done)
Green Goblin
Scorpion
Electro
Sandman
Rhino
Kraven the Hunter
The Lizard
Doctor Octopus (AKA Doc Ock)
Mysterio
Tombstone (bit of an easter egg in Chapter 7)
Carnage (Book 2)
Spencer Smythe
Alistair Smythe
Hammerhead
Chameleon
Mister Negative
Hydro Man
Kingpin
9563059
Nice. No Venom, but you're doing Carnage? That's a bit strange.
Yeah, you're doing the main cast of rogues. He still has a ton of others, but they're ones that would make more complicated stories.
9563048
Then of course there's also the MLP characters I'm making into supervillains. You've already seen me do that with Abacus Cinch.
9563066
I'm doing Venom a little differently, something more in line with his recent movie. He will still end up bonded to Flash for a time, but the circumstances of the separating and finding his new host are going to be a lot less... anger-inducing.
9563072
Huh. Can't wait to see it then.
9563076
Can't wait to write it.
Wait. I thought that Flash was the lead of his band.
It's nice to see that Flash's motives for the money are MUCH less selfish than Peter Parker's. I guess it helps that he didn't have a girl to impress until Chapter 2. Oh! My boy is such a sweetie. I'm honestly not looking forward to the heartache that you're about to put him through, but the story can't continue without it.
Also, I feel I should warn you that female Flash Senturions have a tendency to treat Flash like he's their child. Now that I think about it, male fans have a tendency to do that too; they're just less likely to call Flash their baby. I'm just letting you know in case you get more comments from me where I call Flash things like "my sweet boy" or "my poor baby" or something along those lines.
9563088
It's cool. Everyone has at least one character they do that with. I'm dreading the day I do this one particular scene with Sunset Shimmer, and one of her fans go full on Molly Weasley on me.
It's too bad Flash isn't with the band anymore. I was kinda hoping he'd perform a song to celebrate his time as Spider-Man. (Anonymously of course. Can't be blurting out our secret identities where any Joe Shmoe or would-be supervillain can hear him, right?)
Here's a copy of the song, I imagined he would sing:
Also, I agree with Voltaje, Scorpion seems like a good starting villain following Vulture. A dude with super strength and an mechanical scorpion tail feels to me like a much easier foe to deal with then a man with electricity powers. Plus, the acids and poisons Scorps is know for feels like something to introduce after his first defeat, making him seem like more of a threat who can stand amongst the more powerful baddies like Electro.
Sorry, I'm rambling... do what you feel is right for your story. Loving it so far.
9563114
Hey, I love that song.
9563117
The idea's still on the table if you want to use it. Also I added on to the last comment a little bit... just thought you should know.
Yooo, my nigga Flash Sentry out here killin' shit tho. Love this story, bruh, keep up the good work.
-Marc
Scorpion, definitely. I don't think Flash is ready for Electro. Honestly, probably best to leave him for just before he gets his new suit, so whoever makes it has a reason to make it insulated.
Nice job. It is a bit sad that Flash’s band isn’t around anymore, but at least that explains why he has so much time he can devote to being Spider-Man. Seeing Flash perfect his web shooters and web swinging were awesome. I also like how Flash has good intentions for the money offered, even referencing Uncle Ben’s iconic line. Too bad it looks like the whole thing will backfire. Truth be told, I was wondering which version of the burglar you were planning to use, since even though Spider-Man lets him escape in his origin story there are lots of different versions of how or why he lets him escape, but it looks like your doing the wrestling version from the first Toby Maguire film.
For my vote, although I like Electro more I pick Scorpion, Scorpion seems like he could be more closely related to Vulture, given their suits, and therefore a more believable next villain to appear. Electro is much more dangerous and potentially destructive so Flash should probably get another villain or two under his belt before taking him on, though I am interested if Electro’s origin will be an accident or an experiment he agrees to. Either way though, with so many villains I wonder how long it will be until Flash has his own Sinister Six on his hands?
9563132
I noticed, good points. Thank you.
9563146
Thank you. I plan to.
9563243
That seems to be the general consensus so far.
9563331
Thank you.
I'm probably going to go with a lab accident, though I'm not making him a Spidey super fan like in Amazing Spider-Man 2.
And I'm saving the first version of the Sinister 6 for Book 2. Book 1 focuses primarily on introducing the members of the Rogues Gallery, Books 2 and 3 will expand on them, and introduce some new ones.
Wow. Electro or Scorpion? Tough choice....I'm gonna go with...Electro.
9563506
Sorry dude, but everyone else is telling me to hold off on Electro till Spider-Flash gets a few more villains under his belt. I can see why since Electro is a bit more powerful compared to guys like Scorpion or Vulture.
Electro, it’s always funny to see Spidy kick his ass.
9564055
It is, but most of the votes go to Scorpion, along with the advice to hold off on Electro until Spider-Man takes down a few more baddies.
Hold on. I wanted to make sure I wasn't mistaken before I pointed this out, but aren't Spidey's web shooters activated by the middle and ring fingers, not middle and index?
9564380
Huh?
Okay I just looked it up. I thought the ring finger WAS the index finger. My mistake. Gotta remember to fix that. Thank you
9563114
Spidey has had some memorable theme songs, the classic 60's the 90's animated series and the 2000's Spectacular Spiderman stand out for me. What happened to superhero theme songs anyhow? since Disney took over none of their marvel cartoons have had themes. The last I recall is "Fight as One" the Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes theme. The guys at Man of Action did good themes.
9564738
I always imagined it was because they wanted to optimize the show's run time. Basically they wanted to have more time to tell each episodes' story without having to be forced to shove in a theme song and intro. Plus it gives them more time to focus on the plot of the show, if they just cut out the need for a theme song entirely.
I'll admit I'm in the boat that wishes they'd bring back good old superhero theme songs, but at the same time, I have to admit I enjoy that shows are cutting straight to the point and pushing audiences right into the action. Cuts out the nitty-gritty and let's you get right into the episode you know. Even still, what I wouldn't give to hear a good old-fashioned electric guitar solo in a new Spider-Man theme song. Bring me right back to those wonderful childhood memories of the early 2000s:
9564738
Tell me about it.
9564766
I'm pretty sure its actually to make room for more commercials and to make it easier to cut up into clips since kids can't sit still for 22 mins and watch a show apparently! The theme was to get you hyped for the show, get you in the right frame of mind. Thundercats was a silly concept but the kickass theme let you know this was action, adventure and serious heroics.
9565375
Considering how stupid a lot of commercials are getting nowadays, I don't think it was a good trade-off.
I vote Scorpion. Electro, as others have said might be a bit too much for Flash at this point in time.
Nice flashback chapter. Ooh, gonna suck when what must come happens. :(
9566022
I'm starting to think they're right. I mean, Scorpion's powers are slightly impressive, but Electro is on a higher tier.
Yeah, it's gonna suck. But it must be done.
9563243
Scorpion but I want him to be extra dangerous. He was Venom before Venom after all.
9566371
Don't worry, he'll be very dangerous.
I vote Electro
9567813
Votes currently are:
Scorpion: 7
Electro: 3
Sorry.
9568048
Yeah... but even so! I didn't expect her to be *that* kind of villain. More of the "J. Jonah Jameson" type villain, the 'mundane asshole who really drives the hero mad but can't use their powers on them for vindicating them' kind of thing.
9568053
I'm going more for a Lex Luthor type, a brilliant Mastermind who keeps in the shadows and let's others do her dirty work, only getting personally involved if it's necessary, or she's f-ing pissed. Which is also why I gave her the power armor she's wearing.
9568063
That works for me! Though I must say, the thought of Abacus Cinch in power armor... wow.
9568079
And yet she still doesn't look as ridiculous as Frieza in any of his forms. Even his final form looks kinda ridiculous with the purple globe on his head.
I too cast my vote for Scorpion. (Though honestly, judging by how many others have done so... XD)
Anyway, nice work with the flashback. I like the twist on the origin here, that it's not selfishness and ignoring Uncle Ben's lesson that leads to going to the wrestling match and all, but instead the idea of doing something nice for the family and all. Fits with Flash's character pretty well. And also means that it's gonna hit even worse when that burglar comes along...
9572118 True. But the question is, will this end up like the Raimi spiderman or the 2017 spiderman?
9572118
Well him doing it for mostly selfish reasons has been done to death. Plus I wanted to show that while Flash understood what his Uncle was saying, he didn't realize that it meant far more than what he originally thought. He thinks it's just about helping his family, but Uncle Ben's death makes him realize that he has more way more responsibility than just that.
9572172
Mostly Raimi, but without the pointless retcon in Spider-Man 3. God that was stupid.
And unlike in that film, Flash saves the carjacker after he falls out the window.
9572671
Fair enough, and I perfectly like that characterization. As I said, it fits with Flash's character, and thus avoids making him a Peter clone. (Hah! XD)
9572773
That's kinda the point. If I was going to make him exactly like Peter Parker, I would just use Peter Parker and give Flash his own superpowers.
And as I said in response to a comment in an earlier chapter, I do plan to do my version of the Clone Saga, and it will be a million times better than the comic version on account that it doesn't get convoluted and doesn't drag on FOREVER!
Yes, thank you Pinkie Pie. Thank you for proving my point.
9572671 Ah, so it's Raimi to start with, then Spectacular at the end. Nice.
9573325
Thank you