Uncle Ben drove his car with his nephew by his side through the city of New York. An ocean of individuals of two genders filled the streets, and adults in business attire navigate their way through the crowds. The sounds of cars and trucks can be heard as they travel in different directions.
Uncle Ben glanced at Peter with concern adorning his countenance. For the past few days, he had seen his nephew acting quite weird. Neither he nor May couldn’t recall the last time they had ever spoken to Peter. His normal daily chores had decreased, and to top it all off, Peter had been doing strange experiments in his room. Experiments that Ben still couldn’t wrap his brain around.
Uncle Ben faced the road. With all of this in mind, he knew he could not let this be. Peter is a good kid; he knows it, and May knows it as well. But this? This was just stupid, even for someone as smart as Peter.
All the more reason to have a talk with his dear nephew.
He’ll never know if he’ll get another opportunity like this again.
“Thanks for the ride, Uncle Ben.” Peter said, about to reach for the handle. Uncle Ben tapped his hand on Peter’s shoulder.
“Wait. We need to talk.” Uncle Ben
“We can talk later.” Peter insisted. Uncle Ben shook his head.
“Well, we can talk now. If you let me.” Uncle Ben persisted, frowning at him.
Peter raised a brow at his uncle. “What do we have to talk about? Why now?”
“We haven't talked for so long,” Uncle Ben began, his tone laced with genuine concern. “May and I don't know who you are; you shirk your chores. You have all those weird experiments in your room, and you start fights at school.”
“I told you I didn't start that fight.” Peter remarked.
“You sure finished it.” Uncle Ben retorted.
“Was I supposed to run away?”
“No, you're not supposed to run away, but…”
There was a pause between the two.
“You're changing. I went through exactly the same thing at your age.” Uncle Ben said, smiling at his nephew.
Peter couldn’t help but chuckle.
“No. Not exactly.” Peter replied.
Uncle Ben’s smile didn’t waver.
“Peter… These are the years when a man changes into the man he's gonna become for the rest of his life. Just be careful who you change into.”
Uncle Ben briefly frowned at the floor.
“This guy, Flash Thompson, he probably deserved what happened. But just because you can b*at him up… doesn't give you the right to.” The elderly man placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.”
Peter blinked at Uncle Ben in bewilderment. Great power? Great responsibility? What in the world is he talking about?
“Are you afraid I'll become a criminal?” Peter was confused. “Quit worrying about me, okay? Something's different; I'll figure it out. Stop lecturing me.”
Uncle Ben sighed.
“I don't mean to lecture or preach. And I know I'm not your father.” He replied, placing his hand over his heart. Peter glared at his uncle
“Then stop pretending to be!” Peter shouted, frustration lacing his tone.
There was silence between the pair. Uncle Ben sighed before turning away from Peter.
“Right.” Acknowledged Uncle Ben. “I'll pick you up here at ten.”
Peter opened the door and hopped out of the car by stretching his legs. His backpack strapped to his right shoulder blade. He closed the door behind him before turning to watch Uncle Ben putting the car in reverse and driving away. Peter watched the vehicle get much smaller from view until it disappeared behind a building’s corner.
Peter let out a disappointed sigh before turning away down the sidewalk. Starting forward towards his real destination not too far away.
A sense of regret gripped Peter to the core.
Peter Parker walked up and stood before the mirror. He gazed upon his costume in the reflection of said mirror, a blend of pride and satisfaction emanating from his being as he admired the ensemble he had meticulously crafted. For a few days, Peter had dedicated himself to the design and construction of this garment, fashioning it with his own two hands. The costume predominantly featured a crimson sweater, black jeans, boots, and a mask. A web-like pattern gracefully adorned the crimson sections of the suit. Additionally, a red spider insignia embellished the center of the chest, while a larger spider emblem graced the back.
Given his limited expertise in the realm of sewing and sewing machinery, the process of fabricating this suit proved to be arduous for Peter. However, his perseverance was handsomely rewarded in the end. Now, he stood before the mirror, donning his inaugural spider costume, a heartfelt tribute to the genesis of his extraordinary abilities. Yet, his elation and fascination were momentarily eclipsed by a new concern that had entered his mind.
What should I call myself? Peter thought.
Peter cupped his chin with his palm as he pondered the question deeply. The ‘Human Spider,' was the first name that came to his mind but he quickly discarded it due to its ridiculousness. The next option was to go with ‘The Spider,’ but even thinking about calling himself such a childish name didn't really resonate with Peter. Before he could ponder any further, he heard the door swing open behind him. Peter looked over his shoulder to see a middle-aged man in a yellow tuxedo approaching him.
Peter recognized him as the promoter, the boss of the wrestling show.
"Gotta say kid, you got a nice suit there," the promoter said, pointing at Peter's suit with his cigar. "You made that yourself?"
"Uh, yeah. Took a while to put together though." Peter replied.
"I see," acknowledged the promoter, puffing out smoke from his mouth. "Have you thought of a name for yourself yet?"
Peter turned away from the man when he noticed something on the bench. Two stacked books laid on said bench — Along Came a Spider by James Patterson — and — The Invisible Man by HG. Wells — were the book's titles. His eyes briefly darted at the words, 'Spider,' and 'Man,' then began repeating them in his head akin to a prayer. Peter's lenses grew large almost as though he found the answer to his question.
"Spider-Man." Breathed Peter, still staring at the two books. The promoter blinked in surprise."
"Hey, that's not a bad name web-head," the promoter said. "Alright, Spider-Man it is then. Come on Spider-Man, your match is ready."
Peter, now officially known as Spider-Man, trailed behind the promoter down the winding hall. In the arena in Queens, the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, or UCWF for short, is hosting the event. A wrestling match has already begun between Crusher Hogan and Bonesaw McGraw. Spider-Man walked down the hall as he's soon to be next. He proceeded to watch the match between Crusher Hogan and Bonesaw McGraw. Bonesaw proved to be a formidable foe but he got picked up and slammed down hard by Crusher.
"Oh! Looks like Bonesaw got his bones sawed!"
The referee goes to the countdown and sees Bonesaw is hurt.
"One! Two! Three! Crusher is the winner!" The referee announced with a shout.
Everyone cheered as Crusher Hogan still remained undefeated, he roared out to the audiences. The medics came in and wheeled Bonesaw out as Peter sees the pain the poor guy is in.
"Now to the next challenge! We have someone new, he's mysterious, he has no name, give it up for... The Amazing Spider-Man!"
Spider-Man came out to the stage, and he was taken aback when everyone booed at him. For a wrestler he's not that much muscular than any wrestler, not to mention his average height. Spider-Man advances down to the stage, still wearing his mask to hide his face. Spider-Man and Crusher came to the referee.
"Alright listen up, you only get three minutes in the ring. If any of you forfeits or gets defeated in three seconds, then you lose the match, are we clear?" The referee briefly shifted his gaze between the two fighters.
"Yeah!" Complied Spider-Man.
"Perfectly." Crusher Hogan added.
"Good luck to you both."
"It's not too late to back out, little man." Crusher Hogan smiled.
Peter didn't grace his opponent with a reply but assumed a fighting pose. The bell rang throughout the arena, commencing the start of round one. Crusher charged to pounce but blinked in bewilderment when he only grabbed air. Just in the nick of time, Spider-Man jumped over him.
"What the..?" Crusher Hogan is confused.
"Too slow!" Spider-Man joked with a chuckle.
Crusher rolled his body around with a growl as he charged in again. But Spider-Man anticipated this. Spider-Man leapt in the air and wrapped his legs around his neck, flipping him down hard.
"Whoa! This is totally unexpected! Can Crusher fare against this new fighter?"
Everyone in the arena booed but others cheered for Spider-Man. They were all amazed at what they were seeing; the newcomer moved so fast Crusher couldn't even touch him. Humiliation filled Crusher to the core. In his mind's eye, he was the strongest man in the ring, and now this newcomer is getting the best of him. He picked up a folded chair and tossed it at Spider-Man. Spider-Man flips back and kicks the chair up.
"You threw a chair at me!" Spider-Man mocks, shaking his head. "Now that's just low."
"Ah! Shut up!" Crusher Hogan yells.
Crusher Hogan charged at him again until Spider-Man flipped back and tossed him hard at the ropes. Crusher slowly got back on his feet as he glanced up in time to see Spider-Man yelped and drop kicked him. Pain flooded his body. Crusher flew out of the ring, over countless individuals' heads and indented himself on the wall.
Everyone stared at the unconscious champion with wide eyes.
The fan's favorite champion that had held the title for years has been knocked out of the ring.
"One! Two! Three! We have a new winner! Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for Spider-Man!"
Peter watches in awe as an ocean of new fans cheered for him. All of them chanting his name akin to a prayer. He couldn't help but laugh at this display. Never in his life did he imagine he would ever stand here before so many people cheering for him, and that fact alone caused his heart to swell up in joy.
Peter threw both of his fists in the air, cheering in his victory.
Among the cheering crowd of every new fan of the web crawler, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie watched the whole fight go down. Twilight Sparkle was the only who remained silent and just stared in awe. The girls were also cheering for Spider-Man’s first victory as they along with everyone else chanted his name.
Sunset Shimmer, who was sitting next to Twilight, stared at Spider-Man in wonderment.