Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #3

Wake Up Call!

While escaping his hideout at Silver Star Studio, Mysterio set off explosives to kill everyone inside. However, Spider-Man has managed to save himself, J. Jonah Jameson, and the film crew with a huge web cocoon. Upon closer examination, Spider-Man discovers that this was set up to make the explosions look more serious than they appeared. Spider-Man is impressed by Mysterio’s illusions this time around. Jameson is not, boasting that he saw right through everything. That’s when Spider-Man mentions that Mysterio recorded Jonah begging and pleading for his life when he tricked the newspaper publisher into thinking he had died and gone to hell. Mortified by that revelation, Jonah takes off so he can search for the recording and destroy it before anyone else can see.

Meanwhile, Mysterio is high above the city on a flying sphinx gloating over his triumph over his foes. Betsy, his childhood friend, is horrified that Quentin murdered everyone at the studio. But when Mysterio reveals that it was all a special effect and nobody was really hurt, she kisses him again. That’s when Betsy suggests that she write a book about Quentin, saying it will give him the opportunity to tell his side of the story, not to mention make them a lot of money. This angers Quentin who thinks that Betsy has been using him this entire time. Before he can hurt her, Joe Smith reaches the top of the sphinx and confronts the villain. Unfortunately for Joe, Mysterio quickly punches him off the side of the sphinx sending him plummeting to the street below. Thankfully, Spider-Man was swinging by and he manages to catch Joe before he hits the street.

By this time, J. Jonah Jameson has returned to the Daily Bugle where he ignores everyone on his way to his private office. There, he gets to work on his latest editorial, an attempt at damage control in the event that someone else finds that tape.[1]

Meanwhile, Mysterio has landed his flying sphinx in the middle of the city. Once there, Betsy asks why Mysterio forced her to dress in a ridiculous Egyptian costume. He explains that it is all part of his grandest solution. Pressing a button on his gauntlet, Mysterio causes the entire immediate area to suddenly change from Midtown Manhattan to ancient Egypt. It’s here that Mysterio professes his love for Betsy and that with is illusions he can come up with any fantasy they want and create any kind of identity for them. Betsy has had enough at this point and tells Quentin he needs to grow up. When Spider-Man and Joe Smith arrive, Mysterio traps Betsy inside his sphinx while he deals with his foes. When Spider-Man lands, the scene suddenly changes from ancient Egypt to the American Frontier to an alien world. All of these changes start to disorientate the wall-crawler. This allows Mysterio to get the drop on Spider-Man and gain the advantage. While the two fight it out, Joe Smith has ventured into the sphinx to rescue Betsy and when he finds her it is love at first sight. Back outside, Spider-Man decides the best course of action is to close his eyes and trust his spider-sense. This allows him to turn the tide of the battle, frustrating Mysterio who believed he was winning. He then sets his virtual reality projector to self destruct, telling Spider-Man when it blows it will destroy five city blocks.

Fortunately for everyone, Joe overhears all this and manages to stop the explosion simply by unplugging the virtual reality machine. When Mysterio tries to make his escape but is knocked out by Spider-Man with a single punch and turned over to the authorities. In the aftermath, J. Jonah Jameson awarded Joe Smith with a ten thousand dollar reward, telling the press that Smith single-handedly stopped both Mysterio and Spider-Man. When Joe tries to correct him, Jameson silences him quickly. However, Jameson still ended up with egg on his face when the recording of him pleading for his life in Mysterio’s “Hell” gets leaked to the press. Humiliated, Jameson blames Spider-Man from the recording getting out. With this recent adventure over, Peter Parker went back to his boring life, with no friends, and overbearing aunt, and all sorts of drama. Recalling back on this time, Peter wonders if it was right to humiliate J. Jonah Jameson like that and guesses he probably did. Walking past Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, and Flash Thompson, Peter doesn’t hear Gwen calling out to him because he is too deep in thought. Peter always felt sorry for Quentin Beck, because he still feels that he has a lot in common with him. If he did not have the love and support of his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, perhaps he might have ended up like Mysterio as well. Finishing his recollection, Peter misses these old days when things were simpler compared to today. He finds it is always easier to hold onto the passion and ideas that made him become Spider-Man by thinking back to those early days, but he tries because he owes it to his Aunt May and Uncle Ben and everyone else.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mysterio, J. Jonah Jameson, Betsy Schneider, Flash Thompson, Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, Frederick Foswell

Continuity Notes

1. Jameson is depicted using a typewriter to write his editorial. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.