The Big Score

Billy Fender is a private eye that is running a failed business. The big paying jobs are far and few between and most of the phone calls he receives are from bill collectors. Today is different, however, he decides that he is not going to drink his day away at his desk because he finally got the goods on Spider-Man and he’s planning on making it rich after years of research.[1] Instead, he goes down to the bar where he has Rita, the bartender, to pour him a drink. Downing it quickly, he tells her that today is the day of the big score he has always been talking about. He tells her that he’ll be by later after she’s done work to take her out for coffee to tell her how everything goes down.

As he leaves the bar, he thinks about how he’s going to be rich when he sells Spider-Man’s idea to the media. He thinks about the events that led to him investigating the wall-crawler for years. At the time he was hired to spy on a woman named Katrina who was cheating on her husband. He was about to hit paydirt when he suddenly heard police shooting outside and decided to go and see what all the commotion was. Outside, he’s told by fleeing police officers to run for safety when suddenly the Rhino comes crashing through a wall. Billy Fender closes his eyes when he thinks he is about to get run down, but the Rhino runs right past him. Looking up, Billy then saw Spider-Man swinging after the villain. At that moment, Billy realized he had to find out who Spider-Man really was.

Spider-Man became his persona obsession for years, and he later took a job at an insurance company that investigated superhero-related claims. This allowed him to investigate the wall-crawler, but more often than not he had to deal with people filing falsified claims. One day he tried to go and check on a claim directly, having his client send him a photo of the damage done.[2] However, his boss tells him to get back to the phones when they witness the Fantastic Four battling Galactus outside, knowing that they are going to get swamped by calls because of this.[3]

Now, he thinks about how he has Spider-Man dead to rights thanks to all the information he gathered on the wall-crawler over the years. From footage of his activities and the way he speaks, Billy Fender has narrowed down that Spider-Man is a local. Based on what he can gather about the wall-crawler from his fights, and what he can learn about the composition of his webbing he is able to make up a profile about the web-slinger’s character. Billy pauses his train of thought as he arrives at the insurance company where he has worked on the side for years. He then confronts his boss, handing him a legal notice preventing him from muscling in when he finally reveals who Spider-Man is and then quits. With that, Billy makes his victory lap over to the Daily Bugle where he intends to make his big money. With fake security credentials, he gets up to the Bugle bullpen and then makes his way to the office of J. Jonah Jameson. Jonah is furious at being interrupted by a stranger and demands to know what this man wants. Billy Fender introduces himself and tells Jameson that he knows that the newspaper owner is secretly Spider-Man.

Recurring Characters

J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, (in flashback) Spider-Man, Rhino, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Galactus

Continuity Notes

1. This story states that Fender had been investigating Spider-Man’s identity for six years. However, this is not correct when measured up to the Sliding Timescale. Fender first becomes interested in investigating Spider-Man after witnessing his battle with the Rhino circa Amazing Spider-Man #42. Per the Sliding Timescale that story actually happens nine years after Amazing Spider-Man #42. We can probably excuse Fender for being off by a couple of years since a stereotypical private eye like him is likely a roaring drunk.

2. Billy receives this photo by fax machine. This should be considered a topical reference as fax machines are basically an obsolete technology.

3. According to the Marvel Chronology Project, the Fantastic Four’s battle with Galactus is from Galactus: Devourer #3.