Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #2
In The Nightmare Factory
Peter Parker continues his recollection of an adventure that took place during the first week of his freshman year at Empire State University. At the time, it had been reported that J. Jonah Jameson had died in a car crash that was caused by Spider-Man. This has, in turn, made the public more afraid of the wall-crawler than ever. Naturally, Spider-Man had nothing to do with it but that didn’t stop the authorities from shooting first and asking questions later.[1] As Spider-Man flees the scene, he is witnessed by Joe Smith, who is on location for a shoot on a television show. He tells his director that he doesn’t think that Spider-Man is such a bad guy. Mister Vigarro doesn’t care what Joe thinks, telling him they have to get back to the studio in Queens to wrap up interior shoots.
Soon, at the city coroner’s office, Doctor Helen Carroway shows the alleged body of J. Jonah Jameson to his son, John. The autopsy has revealed that this is not actually Jonah but some kind of mechanical construct. Unfortunately, this revelation as coming after the media frenzy about Spider-Man killing Jameson. Spider-Man has just arrived to hear this and is relieved to learn that it wasn’t really Jonah. John Jameson is happy to see Spider-Man, who assures John that he would never actually harm his father. Now that they know that it wasn’t Spider-Man in the video that was captured, they all wonder what really happened to J. Jonah Jameson.
At that moment, Jonah thinks he is in Hell and is being tormented by demons. That’s when a devil-like creature emerges from the lava in the form of Spider-Man. It tells the Jonah that everyone gets the devil they deserve. The prospect of spending all eternity with Spider-Man is enough to convince Jonah that he really is in Hell. However, this is all an elaborate illusion created by Mysterio. From his control room, Mysterio watches his latest scheme unfold and enjoys every minute of it. With some personal business to attend to, Mysterio sets his “Hell” on automatic and goes to the phone. He briefly takes off his fishbowl to make the call but decides to keep wearing it because it gives him the confidence to make the call.
Mysterio calls Betsy Schnieder, an old childhood friend who he reconnected with recently. He asks her if they can meet up for lunch. The villain is delighted when she says yes. After he gets off the phone he does a little victory dance. Realizing he has to do something to keep Jonah occupied while he is gone, Mysterio turns up the intensity of his illusion before leaving. By this time, Peter Parker is calling his Aunt May to tell her that he won’t be back home until after dinner. As he leaves the phone booth he runs into Gwen Stacy who is out shopping for her father’s birthday. When she invites Peter to help, he is reminded of his responsibility when he notices a billboard of Jameson and turns her down. The whole situation is awkward for Peter who was so tongue-tied and after making some lame excuses he runs off, much to the annoyance of Stacy.
Changing into Spider-Man, Peter goes to the scene of the staged accident to look for clues. By this time he has correctly deduced that this is the work of Mysterio and is certain that Jameson should be fine since Mysterio is not a killer. There, Spider-Man is ambushed by what appears to be the Sinister Six. However, he quickly realizes that these are really unemployed actors using cheap special effects to imitate his greatest foes. Quickly defusing the situation he gets one of the men to talk, who tells Spider-Man that Mysterio has Jameson held prisoner at Silver Star Studios in Queens. While in Lower Manhattan, Betsy waits for Quentin Beck to show up for their date. He appears as Mysterio in a dramatic display and manages to carry her up to a nearby rooftop. Betsy sees right through this whole display and knows that it is Quentin, pulling off Mysterio’s fishbowl while he is in the middle of a dramatic monologue. Having his identity revealed so easily strikes Quentin with another pang of insecurity. However, Betsy points out that everyone who reads the papers knows he’s Mysterio and that she is impressed with everything he’s accomplished.[2] She tells Quentin that his “escape” from their neighborhood inspired her to become a writer. While she doesn’t write anything huge, it’s something she enjoys doing. He’s shocked, pointing out that he is a criminal. She counters this by saying that he became a big deal when he went to Hollywood but became even bigger when he became a super-villain. Then, to show Quentin how proud she is of him, she gives him a kiss.
Outside of Silver Star Studios, the film crew is preparing to set up for shooting the television show, inside Spider-Man finds J. Jonah Jameson. At first, Jameson doesn’t believe this is all an illusion until Spider-Man finds the main power source and unplugs the whole rig. Totally humiliated by his ordeal, Jameson tries to save face by saying he knew the whole thing was fake. While on another soundstage, Mysterio arrives with Betsy and interrupts Virago’s shoot to demand why they are intruding in his hideout. As Mysterio chases away the cast and crew, Spider-Man arrives with J. Jonah Jameson to stop him. Suddenly the ground begins to shake and a giant sphinx raises from the floor, carrying Mysterio and Betsy into the sky. Suddenly, Spider-Man’s spider-sense begins to go haywire. Hig above the studio, Betsy tells Quentin he can stop the supervillain act, but he’s not done yet. To her horror, Mysterio sets off a trigger that blows up the entire studio, apparently killing everyone inside. As Mysterio’s sphinx flies away the villain is unaware that Joe Smith has hitched a ride and is climbing toward him.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mysterio, J. Jonah Jameson, Betsy Schneider, John Jameson, Gwen Stacy
Continuity Notes
Peter surmises that he must have been seventeen or eighteen years old at the time. Per Civil War #2, Peter has stated he first got his spider-powers when he was fifteen years old. This story takes place shortly after the events of Amazing Spider-Man #38. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, Peter had been Spider-Man for about a year. As such he couldn’t have been older than seventeen years old at the time.
By this point in his career, Mysterio had been busted three times in Amazing Spider-Man #13, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, and Amazing Spider-Man #24.
