“It’s only tenth place,” he consoled himself.
“My name must be somewhere more important.”
Meanwhile, inside an old apartment building in New York, Earth, Tony Stark had just taken a sip of coffee when he choked and coughed several times.
“Spider-Man?
The first person on the list is Spider-Man?” He pointed at the holographic screen and shook his head at Nick Fury.
“I only stopped the Hammer Industries robot uprising last month, and the ranking system picked that wisecracking kid in a skintight suit first?”
Nick Fury’s single eye swept over Stark’s agitated expression.
He said calmly, “You’ve seen his videos.”
“Of course I have!
The first time, I thought the kid had some decent moves.
The second time, I realized he tells jokes even while fighting.” Tony spread his hands.
“I’m a scientist and an entrepreneur who saves the world.
He’s the friendly neighborhood guy.
How are we supposed to compare the two on the same scale?”
The screen began showing footage of Spider-Man swinging between skyscrapers.
Thor folded his arms, and the Asgardian warriors gradually fell silent as well.
They wanted to see exactly what this young man called the “friendly neighborhood” hero had done to earn the title of hero before them.
“I’ll bet my ranking is definitely higher than this kid’s!”
Nick Fury calmly pointed out, “Don’t forget, this list isn’t ranked in order.
You haven’t even appeared on it.” He had heard about Spider-Man long ago, though he had never paid him much attention.
Now, after hearing the video’s high praise for this young hero, a hint of approval flashed through his single eye.
He began secretly considering whether he should recruit this agile street vigilante into the Avengers.
Tony snorted and suppressed the restlessness in his heart.
“Then let’s keep watching.”
He desperately wanted to know whether he had made the list.
It concerned whether he could effectively refute Nick Fury’s doubts about him.
For Tony, who had always been proud of himself, this was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity to prove himself.
…
Inside the apartment in Queens, New York, Peter Parker’s pupils suddenly widened, and his heart began pounding violently.
He sucked in a breath in disbelief, so excited that he nearly fainted.
He never could have imagined that he would actually appear on this highly anticipated list.
Ned, sitting beside him, was even more excited.
He slapped his friend’s thigh and exclaimed, “Parker!
Look!
It’s Spider-Man!”
Peter winced and moved away.
“You can be excited, but stop hitting my leg!”
Ned’s round face was filled with delight, and seeing his friend’s reaction filled Peter with a secret sense of pride.
He imagined how much his friend would admire him if Ned found out that he was actually Spider-Man himself.
However, Peter quickly composed himself and focused his attention on the description on the screen.
As the subject of the video, he found that the creator named Leon Vance had understood him with remarkable accuracy.
In particular, the explanation about “responsibility coming with power” perfectly captured the source of his motivation to fight crime and help others every day.
Ever since he had gained his superpowers, whenever he witnessed a crime, he would instinctively step forward.
If he ever hesitated and missed the chance to save someone, he would toss and turn all night, consumed by guilt.
“Hello, Peter Parker.”
A voice suddenly rang out.
The video was still playing.
The deep voice instantly froze Peter Parker in place.
A chill shot from his spine to the top of his head, making his scalp tingle.
An alarm went off in his mind: His secret was probably about to be exposed!
What was he supposed to do?
He desperately needed someone to give him an answer.
At the same time, the video’s creator had also written about his own anxiety.
As a newcomer, he had a deep affection for the Marvel stories and hoped to make up for some of the regrets left behind in those stories.
The video then switched to New York.
The setting sun cast a golden glow over the skyscrapers, making the city look magnificent and bustling.
Amid this scenery, a man wearing sunglasses and equipped with multiple mechanical tentacles was closing in.
His opponent was Spider-Man, dressed in a red-and-blue suit.
However, observers throughout the Marvel Universe noticed that the details of this Spider-Man’s costume looked somewhat unfamiliar, and they had never seen that octopus-like enemy before either.
This sparked speculation: Could there be more than one Spider-Man somewhere in the vast universe?
In the Marvel Universe, Peter Parker watched the video, feeling both a trace of relief and complete confusion.
He turned to his friend Ned and asked, “Do you know that octopus guy?
And this Spider-Man’s suit looks different from mine.
What’s going on?”
Peter Parker immediately protested, “This is ridiculous!
I designed my own suit.
How could I possibly fail to recognize it?”
He pointed at the footage and added firmly, “That guy in the suit isn’t me at all, and I’ve never fought that octopus-looking guy!”
Ned repeatedly nodded beside him and agreed, “Exactly.
I think it’s strange too.
The Spider-Man in the video is completely different from the one we know.”
On the screen, Doctor Octopus swung his enormous mechanical arms and violently knocked Spider-Man from the top of a skyscraper.
Spider-Man plummeted rapidly, but he quickly shot out webs, wrapped them around Doctor Octopus, and forcibly dragged him toward the ground with him.
“Boom!”
The two crashed heavily onto the roof of a speeding train, instantly denting the car.
They rolled several times across the shaking roof before barely managing to regain their footing, then immediately resumed their fierce battle.
Whether Doctor Octopus hurled Spider-Man onto the roof of the train, into the cars, or toward the side of the street, Spider-Man always…
“Truly astonishing.
For a human to display such tenacious willpower is incredible.
His determination is remarkable!”
“His entire body is covered in wounds, yet he seems to have never understood the meaning of the word ‘give up’…”
The footage continued playing as Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man remained locked in fierce combat.
After several exchanges, Doctor Octopus directly destroyed the train’s braking system, causing its speed to increase wildly.
The screeching of metal against the tracks was deafening!
The background music suddenly became tense and frantic, and the hearts of every viewer rose into their throats.
The camera swept toward the end of the tracks, where a vast ocean suddenly came into view.
“This is completely over!
Spider-Man may be stronger than an ordinary person, but he’s still flesh and blood.
How could he possibly save everyone on the entire train by himself?”
“There are at least a thousand passengers on this train.
If it plunges into the ocean, there probably won’t be many survivors…”
Most people had already lost hope that Spider-Man could perform a miracle.
However, as Spider-Man himself, how could Peter Parker ever choose to give up when lives were at stake?
He leaped to the front of the train, pulled off his mask, and used his extraordinary eyesight to estimate the distance to the end of the tracks.
He loudly warned the passengers to hold on to the handrails.
Then he took a deep breath, leaped onto the tracks, and attempted to stop the runaway train by force with his own feet!
“Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!”
Wood splintered in all directions, the tracks shattered, and Spider-Man endured the excruciating pain shooting through the soles of his feet, only to be violently thrown backward by the enormous impact.
The tragic music began playing again, and the narrator’s voice slowly rang out:
“No matter how powerful he may be, he is still only a mortal body.