It was noon, the height of New York City’s midday traffic rush.
Smartphones did not yet exist in this era, and radio stations still had enormous audiences.
For New Yorkers stuck in traffic, listening to the radio was one of their favorite ways to pass the time.
The Daily Bugle’s noon news program began right on schedule.
“Good afternoon, New Yorkers!”
Jonah Jameson’s opening was as loud and impassioned as ever.
He had rushed to finish the script in his hands within an hour, yet it was the single greatest piece of work he had ever produced.
“Two years ago, that lunatic in green armor riding a Goblin Glider, that madman who tossed pumpkin bombs around like toys, survived!
He’s still skulking somewhere in this city!”
After a deliberate half-second pause, Jameson’s voice filled with mockery.
“But can you guess what this so-called ‘Master of Terror’ did?
He vanished!
Like a rat that got knocked over and froze with all four legs in the air, pretending to be dead!
He faked his death for two whole years just to escape justice!
What a disgrace!”
Out on the street, a truck driver burst out laughing.
Within moments, drivers all along the block had joined in.
“Green Goblin, if you’re listening, I’m talking to you!
Your little trick has been exposed.
Did you think New Yorkers would forget that ugly green face of yours?
Let me tell you something.
New Yorkers don’t even forget how much they paid for lunch yesterday, much less a lunatic who rides a skateboard and throws bombs!”
Laughter rang out from countless vehicles as the Daily Bugle’s ratings soared.
“And now!” Jameson continued, raising his voice even higher.
“A new masked freak has appeared, calling himself Spider-Man II…
Oh, God help us.
One Spider-Man was already more than enough, and now we have a Spider-Man II.”
“This Spider-Man II has openly challenged the Green Goblin!
Three days from now, in Times Square!
Right in the busiest intersection in New York!
Green Goblin, you’ve been called out.
Another man in tights has challenged you in your own specialty, and you don’t even dare make a sound?”
The traffic lights turned green, but not a single car moved.
Every driver was listening intently.
“Bring your skateboard!
Bring your pumpkins!
Bring every last one of your Halloween props, and come get beaten into the pavement!
Three days from now, Times Square!
Don’t be late, you green coward!”
As Jameson roared out those final words, car horns erupted across the city.
New Yorkers declared war on the Green Goblin through their actions and cheered for Spider-Man.
At that moment, the Daily Bugle’s listenership reached an unprecedented seventy-eight percent, setting a record in New York radio history that would be almost impossible to surpass.
…
…
Deep beneath New York City, in the sewers.
Jonah Jameson’s final roar blared from a specially modified radio.
A hand with bulging veins suddenly crushed the radio.
The voice from the speaker dissolved into static before falling silent.
Broken components slipped between his fingers and clattered onto the laboratory table.
The Green Goblin slowly raised his head.
In the dim light, his pupils contracted into pinprick-sized black dots, and the corners of his mouth gradually curled into a terrifying smile.
It was a smile filled with bloodlust.
“Coward…” The Green Goblin dragged his fingertips across the stainless-steel surface of the laboratory table, sending out a trail of sparks.
“He called me a coward.”
“Jonah Jameson is provoking you.”
Three shadowy figures slowly emerged from the darkness behind the Green Goblin.
The first to step into the light was a man covered from head to toe in a dark green carapace.
A two-meter-long Scorpion tail extended from the base of his spine.
“Should we go teach him a lesson?” the Scorpion rasped from deep in his throat.
The second figure stepped into the light.
He was a man whose arms had undergone extreme mutations.
The skeletal structure of his arms had been completely altered.
A pair of green wings with a span of more than three meters stretched from his wrists to his shoulder blades.
Dense feathers covered the wings, concealing numerous pale bone claws beneath them.
“While we’re at it, let’s destroy the Daily Bugle too.
I hate that place,” the Vulture said, his shrill voice like metal scraping across glass.
The Green Goblin did not answer.
He turned toward the third figure.
It was an enormous humanoid monster that possessed the features of both a man and a rhinoceros.
A thick, armor-like layer of dark green keratin covered its entire body.
A spiraling rhinoceros horn a full meter long projected from its forehead, while heavy breaths blasted from its nostrils like a beast preparing to charge.
Clearly, during the two years he had spent faking his death, the Green Goblin had modified and perfected the “Green Goblin Serum,” creating the Scorpion, the Vulture, and the Rhino.
But they were not his only trump cards.
The Green Goblin slowly walked to the other side of the laboratory table, where ten enormous glass culture tanks stood in a row.
Each was filled with murky, dark green fluid.
Inside every tank slept a green-skinned man.
Their bodies were unnaturally muscular, their ears pointed, and their teeth as sharp as a shark’s.
“I will make all of New York watch as Times Square is reduced to ruins.
My Green Goblin Army will tear both Spider-Men to pieces, and then they will understand one thing…”
The Green Goblin’s voice came from behind his metal mask, cold and arrogant.
“New York City has only one ruler.
I’m back.”
…
Over the next three days, Jonah Jameson mobilized nearly all the Daily Bugle’s resources and connections, promoting the event with everything he had.
The Battle of the Century at Times Square became the most talked-about event in all of New York City.
Every New Yorker was excited and filled with anticipation.
The three-day wait seemed to drag on forever.
Large numbers of people even traveled from other cities during those three days, coming from far away just to witness the Battle of the Century with their own eyes.
The day before the battle was set to begin, Peter and Tobey Spider-Man arrived at Harry Osborn’s penthouse apartment.
The Superheroes had also made extensive preparations for the Battle of the Century.
Since there was no way to assemble the Avengers in this universe, Peter had chosen another path and formed a special team instead.
“Harry, are you sure you’re ready?”
Tobey Spider-Man looked at Harry Osborn with concern.
“Of course.
I’ve been preparing ever since the day I learned that my father was the Green Goblin.”
Harry Osborn’s entire demeanor had changed.
His gaze was firm and sharp.
He raised his right hand and opened a hidden door concealed within the living room.
Behind it, an array of high-tech equipment was displayed like a collection of exhibits.
Harry Osborn would take part in the Battle of the Century as a Superhero!