As we walked in the city the next morning, he saw a newspaper stand with newspapers. Of course, the issue involved Spider-Man doing something, but something was amiss.
Woman: Spider-Man used to make me feel safe. Now I'm afraid to walk home from work.
Father: My son thought the world of this guy.
Father 2: I have a 9 year old daughter, loves Spider-Man. Who's she supposed to look up to now?
Woman: This is the guy they gave the key to the city to?
Peter looked at the issue. It read "THIEF! Spider-Man shows his true colors!" But underneath it read 'Photo by Eddie Brock.' It was the work of his arrogant rival photographer.
Peter: I'm gonna put some dirt in your eye.
At the Daily Bugle…
Employee: Cheers to the new staff photographer!
Eddie Brock: I just got lucky.
Female Editor: This is so wonderful for you.
Eddie Brock: Well, you might wanna tell J.J. to make a little more wall space.
As the man hung up the latest issue, he saw Peter in the reflection.
Eddie Brock: Good morning. It's a beautiful day, huh? What was it you said, I'll never get that picture? There's your hero.
Peter: I never thought he'd really do that.
Eddie Brock: See? Right there, you made a judgment call. You gotta see it as it is.
Peter: It's funny you should say that, 'cause I was looking through some old photos, and looks very, uh... similar.
Eddie Brock: Okay. Well, I gotta get back to work.
Peter: You're trash, Brock.
Eddie Brock: Excuse me?
Peter: (drops a picture with some flaws) Your picture is a fake.
Eddie Brock: Parker, you are such a boy scout. When are you gonna give a guy a break?
Peter held his rival against the wall.
Peter: You want forgiveness? Get religion.
Robbie: What's going on here?
Betty: Are you guys alright?
Eddie Brock: Yeah, no, we're just horsin' around. (to Peter) Look, I'm begging you. If you do this, I will lose everything. There's not a paper in town that will hire me.
Peter: You should've thought of that earlier.
Robbie: What are you doing, Peter?
Peter: (gives the photo to Robbie) Show this to the editor. Tell him to check his source next time.
In the office, the picture, of course, was fake.
Robbie: It's a fake. Empire State Photographic Department confirms it.
J. Jonah Jameson: Pack your things. Get out of my building.
Eddie Brock: I was just…
J. Jonah Jameson: You're fired!
The ex-photographer left the building.
Robbie: You know we're gonna have to print a retraction now.
J. Jonah Jameson: Haven't printed a retraction in 20 years!
Peter's life was going so well since the Daily Bugle issued an apology issue to Spider-Man for the mistake. In Peter's apartment, he got a call from Dr. Connors.
Peter: (on phone) Hello?
Dr. Connors: (on phone) Mr. Parker? Dr Connors here.
Peter: (on phone) Oh, Dr Connors! How are you?
Dr. Connors: (on phone) Quite a specimen you left me, Parker. Its chemistry is not unlike the meteorites of the 70s.
Peter was eating a cookie Ursula baked.
Peter: Thanks. It's good.
Dr. Connors: (on phone) You know what, Parker? Parker?
Peter: Give me some milk.
Dr. Connors: (on phone) It amplifies characteristics of its host. Especially aggression. This can be dangerous. Peter, you didn't keep any, did you?
Peter: You got any with nuts?
Ursula: Um-- I have some nuts, I could make some.
Peter: Go make me some.
Dr. Connors: (on phone) Peter?
Peter: (on phone) No, no. Of course not.
He was lying, for he was letting it control him. At the Daily Bugle…
Betty: Your shots are so good.
Peter: I'd love to shoot you sometime.
J. Jonah Jameson: Peter Parker! Peter... Parker! Miss Brent, that's not the position I hired you for!
Robbie: Black suit Spider-Man! (looks at the photos) Peter, these are incredible! We gotta have these, Jonah.
J. Jonah Jameson: I'll pay you the usual rate.
Peter: If you want the shots, I'll take the staff job. Double the money.
In the afternoon, Peter got into a store and came out in black, complete with emo hair. Not only did the symbiote make him violent, it even made him look like an idiot. At night, something washed out of the sewers. It materialized into the Sandman, whom Spider-Man had washed up a few days ago. He looked at the picture of his daughter in the locket.
Sandman: Penny.
Dr. Eggman: (offscreen) Are you Flint Marko?
The Sandman turned around and saw Mojo and Eggman.
Sandman: Used to be.
Mojo Jojo: Did the Spider-Man beat you down?
Sandman: How do you know?
Dr. Eggman: Believe us. He beat us up before twice. First one was Green Goblin and the second one was Doc Ock. But for the third one, as they say for today, Third times the charm on….
Sandman: On what?
Mojo Jojo: On Spider-Man, of course. We heard about your bad luck, so we thought 'Why not help out for once?'
Sandman: Why are you here?
Dr. Eggman: Consider it a message from the Purple Lady.
Meanwhile, Peter was with Gwen Stacy at the jazz club.
Peter: You are really gonna dig this joint.
Gwen Stacy: Do you think I'm dressed all right? Too fancy or...
Peter: Are you kidding me? You're looking fine, babe.
Gwen Stacy: (giggles) Thank you.
Peter: Love that little giggle.
As the two walked, Eddie Brock watched from a distance. It was bad enough that Peter took his job away, now he had his girl. At the jazz club…
Gwen Stacy: Oh, this is so cool! I have never been to a jazz club before. Oh, I hope we can get a table.
Peter: (whistles to a waitress) Find us some shade. (gives her a dollar) Thanks, hot legs.
Waitress: Right this way, sir.
They got to a table.
Gwen Stacy: Oh, why thank you.
Peter: I am so loving this.
Gwen Stacy: Oh, me too.
Near the stage was Mary Jane Watson.
Gwen Stacy: Isn't that your old girlfriend?
Peter: Yeah.
Gwen Stacy: Do you want to go someplace else?
Peter: No, no. I'll be OK.
Musician: Mary Jane, show us what you got.
Mary Jane went up on stage.
Peter: I'll be right back.
Gwen Stacy: All right.
As Mary Jane was about to sing, Peter was playing the piano.
Mary Jane: Peter?
Peter: This is for you. Double time!
He got on top of the piano and walked on the bar table.
Peter: (gets a drink) Thanks.
He swung from a chandelier and slid on a chair. He then threw off his coat and danced.
Peter: Now dig on this.
The young man made his way to Gwen as he snapped his fingers. M.J. felt crushed as she watched them danced. After finishing the dance, Gwen realized Peter's new behavior.
Gwen Stacy: That was all for her?
He gave no answer, but it was clear that Peter had changed. She went to Mary Jane.
Gwen Stacy: I'm so sorry.
After that, she left. Mary Jane only faced the shelves.
Peter: Hey.
Mary Jane: What's wrong with you?
Peter: You.
Bartender: Can I help you, sir?
Bouncer: Is anything okay here, Paul?
Peter: Yeah, is everything OK here, Paul?
Paul: Take him out of here.
Bouncer: (grabs Peter's arm) Let's go, sir.
Peter: Take your hand off of me.
Bouncer: Now.
Peter throttled the bouncer against the wall.
Mary Jane: Peter, stop!
Blinded with anger, he smacked the girl in the face. When he looked at her, he felt hurt and guilty. He was beginning to realize what the symbiote made him do. It made him defeat the Sandman in cold blood, beat up his old friend Harry, and smacked his girlfriend in a fit of rage. Mary Jane: Who are you?
Peter: (guilty) I don't know.
He left the jazz club, feeling regretful for what he did. His friends were right. The symbiote is making him act mean to others. Outside, he had to find a place to remove the symbiote. He looked up and saw a church nearby. Moments later, he snuck into the belfry as the black suit Spider-Man. In church, Eddie Brock was praying to God.
Eddie Brock: It's Brock, Sir. Edward Brock Jr. I come before you today humbled and humiliated to ask you for one thing. I want you to kill Peter Parker.
In the belfry, Peter began to tear the symbiote off of him, but try as he may, it still held onto him. While trying to tear it off, he hit a church bell and it rung. The sound of it put the symbiote in great pain. Using this as an advantage, Peter tore the symbiote off his body. He was unaware that Eddie Brock was looking at him from below.
Eddie Brock: Parker.
As Peter got some ooze off, one fell onto Eddie's jacket. He took it off before it could reach him. However, when Peter got every bit of the symbiote off him, it fell into Eddie's hand and the ooze took him over. After Peter was cleansed off the freakish ooze, the ooze began to attach to the former photographer. At first, he was horrified, but near completion, he felt great power. He began to transform into a abominable being known as Venom. Back with Parker, he was in the showers since he got the ooze off him back at church. After he was done, he got on his clothes and sat in his apartment. Aunt May came to visit him.
May: Hi, Peter.
Peter: Hi.
May: You don't seem to have changed the room around very much. Of course, there's not much you can do, is there? When we spoke on the phone, I sensed something was bothering you, so I thought I'd just come by. How's Mary Jane?
Peter: I don't know.
May: I never heard from you. Did you ever propose?
Peter: You said a husband's gotta put a wife before himself. (gives May the ring back) I'm not ready.
May: But what happened? You seemed so sure.
Peter: Yeah. I... I hurt her, Aunt May. I don't know what to do.
May: You start by doing the hardest thing. You forgive yourself. I believe in you, Peter. You're a good person. And I know you will find a way to put it right. In time.
She puts the ring on Peter's desk and left. He began to talk to Team Powerpuff.
Peter: You were right. All it did is make me lose control. I'm sorry if I hurt you guys.
Luna: It's alright, dude. We get it. We never know what it revenge can do until it hurts someone close to you.
Peter: Yeah. It's not what Uncle Ben wanted. I'm gonna make things right with M.J.
Garfield: Come on, guys. He'll need company in case something wicked comes this way.
As they left, in an alley, a dark figure swung by when it was hit by the Sandman.
Sandman: End of the line, Spider-Man.
He was about to punch it, but the figure roared at him. It wasn't Spider-Man.
Venom: I want him dead, too, Flint. That's why I've been looking for you. Oh, yeah. I know all about you. Like the fact that Spider-Man won't let you help your poor daughter. It's just... It doesn't seem right to me. And his friends, they're just like him. Like how they took both of you. Yes, I know you two. Used to work at a place that shows pictures of your humiliating defeats by the Powerpuff Girls. Look. I wanna kill the Spider. You wanna kill the Spider. Together, he and his friends don't stand a chance. Interested?
Sandman: Yeah.
Back with Parker, he looked at Mary Jane's apartment. He wanted to talk to her, but after what happened at the jazz club, he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he left. Mary Jane left her apartment and got into a taxi cab only for the driver to be Eddie Brock aka Venom.
Eddie Brock: So… where to?
He grabbed the girl. Later, a news broadcast was shown.
Hal Fishman: All New York is holding its breath as a hostage crisis continues to unfold.
On screen, in a construction site, Mary Jane was in the cab, hanging from a web.
Jennifer Dugan: Just thirty minutes ago, police came across this startling sight: A young woman held hostage in a taxi suspended 80 storeys above the ground in what appears to be a giant web. Every attempt by the police to rescue the hostage has been flaunted by the Sandman and with him was what appears to be the green monkey and the mad scientist from the Thanksgiving parade with The Green Goblin and the train fight with Doc Ock.
Hal Fishman: Compounding the danger is the appearance of a strange black-suited figure. Early reports had believed him to be the black-suited Spider-Man. But he is now been identified as something entirely different. The hostage has been identified as Mary Jane Watson, an actress recently seen in a brief stint on Broadway.
Peter and Team Powerpuff were watching this from the store window.
Peter: Ready, guys?
The Girls: Ready.
Peter got out his old red-and-blue Spider-Man costume from the box. The three girls began to transform.
Blossom: Blossom!
Bubbles: Bubbles!
Buttercup: Buttercup!
They were now the Powerpuff Girls Z.
Powerpuff Girls Z: Powerpuff Girls Z!
Hal Fishman: We're now going to take you live to the scene with Jennifer Dugan. Jennifer?
Jennifer Dugan: We're only about 100 feet away now, Hal, and-- Wait. There seems to be some kind of activity in the web. It seems to be creating some kind of gigantic lettering.
On the web read "SPIDER-MAN, STOP US IF YOU CAN."
Jennifer Dugan: Apparently, Spider-Man is being challenged to some sort of confrontation. And that raises serious questions about what kind of chance he'd stand against such overwhelming...
In his mansion, Harry turned off the TV. He was bitter about what had happened. Peter came to him.
Peter: Harry. I need your help.
Harry's face was badly scarred from the explosion set off by Peter during the symbiote's control of him.
Peter: Can't take them both. Not by myself.
Harry was upset at Peter for what he did. For what he said.
Harry: You don't deserve my help.
Peter: Harry, she needs us.
Harry: Get out.
Peter sadly left the mansion. As Harry picked up a dagger…
Leni: Harry, I have a confession from my siblings. There are some things we never spoke to you about.
Harry: What are you talking about?
Leni: It's about what happened to your father. When he was close to killing my friends, siblings, and Peter, the glider impaled him. I understand that you want to defend his honor, but he died by his own hand. He was such a good man. He loved you, Harry. Just like your friends love you. If we don't do something, our friends will be in grave danger. (between tears) We lost so many good people, Harry. I can't afford to lose any of my siblings or my friends. Please, Harry. We can't do this without you.