Act 2, Scene 10
It's started to rain in New York. The rain lashes the roof of the Bugle building as the helicopter touches down. A raincoated figure rushes over to the pilot. It's Jonah.
JAMESON: Keep her hot! Passenger should be here soon!
Right on cue, Spiderman drops to his feet nimbly beside him.
SPIDERMAN: JJ, you're coming?
JAMESON: (clambering aboard)Damn right I'm coming, webhead! You think I'd sit on my hands while my son drops from the sky with that…with…the weight of the world on him?
SPIDERMAN: Alright…
JAMESON: (gesturing to the empty seat beside him)Well, you coming or not?
SPIDERMAN: You're a real charmer, Jameson.
He gets on board and they take off at top speed for the harbor.
SPIDERMAN: Talk to me. What can I expect?
JAMESON: It'll be dropping at something close to three hundred miles an hour. Helicopter will take us as high as it can and you…do whatever you can. We're clearing the area of ships, but we should be far enough out to sea for that not to be a problem.
SPIDERMAN: New York isn't exactly a landing pad for space shuttles, Jonah…
JAMESON: I had it redirected here. I knew you were the only thing that could slow it down enough at this short notice for my son to have a chance.
SPIDERMAN: Thing?
JAMESON: Person. Whatever.
SPIDERMAN: Jeez, Jonah…what did I ever do to annoy you so much? Except sell a ton of your newspapers? It must have killed you to call for my help.
JAMESON: I'll do anything for John.
SPIDERMAN: An honest-to-God virtue in you. Do I sound surprised? Because I am.
JAMESON: To be honest I…was surprised when you showed up. I thought because of who I was…you might not take the job.
SPIDERMAN: It's not a job, Jonah. I'd do this even if it was your ass on that shuttle and not your son's. That's what being a hero is; it's not a job, it's a life.
JAMESON: What do I look like, a demographic? Save your sermons for the kiddies. I've seen too much in this life, lost too much. But I…I can't lose John. He's everything I never was.
SPIDERMAN: He's the hero.
JAMESON: Yeah. And even if that's not enough for the Mary-Jane Watsons of this world, when he comes back…I'll make him the most famous man on the planet.
PILOT: We're coming up on the co-ordinates.
Spiderman slides open the helicopter door and leans out. Far below, the rain-lashed sea churns. He leans back in to Jameson.
SPIDERMAN: You ever think to ask John if he wants to be famous, JJ?
Jameson looks surprised at the question. Not waiting for an answer, Spiderman scrambles out for a better look at his surroundings. He ducks back into the helicopter.
SPIDERMAN: We might have a problem.
JAMESON: What?!
SPIDERMAN: What exactly am I gonna web to slow this thing down? The ocean?
PILOT: I've got something on radar…
JAMESON: Are you telling me you can't save my son?
SPIDERMAN: Shut up, Jonah! (to pilot)Take me as high as you can. I need to get on that shuttle.
The pilot complies and the helicopter ascends into the rainstorm. The series of blips on the monitor come faster and faster until-
JAMESON: There!
SPIDERMAN: I see it. (to pilot) Can you get me within five hundred feet?
The shuttle, lights blinking, is descending rapidly, having achieved re-entry to achieve precisely this trajectory. Spiderman opens the helicopter doors again (the blast of freezing air takes Jonah's breath away) and clambers outside.
JAMESON: (shouting over the terrific noise of the wind)Spiderman!
SPIDERMAN: What now?
JAMESON: Thank you!
SPIDERMAN: Thank me in the headlines, Jonah!
Spiderman closes the outer door…and gathers himself. The shuttle is shooting past at a speed the helicopter can't hope to match. He's only going to get one shot at this, and he knows it.
We cut to Jameson, watching the proceedings with paternal worry written all over his face.
Spider-time kicks in, and Spiderman leaps, measuring his jump to the microsecond, kicking high and free of the helicopter, rising more than fifty extra feet into the air. His right arm extends and a webline snakes from it – we follow the webline as it shoots toward empty air…
…empty air occupied by a space shuttle. Weblines don't go at three hundred miles an hour, after all, so a little adjustment was required. Spiderman is yanked at the end of the enormous line through the skies. He begins to climb the line hand-over-hand at superhuman speed, resisting the tremendous buffeting of the wind and rain. The New York skyline is approaching on the horizon.