"What the hell just happened?" Perry White shouted into the darkness of the Daily Planet City Room. He stood, holding his briefcase, wearing his overcoat, ready to leave for the night.
"We're working on it, chief!" Lois Lane replied. "But it's kinda hard to do without computers!"
"All we know is that New York City has blacked out!" Ben Urich shouted.
"Are you sure?" Perry asked, walking to the window. "I guess so," he added, looking down into the streets. It was completely dark. The traffic lights had also gone out, causing several car pile-ups. The editor turned back around, and looked at his staff. "Why is everyone standing here?" he asked. "Shouldn' t the emergency power be cutting in anytime?"
Just then, J. Jonah Jameson, owner of the Daily Planet, came downstairs. "I'm afraid not," he replied. "Somehow, our emergency power has been depleted."
Perry walked over to where his boss was standing. In a low voice, he asked, "The threats?"
"This appears to be the latest one," Jameson replied. "Not the entire city, obviously, but the back-up power."
Perry thought for a moment. "Well, we can't run a paper without electricity. The next edition will be going to the presses in only a few hours. I need solutions, people! If you can't help get us up and running, at least go out and get some news!"
Jimmy Olsen turned to Peter Parker. They had been staying late, developing pictures when the blackout occurred. When the red lights went out, they came out to learn what was the matter.
Just great, Peter thought. Another blackout. It's only been two months since the last one. I wonder if the Sinister Six is out again.
Jimmy tapped Peter on the elbow.
"We should try to find some battery powered red lights. We can keep working," he whispered.
"Maybe we should go out to take pictures," Peter replied. "We might get some good action shots. The superheroes always come out for these kinds of emergencies."
"Parker! Olsen!" Perry ordered. "What are you doing?"
"Mr. White, sir," Peter replied, "we're deciding whether to find some red lights so we can develop our pictures, or if we should get out on the streets and take some more."
Perry thought for a moment. "I'll leave that to your discretion. However, I do want some sort of pictures of this blackout, so . . . " He walked away, back into his office. He set down his briefcase and hung his coat back up. The editor then reentered the City Room to begin giving out assignments.
"Lois!" he barked. "I want you to get some reaction on this. Call the U.N. Call SHIELD. Call the mayor. Call whoever you can!"
Peter turned to Jimmy. "We definitely need to get out on the streets."
"I'll come with you," someone said behind them.
"Mr. Urich!" Peter exclaimed. "That's cool. Uh, mind if we split up, though? It might be best if Jimmy and I cover different ground."
"True," the reporter replied. "Very well, I'll go with Jimmy. Come on, Jim, let's go."
Splitting up gave Peter the change he needed to change into Spider-Man. He slipped into the stairwell that would lead him to the roof access. Since it was shortly after 7 PM, and the city had little power, darkness became his ally in guarding his secret.
As he neared the roof, he thought of his family and friends. Should he swing by Queens to check up on Aunt May and Mary Jane? Or should he go out as Spider-Man to help with the confusion?
He reached the roof, still pondering, and activated his Spider-Man suit. Standing on the roof, he was trying to make a decision. However, the loud crash of two cars impacting below made the decision for him. Spider-Man must stay in the city and help out, like a good little superhero.
May Parker was cleaning up the dinner table. She was worried about Peter being out so late. Sure, he was doing a job, but no matter how safe she knew he was, she would always worry.
Just as she put her plate into the dishwasher, all of the lights went out.
"Oh, my," she said, putting the plate down and closing the dishwasher door. Looking out the window, she could see that none of the lights in the neighborhood were on.
May walked outside, and looked down the street. She saw Anna Watson come out of her house next door.
"May? May, do you know what happened?" Anna asked.
"I'm afraid not, Anna," May replied. "I was finishing cleaning up the kitchen when the lights went out."
"Well, why don't you come over here? No sense in you staying in that house all alone with no electricity."
"All right," May said. "I'll be over in a minute. Let me finish some things up over here."
Sitting in his darkened bedroom, Cody Driscol stared at his ceiling. He didn't care why the lights were out. He barely noticed. All he knew was that he was bored. He stood up and walked out of his room, and then outside. He looked down both sides of the street. Hardly anything was going on.
Cody walked to the curb and looked down the long sidewalk. He decided to run. Just a few seconds later he stopped at a stop sign about two blocks away.
Cool, he thought before he continued running.
Meanwhile, Norman Osborn sat in his office, fully lit, thanks to his emergency generators. In fact, they had worked so well, he was sure that some of his employees didn't even notice anything at all.
Of course, Osborn himself knew that a blackout had occurred. If nothing else, it was because of the conversation he was having on the phone.
"Jameson," Osborn said, "you have no power, and now you are begging me for some?"
"Heck, no!" Jameson shouted over the phone. "I want you to give mine back!"
"But you forget that I don't control your emergency generators. If you look carefully at them, you'll notice another name in on them: LexCorp."
"LexCorp!" Jameson exclaimed. "You mean Luthor is in on this too?"
"For quite a while now," Osborn replied with a smile. "Funny how these corporate takeovers work, don't you think?"
Jameson grunted. "Well, you tell your partner to give back the power to the Daily Planet now!"
"Or you'll do what?"
"I . . . I'll . . . "
"You'll publish your 'famous' editorials badmouthing him?" Osborn asked. "Oh, please, Jonah. You couldn't even turn the public against a measly little 'superhero' dressed like an arachnid. What makes you think you could even turn public opinion against the most powerful man in New York City?"
"You little -- "
"Besides, even if you come up with enough hot air to fill your little editorial, Luthor can easily discount it. And so can I if you try that on me."
"Osborn -- "
"Mr. Jameson, if you value your career, I suggest you shut up now."
"You little son of a --"
"Good bye," Osborn said, pressing the button to cut off the speakerphone, effectively ending the conversation.
Across the city, in Jameson's office, the owner of the Daily Planet slammed his phone down. "This is getting out of hand," he said. "I'm going to lose this paper!"
Spider-Man was helping the motorists out of the wrecked cars when Ben Urich and Jimmy Olsen came up. Urich looked like he had a recording device and was taking audio notes. Jimmy was capturing the scene on film.
Suddenly, the traffic light above them snapped, and began falling to the ground. Spider-Man leapt up and grabbed the light in midair, then gliding down and laying it on the ground. He turned to the two reporters, who had run out of the way.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Jimmy nodded. "But, why did the light fall down? I mean, this is a blackout, not a battle."
"WRONG, YOUNG MAN!" a metallic voice shouted. Spider-Man turned around and saw Iron Man coming straight for him, which explained why the light fell.
"Jimmy, Ben, get out of the way!" he shouted. The reporters ran back, while Spidey put all of his weight into Iron Man, trying to get him to fall back. It worked to an extent; enough to get Jimmy and Ben out of harm's way.
Ben Urich looked at the battle, and continued verbally writing his story. He knew he would have to leave the battle scene soon for his own safety. But he was wondering why Iron Man was acting strange. Wasn't he one of the good guys?
Lois hung up the phone.
"Any luck?" Perry asked, walking up.
Lois shook her head. "The UN claims that they are investigating themselves, and when I called SHIELD, I couldn't get any answer." She put her head into her hands, resting her elbows on the desk.
Perry touched her shoulder. "Lois, you've been working all day. I know you enough to realize that you won't leave, but just take a few minutes and relax."
"Well . . . okay," Lois replied, reluctantly.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to talk with Jameson once more."
Mary Jane dialed the number for the Daily Planet once more. She had been trying ever since the lights went out, hoping to get hold of Peter, to see if he was okay. She was concerned for him. Was it because they were just friends? Or was there something more?
She pressed the last digit of the number and put the phone to her ear. All she could hear was a busy signal. Obviously, every single reporter was on the phone trying to find something out. Sighing, she put the phone down, and lay back on her bed, thinking about Peter Parker.
"Peter, why aren't you here with your aunt? Why are you out there somewhere?" she wondered aloud.
Spidey had the momentary advantage of speed and surprise. However, it was hard to land any decent punches on Iron Man's armor. After all, that's what it was made for.
Iron Man was pinned to the ground, but not totally incapacitated. He was able to lift his right arm and fire a repulsor blast right into Spider-Man's gut. The blast sent Spidey flying into the air, and knocked the wind out of him. It almost disrupted his suit. The nano-machines were giving him some severe electrical shocks in his midsection.
After flying for what seemed like a long time, Spidey landed on the ground -- hard. Iron Man was on top of him in nearly an instant. Fortunately, Spidey's suit had repaired itself, and was no longer giving him unnecessary pain.
Iron Man kicked Spider-Man. Spidey rolled over and was able to regain his footing. He landed several blows to Iron Man before the armored Avenger knocked him down again.
Spidey was able to use some of the built-in extras on his suit, such as the enhanced vision, to zoom in and find a weak spot in the armor. Using his vast knowledge, he knew where to look for the most likely places. When he found one, he kicked up, and rammed the palm of his right hand into Iron Man's chin. Iron Man was knocked to the ground, and his suit looked like it might be shorting out.
Spidey looked up and saw Ben Urich running over, still recording, writing his story. Jimmy wasn't far behind, taking pictures.
Well, it doesn't look like Peter will get much out of this battle, Spidey thought. I hope I can get some pictures elsewhere.
Spidey also noticed a cop coming up, watching him. Strange . . . I didn't think a fight between two superheroes would be such a high priority for the police at a time like this.
Suddenly, Iron Man stood up, and looked like it was about to attack Spidey once more. Spider-Man took a step back, waiting to see what his opponent was going to do. Iron Man slowly lifted his arm, with spark flying everywhere, and then stopped.
"Systems . . . damaged . . . must . . . repair . . . "
Then, just as sudden as he had stood up, Iron Man took off. He flew so fast, Spider-Man didn't have a chance to catch up. He aimed and fired a spider tracer, but Iron Man was too far away.
"Shoot!" Spidey said. "Looks like I'm going to have to call in some help!"
"Spider-Man!"
Spidey turned and saw the cop calling him. He walked over. "Yes, officer?"
"Captain Stacy, NYPD," the cop said, introducing himself. "I just want to find out about you superhero types. I thought Iron Man was on your side."
"That's what I thought too," Spidey replied. "I'm trying to call someone who can help me with this."
"When you find out what happened, you let me know, okay?" Captain Stacy asked, handing Spider-Man a business card. "My number is on here."
"Sure thing, captain."
Spidey sat on the roof of the Daily Planet. Using the phone built into his suit, he dialed the number he got from Batman, the number of the only person he knew to sort this out.
A man's voice answered. "Oracle."
"Hi, you don't know me, but I know enough about you to know that you are the information guy."
"Who is this?" Oracle asked.
"Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."
"How did you get this number?" It was clear that Oracle was upset.
"I kinda got it from Batman in a roundabout way . . . "
"Well, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Talk fast, my time is valuable."
"Sure thing," Spidey replied. "I know that Batman and Iron Man are friends, and well, I guess you can contact both of them."
"What's your point?"
"I need to know why Iron Man just attacked me."
"Attacked you?" Oracle asked, stunned. That's not Tony, he thought. "Are you sure it was him?"
"Big guy in yellow armor . . . "
"Let me check," Oracle said. Spider-Man could hear computer keys being pressed.
Oracle looked up several files -- travel logs, phone conversation, even reports of the recently concluded fight between Spider-Man and Iron Man. He was trying to create an alibi for his friend, Iron Man.
"Spider-Man," Oracle finally said. "You did not fight Iron Man."
"Are you sure?"
"I have proof, but I can't exactly tell you."
"The secret identity thing?"
"Exactly."
"So, what are you going to do?" Spider-Man asked.
"I have some calls to make. I'll let you know when we get this straightened out, okay? How can I reach you?"
Spider-Man thought for a moment. "On second thought, call Captain Stacy at the NYPD. He's interested in knowing what happened as well, and I'm sure he'll give me an update." Spidey read the number from the business card.
"Don't ever call me again," Oracle said.
"Only in extreme emergencies," Spidey replied, hanging up.
He stood up, fired a web, and swung off the top of the building.
"Iron Man" returned to where he remembered coming from. He was greeted by his "friends."
"Well, there are a few things to work out," one said.
"Yes," replied a second. "But not bad for the first time out."
"Good thing we stole this armor from Stark," the first said. "No one will ever know the difference."
"And no one will know that he is . . . a Manhunter!"
The two laughed uncontrollably for a long while.
Next: A new mysterious villain appears in Spider-Man #12!