J. Jonah Jameson sat at his desk. He was puffing on the finest cigar any self-respecting newspaper editor could buy (for five dollars). Laying across his desk were several editions of the Daily Planet.
For several months, the impending buy-out of the Planet weighed heavily on Jameson's mind. It was almost inevitable, yet the buyers seemed to intentionally hold out for something. It was like an extended torture.
But Jameson wasn't beaten yet. He just needed something, anything, to increase circulation. He needed to generate interest in the paper again.
And he knew just the story to make it.
For even longer than Jameson was under pressure to sell the newspaper, a certain red-and-blue clad wallcrawling "menace" had been making appearances in the city. Jameson never really liked him, as he didn't trust many of these new "superfreaks" that were popping up. They all seemed dangerous, and a direct threat to his person. Heck, even Spider-Man himself had been in his office causing panic.
Still, the public loved these superheroes and supervillains. Therefore, they translated into news stories. And, Spider-Man was no exception, having appeared many times thanks to the amazing abilities of certain members of the staff.
The public didn't like mysteries too much, though. What bigger mystery than the face behind the mask? So, what if Jameson could provide them with the answer?
Jameson knew instantly that the unmasking of Spider-Man could save his paper.
But, who could he have to do it? Most of the staff would know he was up to something, and wouldn't stand for it. But what about those young photographers . . . ?
Jameson first thought about Peter Parker, the young man who provided him with the majority of the Spider-Man shots that did eventually run in the paper. He considered giving the job to him, until he thought of something.
Parker's too close. He might try to help Spider-Man conceal his identity. Still, it's worth a shot . . .
"No, sir, absolutely not," Peter said.
"Please, Parker, I'm your boss," Jameson pleaded. "Just let me know how you get those spectacular pictures of Spider-Man."
"I'm sorry, sir, but that's part of the deal. When I was hired, no one was allowed to ask how I got the shots."
"Very well," Jonah grumbled. "You may go."
As Peter walked out, Jameson's mind continued to plot. I need someone else. Someone young, somewhat close to Spider-Man, but can get this story. I know . . . Olsen.
Jimmy Olsen had been the only teen photographer until Peter Parker was hired last summer. He had taken his fair share of Spider-Man photos, so he knew a bit about the webslinger. Plus, he had never made any deals.
Jameson pressed the intercom. "Please tell James Olsen to report to my office immediately," he told his secretary.
In a matter of minutes, Jimmy was knocking on the door.
"Come in," Jameson barked.
Jimmy slowly opened the door and crept into the room. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Yes, yes I did. Please, sit down."
Jimmy walked over and took a seat across from the menacing editor.
"Olsen, my boy, I have a job for you. It's been a story I've been thinking about for a while, and I think it's time to finally write it."
"What's that, sir?"
"I would like you to unmask . . . Spider-Man."
"Spider-Man." Jimmy was silent for a moment. "Well, sure, I guess. When do you want it?"
"No real rush, but within, say, three weeks would be nice."
"I'll get right on it," Jimmy said, standing up. "Thank you, sir."
"No, thank you."
When Lois looked up, she saw the shock on Jimmy's face as he walked over to her desk. Ben Urich, who was standing by Lois's desk also noticed it.
"What's wrong, Jimmy? You didn't get fired, did you?" Lois asked.
"No, nothing as simple as that. Jameson just gave me an assignment."
"What's the assignment?" Urich wondered.
"I have to unmask Spider-Man."
"You're not going to do it, are you?" Lois inquired.
Jimmy nodded, looking down at his shoes. "I have to. If it means keeping a job, keeping the paper open."
"Well, good luck," Lois said.
"Thanks," Jimmy replied.
Elsewhere . . .
Osborn Industries was famous for its many laboratories. It was only natural, as the company was known for its scientific breakthroughs. What most people didn't know, however, was that many underground labs had been built, for more sinister purposes. These were for the experiments that no one ever knew about.
Norman Osborn stood in one of those darkened labs. He faced Alison Mongrain, who had been so unceremoniously chained to the wall.
"Why did you do it? I told you to monitor Parker, not kill him!"
"I'm sorry. Something happened. My power . . . "
"Your power got you into trouble. As it is now, you've made yourself known. You have failed."
Mongrain hung her head. "I'm sorry, boss."
"Not good enough. But, I have another mission for you."
"Mission?"
"It's far away from here. Out of country."
"Oh. I see." Mongrain knew that such missions mean that she had failed, and probably would not be heard from again. "But what about Parker?" she asked.
"Stay away from him," Norman replied crossly. As an afterthought, he added, "And that Olsen kid."
"What are you going to do about them?"
"I've found out all I need about them. They are no longer your concern."
Jimmy lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He had been like that for about half an hour, lost in thought. He knew he had to capture Spider-Man to reveal the identity of the face underneath. It wasn't like he could walk up and say, "Hey, Spidey, take off your mask?"
I definitely need some sort of tracking device. Peter could probably build one. But he probably doesn't want to have anything to do with this. Wait a minute! Peter's professor friend should be able to help! I give him a visit tomorrow!
Lois opened her eyes. Something had disrupted her sleep. She couldn't figure out what it was, though. She slowly sat up.
"Ow!" she said as she laid her right hand down to support her. It felt like a little shock.
She carefully lifted her other hand, and felt her hand. It was sticking out; each strand seemed to repel all others.
Static electricity, she thought. But how? I know I haven't created that much friction moving around.
Then, she remembered a little event from several week previous.
"Electro . . . " she whispered.
It was at this point that the usually confident Lois had no idea was to do. She couldn't call the police, there was no proof. Likewise, why bother any of her friends? It was late, they were all asleep.
Lois leaned over and flicked her bedside lamp on.
As she did so, the lamp exploded, and a blue shockwave ran through the room. Lois was knocked back and ended up on her back, unconscious.
Fortunately for Lois's neighbors, one elderly lady living on the first floor got up every morning at dawn and took a walk. She was the one to notice that the power had been knocked out. The landlord went around to all of the tenants, informing them of the situation, so as they would not be late for work. When he reached Lois's apartment, there was no answer.
He knocked again. "Ms. Lane?" Still no answer. He shrugged. "Oh, well, she's probably already on her way to work."
It wasn't until after the landlord had made the rounds and checked the fuse box that he became suspicious. All of the power was able to be restored to all of the apartments, except for one.
He went back to Lois's apartment, banging the door very loudly. "Ms. Lane!" he called. With no answer, he took it upon himself to enter. He put his hand on the doorknob, getting shocked in the process. It was unlocked. Opening the door, he cried out, "I hope you're decent."
He walked in, and looked around. Less than a minute later, he was on the phone with 911.
Elsewhere in the city, Jimmy Olsen was waking up. He looked at his clock. 7:05 AM. Just enough time to get over to Hamilton's lab, and then get to school.
He jumped out of bed and quickly dressed. He picked up his backpack and walked into the kitchen. His mom was still sleeping. It was her day off. Jimmy grabbed a can of orange juice and a cinnamon roll from the refrigerator that had been set aside for him on his way out the door.
It took about five minutes to walk to the bus stop, in which time he ate his breakfast. Jimmy was fortunate to get to the bus stop in time to catch the bus. A ten minute ride was all that was left to endure before he reached Hamilton's lab.
Professor Hamilton was actually taking a break for once when Jimmy knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"Jimmy Olsen. I'm a friend of Peter Parker."
"Ah, yes, do come in!"
Jimmy entered, and looked around him in awe. The small room was filled with what most people would consider junk. But somehow, Hamilton had been able to mold it into some of the most ingenious inventions ever created.
"What can I do for you today?" Hamilton asked, shaking Jimmy's hand.
"I need something to track Spider-Man," Jimmy replied. "It's for a Daily Planet article."
"Track Spider-Man?" Hamilton asked. "That might take a while."
"Well, I don't have a lot of time."
"That's okay. We can discuss the basics now, and I can work on something while you're off doing whatever." He looked at his watch. "I'd imagine it would be school or something like that."
"I was thinking last night, and his spider-sense seems to work like radio waves. Doesn't he use it for his tracers?"
"I believe so."
"Maybe we could build something that could focus on that wavelength."
"Okay. I can work on something this morning. Come back by after school, and I should have something that you can use."
"Thank you, sir."
"Chief?" Ben Urich stuck his head into Perry White's office.
"What is it, Urich?" Perry asked. He was on the phone.
"There's a call for you on line two. It's the police."
"The police!" he exclaimed. "Excuse me, please," he said to the person on the other end of the phone line. "The police seem to need me for something." He pressed a couple of buttons and switched lines. "Perry White, Daily Planet."
" . . . "
"Yes, sir."
" . . . "
"No . . . "
" . . . "
"I'll be there right away." He switched back to the other person. "I'll have to get back to you. Some pressing matters just popped up." Perry hung up the phone.
"What was that all about?" Urich asked.
"It's Lois," Perry replied. "Her landlord found her unconscious in her room."
Urich gasped. "Oh my god. Is she okay?"
"They've already taken her to Mercy General."
When Jimmy arrived at school, he saw Peter and Mary Jane standing by Peter's locker. They didn't look too happy.
"Hey, guys. What's up?" Jimmy asked.
"It's Lois," Peter replied. "She was rushed to the emergency room this morning."
"Oh my gosh! Why?"
"Landlord found her unconscious. That's all Urich said."
"Urich called you?"
"Yeah, said Perry told him to call the people Lois was closest too."
"I didn't get a call."
"I only got it as I was walking out."
"That's probably it. I left a little early today."
"Getting some early morning exercise in?" Peter joked.
Jimmy smiled. "Yeah. So, are we going to see Lois today?"
"Maybe. Urich said someone would call as soon as there was any news. Right now, the police and medics are still involved."
"How serious is it?"
"They're not sure. They're thinking she might have gotten a bad shock."
"Shock?" Mary Jane asked. "As in electrocuted?"
"Electro," Peter whispered. Louder, he said, "You know, he did attack Spider-Man again, right before the Sinister Six attack."
"So, he's a bad guy, then, right?" MJ wondered.
"I guess," Jimmy replied. "But why would he go after Lois?"
"We have no way of knowing," Peter replied. "He did run off after his first confrontation with police and Spider-Man. Who knows who he went to. I think someone else is pulling the strings."
"And I'm sure Lois has a long list of enemies that she's made while at the Planet," Jimmy added.
"Making this one confusing case," Peter concluded.
"Well, boys, we can't play detective here, and we all have classes, so . . . "
"The girl's got a point," Jimmy said, walking to his homeroom. "See you later?"
"Yeah."
Perry White sat in the waiting room, hoping for the best possible news. Finally, a doctor and a police officer came out.
"Mr. White?" the doctor asked.
Perry stood up. "Yes?"
"I'm Dr. Folsome. Has her family been contacted?"
"No. They live quite a ways away, and I wanted to have something concrete to tell them, preferably positive."
The doctor sighed. "I understand. But you might want to call them. Lois had a bad shock. It's a wonder she's still alive."
"But she's not in any danger, right?"
"It's too soon to tell right now. There might be some brain damage."
Perry turned to the cop. "Anything you'd like to add."
"We've conducted an investigation, and we can't figure out any plausible explanation for her condition. It appears that she got up in the middle of the night and turned her lamp on. It blew up, and knocked her out."
"Did you say lamp?"
"Yes."
Perry turned to the doctor. "And you're sure she's had a bad electrical shock."
"Yes," the doctor replied. "Why, is there something you know?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'll get back to you. But first . . . " He scribbled down a phone number. "This is Lois's father's number. Call him, let him know what's happening."
"Where will you be?" the cop asked.
"At the Daily Planet!"
Ben Urich was walking back from the cafeteria with two cups of coffee. "Here you g- where are you going?"
Perry grabbed one of the cups. "I've got a lead. You stay here, keep an eye on Lois!"
Harry Osborn walked into his second period class with bloodshot eyes and took the seat next to Jimmy.
Jimmy leaned over. "Dude, you okay?" he whispered.
"Yeah," Harry replied, his voice raspy and shaky. "Just a small cold or something."
"Why did you come?"
"My dad made me."
"Oh," Jimmy said, and sat back. A moment later, he leaned over again. "Wait, he made you? Like, literally forced you?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, that's my dad. Doesn't give a rat's ass, except when it benefits him."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Jimmy whispered.
Next issue: Jimmy gets closer to Spider-Man's identity, while Spider-Man is preoccupied with Electro. But what does Electro have to do with anything? And what exactly is happening with the Planet? Find out in our next star-studded epic - Spider-Man . . . Unmasked!