2Marvel: Before Spider-man
Reed Richards, Benjamin Jacob Grimm, Susan Storm and Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm are missing. After illegally building a rocket and taking off into space four days ago, nothing more has been heard from them.
From my totally objective point of view, this will serve as a lesson to all those "enlightened" who believe that they can break the law and go unpunished. We pray to God that they are safe and can return, to pay for their crimes in a prison!
Make no mistake, this is not a random action, America is no longer what it was. The times of Captain America won't return, the corruption that populates our streets and the minds of our youth is something common nowadays. Saying that American heroism died in World War II is not an opinion, it is a fact!
But all is not lost, because it has been thanks to the sovereign of Latveria, Doctor Victor Vom Doom, that we have been able to know about the crimes of these four pseudo astronauts. Thank goodness there are still decent people in this world, thank you Dr. Doom!
John Jonah Jameson has spoken.
"I love the objectivity of J.J." Uncle Ben laughed after turning off the television.
"J.J. It has always been very dramatic." Aunt May stated. They both looked at little Peter, who was very quiet.
"What is it Peter?" Aunt May asked.
"Will Reed Richards be okay?" Peter asked sadly. "He is the best scientist in the world. He cannot die in space."
Both uncles looked at each other and then hugged Peter.
"Being smart doesn't mean being invincible," Uncle Ben reminded him, "but I'm sure if anyone can survive in space, that's Richards."
The boy nodded. His hero couldn't die that easily.
Year 4 before S.
The Parker family couldn't believe what they just saw on television. Reed Richards was an elastic man, Susan Storm could become invisible and create energy fields, Jonny Storm was a human torch and Ben Grimm a kind of rocky thing.
Yes friends, what you have seen is one hundred percent real. These four crimin-, I mean, these four heroes have powers! Powers that have been used to save us from the criminal now known as Mole Man. It seems that a new era of marvellous things has begun.
John Jonah Jameson has spoken.
"Powers ... My God." Aunt May said, unable to believe it. Ben also seemed shocked by what had happened. The only one who seemed less affected was Peter.
"You don't seem very surprised Peter." Uncle Ben noted.
"There have always been people with powers," Peter said without flinching. "Captain America from the second world war and long before the mutants."
"Ah, right, the mutants. Lately they talk a lot about them." Aunt May said.
"What you say is true Peter." Uncle Ben said. "But it isn't normal for normal people to obtain powers. That's what worries me."
"Why, Uncle Ben?"
"Because people can be very selfish or worse. Imagine that a criminal obtained powers. We have enough with the high crime rate to worry about criminals with powers."
"I would like to have super powers."
"And what would you do with them?" Uncle Ben said with a smile.
"Make money so you can live happily."
Both Ben and May looked at each other and then at Peter with a smile.
"You are a very good boy, Peter." Aunt May said.
"Although money isn't what brings happiness Peter, I want you to remember that every time you're sad." Uncle Ben said, giving Peter a big hug.
"It doesn't bring happiness, but it helps to have it." Peter thought.
The man was being robbed and he wasn't going to do anything about it. Peter didn't have to have passed through that area, but it was a shortcut to his home.
Despite being almost fifty years old and in good shape, Aunt May had heart problems. Uncle Ben was working and because of that Peter had gotten to go for medicine when he left school.
Aunt May had told him to go the safest way. Peter, like every good average teenager, had disobeyed her.
"From now on I'll never take shortcuts again." Peter said scared. He never thought he would see a crime so closely.
The thief was tall and skinny, but he had a long razor. His victim was a young man in his twenties who was whining for mercy.
Peter ignored them as best he could. It was none of his business, besides, what was he going to do against that thief? Peter lowered his head and kept walking even when he heard the young man's screams.
Peter closed his eyes, when he suddenly felt a great deal of heat close by.
He opened his eyes and he immediately wish he hadn't. Before him was something out of hell itself. A skeleton dressed as a biker on top of a motorcycle. Other than that, the skeleton was literally on fire.
"He who commits the crime is as guilty as he who sees and does nothing." Said that burning skeleton.
Peter wanted to scream but nothing came out of his mouth. He could only see surprised how the skeleton got off the bike, grabbed the thief and looked him in the eye. The other young man, seeing this, ran out of there while screaming in terror that he had seen the devil.
Peter fell to the ground at the same time as the thief, who was staring blankly and saliva slipping from the corner of his mouth.
The skeleton moved away from the thief and looked at Peter from above.
"You have a pure soul, but it is useless if you are willing to let evil walk the Earth."
"W-who are you?"
"I am the one who brings hell to sinners. Criminals call me: The Ghost Rider."
Terrified, Peter watched the thief, who was still motionless, with charcoal eyes.
"W-what have you done to him? I-is he dead?"
"No, but he will want to be."
The strange creature sped out of there with his motorcycle, leaving a fiery trail in its wake.
Peter never told anyone what he had witnessed that day. Maybe it had just been a nightmare.
Year 3 before S.
"My father is furious with his partners in Hell's Kicthen. He says they are liars and deserve to have ended up in jail for nearly ruining Oscorp." Harry Osborn said very upset.
"What happened to them?" Peter asked, more for conversation than curiosity.
"They had illegal businesses, but they were caught by a red devil."
" ... A red devil?" Peter asked incredulously. Harry shrugged.
"With horns and all or that is what they say. Surely they were drunk or drugged."
"Or maybe not," Peter said sceptically. "Very rare people have appeared lately."
"You mean superheroes like Thor or the scientist who calls himself Ant-man?" Harry asked.
"Or the super villains they fight. Also, have you heard about the sightings of that strange grey creature that destroyed that gamma ray lab? Apparently they say it is close to New York."
"... Isn't that the one the media calls the Hulk? I thought it was green and not grey."
"From the few photos I've been able to see, it started out grey."
"Perhaps they are two different creatures."
"No. They have the same body structure and the same pattern of behaviour. Hulk was grey and for some reason it has turned green." Peter said completely convinced.
"I hate when you go scientific."
"Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Even if I say I hate it, it's actually a lie. You are not like the others, Peter. That already makes you more interesting, at least for me."
They said nothing and continued the walk until they reached a park and saw a huge poster of Stark industries.
"Have you seen Tony Stark's new bodyguard?" Harry asked suddenly.
"Iron man? How can I not see it? That armour is the dream of any engineer."
"How I'd like to know who Iron man really is. It has to be someone very smart to build such armour."
"On the internet they say that he is a soldier who has been in several wars in the East." Peter said. "Although I don't believe it."
"Huh? And how come he fights so well?"
"He must have some combat program installed on his armour."
" ... Isn't that very advanced?"
"I suppose, but after looking at what Reed Richards can create, a combat program is very possible."
Year 2 before S.
Mary Jane was beautiful. An angel who had fallen from heaven in the form of a red-haired girl. Or that's what Peter thought every time he went to play with his neighbour.
"And the other day the Fantastic Four discovered a very technologically advanced African city." Peter told her as they sat down on the grass.
"Wakanda? Yes, I have heard of it. Can you imagine? A city like Atlantis but in the middle of Africa, with spaceships and nobody has known it for centuries."
"Mary Jane, I don't think they have spaceships." Peter said sceptically.
"We didn't even know Wakanda exists until recently. How do you know they don't have spaceships?"
"…"
A mischievous smile lit up Mary Jane's face.
"They also have a hero there, don't they? Black Phanter." Said Mary Jane, changing the subject so as not to embarrass Peter further.
"More than a hero, they say he's a legendary guardian or something."
"You know a lot, Peter."
"I like to investigate." Peter said blushing a little.
"Then you know there's a new hero doing magic"
"Doctor Strange, right?" Peter said quickly. "He was a very famous surgeon until he had a car accident a few years ago."
"He lost his hands but got magic ... The other day I saw his mansion as it passed through Greenwich Village." Mary Jane commented.
They were silent for a few seconds that Peter used to peek at her, believing she didn't notice.
"You know, Peter? Magic seems like a wonderful thing to me. A world full of impossibilities."
"Magic is nothing but science that we still don't understand."
"I don't think so," said Mary Jane. "For me, magic is beautiful precisely because it cannot be understood with rationality and science."
Peter didn't agree, but he didn't want to argue with Mary Jane. He liked to see her smile.
"I would very much like to be rescued by one of those superheroes." Mary Jane said dreamily.
"If I were a superhero I would always rescue you." Peter said quietly.
"What?"
"Nothing. Do you know that there are some heroes for hire?"
"Heroes for hire? Really?"
"Yes, they are a duo called Power man and Iron Fist. If you need help you just have to pay them."
"Heroes you have to pay… how strange…"
"Right?"
The laughter of both children filled the garden that afternoon.
"Is Mary Jane leaving?" Peter asked, trying to hide the sadness in his voice.
"Yes, apparently their parents have to move for work reasons." Aunt May said. "Don't worry, you will surely see her again someday. Good friendships are never lost."
Peter hoped that was true. Not seeing Mary Jane again caused him great pain in the chest.
Year 1 before S.
The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! This is what this group of brave men call themselves. They will protect us from threats against which a single hero could not. Its members are: The Invincible Iron man, the Mighty Thor, the Incredible Hulk, the Astonishing Ant-man and the Wasp. The world is certainly in good hands now.
But on the other hand we have the mysterious and surely dangerous X-men! A group of five teenage (God save us) mutants, led by billionaire professor Charles Francis Xavier. These teenage mutants call themselves Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, and Iceman. I don't know dear viewers, but they don't inspire me any confidence.
According to the X-men, they're only there to demonstrate that humans and mutants can live together. Hah! if that's true, why, last September, did a mutant terrorist almost provoke a nuclear war? It is true that the X-men detained the terrorist named Magneto, but in my humble opinion this is nothing more than a ploy for us to trust them. Thank goodness we have the Avengers just in case.
John Jonah Jameson has spoken.
"When I was a child, there was hardly any talk of mutants," said Aunt May worriedly. "Now they seem to be everywhere."
"They always have been, May. But I can understand that they kept a low profile. It's not that humans are very supportive of those who are different." Uncle Ben commented.
"The X-men seem very cool to me." Peter said.
"Do you like them better than the Avengers?"
"Yes!"
"I guess because they are teenagers like you." Uncle Ben laughed. "Instead the avengers are all in their twenties and Thor is surely a thousand years old."
"I wish I could investigate how a mutant's powers work." Peter said curiously.
Year 0 before S.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you may not believe it, nor would I if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes ... but Captain America is alive! He was found by the Avengers in a hibernation state. Look at the images, look at them! It's Steven Grant Rogers, in the flesh! Our American hero is back! The symbol of truth, justice and the American way has returned from the dead! Tremble criminals and neo-Nazis, for your end has come!
A few weeks later…
"The world is filling up with heroes and villains."
"More villains than heroes. For every hero there are at least ten villains." Peter said annoyed.
"And Captain America has said he's going to officially join the Avengers instead of going back into the military, don't you think that's cool?" Harry asked excitedly.
"It's not. It's stupid." Peter said.
"Why?" Harry asked somewhat surprised.
"Being a hero doesn't feed you. Why would someone risk their life and time saving people they don't know?"
"But the police, firefighters, and doctors do that." Harry complained.
"It's their job. They studied and trained for that. In addition to earning money. Do you think someone pays the heroes?"
"Well ... if you put it like that."
"It's the true. If I had super powers, I wouldn't waste them on nonsense. I would make money from them. If you have money you can do anything in this world. You should know better than anyone cause you are rich."
They were silent for several minutes as the bus arrived at the science fair. Harry knew that Peter's family was going through financial trouble, perhaps that's why his change of attitude towards superheroes.
The bus reached its destination and both friends prepared to get off.
"I think you give too much importance to the Super, more than to the "Hero" " Said a blonde girl who passed Peter.
"Who is she?" Peter asked confused. She was very pretty.
"Gwen Stacy. One of the hottest girl of High school. How come you don't know?"
"I'm not interested in those things."
"Right, I forgot that science is your only love."
Peter ignored him and got off the bus. I was very excited about that fair, because they could see discoveries from recent years and even meet some geniuses like Reed Richards or Tony Stark.
It was a great day for Peter, albeit a bit boring for Harry. Although there was a moment that completely marked the day. An experiment that they could observe.
Peter was going to record the experiment with his mobile, when suddenly something fell on his hand. Something black and red, something small that bit his hand and changed his life forever.
The End?