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New York City.Top of the Empire State Building.
Take a good look at this red-and-blue spider guy—he goes by Julian.
Under the night sky, he quietly climbs up to the building's highest antenna.
Clouds hide the moon. Julian Parker finds a spot, sits down, and pulls off his mask.
The wind tugs at his hair as he looks down at the neon-soaked city. He draws in a long breath of cool night air, then reaches into—yeah—his crotch to pull out his phone.
Anyone who's ever been Spider-Man knows:Spider-Man doesn't get pockets.
He unlocks his phone.
[Spider-Man, I know who you are.]
[I'm your father!]
[...]
[Listen. Meet me at the Empire State Building tonight at ten. If you don't, I'll kill everyone around you without mercy.]
That's the message on the screen. The sender didn't even bother hiding his identity.
Norman Osborn—famous New York businessman, Harry's father… and the supervillain who's been throwing the city into chaos lately: the Green Goblin.
And Julian—well, he's a guy who crossed into this world. Now he's known as Julian Parker.
Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Harry… all the standard Spider-Man accessories came included.
A while back, a mutated spider bit him, and boom—Spider-Man he became.
Super strength, faster reflexes, web-shooting, spider-sense, wall-crawling—he got the whole package.
Just… at a discount.
His powers were way weaker than the movie versions.His spider-sense worked only when it felt like it. Reflexes only a bit above normal.Strength nowhere close to lifting a car.Only his webs and wall-crawling were passable.
In short: the weakest Spider-Man ever… and now the craziest Green Goblin had set his sights on him.
Julian shook his head.
Since becoming Spider-Man, all he'd done was bully a few small-time thugs and "borrow" some cash. He definitely hadn't had time to piss off Norman.
Yet somehow the guy discovered his identity and dragged him out here.
And Julian accepted the threat.
Just yesterday, Norman—now fully the Green Goblin—blew up an Oscorp shareholders' meeting. Harry was there too. He'd lost his mind entirely. He could do anything now.
Spider-Man's fate is always tragic. Julian didn't want to lose the people around him.
Family, friends, loved ones—anyone tied to Spider-Man would eventually get hurt.
Spider-Man walks alone.
Living a second life, Julian refused to accept such a miserable destiny.
He tried avoiding all spider-related labs and exhibits. Didn't matter. Some random mutated spider still bit him, and here he was.
But the moment he became Spider-Man… he also discovered the only way to break that tragic fate.
Cheat— cough—use a cheat system.
So even though he'd barely gotten used to his new powers, even though he knew he wasn't Green Goblin's match—he still came.
He didn't say goodbye to Uncle Ben and Aunt May.He didn't try to convince Harry to stop Norman.
Because every attempt might only make things worse.
His "sacrifice" was already scripted.
And only by dying here could he gain the strength to protect the people he cared about.
As he drifted through his thoughts, flames roared across the night sky.
Julian looked up. The Green Goblin streaked toward him atop his glider.
BOOM.
In moments, Norman hovered in the air in his armored suit, those golden predatory eyes staring at Julian.
Harry's good friend. They'd met plenty of times.
He liked the kid—smart, polite, responsible. Norman had even thought, If only Julian were my son, that'd be perfect.
But there was one thing about him that gave Norman headaches.
"Hey, Julian. Glad you came. I need your help."
His tone was warm, almost gentle, as he pulled off the goblin mask, revealing a face worn down by illness and madness.
He wanted Spider-Man's help… but he also didn't.
Seeing that Norman didn't attack immediately, Julian grinned.
"I knew it was you, Uncle Norman. So this is your armor? Pretty cool. The design isn't perfect, but it's clean and personal. Paired with the flight board, you get great air control—very devil-ish. But the outer shell isn't polished right. Tell you what—take it off and I'll help you buff the whole thing—"
"You know, you don't have to talk."Norman's forehead throbbed. Julian's chatter gave him migraines.
Other than Harry, almost no one could tolerate him.
Julian shrugged. "Okay fine, I just wanted to say your armor's not as good-looking as my suit."
The moment the words left his mouth, Norman's eyes twitched, then curved into a chilling grin. He flicked a pumpkin bomb at him.
BOOOOM!!
The explosion flared bright. For an instant, Julian's body turned into a white skeleton in the blast, then blew apart into dust.
Below the antenna, pieces of his torn red-and-blue suit were carried into the darkness by the wind—almost as if announcing Spider-Man's tragic ending.
"Yes, your suit is nice—deadly nice."
Norman's grin widened. Then he suddenly clutched his head and screamed, regret twisting his face.
"Oh god, what have I done? Poor Julian! I should've talked first!"
A second later, remorse twisted into a manic grin again. He slammed the mask back on, jumped onto his glider, and vanished into the night.
"I'm the scariest devil of all! I don't need anyone's help! Hahaha…"
His warped laughter echoed through the sky, personalities switching back and forth like a nightmare.
Stars flickered. A massive spiderweb stretched across the universe.
On one strand, Julian hung upside down, waking with a start. He wiggled his fingers, checked his completely unharmed body again.
Remembering what just happened, he crossed his arms and sighed.
The pumpkin bomb was way stronger than he expected—and he was pathetically weak.
He couldn't beat Green Goblin. Not a chance.
Good thing that the moment he became Spider-Man, his cheat system also arrived.
[Congratulations! You've received a Revival Match Invitation!]
[Would you like to participate?] [Yes] [No]
A glowing system panel appeared before him. Julian pulled his mask on and hit [Yes] without hesitation.
A "revival match" meant exactly what it sounded like—win, and you come back to life.
But that wasn't even his real cheat.
His real cheat was—
[Ding! You have entered the Revival Match arena.]
The void swallowed him. The next moment, he was back in night-time New York.
[Scene: The Amazing Spider-Man Universe]
[Objective: Go to the clock tower and save the falling Gwen Stacy.]
[Reward 1: One Revival Token]
[Reward 2: Strength +10 Tons]
[Participants: Peter Parker, 10 Chitauri soldiers, Tony Stark, Julian Parker]
[Countdown: 30 seconds]
A red-and-blue blur swung through the night, landing on the side of a high-rise.
The glass reflected the system briefing and the tragic scene from the movie—Gwen Stacy's death.
This universe had another Spider-Man: Peter Parker.
After defeating Electro, Peter watched Harry—now the new Green Goblin—kidnap Gwen Stacy to vent his anger and twisted feelings about Peter "abandoning" him.
In the battle at the clock tower, Gwen fell. Peter couldn't save the girl he loved most.
His proudest ability—his spider-sense—forced him to witness every second of her death.
"....."