The Daily Bugle

By Ned Leeds

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Lizard’s attack on Manhattan and the death of Captain George Stacy, of New York City Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit. Stacy was a decorated police veteran who left behind a loving wife and four children. In this Daily Bugle exclusive we spoke with the Stacy family, Helen, who lost a heroic husband that day, and Gwen, Phillip, Howard, and Simon, who lost their father.

Daily Bugle: Helen, is this a hard anniversary to commemorate?

Helen Stacy: It’s hard to believe George died a year ago. That night, that call, it still hurts as if it happened five seconds ago.

DB: Does your family take any solace that Curt Connors will spend the rest of his life in prison?

Helen Stacy: I think that would have mattered much more to George, just to know Connors is paying for his crimes. He cared very deeply about the law and about justice.

DB: Gwen, your graduation from Midtown Science High School is coming up and you are the valedictorian. How proud would your father have been?

Gwen Stacy: Very proud, I’m sure. (fighting back tears) And nervous for me, and concerned because he wouldn’t want me to be scared. And excited for my future. 

DB: Do you ever have any regrets that Spider-Man and your father saved the city but only one of them walked away that night?

Gwen Stacy: I think… (long pause) I think both of them did what they thought needed to be done without regard to the risk. I think both of them were heroes that night. I regret that my dad died, but not at the expense of anyone else.

DB: What about the kids? What do your classmates say about that night?

Simon Stacy: All my friends think that Spidey was totally cool, but that my dad was the coolest!

New York hasn’t been the same since Spider-Man crawled into town, but it seems like the citizens of our fair city are divided on whether that’s a good thing or not. We asked you how Spider-Man has affected your life and our (intern’s) phone rang off the hook the entire week! What did New Yorkers have to say?

Bridget K., Clinton

Spider-Man inspires me. I start thinking of those webs and how they’re connections from building to building, person to person, a web of healing energy… and it just cools my aura. As someone born without a chi (my burden), Spider-Man acts as both spirit animal and muse.  All I need to do is think of red and blue and my poetry just flows. Anybody who’d like to hear my arachnid-inspired work can catch me at the Union Square Poetry Hall on Tuesdays at 9:30 PM.

Have a web addiction? Can’t get enough of Spidey?

By Joy Mercado

In the wake of her husband Dr. Curt Connors’s horrifying transformation into a lizard creature and subsequent rampage across New York, Martha Connors left the city to begin a new life with her son Billy. As the one year anniversary of the event approaches on Thursday, we caught up with her to talk where she’s been, where she’s going and ultimately what it’s like to have a convicted bioterrorist as an estranged husband.

Daily Bugle: How hard has this been for you?

Martha Connors: Are you kidding? Is this a joke? My heart aches every day for what Curt did.

DB: What do you think his reasons were?

Martha: Like he said at his trial, I do believe his reasons started out for noble purposes. But he took it too far, he was obsessive. Whenever you push boundaries like that… it can get bad.

DB: Do you think Oscorp bears some responsibility for what happened?

Martha: (long pause) I think it’s best if I kept my opinions to myself.

DB: Is that because Oscorp was rumored to have paid you a substantial fee in return for your silence?

Martha: Any money I received from Oscorp was all based on Curt’s contract with the company.

DB: Even though they claim to have fired him before the Lizard’s attack?

Martha: You’d have to ask them.

DB: I’m sorry, I didn’t want to go off on a tangent. Tell me about Billy?

Martha: He’s ten. He’s too young to really comprehend the magnitude of the pain his father has caused, but he is old enough to understand his father has issues and has done some very horrible things.

DB: What did you think when you first heard the news?

Martha: Like everyone else, I watched the attack live on cable news, shocked at what was going on. But the first time the cameras caught it ­–him – the Lizard – in close-up, I knew… I just knew it was Curt. I knew he had finally perfected the cross-genetic formula to regrow limbs… and all it had cost him was his humanity.

By Joy Mercado

Another Oscorp board meeting, another conspicuous absence for famed CEO, Norman Osborn. And rumors abound about his physical state.

The bigwigs at New York’s largest technological development firm met last night to discuss how to deal with the fallout from the latest inquiries by the Federal government and a potential revolt among stockholders. Inside sources claim that Osborn’s long absence and ensuing power vacuum provoked something of a civil war among the tie and jacket crowd. 

In this exclusive image obtained by The Daily Bugle, it appears that Norman Osborn is quite literally on his deathbed (because we at the Bugle like to speculate on the sensational...and what media outlet doesn't?)

What's most interesting in this Oscorp power play is Spider-Man. Osborn has been known to have an obsession with the webslinger ever since his debut. And given Oscorp's previous position as the market leader of cross-species genetics before the Lizard's attack on the city, that makes sense. He calls himself "Spider-Man" after all...

So what could Oscorp be developing to track Spider-Man? And will those developments stop with Osborn's potential death, or continue in his memory? Only the person who takes the Oscorp throne will be able to make that decision. 

An Editorial from Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson

Before Spider-Man appeared, had a Lizard creature run amok on our city streets?

Before Spider-Man appeared, did our city know the presence of a gangster wearing a mask and calling himself "The Big Man"?

Before Spider-Man appeared, was there Herman Schultz, a bank robber using homemade weapons to create vibrational waves that could shatter three-foot thick steel bank vault doors?

Before Spider-Man appeared, criminals didn't feel the need to keep pace by joining forces and growing mobs at a record pace, like Aleksei Sytsevich's gang.

Before Spider-Man appeared, did we hear all of the rumors of Oscorp developing terrifying creations fit to stop creatures the likes of the wallcrawler?

The mystery and mystique that Spider-Man cultivates has led the criminal element to respond in kind, indulging in secret identities, colorful costumes and worst of all: catch phrases.

Where does this end? It is my prediction that in the coming weeks we will face an onslaught of villainous activity. Residents should remain calm and be prepared for the worst — power outages, mass destruction, possible chemical warfare...

Is Spider-Man responsible for the very creation of the enhanced criminals that have emerged across the city or is his existence the only hope to stop their increasingly destructive spree? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The answer is: the Spider.

By Ken Ellis

A grant from Oscorp Industries Life Sciences Division will provide the resources needed to maintain necessary staffing in the nursing departments of several New York City hospitals. With budgets strapped, administrators were worried they’d lack the ability to provide adequate care to patients.

The Oscorp grant will not only allow the nursing departments to maintain their current staff, it will also supply hospitals with extensive robotic medical equipment upgrades, some of which are still in the experimental phase. Of course, if experience has taught us anything, it’s that experimental robotics projects never ever go horribly, horribly wrong.

In an official statement, Oscorp spokesman, Donald Menken added, “Nurses are the front line in our city’s healthcare and Oscorp couldn’t be more appreciative of the work they do. That’s why we want to give them the best tools possible.”

When asked about the improved equipment for nurses in city hospitals, nurse May Parker said, “It’s great to see more opportunities for younger nurses and it’s also an amazing gift to the people of New York City. I’m excited to learn how to use these new machines, even if they do look a little scary.”

It remains to be seen just how impactful these new experimental robotics will be when it comes to saving lives. One can’t help but wonder, will Spider-Man even get a little jealous?

Spider-Man has trashed bad guys and saved little old ladies, but what would YOU do with his powers? That’s the question we asked last week, and our readers responded. Seems like some of you are wall-crawlers in the making, while others would rather spin a web of deceit!

Jack H., Brooklyn

To be honest, if I had Spider-Man’s powers I probably would use them as a great way to get some personal experience; (which I need for my college applications). I would swing around town and try to have a meaningful moment or something, I don’t know, that’s what colleges want, right? That’s what my Dad says. If I really had Spidey’s powers I would do a year abroad, probably in a place with a dope jungle. Sigh…one day maybe.

Think you know everything there is to know about New York’s most controversial arachnid?

By Eddie Brock

The greater New York tri-state area got a whole lot safer yesterday.  Captured late last night, Cletus Kasady, escaped serial killer and notorious redhead, was eerily calm and subdued when he eagerly surrendered to the FBI. The manhunt for the FBI’s Most Wanted felon ended innocuously in a small strip mall outside of New Rochelle, New York.

A barista at a local coffee shop recognized Kasady and eventually called the police.  The barista apologized to reporters later admitting she didn’t immediately alert authorities hoping Spider-Man would beat them to the scene.  “What can I say?  I am a HUGE fan.”

Kasady had been sentenced to twelve life sentences for the twelve murders he committed — but escaped while being transported between federal prisons. Sources say Kasady has been remanded to Ravencroft Institute for further interrogation until he is relocated to a maximum security federal prison. While the barista didn’t get her wish, we know Spider-Man thanks her… as we all do. For now it appears that Kasady won’t be causing any more carnage.

By Ned Leeds

Frederick Foswell, the former Daily Bugle reporter unmasked as underworld boss “The Big Man” was found murdered yesterday in Ryker’s Island penitentiary. Correctional Authority officials stated that Foswell’s body was found in a storage closet adjacent to the commissary where he had been working.

Authorities refused to speculate on the cause of death but sources say it was severe blunt force trauma to the head. “Only a couple of prisoners have the strength to do that kind of damage,” an anonymous source said, “but they have alibis, or at least enough people willing to provide them alibis, that I don’t think we’ll ever know who killed Foswell.”

Detectives of the Major Crimes Unit stated on condition of anonymity that they were not surprised in the least that Foswell met a quick and grisly end,hinting that you don’t get to be “The Big Man” because people love you.

Police and New York City prosecutors expressed outrage with the state of security at Ryker’s, as Foswell had promised to reveal evidence of sweeping collusion between city workers and the criminal underworld pending a sweeter deal from the District Attorney’s office.

Ironically, Foswell’s plan to unite crime in New York by manipulating the organized crime families against each other is apparently being emulated by various power players in the criminal underground.

#GreatResponsibility 

By Melissa Hutchins

When Spider-Man isn’t swinging across town to stop a bank robbery, it seems he’s finding time to help a mom and her kids cross a busy intersection, celebrate Hattie Johnson’s 100th birthday party in the Bronx or fill in for the crane operators up on 86th. Apparently #GreatResponsibility doesn’t JUST mean fighting crime, anymore. Thanks Spider-Man, New York is lucky to have you!  

By Ken Ellis

In an unexpected setback, Oscorp Industries failed to secure a contract for the development of a flying suit with the United States military.  Sources say  the international conglomerate had been so confident of landing the contract they had already hired a congratulatory skywriting message over New York City that read: “Oscorp soars to success!”

Government sources hinted that the contract intended for military aerial reconnaissance and infiltration landed with a Los Angeles-based conglomerate with offices in Manhattan. Oscorp spokesman, Donald Menken, had no comment.

The losing bid repudiates two decades worth of research in electromagnetic anti-gravity conducted by Oscorp robotics division engineer, Dr. Adrian Toomes. When asked what this development meant for Toomes, Menken simply rolled his eyes and replied “Really? Why are you even asking me? No comment.”

By Ken Ellis

The masked vigilante Spider-Man has once again apprehended notorious bank-robber, Herman Schultz, nabbing the prison escapee yesterday afternoon during an attempted robbery at a diamond exchange in Midtown Manhattan.

Schultz managed to hold off the police for some time using his technologically advanced vibratory gauntlets that either emit dangerous pulse waves or have the unique singular power to throw cop cars hundreds of feet in the air (we’re guessing it’s the former).

After a brief skirmish that left several police vehicles heavily damaged, Spider-Man removed one of Schultz’s gauntlets and gave Schultz a taste of his own medicine, which in this case was a pulse wave right to the face.

Schultz had recently escaped from Ryker’s Island penitentiary where he was being held on bank robbery charges.  Detective Jean DeWolff of the Major Crimes Unit admitted the police thought Schultz had fled the city.

“The really sad thing about him is that he must be a brilliant engineer to create a weapon like this,” said DeWolff. “He could sell that technology and make billions, instead he chooses to rob a bank for what? A couple of grand? This guy is a stone cold dummy.”

By Melissa Hutchins Ask and ye shall receive! Our fearless editor, J. Jonah Jameson, who recently called out Spider-Man for keeping mum and refusing to talk to the press, received quite a personal greeting this April Fool’s Day when he awoke to find his giant SUV covered in webbing! While it’s not confirmed that this is the work of Spider-Man or one of his many Spider-Fans, what is confirmed is that this… is hilarious!

By Melissa Hutchins Spidey-Fans don their jerseys today, excited for this year’s opening day and the start of the baseball season. Of course, even in NYC there’s some debate over which team Spidey supports. Me? I like to think of him as a Mets fan. Always rooting for the underdog. Who are you root, root, rooting for this season?

An Editorial from Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson

Is social media a powerful tool to connect people around the world or is it home to a cyber-den of cyber-losers who spend their time spreading cyber-lies about a certain “hero” named Spider-Man…

So is Spider-Man a hero because some bearded Brooklyn hipster posted a cyber-video of him webbing up a mugger outside a coffee shop? Is he a hero because a misguided high school student starts a fan club on cyber-Twitter? Is he a hero because a “cyber-blogger” like Melissa Hutchins encourages fans to plaster stencils of the masked vigilante on crosswalk signs across Manhattan?

These days it seems like everyone is talking about Spider-Man, except for one person of course: Spider-Man himself, who refuses to talk to the press. The wall-crawling weirdo would probably say actions speak louder than words, but the longer Spider-Man doesn’t talk, the longer he ignores legitimate questions about how his actions have frustrated on-going police investigations. How he has used excessive force in foiling minor crimes. How his web swinging has distracted city drivers and led to a documented twenty-four accidents (and counting).

Has Spider-Man stopped a mugger, a carjacker, or a bank robber here and there? Yeah, okay, I’ll admit he has. But can Spider-Man answer this: do those actions offset all the problems he’s created? Even if he could, I doubt he will.

We asked our readers how they thought Spider-Man got his powers. You answered by email, text, blog, and even a brick through the window (please refrain from that in the future). Here’s what you had to say:

Kevin B., St. George

“It’s gotta be something weird, right? Like he ate a bucket of spiders or injected himself with the blood of like a bucket of spiders. Wait, maybe like he went swimming in the East River? LOL! But for real, you seen the stuff that Oscorp dumps into the East River? The other day, my uncle Mikey caught a fish with four eyes and two tails! Oscorp’s got mad scientists flushing botched experiments into the river. Seriously, man. No joke.”

Think YOU know how Spider-Man got his powers? Supernatural? Scientific? Special fx?

A Daily Bugle Exclusive Guest Column By Frederick Foswell

Several weeks ago, I was unmasked by Spider-Man and revealed as the Big Man, the underworld boss who had been manipulating the city’s crime families into conflict. My “landlords” at Ryker’s Island have so graciously allowed me to write this confession and my former employer and perpetual schlockmeister, J. Jonah Jameson, has reluctantly agreed to donate all the money his newspaper will earn as a result of this admittedly controversial exposé.

"Why were you the Big Man?" A simple question with a simple answer. But isn’t the real question: Why did becoming the Big Man, a super-criminal who unified the underworld simply because he wore a mask, work so well?

The answer is simple, too: Countless people in this city stand to profit from the increasing levels of enhanced human and mechanical activity. Is it a coincidence that the Daily Bugle’s circulation is the only newspaper in the country that’s going up? No, because J. Jonah Jameson chooses to report everyday about Spider-Man.

I did what I did for all the right reasons, then all the wrong ones.

So here’s to the wall-crawler, who professes to be a hero, yet harbors a secret identity making it impossible to hold him accountable for his actions. Here’s to Oscorp, the company creating so much dangerous technology that its cast-offs and failures are finding their way into the hands of criminals. Here’s to the Crime Master and every other would-be powerbroker looking to make their mark on the city like the Lizard. Finally, here’s to all of you, loyal readers of this paper that I have served for over thirty years. Without you, none of this would be possible.