Amazing Fantasy #17 (1996)

Peter Parker thinks about his past when he was a child he had many friends. However, as he grew older and started to focus more on his studies in junior high, he and his friends started to drift apart. By the time they were all in high school, all his old friends gravitated toward Flash Thompson. Peter ended up being an outcast among his peers and was regularly bullied by Thompson. However, a few weeks later things completely changed for Peter Parker forever, he becomes Spider-Man. Now swinging across Manhattan, he spots a construction worker falling off some scaffolding and swings in and rescues him. When one of the girders from the construction site falls, the wall-crawler manages to snag it with a web line before it can land on anyone. As he is about to swing away, Spider-Man is called back by Maxie Shiffman, his agent. Shiffman tells the wall-crawler that all of his acts of heroism have been testing well with the public and he wants Spider-Man to come back and work for him some more, promising that they can make millions. Unfortunately for Shiffman, Spider-Man declines the offer saying that he has to live up to his responsibilities. As he swings away, the web-slinger knows that Maxie would never understand his quitting show business. It was because he was so absorbed in becoming a star that he let a burglar get away. This same burglar went on to murder his Uncle Ben. As he swings past one building, the wall-crawler's presence doesn't go unnoticed. He is being observed by Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime. He set plans into motion that led to the "accident" at the construction site. Although Spider-Man rescued the worker who fell, Fisk is confident that the message the intended message was received. His assistant assures Wilson that he will keep putting on the pressure but worries about Spider-Man interfering again. The Kingpin tells his assistant not to worry as he has a plan in place for just such a contingency. That evening, Peter Parker is watching the evening news with his Aunt May. They watch a special news report about a mutant sighting. In it, they witness as a young man fires beams of energy from his eyes, destroying falling debris. Despite this, the young mutant is chased off by an angry mob. That's when Aunt May tells Peter that he has been too moody recently. He tells her that he is having a hard time dealing with the death of Uncle Ben, school, and their money problems. May tells Peter that he is too young to be so down on himself and that he should be out having fun with his friends. Peter tells her it's a lot more complicated than that, thinking about how he has no friends to speak of. Looking at the young mutant on the television, Peter finds that he can relate to him. The next day, Spider-Man is out web-slinging when he is struck from behind by something. Recovering from the blow, the wall-crawler is surprised to see a young woman who appears to fly in a nimbus of energy. Hearing him speak, the youth is delighted to discover that Spider-Man is around the same age she is. Introducing herself as Joey Pulaski. The two become fast friends, and while Peter is ostracised and made fun of in school by Flash Thompson and the others, he spends his free moments as Spider-Man hanging out with Joey. He is happy to have met someone his own age with superpowers and after some time, he begins considering telling Joey his real name. He also begins wondering if Aunt May was right about taking life too seriously. Meanwhile, Maxie Shiffman tries to convince his secretary Grace to stay on the job. However, with Shiffman deep in debt and with bill collectors and leg breaking knocking at his door, the unpaid secretary is tired of it and walks out on him. That's when he gets a call from a representative of the "It's Amazing" television show. He is asking if Shiffman was able to secure Spider-Man for the show, but he hasn't had much luck. That's when someone enters his office in a costume. Shiffman thinks this is another person auditioning to be a replacement Spider-Man. However, when the visit displays his power gauntlets, Shiffman tells the caller that he'll call him back, seeing a potential opportunity to get out of the hole. Back at the Parker household, Peter catches a news report about a luxury office tower that has been plagued by setbacks and accidents. He realizes that he should do something about it and realizes that he doesn't have to do it alone. The next day, he meets up with Joey to tell her his plan. She suddenly becomes stupid, telling him that his idea is stupid. She suddenly begins using her powers to blast a nearby building. Quick thinking, Spider-Man webs up a net to catch the falling debris. Joey continues to rampage on the streets putting others at risk. When the wall-crawler stops her, earning her anger. Joey tells Spider-Man that she is tired of his constant droning about responsibility and has decided to he is boring. That's when she reveals that she is being paid to cause the construction project trouble. She is also being offered a bigger job and was going to ask the web-slinger to join her on the job but now she is having second thoughts. When Spider-Man tries to convince her of the lives she is negatively impacted doing with shady work. Pulaski becomes tired of hearing it and tells him that she doesn't want to see him anymore and streaks off, leaving the wall-crawler speechless. Hurt by this rejection, Peter Parker goes through the next few days almost in a trance. He once again begins questioning his commitment to his sense of responsibility. While walking across the school yard, Tiny McKeever decides to throw a football at Peter. Much to their surprise, he catches the ball without looking and tosses it back with enough force for it to reach McKeever. Surprised at Parker's skills, Tiny invites him to play with them. That's when Flash Thompson arrives on the scene and begins berating his friends for considering letting Parker play football with them. Feeling the sting of rejection once more, Peter drops the football and walks away. That night, Peter goes out on patrol as Spider-Man and overhears some crooks talking about what could only be Joey's new job. The wall-crawler then goes to the construction site and finds the Joey suspending the businessman behind the construction project over the air. The Kingpin's men are demanding that he enters a partnership with the Kingpin. Spider-Man interrupts the shakedown, saving the businessman and earning the ire of everyone gathered. The Kingpin's right-hand-man orders Joey to kill the wall-crawler. She tries encasing him in a telekinetic shield in an attempt to crush him to death, but Spider-Man breaks free. He is forced to strike the young woman he once called a friend, knocking her out. When the authorities arrive to arrest Joey and her employers, Spider-Man tries to explain her, but Joey isn't willing to listen, telling the wall-crawler that she hates him. When the Kingpin learns the news of Spider-Man's interference, he realizes that he underestimated the wall-crawler, something he won't do when goes up against the hero again. While in another location, Spider-Man clings to a wall trying to convince himself that he did the right thing, but still feels bad about it.