Artisan
2006-08-09, 07:01 AM
Alright. I've been bored and ill for the last few days, so I've been doing some thinking about a Marvel alterna-verse. I wanted to focus on each character (or group, such as the X-men) and just change one bit of their past, one decision, and work from there.
First up, everyone's favourite web-head.
Peter Parker was always the biggest nerd of the school, always bullied for his bookish attitude and ineptitude at sport. He had come to accept the bullying as a part of life, blocking out most of it so as to not drive him into despression. Still, the bully's barbs struck deep, and he could never escape the pangs of pain and the feelings of self-doubt they brought. While on a school trip to Oscorp, the family business of His best friend, Harry Osbourne, he was bitten by a genetically mutated spider, the pet-project of the company, and his life changed forever. A few days after the incident, Peter began to discover new potential. He was stronger, faster, more resilient than ever, and had the amazing ability to climb walls. With his family, his Aunt May and his Uncle Ben, facing more and more financial troubles, Peter decided to use these abilities to try and alleviate the mounting debts. He joined an amateur wrestling leagure under the guise of "the Incredible Spider-Man" and was an instant success. After a fight with his Uncle Ben, the angry, bitter youth refused to stop a theif who was ripping off the wrestling league's owner, saying he just needed to "look out for himself".
The thief, in a desperate bid to escape, hijacked and killed Peter's uncle.
Searching for revenge, Peter donned his wrestler's outfit and hunted down the murderer, tracking him to an abandoned warehouse. Mad with anger and grief, Peter beat the thief to a bloody pulp, pouring all the anger and pain he had suffered into the violent act, and hurled the carjacker from the third storey window. The teen paused as he heard a dulled thump and crack with his enhanced hearing, the enormity of his actions finally dawning on him, and saw the police turn their guns on him.
Peter lifted his hands in submission and let them arrest him, the words "with great power, comes great responsibility" running through his mind.
In the ensuing trial, Peter Parker was charged with murder in the second degree, but was given leniency due to the extenuating circumstances, not to mention the fact that he was the minor. He was jailed for eight years, being let off early for good behavior, and found the world a very different place.
In his years in prison, his Aunt May had spiralled deeper and deeper into debt, the grief of losing her husaband and her only nephew in one night taking it's toll on her body, and she died of failing health, having no money to cover any medical expenses, His time in prison had hardened Peter, and after discovering his Aunt's death, the young man was driven over the edge, feeling completely isolated from the rest of the world, with no family and no friends. He searched for legimate work for a while, but his only other skill, wrestling, left him with a cold, bitter feeling in his gut, and his scientific skills had stagnated during his time in prison, but his keen mind soon discovered his new abilities allowed him a new career for him...it was only a matter of time before he turned his hand to burglary.
He started small, robbing liqour stores and disappearing without a trace before the police could arrive, but soon he had graduated to museums, art galleries and the private collections of the rich and famous. The newspapers loved him, cherising the latest story about the mysterious black figure that infiltrated the impregnable and took priceless artifacts with exceptional ease. After the only known image of Peter was leaked, crawling on the cieling, he was immeadiately dubbed simply "the Spider", and Peter accepted this name with relish, writing notes saying "courtesy of the Spider" with a crude, eight-legged figure underneath in place of famous pieces of art. It was only when he tried to steal from the near legendary Wilson Fisk, aka the 'Kingpin of Crime', that he met his match. He was captured by the gangster's red-suited bodyguard, and was sure he was going to be killed. It is not here, however, that the Spider met his end. Fisk, seeing such potential in the young infiltrator, hired him in exchange for his life, sending him to infiltrate and sabotage the finiancial rivals of Hammer Industry, Wilson's 'legitimate' business. He has worked for the Kingpin ever since, most notably stealing the Oscorp formula for their 'spidersilk' liquid adhesive, and sabotaging the serveyor spaceship of Doom Inc. The Spider, as of now, is stalking the streets, pushing his skills further and futher to their edges, and loving every moment of it.
What do you guys think?
First up, everyone's favourite web-head.
Peter Parker was always the biggest nerd of the school, always bullied for his bookish attitude and ineptitude at sport. He had come to accept the bullying as a part of life, blocking out most of it so as to not drive him into despression. Still, the bully's barbs struck deep, and he could never escape the pangs of pain and the feelings of self-doubt they brought. While on a school trip to Oscorp, the family business of His best friend, Harry Osbourne, he was bitten by a genetically mutated spider, the pet-project of the company, and his life changed forever. A few days after the incident, Peter began to discover new potential. He was stronger, faster, more resilient than ever, and had the amazing ability to climb walls. With his family, his Aunt May and his Uncle Ben, facing more and more financial troubles, Peter decided to use these abilities to try and alleviate the mounting debts. He joined an amateur wrestling leagure under the guise of "the Incredible Spider-Man" and was an instant success. After a fight with his Uncle Ben, the angry, bitter youth refused to stop a theif who was ripping off the wrestling league's owner, saying he just needed to "look out for himself".
The thief, in a desperate bid to escape, hijacked and killed Peter's uncle.
Searching for revenge, Peter donned his wrestler's outfit and hunted down the murderer, tracking him to an abandoned warehouse. Mad with anger and grief, Peter beat the thief to a bloody pulp, pouring all the anger and pain he had suffered into the violent act, and hurled the carjacker from the third storey window. The teen paused as he heard a dulled thump and crack with his enhanced hearing, the enormity of his actions finally dawning on him, and saw the police turn their guns on him.
Peter lifted his hands in submission and let them arrest him, the words "with great power, comes great responsibility" running through his mind.
In the ensuing trial, Peter Parker was charged with murder in the second degree, but was given leniency due to the extenuating circumstances, not to mention the fact that he was the minor. He was jailed for eight years, being let off early for good behavior, and found the world a very different place.
In his years in prison, his Aunt May had spiralled deeper and deeper into debt, the grief of losing her husaband and her only nephew in one night taking it's toll on her body, and she died of failing health, having no money to cover any medical expenses, His time in prison had hardened Peter, and after discovering his Aunt's death, the young man was driven over the edge, feeling completely isolated from the rest of the world, with no family and no friends. He searched for legimate work for a while, but his only other skill, wrestling, left him with a cold, bitter feeling in his gut, and his scientific skills had stagnated during his time in prison, but his keen mind soon discovered his new abilities allowed him a new career for him...it was only a matter of time before he turned his hand to burglary.
He started small, robbing liqour stores and disappearing without a trace before the police could arrive, but soon he had graduated to museums, art galleries and the private collections of the rich and famous. The newspapers loved him, cherising the latest story about the mysterious black figure that infiltrated the impregnable and took priceless artifacts with exceptional ease. After the only known image of Peter was leaked, crawling on the cieling, he was immeadiately dubbed simply "the Spider", and Peter accepted this name with relish, writing notes saying "courtesy of the Spider" with a crude, eight-legged figure underneath in place of famous pieces of art. It was only when he tried to steal from the near legendary Wilson Fisk, aka the 'Kingpin of Crime', that he met his match. He was captured by the gangster's red-suited bodyguard, and was sure he was going to be killed. It is not here, however, that the Spider met his end. Fisk, seeing such potential in the young infiltrator, hired him in exchange for his life, sending him to infiltrate and sabotage the finiancial rivals of Hammer Industry, Wilson's 'legitimate' business. He has worked for the Kingpin ever since, most notably stealing the Oscorp formula for their 'spidersilk' liquid adhesive, and sabotaging the serveyor spaceship of Doom Inc. The Spider, as of now, is stalking the streets, pushing his skills further and futher to their edges, and loving every moment of it.
What do you guys think?