Hi, this is Robbie Robertson calling.
Mr. Robertson, you're never getting your old job back.
I'm onto something truly sensational!
Three POWs from the same camp with super abilities isn't a coincidence.
The only thing Silvermane gets off on is power.
If he gave it to me...
then he can take it all away.
They did something to you all, didn't they?
All I know is that once it starts, it gets worse fast.
But you should talk to Doc Faber.
She can explain what's going on a whole lot better than I can.
One of those super freaks is tearing up the Diamond District.
The Spider is there.
Who the hell is this guy?
- Me and The Spider have teamed up... - Not-not a team.
- To save this city! - Not a team. No, not a team.
Every four years, I decide who sits in your chair.
I'm not backing down.
Nice to meet you, Mr. Spider.
- Hey, come on.
Hey.
Hey, lady, what's your hurry?
- Here, here, let me get the door.
After you.
So...
So, yourself.
We're about to turn over the pies.
This one's on the house.
What, more of a blueberry guy?
No, there's just not a lot of free stuff going around these days.
Thank you.
Very kind.
I'm waiting, you know.
You already know how it ends.
Well, then start from the beginning.
We were sent to liberate a small town in Eastern France.
The Germans weren't so keen on giving it up.
Move, move, move!
Scheiße.
Charge!
Jones. Jones!
Get 'em out!
- Get 'em out. - Please.
- Private, follow me. - Yes, sir.
Move.
Let's go.
If I was the one who had been shot,
and I almost was,
none of this would have happened to me.
I think about that a lot.
Private Smith and I pressed deeper into the compound.
Jesus.
Let's get 'em out of here.
Help me.
You okay, pal?
I'm gonna get you out of here.
Are you okay?
Reilly.
Are you okay?
Sarge, Sarge!
Sarge!
- What do we do? - Burn it.
Burn it all.
Ready.
One, two, three.
And that was it?
After that you were...?
Yes.
It took some time at first just to relearn how to be more human again.
Believe it or not, I went to the movies, I watched the actors,
I studied the way they spoke, the way they moved.
The arachnid genes are still in me.
The tics, the... thoughts, impulses.
But I manage to suppress them.
Most of the time.
You once told me you were a coward.
And to think I almost believed you.
If Flint was there, his powers must have come from the same place.
Hard to think otherwise.
Is that the real reason you took the case?
Yes.
In part, but, yes, I-I did it because I wanted to learn something from Flint.
If something gave both of us these powers, maybe something could take 'em back.
Would you really want that?
Lose all your powers?
Go back to being just... Ben Reilly?
Since Ruby died, that's all I've thought about.
Being just Ben Reilly.
More coffee?
Thank you, Thelma.
You said he's an actor?
We can call him Star Man.
Aspiring actor.
Still working his day job as a subway driver.
Subway driver?
It's almost too good.
The Conductor.
Mm.
It-It's electricity, he's a conductor.
Oh, no, the issue wasn't one of comprehension.
You got photos?
What do you think?
Ah. I'll let the Bugle publish my story on one condition.
You'll let?
Okay, calm down.
What's the condition?
You run my piece as is or not at all.
Now, I need your word, Walters, no changes.
Unless, of course, you'd rather I take this to the Herald.
You got a lot of nerve,
telling me how to do my job.
What is that?
Fine, sure, whatever you want.
And I want the Bugle to print a retraction about Lonnie Lincoln and Flint Marko.
That's two conditions.
Anything else?
Well, now that you mention it...
It's good to be back.
Hey.
Good to see you, too.
So the prodigal son returned home, huh?
Guess Silvermane took you back with open arms.
You can say what you want about him.
That man takes care of his own.
- One big happy family. - Yeah.
There's room for one more, brother.
No offense, but I'm done putting my life on the line for white men.
It won't be like that, Lonnie.
No?
What, then?
Silvermane want me to do his laundry?
Or maybe he wants me to perform, do a little hambone.
You can't live like this forever, Lonnie.
Buddy, with whatever's happening inside us,
I'm not too worried about living forever.
All the more reason we need to take what we can while we can.
I'm not a criminal.
Why don't you tell that to the mayor or the cops?
Take your pick.
We're wanted men, whether we like it or not.
Do you think that's new to me?
That's been my life from the day I was born.
Exactly.
You risked your life for this country,
and they still treat you like a second-class citizen.
Look, you said so yourself, we ain't gonna make it to the retirement home,
so let's take life by the balls while we still have a little life left in us.
Hear Silvermane out.
That's all I'm asking.
You've been busy.
Yeah, someone's got to do the work around here.
Here, take a look at these.
Four veterans, all from the same POW camp, all with superhuman powers.
Apparently the Germans were doing experiments on them.
Some kind of failed super soldier program.
I'm sorry, are we boring you?
The war ended 15 years ago.
The question isn't what happened to them then.
The question is: why are they getting their powers now?
- Ah. - Oh.
That's why he...
- that's why he does what he... - That's, that's why he's...
that's why his name's on the door.
- It's-it's on the door. - I know.
- I didn't do my homework, you know. - Me neither. I don't...
Well, is that supposed to mean you know something?
We do.
Uh, are you going to share it?
- Are you gonna be a dick about it? - Uh, yes,
actually, a private dick, to be exact.
Okay. They were all seeing the same doctor at the VA hospital in Queens.
The doctor's been running a study for the past ten years on POWs.
According to Lonnie, it was specifically about what happened to them in France.
You know, I keep telling you, you'd make an ace reporter if you ever want to...
ditch the stiff.
I have submitted a few applications.
So this doctor's our guy?
She is a geneticist... Alethea Faber...
one of the top in the country.
Degrees from Stanford and Cornell, I mean, every accolade you could imagine.
All that, and she chooses to work at a VA hospital in Queens,
and according to Lonnie, she sought them out
nine months ago, knew all about the camp.
What the hell are we waiting for?
You, asshole, we were waiting on you.
Well, then let's go, Robbie.
- You're welcome. - Don't rush me now, man.
Lights out, boys.
This place have a cafeteria or something?
Hey.
Where's mine?
Cut the shit, Leyden.
We can go all night if you want to.
Hey, I wonder, when's the last time you said that to your wife, huh?
Or her to you? Never, I'm guessing.
Ha!
Do you have any cream or sugar?
Yeah, I got some cream and sugar.
Now I'm going to ask you again.
Where did you and your freak show friends...
come from?
A-All right.
All right, I'll tell you, okay?
Mm-hmm.
I can't speak for the rest of 'em, but me...
I'm from Poughkeepsie.
Oh, he's mad now.
Yeah, I know that look.
Hey, you know, you remind me a lot of my father.
Oh!
Do you like this?
I do.
Little bit too modern for my taste.
Slippery son of a bitch, that Spider.
What's his angle anyway?
Well, I'm sure he's just trying to get by, same as any of us.
Is that what you're doing?
Just trying to get by?
Looks like you're doing a bit better than that.
Wonder why.
You feeling a little unappreciated, Finn?
Well, maybe I am.
Well, I give thanks every day, trust me.
You know, I say a little prayer before bed and everything.
Well, you ought to start saying one every morning you get to wake up.
Winston isn't so lucky now, is he?
Ah.
There they are.
I wasn't expecting you boys so soon.
Lonnie, meet Mr. Byrne.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
Flint told me a lot about you.
Welcome back.
Wasn't sure what happened to you.
You read the papers, don't you?
He's a whole new man.
Should see him when he gets going. Unstoppable.
My new right hand.
Don't worry, boss, nothing's gonna happen to you on my watch.
Well, then, I guess, congratulations on your promotion.
I'm sure you'll make a wonderful couple.
Don't mind her. She's full of piss and vinegar today.
Alas, I have to talk business with the boys.
Well, then I'll make my excuses.
There's some paint upstairs I can watch dry.
Well, if you're so bored, maybe you could find us a new band.
Ah, one who knows the classics.
And while you're at it, look into another singer.
Someone... young.
Piss and vinegar.
Hey, ma'am, how's it going?
Must be some book.
Is Dr. Faber in?
You have an appointment?
I do not.
Joe Robertson, reporter with the Bugle.
Just want to ask her a few questions.
I'll let her office know you're here.
If you would be so kind.
You know, Paul dies in the end.
There's a reporter downstairs from the Daily Bugle.
Robertson.
He's asking to speak with you.
Mr. Robertson?
I'm Alethea Faber.
Pleasure to meet you.
And you are?
What exactly did you want to talk to me about?
Don't suppose you saw my story in the Bugle this morning.
It'll just be a couple of minutes of your time.
Maybe spread the word about the work you're doing.
That can't be a bad thing, right?
Let's speak outside.
What can you tell me about those men?
Unfortunately, Mr. Robertson,
we sent a great many men off to that war,
and almost all of them came back with injuries, either physical or spiritual.
It's hard to remember all the patients you've seen over the years.
Well, I hope that doesn't make me sound callous.
Oh, no, no, no, no, of course not.
It also doesn't make me believe you.
Are you calling her a liar?
I'm sorry, sir, I still haven't caught your name.
This is my secretary Ogden.
He has been with me for quite some time, and he can be a bit overprotective.
No, I can respect that, but you're a smart woman.
Do you really expect me to believe you had no idea
that four of your patients turned out to have...
superpowers?
Or why?
You are obviously a very intelligent man yourself, Mr. Robertson,
so you know that I'm not at liberty to discuss specific patient information
with anyone but the police.
Well, have you done that?
Have you spoken with the police?
I am sorry, I cannot help you.
Hmm.
Did you help those men?
You know, I'm hearing their powers only started after they started seeing you.
How dare you? How dare you?
To come here knowing nothing and then accuse me
of negligence in my care?
Everything I do, I do for a reason.
Everything.
Struck a nerve, huh?
Too much.
This isn't good.
All right, so what-what-what do we do?
Calm down, Ogden.
What do we do?
Shut the door.
He's a Negro. Maybe no one will believe him.
I don't think so.
Hey, Dr. Collins, where the hell have you been?
I'm losing my mind back here.
Hey, you're not Collins.
What's going on?
No, Dr. Collins is on the second floor.
The second floor?
The second floor? The second floor?
All right, Ogden, could you please escort this gentleman downstairs
to Dr. Collins' office?
The second floor.
The second floor?
The second floor.
You don't like me very much.
I know that man.
What are you talking about?
He was... there in France.
He was the one who rescued us.
It's him.
Stop him. Go.
Would you hurry up?
I'm trying.
See, this must be one of them two-man jobs.
Okay.
Betty Botta bought...
Betty bought a bit o' butter
to make her butter batter better.
Betty bought a bit o' batter.
Betty bought a better butter, makes the better batter better.
Betty bought a better butter, will make the batter better.
Hey, pal.
Shut it, huh?
Betty bought a better batch
of better butter.
Betty bought a better batch of better butter...
Shit.
You good?
This was a new suit.
Shit!
Hark.
What sound doth yonder bring?
What do you think, bub, huh?
Sounds like little peashooters to me.
Shut up, Leyden.
Cry "Havoc," my friends...
and let loose the dogs of war.
Well, what are you waiting for?
Run.
Please, please don't hurt me.
Howdy, boys.
Long time no see.
Thought visiting hours was over.
Mr. Leyden, that was quite the show you put on last night.
Oh, thank you, thank you.
You know, I'd offer you an autograph, but I don't have a pen.
I assume you know who I am.
The man with the mane of silver.
Born from nothing.
Built his empire through gut and guile.
Purveyor of the finest prohibited potions.
King of the five boroughs,
Mr. Finbar Byrne himself-ah.
I see you like to talk.
Think you could listen for a second?
Oh, I am, uh, like a Nebraskan cornfield.
All ears.
I'm listening.
Mayor Morris appears to have forgotten who runs this town.
My men and I are planning to remind him.
I want you to help me.
Me?
Oh, well, my only regret is that I have but one life to give you.
But I promise you,
I will take plenty.
Get him out of there.
Ah.
Oh, yes.
Thank you, comrade.
Please.
I was just doing my job.
Oh, and now I'm going to do mine.
Life is but a walking shadow,
a poor player
that struts and frets his hour upon the stage
- and is heard no more. - Please...
A tale is told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury.
- No, no, no. - Ah!
And scene.
That was weird.
"Prisoners were injected
with radiated plants and minerals and the genetic material
of spiders, scorpions, snakes..."
Eels, too.
Mm-hmm.
"The Germans then altered the subjects' genes
by splicing them with those of other entities.
Over time, the patients' genetic material began to decay.
Many suffered lethal mutations
while others survived in an altered state for months or years."
Faber has been looking for a cure, but all she's managed to do
is activate latent mutations
and accelerate them.
She's trying to save 'em, but she's killing 'em.
- The guy that bit you. - Yeah.
He was dying.
But I lived.
Why?
Hmm.
A doctor making monsters in a secret lab in the Bronx.
It's gonna make for one hell of a story.
Hmm, first Black Pulitzer?
Well, it's got to happen someday.
Robbie, I have a request.
Anything.
Let me tell Cat before you print it.
If Flint's gonna die because of this,
I don't want her to read about it in a newspaper.
I said anything, didn't I?
I'll give you a day.
But I ain't losing this story.
Deal.
So...
how bad is it?
How deep are you in with her?
I suppose you're gonna tell me to be careful.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Careful's for, um, for stock tips and hot sauce.
Matters of the heart, I say
go for broke or don't bother going at all.
Go for broke, huh?
Wouldn't take much.
Reilly.
Mr. Reilly,
take a seat.
Can I get you anything?
Glass of the good stuff?
A perfect host.
I take it you recognize my new associates.
I read the papers. Congratulations.
You've assembled an entire outfield of freaks.
You guys see that movie Freaks directed by Tod Browning?
Still playing.
You three could sign up for the remake.
Calm down.
Mr. Reilly is a little wise, but we're all friends here, right?
Yeah, sure.
So, in the spirit of friendship,
I want to give you a chance to warn The Spider...
that this fight is between me and Morris,
and if he gets his nose in my business, he's liable to lose it.
Is that clear?
As a bell. Is that all?
I don't mean to be rude, but, uh, I've got theater tickets.
You ever been on Broadway?
No? Probably drove a train underneath it, though, right?
Mr. To Be or Not to Be.
Tell your friend
it's in all our best interests to play nice.
You got it.
Hey.
I hear you make all the ladies faint.
Make me faint.
I know about Winston.
My condolences.
Were you two close?
I know you set him up, Reilly, and I know you did it for her.
Her?
Don't take me for dumb.
I didn't tell the boss 'cause he would've killed the both of you.
And mad as I am, I don't want Cat dead.
You okay, pal?
You look pretty rough.
I'm fine.
You keep doing Silvermane's dirty work, and maybe you won't be.
You worry about yourself, Reilly.
You get one pass because you saved her.
This is it.
You know...
a hot dog at the game is better than roast beef at the Ritz.
Think about it.
Now we've got no secrets, you're done with the stairs?
I didn't want to be seen.
Flint's back with Silvermane.
I know.
I saw him this morning.
Acted like he didn't even know me.
And that bothered you?
You swooped in here to ask me that?
He knows you tried to kill Silvermane.
He heard us talking the other night.
- And has he told him? - He doesn't want to see you dead.
He's not well, Ben, I'm worried about him.
You should be.
You can spare me the dramatic pause.
Whatever it is, I can take it.
Flint and some of the other guys in that camp
have been seeing a doctor at the VA, a woman called Faber.
She's been trying to come up with a cure, but she's only made them worse.
What do you mean, worse?
What the Germans did will eventually kill them, but she's speeding it up.
You mean Flint's gonna die?
When?
All I know is, every time he uses his powers, he gets a little closer.
- Thank you for telling me. - Cat.
He says one word, and we're both dead.
I'd like to be alone, please.
What's left for us here?
Ruby's gone, Flint's past helping.
We're chasing ghosts.
But you and I could have something.
What if we left New York, went someplace where nobody knows us?
What was that island with the black sand?
Santorini.
Santorini. We could go there,
wherever you want, you could open your own club.
What about you?
Well, I'll run it or bartend.
I'll work for you.
I don't know what this is, but I do know, for the first time in years
I'm willing to take a chance and find out.
Okay.
Okay?
Okay.
I'll have the, uh, the, uh...
ooh, I'll have the hot dog deluxe.
You know what? No, no, I'll just have a scoop of cottage cheese.
Cottage cheese?
You on a diet or something?
There might be a beach in my future.
Oh, and breakfast is on me, so you should have at it.
Okay, now I'm really confused.
Uh, uh, scrambled eggs, bacon.
They've got New York cheesecake.
- I was just gonna... - Just bring it all.
Okay, well, that's new.
Never heard you sing.
Didn't even know you knew how.
There's a lot you don't know about me.
Is there?
You'd be surprised.
Would I?
You know, your hair looks lovely, by the way.
Did you curl it?
Three weeks ago.
Now spill it.
Oh, boy.
What?
I'm leaving town.
Permanently?
I think so, yeah, but don't worry, I promise you'll be taken care of.
What about the office?
Well, get rid of it or keep it.
You're a better P.I. than I am anyway, so...
I'll be damned.
It's Cat, isn't it?
Yes...
It-it sounds crazy,
- I know, crazy, crazy, crazy... - Ben...
because we've only known each other for a few weeks,
but if it took Cat to drag me out of this hole that I've been hiding in,
well, then I owe it to both of us to see it through...
- Ben... - because this is the first time
in-in years that I feel alive.
- For Christ's sake... - I mean... with the matters of the heart,
you got to go for broke.
- Ben, Ben... - Robbie says that you just got...
- With matters of the heart, you got... - Oh, for Christ's sake, Ben!
I'm really happy for you.
You are?
Yes.
Who is it?
Lonnie Lincoln, ma'am.
I need to talk to you.
It's about Flint.
Don't.
Flint.
- Don't. - Please, Flint.
- Don't. - Let me take a look at you.
It's getting worse.
- I just want to help. - You've done enough, don't you think?
Silvermane will never let us be together.
What I did, I did for us.
Without telling me?
- Why, because I'm stupid? - No.
I'm just a meathead with his brains in his fists?
No, I didn't tell you because I knew you would say no.
And how do you think it makes me feel, Flint,
that you're more loyal to that man than you are to me,
that you'd have me living under his thumb, unable to breathe without his say-so?
That's funny to you?
No, what's funny is, I would've killed him for you.
I would've done anything for you if you'd just asked,
but you never gave me the chance.
But why would you?
I'm nothing but muscle for a gangster, huh?
Well, maybe it's time I accepted that, leaned into it.
Ain't that right, Lonnie?
You and me, buddy, about to die in a blaze of goddamn glory.
- Flint, please. - Stay away from me.
- Please! - Stay away!
- Flint. - Let him go.
This Faber woman.
She really couldn't help you?
There's really no hope?
Faber said there's only one thing left to try.
But she couldn't make it happen.
What was it?
Not what.
Who.
The Spider.
Why?
Why would he change things?
She thinks his mutation is different, more stable than ours.
She said he could be the answer to all of this.
Problem is, she's got no idea who he is...
or where to find him.
We need to go.
We have to clear the lab.
Maybe it's not as bad as we think it is.
No, we can't be naive.
I mean, as soon as that reporter publishes his story,
they're coming for us.
We can't just give up.
You have done everything you could.
Now it's time to go.
All right, watch your step over here.
Dr. Faber.
I just want to know:
if you find The Spider, are you really able to help them?
Flint, Lonnie, all of them?
You know who The Spider is, don't you?
If I tell you... do you promise you won't hurt him?
You have my word.
His name...
is Ben Reilly.