And how about the Bugle's new star reporter! Ethan Edwards is his name, and he's the ace in J. Jonah Jameson’s deck and the bane of Peter's existence. There's something about that guy that just doesn't seem right but don't tell that to Jonah – he thinks that Peter and Ethan are the perfect team to cover his number one fixation: Spider-Man

That said, Peter's got more of an immediate problem. A little Avengers training session that got a little, shall we say, out of hand, when Wolverine accidentally stabbed Spider-Man in the chest.

ACT 1: Having been hired to kill a number of people in 72 hours, Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man wastes no time. His first victim, some kind of criminal businessman, is literally hammered into oblivion when Creel turns his arm into a giant steel hammer and crushes him into the staircase inside his house. With the man dead, Creel hops on a red van driven by the mysterious female and the two of them are off to the next job.

ACT 2: Back at Stark Tower, Spider-Man is furious with Wolverine for stabbing him. Wolverine apologizes to Spidey, telling him that it was only an accident but Spidey starts beating on Wolverine, accusing him of trying to steal his wife and now killing him. Captain America tries to intervene but to no avail. Finally, Iron Man steps in and pulls Spidey off of Wolverine. Wolverine yells at Peter that he was not hitting on his wife, nor is he after her, calling him a "nerd who finally got a hot chick" in the process. Peter flips out and tries to kick the crap out of Wolverine but he loses consciousness – a result of the blood loss – and falls short of even coming close to landing a punch on the crazy Canuck. Luke Cage threatens Wolverine that Spidey's accusations better be false or else and Captain America tells him that if this happens again, he will have to take actions to revoke his membership as an Avenger. Spider-Woman asks Wolverine if he has anything to say to which Wolverine replies that Spidey has to learn that these things happen when you play with the big boys. He adds that they should let him know if they want him out.

ACT 4: Later that night, Peter has a hard time finishing up his supper so he heads into his bedroom to catch up on some sleep. MJ follows him in and asks if he's all right. Peter replies that he just had a bad day and promises to take it easy over the next couple days and falls asleep.

ACT 5: The next morning, Peter shows up at the Daily Bugle and after a brief encounter with J. Jonah Jameson, Peter meets with Ethan Edwards, his new partner. Ethan notices that Peter is in a rough shape and offers to help him out by praying with him. Ethan grabs Peter and shoves him in the hall closet and follows him in. Ethan tells Peter to shut his eyes and as Peter does just that, Ethan lowers his glasses and his eyes begin to glow. Seconds later, Peter opens his eyes and appears to feel just great (does that mean Ethan has some kind of powers allowing him to make people feel good?). The two partners exit the hall closet and make their way out of the Daily Bugle.

ACT 6: Meanwhile in another part of town, at the penthouse apartment of crime lord Big Tony, heavily armed henchmen are guarding the premises against a possible attack from the Absorbing Man. Confident that they've thought of everything, the henchmen are suddenly caught off guard when the floor suddenly becomes alive and attacks them, turning into the Absorbing Man as they scatter across the room. Nearby at street level, Peter and Ethan are talking about how Peter first hooked up with Spider-Man to take his pictures when a crashing sound is heard from above. As they look up, they see a man hanging from a window ledge five stories high. Peter takes off running into a dark alley but Ethan follows him. Peter turns to Ethan and tells him that he needs to go into the crowd to get their reaction while he, Peter, goes up for a high angle. Ethan asks Peter if he's trying to get rid of him to which Peter replies to "not be weird" about it. Ethan buys his explanation and takes off in the opposite direction. Peter climbs the outer wall of a nearby building and switches to his Spider-Man costume on the way up. Peter reaches the roof and shoots a web-line at the man hanging out the window but it is intercepted in mid-air by the Absorbing Man (a.k.a. Crusher Creel) who extends his giant hand out the window. While the man starts falling towards his death, Creel pulls on the web-line and drags Spidey down to his level. Spidey manages to set himself free while the falling man is saved by some kind of superhero wearing a purple shirt, khaki colored paints and a green cape partially wrapped around his face to conceal his identity. From within the penthouse apartment, the mysterious woman tells the Absorbing Man to finish off Spider-Man quickly since they don't have time for this. Creel wants to leave but his hand has turned into webbing and his stuck to the wall. The mysterious woman grabs a glass of water and throws it at him. Instantly, Creel turns into water and falls out the window. Just then, Spidey climbs into the apartment. The mysterious woman pretends to be a victim but Spidey's spider-sense warns him that she is lying and up to no good. Spidey confronts her and she pulls out ninja stars out of her jacket, which she throws at him. Spidey dodges the ninja stars but just then, Creel returns and crashes through the wall. Spidey leaps out of harm's way and tries to web up the mysterious woman, but she swerves really quickly and the webbing misses her by no more than an inch. Creel, who has turned his arms into large blades, tries to impale Spidey but Spidey maneuvers out of harm's way. Suddenly, Creel simply stops moving, his eyes rolling in his head, and Spidey fears the worse: "Oh no...he's gonna hurl again!" (as seen in last issue when he puked asphalt all over Spidey). Just then, the Super-Man-like-hero flies by, grabs Creel out of the apartment and punches him with all his might. Creel is sent flying across the City, miles and miles away, to Spidey's amazement. Spidey tries to talk to this new super-hero but the latter flies off without saying a word. Spidey then returns into the penthouse apartment to grab his pants, which he hadn't been able to take off until being pulled in the apartment by Creel, and finds his wallet gone, stolen by the mysterious woman.

ACT 7: The mysterious woman makes her way to another part of town and finds a dazed and confused Crusher Creel inside a secret underground drug-selling club own by a Jamaican (Hello stereotype!!). She tells him to stand up and get ready because they have to pay someone a visit. As she says that, she holds up Peter/Spidey's wallet.

To be continued.