PREVIOUSLY: Over the last few months, Peter Parker has had to cope with his share of clones and other mysterious strangers showing up out of nowhere claiming to know his secrets, but is he ready to face a new Green Goblin (who recently surfaced in Web of Spider-Man #125)? Keep reading to find out.

REVIEW: For the past eight years, Sammy "The Smiler" Skalek blithely roamed the streets of Manhattan. Though homeless and jobless, he never lost his eternal optimism, his zest for life. He never once surrendered to despair, until tonight. A masked man had him on the run and now has him cornered at the end of a dark alley. Raising his fist up in the air, the masked man vows to rid the City of parasites such as him. His fist then bursts into flames and he literally burns Sammy alive. Sammy's scream echoes into the night, catching the attention of bystanders and a police officer walking nearby. They all rush into the alley, where they make the gruesome discovery of the burning remains of Sammy "The Smiler" Skalek. The police officer asks the others if they saw or heard anything out of ordinary. One of them mentions that he heard some kind of laugh, which could have only escaped from the lips of a lunatic. As he mentions that, the man who killed Sammy is seen running away in the shadows.

PREVIOUSLY: This is a standalone story that dwells into Peter Parker's past in contrast to his current situation.

REVIEW: Ben Urich, along with Daily Bugle photographer, Angela Yin, is investigating Peter Parker's background by interviewing his friends, for a story in the Daily Bugle, which was commissioned by Robbie Robertson. He first interrogates Flash Thompson who tells Ben that he always thought Peter was a total wuss until they hit college, which is where he really got to know him and which is where he learned to respect him and like him. Ben asks what Flash thinks of the evidence against Peter, which seems rather inconclusive. Flash quickly replies that Peter is innocent and that they – meaning the police – have the wrong man. Excusing himself, Flash gets back to work. On their way out of the school where Flash works, Angela asks Ben if he thinks Flash sincerely believes Peter to be innocent or if he was merely sticking up for an old friend. Ben replies that he does not know and that he will let the readers draw their own conclusions once his article is published.

Ben then interrogates Principal Davis who was the principal of Midtown High School when Peter used to go there. Principal Davis comments that Peter was extremely smart and that he achieved the highest scholastic average in his graduating class. Ben asks if, aside from his academic achievements, he recalls anything out of the ordinary about him. Pondering about the question for a few seconds, Principal Davis explains that he does recall a curious incident between Peter and the school's star athlete, Flash Thompson. In it, Flash pushed Peter, who lost his glasses, which shattered beyond repair on the ground. Deciding to settle their differences in the school gym, Peter and Flash took part in a boxing match and surprisingly, Peter easily proved victorious over his bulkier opponent. As he finishes telling his story, Principal Davis comments that, now that he thinks about it, Peter never went back to wearing his glasses after the incident.

Next, Ben interviews Anna Watson who explains how Peter's parents vanished while on some hush-hush mission for the US government and how Peter became his Aunt May's rock when his Uncle Ben was murdered by a mugger. According to Anna, there is no way in hell Peter could be a killer, because of the above and many other things.

A short time later at the Daily Bugle, Ben interviews Betty Brant. Betty recalls the first time she met Peter and explains that he was a quiet and dapper young man who was always promising his doting aunt that he would not exert himself. Ben asks if she dated Peter. Betty replies that she did but things did not work out for the two of them. She explains that she clearly remembers the first time they got together because that happened to be the exact time the Vulture chose to rob the Daily Bugle's payroll. She goes on explaining that, thankfully, Spider-Man showed up and took care of the Vulture before any more damage could be done. Then, when things finally began to settle down, Peter appeared and, when she asked him where he was when the Vulture and Spider-Man were fighting, he responded that he was hiding in a closet, as he is not the heroic type. Betty comments that she always liked that about Peter because he never pretended to be someone he was not. She goes on saying that he was a veritable pillar of strength for her when she lost her brother and her husband (i.e. Ned Leeds). As Ben apologizes for dredging up painful memories, J. Jonah Jameson appears, asking them what they are doing. Ben explains that he is interrogating some of Peter’s old friends for a story about him in the Daily Bugle, as per Robbie's request. Jameson is not too happy that he is questioning his fellow Bugle staffers and comments that a story about a reporter interviewing other reporters does not really scream Pulitzer. Angela Yin, who is standing next to Ben, asks Jonah what he thinks of Peter. Jonah explains that he first met Peter when he was still in high school and began selling freelance photographs to the Daily Bugle. Peter's pictures were sensational and he had wondered how he had gotten them but Peter had refused to reveal his methods. He goes on explaining that, for years, he was convinced Peter had some sort of financial arrangement with Spider-Man, so he paid money to have him followed and Peter eventually admitted it was true. Jonah then comments that he never believed for one second that Spider-Man had captured the burglar that murdered Peter's Uncle Ben. Suddenly, a bulb flashes in Jonah’s brain and he realizes – though he is completely wrong – that Peter is no serial killer and that he is covering for the real murderer: Spider-Man. Huffing and puffing, Jonah storms out of the common room towards Robbie Robertson's office. Angela apologizes to Ben for speaking up and Ben rudely tells her to snap the pictures and he will ask the questions. Ben then sits down at his computer to try and organize his notes into a coherent article, while Angela takes her leave. As he sits there, he realizes that there is a key element missing to the whole thing. He asks himself how it is possible that a quiet bookworm grew up to become a photographer who specializes in sensational action shots of super heroes and villains. He theorizes that something must have happened to him in high school...something that gave him both confidence and courage. He continues thinking that the answer is out there somewhere but he can't even guess where to look.

The end.