I’m Not Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter 74: Take Off the Mask! (Patreon)

Inside the Daily Bugle, it was business as usual. In other words, everyone was running themselves ragged.

J. Jonah Jameson sat in his office with a cigar between his fingers, surveying the newspaper empire he'd built. He took a satisfied puff and blew a ring of smoke into the air.

"Boss, we still haven't gotten any firsthand information," Robbie Robertson reported.

"Are all our reporters completely useless?" Jameson roared. "I told them to dig up everything they could about that damned spider fighting the Lizard! How long has it been? And they've got nothing? Back in my day, I went undercover with the mob all by myself!"

"Our helicopter did get some footage," Robbie reminded him.

"It's all blurry! I want something clear! We can't even make out what that spider is wearing. Hell, we can't tell whether the giant lizard has three legs or four!"

"Uh, pretty sure it has four," Robbie offered.

"Then go find me something better!"

"All right..."

Robbie left, only to return a short while later.

"Found anything?" Jameson demanded.

"Not exactly. There are some students outside pitching a comic. They think it might be a good fit for our publication."

"We don't need that childish nonsense." Jameson stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray. "Tell them to get back to school!"

"Actually, I thought it was pretty good," Robbie said.

"You did? When did you read it?"

"When Betty visited Midtown High School, Principal Davis gave her two copies. I read them afterward and liked what I saw. Those kids are from the school newspaper club."

"That doesn't make it news! We're in the business of reporting the news, not..."

"Boss, these students are here to see you," Betty announced, pushing open the office door. Four young faces appeared behind her.

"Fine, fine! Hand it over! You've got ten minutes!" Jameson barked. If the people he relied on most thought the comic deserved a look, he supposed he'd have to see it for himself.

Peter passed him the comic. Jameson crossed one leg over the other, lit a fresh cigar, and started reading.

Betty spoke briefly with Robbie before leaving. The four teenagers settled onto a sofa to wait.

"If anything comes up, just call me, all right?" Robbie told them.

"Of course, Mr. Robertson," Peter replied.

"Oh? You know who I am?"

"Your name badge." Peter pointed at Robbie's chest.

"Right. Smart kid. See you later." Robbie paused at the door. "Oh, and one more thing. Jameson has a pretty nasty temper. Try not to lose yours."

Once Robbie had gone, Peter turned to Thompson.

"So how do you know Betty?"

"Oh... well..." Thompson rubbed the back of his neck. "She was at that football game, remember?"

Peter nodded. Come to think of it, Betty really had been there.

"I'm pretty cool, so obviously she remembered me," Thompson went on. "Then she came to the science fair, and we ran into each other again. After that, we kind of... became friends."

"Oho! Just friends?" Peter asked, slinging an arm around Thompson's shoulders.

"Knock it off, Peter. She's way older than I am."

"All right, all right. Still, it's lucky you came. We wouldn't even have made it through the door without you."

It was Thompson who'd spotted Betty and persuaded her to let them in.

Jameson's promised ten minutes came and went. In fact, he spent a full half hour carefully reading the entire comic.

Finally, he looked up.

"This is... absolute garbage. I'm not printing it in my newspaper!"

"What did you just say?" Thompson shot to his feet, ready to take a swing at him.

"Easy, Flash!" Peter grabbed him before he could do anything stupid. "Fine. If you're not interested, we'll take our comic and go."

Harley reached for the book in Jameson's hands, clearly offended. But the editor pulled it out of reach.

"I won't waste valuable newspaper space on this trash," he said. "At most, I could publish it separately as a comic booklet. Don't even think about putting it in my paper!"

"All right. What would the contract look like?" Peter asked.

"You want a contract, too?!"

"We need to agree on the money," Peter replied calmly. "We're not interested in a single payment and calling it quits. We plan to make more comics. If we're doing this, we need a long-term arrangement."

"Oh, for the love of... I'm not agreeing to that!"

"Gwen, help me hold Flash back. Harley, over here." Peter beckoned her closer. "Call your mother and have her send a couple of lawyers."

If Jameson thought he could bully them because they were kids, he had another thing coming.

Harley wasted no time calling for reinforcements.

Once Jameson realized they were serious, his competitive streak kicked in. He sat up straight and started arguing in earnest.

Before long, the lawyers arrived and began hammering out possible contract terms with him.

They eventually narrowed the discussion to three arrangements.

The first was a complete sale of the Batman copyright. Peter's group would surrender it, and Jameson would pay an enormous lump sum.

How Jameson had gone from refusing to publish the comic to offering a fortune for it was anybody's guess.

It was only one comic, after all. Jameson could commission more chapters from the students or simply hire other artists afterward, but there was no serious proof that the series would succeed in the market. Offering a huge sum for the rights was a remarkable gamble.

Under the second arrangement, Peter would receive payment and the two sides would share rights. It carried considerable risk because no one could predict how popular this superhero comic might become. The Daily Bugle would control publication and decide how many copies to print.

The third was Peter's proposal. The Daily Bugle would set up a subsidiary to publish comics, and the two sides would jointly control the new company.

Jameson was so angry that his mustache looked ready to fly off his face. The nerve of this kid! He was barely old enough to be in high school, yet here he was demanding a piece of the business.

Jameson gave an irritated snort. But as he watched Peter stand his ground and argue every point, the corner of his mouth began to curl upward.

Not bad. The boy reminded him a little of himself at that age.

"Fine! But I have conditions," Jameson declared. "If the business performs badly, I get the right to buy out the entire subsidiary, copyrights included."

It wasn't an unreasonable condition. Jameson was giving ground and allowing Peter a chance to prove himself. But if the venture failed, the editor would have the final say.

"Second..."

Everyone braced themselves. With Jameson, another impossible demand could be coming at any moment.

"Batman has to take off his mask!"

A stunned silence settled over the room. Of all the things Jameson might have insisted on, nobody had expected that.

"Absolutely not!" Peter blurted out, to everyone's surprise.