Spiderman 3

Act 1, Scene 1

The New York cityscape, the most famous in the world. We stay on it for a second and then – whoosh – a flash of blue and red flies past the screen. It's Spiderman. He's chasing two police cars which themselves are hot on the heels of another vehicle, a large van. The van's back doors fly open and two hoods are revealed. One grins as he hefts a rocket launcher to his shoulder. The police cars veer to the left and right, and one smashes into traffic, out of commission. The other survives.

As the hood launches the rocket, a web attaches itself to the launcher and jerks it upward slightly, out of the path of traffic and pedestrians. The rocket fires. We enter Spiderman's 'spider-sense' bullet-time mode as, from his point of view, he sees the rocket shoot toward him as he swings. He twists his body in a way no human could and, falling, shoots his web from both wrists so it attaches itself to the rocket. He's pulled upward with the rocket, web still firing from his wrists, thickening the two weblines until the rocket is covered in a protective cocoon of webbing. This done, Spiderman detaches himself from the rocket and begins falling once again to the New York streets.

We cut to a daytime scene. Peter Parker, dressed in his university gear and looking quite well, is thumbing through the newspapers available on a newsstand. He comes to the Daily Bugle, which screams SPIDERMAN IN ROCKET ATTACK ON CITIZENS! alongside a sensationalised picture of a small boy standing beside the cocooned rocket, trussed up like a beached shark.

PETER: Figures.

We go back to the previous scene. Spiderman is still falling. As he's now done many times before, he judges the moment to perfect to snake out a webbing line and swoop back into the pursuit of the van. As he nears it again, he sees that the hoods have reloaded the rocket launcher and are fumbling it into launch position.

SPIDERMAN: Not again you don't…

In his customary spectacular style, Spiderman uses two lamp-posts to swing around the in-motion traffic (barely avoiding an oncoming rig) and land on the roof of the van. Just as the hood has the remaining police-car in his sights, Spiderman's hand reaches down from above him and calmly plucks the launcher.

SPIDERMAN: Thanks. Here, you have this.

He punches the hood in the face and swings around the edge of the van to land nimbly inside. The other hood faces him.

We cut back to the newsstand scene. Peter picks up another tabloid paper, the New York Sun-Chronicle. SPIDER-VIGILANTE CRUSHED MY HAND! is the headline, beside a picture of the hood cradling a small puppy with one hand. The other is heavily, heavily bandaged.

Again we go back to the van. The 'victim' pulls a large bowie knife on Spiderman and lunges. With one swift move Spiderman evades the thrust and raps his opponent's knuckles, making him drop the knife. Seconds later he's affixed to the wall with a burst of webbing.

We cut to the masked driver. He's tapped on the shoulder. He glances up, barely daring to look away from his high-speed getaway.

SPIDERMAN: Hi.

HOOD: Ah, crap...

Spiderman pats him on the shoulder.

SPIDERMAN: …right over there will do. Nice and slow.

The hood obliges, reducing the van's speed and pulling it over.

SPIDERMAN: Nice driving.

HOOD: Thanks.

SPIDERMAN: So, been doing this long?

HOOD: Yeah.

They come to a halt. The police car, now joined by two more reinforcement cars, screech to a halt beside them.

SPIDERMAN: Ever think about maybe…stopping?

HOOD: (bitterly) Do you?

Spiderman webs the hood's hands together with a quick precise burst. When he speaks there's quiet satisfaction in his voice.

SPIDERMAN: Not any more.

With that we see him shoot from the back of the van, bounding high into the New York night. The police officers crane their necks to watch him go.

OFFICER #1: Damn menace.

OFFICER #2: Ah, get off the guy's back, willya?

OFFICER #1: He's a menace. The sooner someone brings his ass in, the better. Don't you read the papers, man?

And we go back to Peter Parker, who's doing just that with a look of resigned disappointment. The newsstand owner comes into shot, glaring at Peter.

OWNER: This look like a library to you?

PETER: Sorry.

OWNER: You buyin' one or not?

PETER: No, I…

But as he says this, his attention is distracted by another headline from another paper, the New York Sentinel. HERO SPIDERMAN FOILS ROBBERY.

PETER: Can I have this one?

OWNER: Sure you can. Can I have some money?

Peter fumbles in his pocket for change. He palms the correct money to the newsstand owner, who takes it and turns away, presumably to abuse some other member of the public. Peter begins walking away slowly, reading the article aloud softly to himself. As he reads a disbelieving grin begins to spread across his face.

PETER: '…last night, New York City was once again made a safer place, once again shown that we have at least one hero who will stand up to the criminal element and show the rest of us an example to follow. And that hero's name, ladies and gentlemen, believe it or not, is…'