01x01 - Horizon High: Part 1

[bunniefuu]

[SIRENS AND ALARMS BLARING]

What are these lowlifes trying to steal?

Report says Vibranium.

Whatever happened to stealing money?

Where have you been?
Science is the new currency.

SPIDER-MAN:
Albert Einstein once said,

"Learn from yesterday, live for today,

and hope for tomorrow."

Well, it's been two weeks ago yesterday
that I was bitten by a radioactive spider.

So I'm still figuring that out.

Today, however, is what I live for.

Making my debut and showing everyone
what I'm capable of.

From this moment on,
the world will know me as Spider-Man!

Come on, man. You're ruining my moment.

Shoo! Shoo!

Oh, great. I'm supposed
to stick to walls, not pigeons.

Who-- Whoa!

[EXHALES]

-Huh?
-Get away from my pigeon coop!

Oh, you don't understand.

-I'm not stealing. He's stuck to me.
WOMAN: Get out! Messing with my pigeons.

Great time to learn
how to release, Spidey.

-Good thing I know about webbing.
-Shouldn't you be in school?

WOMAN: I told you...
-Or not.

Seems 200 psi isn't enough
to launch webbing properly.

Ah!

-Get off my roof, you menace!
-Today isn't the best day to do this.

What do I do, Uncle Ben?

[g*nshots]

What do I do, Uncle Ben?

Flash Thompson's mom wants me
to tutor him in science,

but he's always bullying me.

I know it's the right thing to do,

but man, it would be nice
to see him squirm just a little.

Hmm.

Peter, everybody has a gift.

Sometimes, when a person
can't figure out what that gift is,

they take it out on other people.

-Does that make sense?
-Not really.

[CHUCKLES]

Too bad...

because I thought my gift
was making sense of things.

Goodness knows it isn't science.

PETER: I think all it needs
is a little iron oxide.

[DINGS]
[CUCKOOS]

Ha-ha. Look at that.

Hmm. You know, Pete, I don't know
as much about science as you do,

but there's always been one formula
that worked for me in any situation.

With great power,
comes great responsibility.

That's not a real thing.
You just made that up.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]

What? Sure it is.

Isn't that a thing? I know the P is.

Yeah, it's Phosphorus.

And the only thing G stands for is goofy.

Like I said, real or not,
it's always worked for me.

I'll tell Mrs. Thompson
I can start tutoring Flash next week.

You're right, Uncle Ben.

With great power
comes great responsibility.

I need to do this.

Two hundred and fifty psi
should do the trick.

[CAR TIRES SCREECH]
[g*nshots]

Oh, no, you don't.

[GRUNTS]

[SIRENS AND ALARMS BLARING]

All right, let's see if I got
this pressure right. Unh!

Whoo-hoo!

It's working. It's working.

Oh, overheating.

Oh!

Uh-oh. If my calculations are correct,

at this speed, I've got 15 seconds

to get everyone in a two-block
radius out of danger.

That includes the old lady on the corner,

the mother and kid crossing the street,

and the skateboarders heading to the--

Wait!

[GASPS]
PETER: That's it.

This car belongs in HOV lane.

For "Hoodlum Operated Vehicles."

Am I right? I mean left!

Aah!

Coming through.

Whoa!

[GRUNTS]

[GRUNTS]

Ta-da!

All right, you g*ons. Hand it over.

Congrats, guys. That's called an ollie.

And that's called my spider sense.

[GROANS]

VULTURE: You may have
defeated my minions, Bug Boy.

But you'll beg for mercy
at the claws of the Vulture.

[SCREECHING]

The Vulture? Bug Boy?

Man, you are horrible
at coming up with these names.

[SCREECHING]

[SCREAMING]

Ah, much better.

It's quite a scream you got there.

Ever think about auditioning for...

So You Know How to Scream?

Joke while you can.
It will be your last laugh.

What? I'm sorry, I can't hear well
with these things on.

You said you're a fan
and you want my autograph?

[BATTLE GRUNT]

-Come here!
-Whoa, easy, fella.

My ears are starting to pop.

I'm not as interested in popping
as I am in dropping.

[PETER SCREAMS]
[VULTURE LAUGHS]

[SPIDER WEB SWOOSHES]
Huh?

[GRUNTS]
Let go of me, you fool.

I did this with a pigeon
friend of yours earlier.

Oh, come on.

[GRUNTS]

I gotta put a stop to this

before he drives me
through every building in Manhattan.

Three hundred psi, don't let me down now.

[GRUNTS]

Aah!

[SIREN BLARING]

Now to make a cage for this bird.

[SCREECHING]

Don't tell me you forgot
about my webmuffs?

That wasn't for you.

It's either stop me or save them, hero.

[VULTURE LAUGHS]

Your first villain and you let him escape.

I'm running out of webs. Maybe I should--

POLICE:
Ah, hey, Webhead.

It's Spider-Man, actually.

Great. How are we supposed
to get these guys out of your web ball?

Oh, it dissolves in an hour.

I think.

Eh, this is far enough.

But Horizon High
isn't for a few more blocks, sir.

It maybe a new school, Bernie,
but it's the same old routine.

You know I like to walk
these last few blocks with my pal, Pete.

Ah. Ah. Oh!

Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia!

Can't you just say "brain freeze"
like everyone else?

Ah, but that wouldn't be accurate.

One theory is, when the brain senses cold,

it moves the blood
through the cerebral artery

to regulate the temperature,

so technically
you should be saying heat blast.

[CHUCKLES]

Nerd. See, you're the one
who should be going to Horizon High.

In fact, why don't you apply?
You'd be a slam dunk.

I don't know.

Aunt May and I are barely scraping by,
now that Uncle Ben is gone.

I can't ask any more from her.

Smoothies are on me.

That's not what I meant.
I'm glad we still do this, Harry.

I miss you not being in school.

Yeah, well, you're gonna see me
a lot sooner than you think,

A slot has opened up at Horizon High,

so Max is giving a recruitment
presentation at Midtown today.

That's today?

Max Modell is coming to school today?
How do I look?

Pretty rattled for a guy
who's not interested in applying.

No, I just, I mean, it's Max Modell.

He's my idol. I know everything about him.

I even volunteered to come in early
and help set up on the day he--

Oh, no. I volunteered to come in early
and help set up today!

Liz Allan is gonna k*ll me.

Same old Parker.

Okay. I just need to reprogram
the temperature threshold.

LIZ:
Parker!

-You know you missed it?
-I know. I'm sorry, Liz.

But once I missed it, I figured I'd just
catch up on some schoolwork.

You're always at the wrong place
at the wrong time, Parker.

Luckily, Randy was here to help.

Yeah, more like I was ordered to help.

Thanks, Randy.

What temperature do you think
a viscous liquid needs to reach

before it achieves its maximum density?

Got me. You're the egghead, remember?

I'm just the guy doing a story
on Max Modell for the school's website.

How awesome is it that there's a school
specifically for geniuses

and that they're coming here for recruits?

Huh. It can't be that good
if that snob Harry Osborn got in.

As far as I can tell, Horizon High
is on par with a 4H club.

Exactly. If the four H's are
hardworking heroes who help.

One of your H's is a W, Parker.

Hey, I'm a science geek,
not a spelling geek.

Well, if Horizon High is legit,

then Alistair Smythe
is sure to be invited in next.

You're too good for them, son.

Max Modell is an overrated lab assistant.

I knew him back in the day,
and he's a fraud.

Whatever you say, Mr. Smythe.

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

Oh, it's 9:00. We should be starting.

Welcome, students of Midtown High.

It isn't often a scientist gets called
a genius within his lifetime.

Can we call him a giant dufus?

But when he creates a private school
for young minds

looking to pursue their dreams,

we also get to call him a role model.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I give you Max Modell from Horizon High.

[CHEERING]

Max Modell!

Good morning, everyone.

You know, I could spend a lot of time

talking about the cool things
we're doing over at Horizon High.

What?

Like I said, I could talk about them,

but I'd rather show you,

with our new hologram prototype.

[MURMURING]

MODELL: Created by the fertile minds
at Horizon High.

Where I'm excited to say,

we have one last slot that needs
to be filled this semester.

Oh!

[CHEERING]

Well, it's not that simple.

You see,
in order to be a student at Horizon,

you have to have
a certain kind of intellect.

An intellect that can solve
an equation like this, for example.

Wow, that equation seems to explain
how moisture interacts with vibration.

An intellect like Anya Corazon
or Miles Morales.

Students at Horizon
who specialize in elemental physics.

That's your cue. Go.

SMYTHE: Osborn.
-Huh?

Oh, Mr. Smythe. What do you need?

That contraption is making
an odd humming noise.

Is it supposed to do that?

Looks fine.

Don't be so smug. You're not the--

MODELL: And in the area of chemistry,
your very own Harry Osborn.

[AUDIENCE CHEERING]

I gotta go.

Keep talking, Modell. I'm gonna bring you
and your whole school down.

Thanks, Max.

At Horizon High, kids are doing things
they could have only dreamed of before.

Like Anya and her Vibranium reactor. Anya?

Once, Vibranium could only be found
in the nation of Wakanda,

but with my Vibranium reactor,
there will be enough Vibranium...

-Oh, no. Spider-Sense going nuts.
-...in a new--

[GASPS]

[GRUNT]

Fortunately in this chaos,
no one will notice me switch to...

Spider-Man!

Somehow that Vibranium
is working in reverse.

Instead of absorbing vibrations,
it's producing them.

Let's hope I got this web sh**ter
working right.

Huh?
[GRUNT]

Uh-oh. It's true Parker, you are always
in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[GROANING]

Ta-da!

Who's that guy?

Uh-oh.

The reactor just keeps going.

Gotta cut the power.

[GULPS]

Detach the impulse valve
with the discharge.

There, that ought to stop you.

[GRUNTS]

[WHIRS DOWN]

Huh? Ah, ah, ah!

Let's try and avoid barbequed spider,
shall we?

Whoo!

Luckily, I still have my Parker clothes.

I shut the reactor off.

But the fire department is better equipped
to deal with these intense flames.

Great. No service.

But someone needs to do something.

And that someone is me.

Well, hello, Max's equation.

That gives me an idea.

Piggyback on that Vibranium output,

absorb some of this condensation
and re-direct it.

Re-purpose these wires in.

[MACHINE BEEPS]

[CHEERING]

PETER:
Nice.

All my work. What did you do?

Uh, sorry.

Why couldn't you just
let that beetle kid handle it?

I think he's Spider-Man.

[GRUNTS]

Hey, don't let it bother you, pal.

The bad news is she'll hate you for life.

But the good news is,
you don't go to her school.

And who is this young man
I have to thank for putting out the fire?

This is Peter Parker,
the one I've been telling you about.

Well, Peter, I'm impressed.

Not only did you solve my equation,

but you also put it to practical use.

Indoor storm clouds are
something I've been toying with,

and you're the only one
who figured it out.

Mr. Modell, look. I solved it too.

Sorry, young man. That looks more like
a Rorschach Test than an answer.

-Come with me, Peter.
-Huh?

[GRUNTING]

Parker!

Don't worry, son. This will all get fixed.

I appreciate
what you did here today, Peter.

And it's with great pleasure

that I'd like to offer you
the remaining slot at Horizon.

Are you kidding me?

Horizon High should be shut down.

What you did here today was reckless.

My students know
exactly what they're doing, Spencer.

And if I had to guess,

I'd say some tampering
occurred on this campus.

Don't be foolish.

You want to point fingers?
Point them at your own people.

I know for a fact that Harry Osborn
was tinkering around with the reactor

before the presentation.

What? That can't be.

And the board of education states

that any student accused of sabotage
shall be suspended indefinitely.

Pending an investigation.

You're a devious person, Spencer.

But you're right.

Harry, I hate to say it,

but pending a brief investigation,

I'm afraid you'll have to be suspended.

-What?
-What? You can't do that.

I don't know what he's showing you, but--

Devastation.

The perfect time for the Vulture
to pick through the remains.

PETER AND HARRY: Max!
[VULTURE LAUGHING]

STUDENT:
Oh, my God!

I'll go get help.

More like I'll find my costume
so I can change back to...

Oh, right.

Mental note,

make costume out of
flame resistant material next time.

[GRUNTING]

Let go of me, Adrian.

Adrian Toomes was
a pathetic employee of yours, Modell.

Fired with insufficient cause.

I am the Vulture.

Adrian, you were fired
for stealing equipment.

[SCREAMING]

[GRUNTS]

That equipment was mine.

[YELPS]

Everything you worked on
under my employ belongs to Horizon.

Yes, but my anti-gravity Vulture suit
is all me.

And it needs Vibranium to work.

[SCREAMING]

You again.

I knew red and blue would be memorable.

[GROANING]

I've got you.

Yes, but I've got you.

Let's see how you like being stabbed
in the back, like Modell did to me.

[MAX SCREAMING]
-Max! No!

Let go.

Can't let my first day
turn out to be Max's last.

[MAX SCREAMING]

[GRUNTS]

Thanks, Flying Squirrel.

Well, better than a beetle.
At least you're safe.

Ah, not yet, we're not.

The Vulture is headed back to the school.

It's the Vibranium he wants.

Then hang on.

MAX:
You sure you know how to fly this thing?

SPIDER-MAN:
Nope.

You? I told you,
I had everything under control.

Then why am I not in possession
of the Vibranium?

I needed to take care
of some personal business first.

[SCOFFS]

Your trivial grudges
are of no concern to me.

[SCREECHING]

[GRUNTS]

[PANTING]

Dad, are you okay?

I'm gonna make the Vulture pay for this.

You'll do no such thing.

Now that I have the Vibranium,

it will take someone much stronger
than you to take me down.

SPIDER-MAN: You talking about me?
-Huh?

[GRUNTS]

Huh?

No bother.

I shall destroy you all just the same.

[SCREECH THEN GROANS]

Bull's-eye, or Vulture's eye.

POLICE OFFICER:
Nice work for a catcher.

You mind sticking around
to answer a few questions?

To be honest, I've got my own questions
that need answering.

I just don't see how I can go
to Horizon High, Aunt May.

Peter, I thought we settled this.

This is exactly what your Uncle Ben
would have wanted.

And we're not going to let him down.

But how are we going to afford it?

I'll get another job, if I have to.

Are they hiring at the cafe here?

Very funny. I guess it just feels weird
going there without Harry.

What's he gonna say now
that he's been suspended?

He's gonna say
the suspension is temporary.

And you deserve to be
at that school as much as I do.

Harry! You okay?

What did your dad say?

Relax, he said, if the smartest school
wouldn't have me,

he'd create an even smarter one.

Whatever that means.

Hi, Mrs. Parker. What are you doing here?

Well, I was so determined
to see Peter go to Horizon High,

I told him I'd walk him to school myself.

Well, I can take it from here,
if you want.

Thanks.

Have a great day, you two.

[LIGHT ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]

Got the first-day jitters?

Of course I do.

It's my first day in a new environment,
so naturally my hands are processing

the incoming sensory signals
sent from my--

Okay, Okay. I get it.
It was a yes or no question.

You're gonna fit in just fine.

How are you feeling?

Confused.

I mean, I know those Smythes
aren't fans of mine,

but it seems too devious, even for them.

Plus that spider person showing up

and destroying the reactor
can't be just a coincidence.

Now, I think that guy
had a hand in this somehow,

and I intend to prove it.

Oh, I don't know about that.

I think he was just trying to--

Wait, you knew he was a spider?

Yeah, what did you think he was?

[CHUCKLES]

Nothing.

I can always count on you, Harry.

-See you later.
-Yeah.

Uh, Pete?

Oh, sorry.
I seem to be going the wrong way.

No, Pete.
For once, you're going the right way.

"Learn from yesterday, live for today."

I guess Einstein was right.

Because even though I made some mistakes
on my first day as a superhero,

-it still led me here.
-Yeah.

And with a new school
as awesome as this to go to,

tomorrow could only get better, I hope.

MODELL:
Peter Parker, you finally made it.

Hi, Mr. Modell.

Please, call me Max.

Welcome to Horizon High.

Wow.

My Uncle Ben said everyone had a gift.

Maybe I've finally found mine.