What's wrong?
I'm sorry, Felicia, but this isn't going to work.
Spider-Man can't have a girlfriend.
It'd be too dangerous-- for both of us.
I know.
Even so, I had to let you know how I feel.
What's that?
Retrieval team, on your mark...
T-minus 5, 4, 3...
2...
Go!
Coordinate your movements precisely according to plan.
Ahh, accurate timing is a thing of beauty.
Felicia, l--
Duty calls? I understand.
You should go.
Be careful, Spider-Man.
Hey, boys, what's your hurry?
Uh-oh.
Move it, web head! Move it!
I thought I'd seen everything...
but this really takes the cake.
I'm sorry the manufacturer...
raised the price on that medicine, Robert.
If it helps Mama get better, it's worth it.
Tell you what, I'll give you this at my cost.
Let your mother know we're all pulling for her.
Thanks, Mr. Jackson. We really appreciate that.
Can you believe it?
That kid used to be in trouble all the time.
Then his mama got sick.
Now he's really trying to turn himself around.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen...
it's Robert "The Rocket" Farrell...
slashing up the sidewalks.
Will the curb be a problem? No way!
He's too stoked to be stopped! Radical aerial!
The crowd goes wild! Yeah!
He slants the stairs like a pro...
and then for the grand finale--Huh?
Unbelievable.
Uh-oh!
Gotcha, you flying flakes!
Unh!
Whoa! Felt the breeze on that one!
The cops can handle him. I've got a bigger fish to catch.
Incredible!
Freeze, kid!
Long time, no see, Farrell.
This time you're in real trouble.
OK, rocket runts, party's over!
Blast! What a lousy time to run out of webbing!
No extra cartridges? No captured bad guys?
For this, I left Felicia?
You were right to call, Mrs. Farrell.
I can't thank you enough for coming with me, Miss Hardy.
l--I just didn't know who else to turn to.
Robert's one of the brightest students...
in the Hardy Foundation's science program.
I'm sure the police have made a mistake.
There's something I have to tell you.
Before he got involved in your science classes...
Robert used to be a very bad boy...
and if he's gone back to his old ways--
Shh. Just take it easy.
Take it easy.
You know how being upset affects your health.
-Oh, Robert! -Mama?
Baby, I was so worried about you.
Miss Hardy kindly posted your bail.
I tried to tell them I didn't do anything...
but they think I'm a thief.
Maybe that's just what I ought to do.
Then I'd show them!
No son of mine is going to become a criminal!
It would destroy me, Robert.
Don't ever talk that way, son.
Don't even think that way!
Too bad those Rocket Raiders got away.
Oh, well, it's nice to be able...
to drown my frustrations as a crime fighter...
in my work as a science teacher.
It doesn't pay anything...
but sometimes there's more to life than money.
-Hi, Mr. Parker! -Hey, sir!
-Good morning, Mr. Parker! -How's it going?
Hey, you guys, it's great to see you, too.
Has Robert gotten his gyro-coaster working yet?
Yeah. All you have to do is switch it on.
Incredible. When I told Robert to read up...
on the latest theories of gyroscopic stabilization...
I had no idea he'd assimilate them so thoroughly.
I'll bet he knows more about this subject now than I do!
I thought I saw our favorite science tutor come in.
Oh, hi, Felicia.
Parker? Is something wrong?
Oh, no, no. Nothing's wrong.
Well, that is, nothing that wouldn't be fixed...
if you'd go out with me tonight.
A date? That's sweet, Parker...
but there is someone else I'm seeing these days.
Thanks anyway, though. You really are a good friend.
Friend? Unbelievable!
As long as she's in love with Spider-Man...
that's all Peter Parker will ever be.
Now I'm competing with myself!
Felicia, where's Robert today?
Peter, something happened last night with Robert.
We'll talk after you teach your class--
Excuse me, my dear fellow...
I'm looking for Felicia Hardy.
You've found her.
Miss Hardy. We spoke on the phone.
My name is Phillips. Jason Phillips.
Mr. Phillips, how nice.
This is Peter Parker, one of our tutors.
Mr. Phillips wants to donate a lot of money to our center.
I promised to show him around.
Yes, and perhaps we can discuss...
further matters later over dinner?
How nice. That sounds delightful.
I know that, Robert, but I still think...
you should keep up with your science class.
We've been through all that, Mama.
You need my help here a lot more.
She needs help, all right!
The kind of help we can give her.
See, lady, all kinds of things can happen in this world.
Get outta here! Unh!
Robert!
Why are you doing this to us? Why?
We want you to pay us to protect you...
OK, store lady?
If you don't come up with 1 0 times this amount...
we might have to have a neighborhood bonfire...
and use your store as fuel.
Mama, you better go lie down and rest.
Yes, I must.
Let me clean this mess up.
Thank you, Robert. You're such a good boy.
Hey, guy. What happened here?
Nothing. Just a small earthquake.
Miss Hardy told me what happened to you last night.
Is there anything I can do to help?
No! We can fend for ourselves.
And I don't have time for that science center anymore.
But I thought science was an important part of your life.
What you don't realize, dukes...
is that brothers like me don't need science.
We've got to think more about how to survive.
Any way we can. Now, leave me alone.
I have work to do.
I seem to be striking out all over these days.
He's making a big mistake...
if he thinks education isn't the key to survival.
There's got to be some way I can make him understand that.
But how?
Unh!
Hey, watch where you're going, punk.
-I'm sorry. -Now, beat it!
Raiders, I congratulate you...
on our latest triumph.
Thanks to our precision and timing...
Spider-Man was hopelessly outmaneuvered...
and as usual, the police were useless.
A new ring?
Yeah. Like it?
Interesting. However, I recommend you hold off...
buying any more jewelry with our earnings...
since our next target will be the diamond district...
and all your "purchases" will be on the house.
The credo I live by as a master thief...
is the same one I believed in...
when I was an aeronautical engineer--
"Timing is everything."
Fortunately, I gave up government work...
just in time to use this top secret technology...
for more lucrative ventures.
Incredible!
Hope they won't miss a few pieces of equipment.
Everybody wants me to get back into science?
Cool. I'm with that.
But this time, it's going to pay.
Hi, Mama.
Robert, I am so glad to see you working...
on your project again...
not going out into the streets...
and getting yourself into trouble.
Science is your real future.
No kidding.
Well, I'm gonna go lie down.
Keep up the good work.
Don't worry, Mama. I will.
Great! The gyros, the magnetic wheels...
and boot clamps-- they all really work!
I can cling to buildings by magnetically...
attaching myself to their infrastructures.
Yeah!
Desk sergeant, I have a silent alarm.
East Side Jewelry Shop.
See, Mama? I do know what I'm doing.
And this stuff's gonna make all our problems go away.
-Oh, Robert. -Mama!
No son of mine is going to become a criminal.
It would destroy me, Robert.
Hey, wait a minute. What am I thinking?
This is really wack, man. It's wrong.
You take the back. I'll cover the front.
No! I've got to get out of here.
We've just picked up a crime in progress...
and we're here to bring you all the action live...
as a costumed crook is making a dramatic escape...
from the East Side Jewelry Shop...
on--get this-- a rocket-powered skateboard!
Another one of those Rocket Raiders?
This time I won't let 'em get away.
I've gotta lose that nosy news chopper.
Uh-oh. Get out of my face!
Hey! I'm stuck!
Oh, no! Help me!
An amazing drama...
is coming to an incredible conclusion...
at the Hotel Excelsior construction site.
I can't stop it!
You've got to!
My boots are magnetically sealed...
and I can't shut down my power supply!
-There's only one chance. -Don't leave me!
No!
Continuing our live coverage...
I never realized this finger was so powerful.
Back off!
What? That costume, that material.
It's Robert! Ohh!
Hey, put the missiles down.
Haven't you had enough for one night?
I guess that's his way of saying no.
Yeah!
There has been a flaw...
in my meticulously worked-out plan.
Punch up the security video.
As I suspected.
That little weasel came in and stole our technology.
But why do I know that face?
Look, that's the twerp...
who was caught with some of our loot.
Farrell, eh? We've got to eliminate him...
before the police make him reveal...
where he got his technology.
My technology!
He's fast...
but he can't outrun my spider tracer.
Whoa!
Nice work, Spidey.
The new kid in town just took you for a ride.
Wow.
What a night. Huh?
So you're the newest creep to hit the Big Apple?
Spider-Man! How'd you find me?
I left you sucking diesel exhaust.
A little bug told me.
But what's with breaking into jewelry stores?
Wasn't getting arrested enough to teach you your lesson?
The lesson is to survive, man.
It's not an easy thing down here.
I bet when you take off that mask and go home...
you don't come to this neighborhood.
See, I didn't steal anything...
but everyone thinks I did.
So what's the point of playing by the rules, man?
Tell me that, Spider-guy.
Robert, are you there?
Felicia Hardy?
Spider-Man!
What are you doing here?
It's Robert's mother. She had a relapse.
When she saw Robert in costume on TV...
she recognized him.
No! Where is she now?
She's at my house. There's a doctor with her.
I've got to get there.
That's the building.
Go in and get him!
Unhh!
Get out of here!
I'll hold off these rocket rejects.
It's that overgrown hula-hoop again!
Ahh!
Robert, get in!
I want my technology back, skate punk!
He's gaining! Aah!
You can't outrun him!
I've got to keep you out of this.
Robert!
Uhh!
That big Ferris-wheel thing is trying to crush Robert!
Not if I can help it.
Whoo.
Finally lost him. Huh?
Time to remove the one gremlin...
in my carefully-timed machinery.
I've got you now, you little gnat.
-Thanks, man. -Don't mention it.
Wait a minute.
That voltage cable could be just what we need.
I bet the gyroscopes he uses are electrically driven.
That's how they can be precisely timed.
Good thinking.
One big jolt of electricity...
might short-circuit the stabilizers.
That could ruin the timing...
and make the big wheel roll out of control.
-It's worth a try. -I'll keep him busy.
Robert, over here!
Aah! My gyroscope! The timing mechanism!
They're ruined! Aah!
It worked!
I've got to save that guy before he gets hurt.
Aaah!
Well, how do you like that?
My smarts helped to get us out of that one.
I guess it pays to know science stuff after all.
And to use what you know responsibly.
It looks like the big wheel...
steered him in the right direction after all.
The police picked up that Jackson Weele character...
and he's confessed to everything.
I think they'll go much easier on Robert...
when he goes to trial.
That's wonderful.
But something even more wonderful's...
going on in there.
I knew I was wrong, Mama...
but since everyone thought I was a thief...
it just seemed like the easiest way to help out...
was to become one for real.
But I just couldn't go through with it.
I'm not a crook.
And I guess I really am a scientist at heart.
Yes, and you're my son.
Oh, I am very proud of you.
You and I, we're a team...
and we'll get through everything together.
OK, store lady.
We're gonna make an example outta you.
Time to light this place up.
Did somebody say something...
about making an example of someone?
Your gang-bangin'days are over.
Unhh!
Huhh!
I always did want to hang with the homeboys.
I look forward to us doing this again...soon.
Jason, I had a wonderful time, but...
Felicia, what's wrong?
Is there someone else?
No, I suppose not.
Not anymore.
Yes, let's have dinner again...soon.
Looks like Felicia has found a new friend.
Oh, well, I suppose it's all for the best.
Sweet dreams, Felicia.
It's hard to let you go.