He ain’t friendly and this ain’t your neighborhood! Yes, Mac Gargan, America’s favorite sociopath-turned-symbiote-host-turned-hero-hunter now takes the spotlight as Norman Osborn’s sinister Spider-Man. With the Dark Reign-a-raining, the lives of our mighty marvel heroes are being destroyed left and right – but for guys like Mac, the world is their oyster and the chef’s covering the bill. Mac’s a beloved hero. Women love him, men want to be him and nobody wants to run into him after midnight – because the symbiote is still pretty darn hungry...
Mac Gargan (formerly known as the Scorpion and most recently Venom), who has been masquerading as Spider-Man during the Dark Reign storyline, has been hired by Norman Osborne as a local "superhero".
Held on a tight leash and being told when he could go out and whom he could interact with, Gargan rebelled by going out on his own and catching a burglar by the name of General Wolfram. Wolfram claimed to be a product of genetic experiments by Nazi scientists, but Gargan made quick work of him and Wolfram's German accent appeared to be fake, putting the rest of his origin into question.
While Gargan reveled in pleasing the crowd, he secretly took the money Wolfram had stolen and bit off one of Wolfram's arms.
To celebrate his victories, Gargan goes to a nightclub and picks up a woman he decides to name Candy. He passingly mentions a woman named Destiny that disappeared recently, alluding to the fact that he had recently taken her and murdered her. Unfortunately, the people there do not keep tabs on the women working there.
Gargan returns to the Avengers Tower with Candy in tow to an angry Norman Osborne. Osborne is infuriated that Gargan went behind is back and city officials are now wondering where the money he had supposedly rescued ended up. The two come face to face in a power struggle, with Gargan reluctantly backing down.
Meanwhile, the DB's chief Dexter Bennett exclaims a new love for this new Spider-Man. While Betty Brant and the rest of the staff seem reluctant in embracing the new "superhero", Bennett instructs everyone to research every inch of Spider-Man.
Betty Brant tries to get the attention of former Bugle editor and now New York mayor J. Jonah Jameson, but he is too busy in press conferences over recent crime increases since his time in office. Jameson comes across Doctor Shep Gunderson, a man who proposes to rehabilitate former criminals. Jameson quickly rejects his offer before leaving.
A small man in a costume enters General Wolfram's hospital room where he is recovering from his injuries against Gargan. It is revealed that the small man is in fact Doctor Shep Gunderson, under the guise of the Redeemer, who wants to take Wolfram and other criminals (Doctor Everything, Eleven, The Hippo, and Dementoid) under his wing to rehabilitate them. He reveals that the only way to do this is to take down the man responsible for their crimes in the first place, the Amazing Spider-Man.
It is also revealed that Gargan had killed Candy and left her body in Jameson's bed, framing the mayor for her murder.
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