Astronauts John Jameson and Paul Stevens are sent to a newly discovered asteroid and discover a rock, known as “Promethium X”, which is said to be more powerful than plutonium. Unknown to them though, the “Promethium X” also contains a black, ooze-like creature, which manages to break free and tries to consume the two astronauts. The space shuttle crashes on the George Washington Bridge where Rhino is sent by Kingpin to steal the “Promethium X”. Spider-Man manages to save John and Stevens, yet unknown to Spider-Man, Eddie Brock is on the bridge too, and takes photos of him and Rhino as well. Brock uses propaganda and frames Spider-Man for stealing something from the shuttle, which leads to a $1 million bounty on Spider-Man’s head by J. Jonah Jameson. However, Brock fails to mention to have seen Rhino at the scene also. Meanwhile, the black fluid hitched a ride on Spider-Man’s costume and forms over him while he sleeps. Spider-Man then finds himself with a black suit hanging upside down in the middle of the city with no memory of how he got there.
