American comic book: Absolute Spider-Man

It's 3:30 in the afternoon. After finishing a day of classes, Peter and his friends packed up their textbooks in the lockers and prepared to go home.

Such dismissal times are unimaginable in high schools in China.

Most high schools in the United States are very relaxed, with students finishing school at two or three in the afternoon. The classroom atmosphere is relaxed, and the homework pressure is also very light.

For the average American student, high school is a time to squander one's youth.

However, Midtown High School is not included in this list.

As one of the top elite universities in New York, it never restricts students with strict schedules, but all the students in the school are fiercely competitive.

As soon as the school bell rang, the school gates opened, and students poured out in droves, looking no different from any other relaxed high school students.

Only by being there can you realize that these seemingly leisurely afternoons and evenings are where the real competition begins.

No one forced them, yet everyone was drawn into it on their own.

AP courses and honors programs are almost as difficult as university courses, with mountains of papers, experiments, and project reports.

Club competitions, scientific research practice, and volunteer experience—each of these is a bargaining chip for getting into a prestigious university.

Sports students like Lightning train before dawn, academic stars immerse themselves in the library until closing time, and some students rush home to the training institutions they've enrolled in as soon as school is over.

Even casual conversations during breaks inevitably revolve around GPA, standardized test scores, and letters of recommendation.

They get out of school early not to rest or play, but to have more time to complete tasks that students in ordinary schools don't have to face at all.

In the United States, the elite, whether adults or children, must work themselves to the bone if they don't have the means to sit back and relax.

"Hey, Peter." A voice sounded from behind. Peter turned around and was so frightened that he almost wet himself.

Lightning, who is nearly two meters tall, was wearing a Midtown High School football uniform. His shoulder pads accentuated his broad shoulders and back, and his muscles were clearly defined under the tight-fitting jersey. He was holding a helmet in his hand and was standing behind Peter, waving to him.

If that were all, it wouldn't be a big deal. The key point is that this burly man, who is over two meters tall, is wearing a white Spider-Woman mask similar to Gwen Stacy's.

Seeing Peter looking at him awkwardly from behind the mask, Flash removed it and said, puzzled, "What's wrong? Don't you like my Spider-Woman look?"

"I love it, I absolutely love it," Peter replied dryly, his lips twitching uncontrollably.

"That's good." Lightning grinned without realizing it, and the next second, his handsome, angular face was filled with undisguised fervor.

He leaned closer with a smitten look on his face, and said excitedly in a low voice, "You know what? I'm the president of the Midtown High School Spider-Woman Fan Club now. We've created online groups, we provide offline support, we collect all the traces of her whereabouts, and we've even designed exclusive badges and slogans. Soon, fans all over New York and even the whole of America will recognize us as their headquarters..."

As he spoke, he took out his phone, opened the newly released TikTok app, and showed Peter his account and a group chat called "Spider-Woman Fan Club".

"I even left a comment under Spider-Woman's video, hoping she could join our group chat, but unfortunately she didn't respond."

As he spoke, Lightning opened his account and showed Peter a series of videos he had posted.

Peter casually clicked on Flash's profile page, and was immediately greeted by a bizarre mix of two-meter-tall burly men and white Spider-Woman.

In the pinned video, Flash, dressed in full football gear and wearing a mask similar to Gwen Stacy's, makes heart gestures, performs flying kicks, and strikes a cool pose for the camera in the training gym, shouting in a deafeningly loud voice: "Midtown fan club reporting for duty! Spider-Woman is forever a goddess!"

Scroll down, and you'll find his daily routine: strength training at 5 a.m., highlight moments of scoring touchdowns on the field, the fervor of offline support, secretly doing homework in the library late at night with a Spider-Woman poster tucked inside, and even an eye-watering clip of the entire rugby team of burly men collectively wearing oversized Spider-Woman-style tight-fitting suits they bought from who-knows-where, dancing a supportive dance.

Peter and Gwen, who had come over, watched the two-meter-tall muscular man on the screen, who was enthusiastically promoting Spider-Woman to Peter, their lips twitching uncontrollably.

Lightning, looking at the expressions on their faces, assumed they were watching his video and was filled with pride.

"By the way," Lightning suddenly said, "Peter, I heard your family has made a lot of money lately. Congratulations!"

Unlike some of the students, Lightning didn't feel awe towards Peter because of his wealth, nor did he fear Peter's retribution for bullying him before they became friends.

From this perspective, he is quite frank and his actions are consistent with his words.

After a brief chat, Lightning put on a mask and then a helmet, heading to the rugby field for training in a bizarre outfit.

Gwen watched his retreating figure and couldn't help but mutter, "That outfit is so weird."

Peter comforted him, saying, "Take it easy. People idolizing superheroes is generally a good thing."

Especially when this worship does not evolve into fanatical pursuit and confrontation, but merely makes more people willing to imitate the behavior of heroes—regardless of the initial intention, what ultimately comes down to is doing good deeds, helping others, and being willing to lend a hand when others are in danger.

Some people started to help up pedestrians who had fallen, some dared to stop street disputes, and some stopped fleeing in the face of disaster, instead learning from heroes and taking care of the vulnerable around them first.

In a city, the increase in the number of people willing to do good deeds and the decrease in indifference are undoubtedly positive factors in terms of the overall social atmosphere.

The true meaning of superheroes is not just about one person or one team saving the world, but also about setting an example for all ordinary people, encouraging them to do good deeds within their own capabilities.

……

Inside the laboratory of Dr. Connors at Imperial State University.

The serum is pushed into the blood vessels and pumped throughout the body with each heartbeat.

The muscles at the wound on the severed left arm writhed and grew wildly, and the bones stretched and extended with crackling sounds. In just a few seconds, a sharp claw covered with rough scales grew out of the cut.

Then, Connors' body swelled rapidly, his clothes tore apart inch by inch under his bulging muscles, pale green scales covered his entire body like a tide, his spine stretched and bulged backward, and a thick and powerful long tail burst out of his clothes and slammed heavily to the ground.

Facial bones are twisted and deformed, mouth and nose protrude forward, sharp fangs pierce the lips, vertical pupils contract and expand in the eye sockets, and human reason quickly collapses under the erosion of primitive reptilian instincts.

Power, rage, and bloodlust replaced the scholar's gentleness. The once refined scientist, who took it upon himself to save others, was completely transformed into a lizard monster with terrifying power and twisted intelligence.

He wanted to kill those demons who preyed on wounded soldiers; he wanted to plunge his claws into their chests and rip out their hearts.

He is an avenger.