Tony looked out at the dense mass of reporters below and thought back to what his father, Howard, had told him that morning—"Go do what you want to do."
He took a few deep breaths, then said with feeling, "I was born in New York. I grew up in New York. My family, my work, my whole life—all of it rooted in New York. I've always wanted to say it: New York, I love you, deeply. I love you so much, New York!"
Clap-clap-clap-clap...
Even without knowing where Tony was going with this, the reporters below were a little swept up, and they rose to their feet and applauded.
Tony pressed his right hand down, and when the applause died away, he tilted his face forty-five degrees toward the sky, his eyes brimming with boundless nostalgia.
"So—ever since I was a boy, I've had a dream. A dream of becoming a superhero, of fighting criminals and helping the people of New York."
"Ooooh..." The crowd seemed to guess what was coming, and a low, startled murmur ran through them.
Sure enough, Tony continued, "Yes. What I want to say is—yes, I'm Spider-Man!"
BOOM—
As Tony's voice fell, it was as if a thunderbolt had dropped into the conference hall. The reporters threw all order to the wind, surging to their feet, scrambling and shoving toward Tony's spot.
"Mr. Stark—what exactly is your purpose in publicly declaring yourself Spider-Man?" Alice from Fox Television got the first question in.
"Tony, Tony, it's me—Anna, from ABC! You fell out of the sky last time and I was the one who caught you, remember? Didn't you deny being Spider-Man? So why go back on it today—is your mental condition acting up again?" Anna pushed forward, trading on the connection, and threw Tony a wink.
"Mr. Stark, from our observation these past days, we can't rule out that Spider-Man is someone else. You flatly denied it last time, and now today's conference is a whole different tune, so may I ask—" James from the Daily Bugle muscled his way in too.
"May I ask—"
Seeing the scene, Tony's flunky Happy led a dozen or so bodyguards in suits and sunglasses charging up, forming a human wall to hold the reporters back.
"Everyone, please, quiet down! Quiet, please—I'll answer all of your questions today, one by one. Now please, everyone, return to your seats."
Tony called out over the din. The reporters allowed in had all been pre-screened and had some basic manners, so before long they quieted and sat back down, waiting for Tony to speak.
"Ahem. I am Spider-Man—this much was already confirmed during that incident a little over a month ago. The reason I denied it then was simply that I didn't want the trouble; I only wanted to contribute to the people of New York in peace. But things didn't go as I'd hoped, and in the end I was exposed after all. Lately, I've come to understand something. With great power comes great responsibility..."
Buzz-buzz-buzz... A chaotic clamor rose up again below.
Tony kept his face tilted forty-five degrees to the sky, his eyes profound, and went on, "Mm, yes. This is the conclusion I've reached after all the good I've done recently. Yes—I've attained enlightenment. Since I have this ability, why should I, for the sake of a little personal privacy, keep more Spider-Men from appearing?"
"Tony, what do you mean, 'more Spider-Men'?" A male reporter suddenly stood and asked.
Everyone else looked at him with disdain—the guy had no manners at all. Hadn't he heard what Mr. Stark just said? Butting in now would surely get no response.
To their surprise, though, Tony actually nodded, gratified, and answered, "I invented the ODM gear. And though it costs a great deal to make, it can already be mass-produced. To hide my identity, all I could do was patrol Manhattan alone—myself, or a single one of my bodyguards—rooting out evil. But last night I looked into places beyond Manhattan. That's New York too. There's evil there too. There are friends there who need help too!"
Tony's voice rose, impassioned and just faintly choked. "I cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering people of other districts. They are all my countrymen!"
The reporters, too, were caught up in Tony's magnetic, emotion-soaked voice, and all fell silent—all but Happy, in the corner, whose mouth kept twitching.
Tony gently wiped a tear from his left cheek. "And so, I've decided to make my Spider-Man identity public—and at the same time to send out bodyguards in ODM gear, across every district of New York, to assist the police in fighting crime and keeping the peace! Which is to say—from this day forward, Spider-Man is no longer an exclusive title, but an immortal profession: the super vigilante! It represents the last individual heroism of the twentieth century. It is the symbol of everything good—American independence, freedom, equality, democrazy!"
"Whoa..."
"Holy shit!"
"This is insane!"
"Tony, you're a genius—you've gone beyond the very definition of a superhero..."
The uproar ran a full three minutes before it settled, and Tony went on, "Just as Mr. Ben Parker, whom I rescued last night, said—my actions have set a fine example for many of America's youth. And I've come to understand that a great many people wish to become superheroes too. The one thing they lack is an opportunity—a chance to become a hero. Now I, Tony Stark, am giving you that chance—a chance for every man to rise like a dragon, for anyone to become Spider-Man!"
"Yes—the ODM gear I developed will soon go on sale. The date isn't set; we at Stark Industries are a responsible company, and we still need a large batch of test data to prove its safety. But before the public release, we'll be selecting a number of volunteers and providing them with ODM gear. So from now on, don't be startled to see Spider-Men of every stripe out on the streets."
Right then, that same male reporter stood up again and asked, "Mr. Stark, then what about your Coca-Cola endorsement?"
Tony paused, seemed to think of something, and said with a smile, "I'll still be honoring my arrangement with the Coca-Cola Company. So going forward, when you see a Spider-Man with the Coca-Cola logo printed on the case at his waist, don't be startled—that's me. Or one of my bodyguards!"
And then Tony pulled a face, cracking the reporters below up all over again.
When the laughter died down, Tony said, "As you all know, I don't actually need that little bit of money. The reason I'm doing this is to make everyone believe Spider-Man is short on cash—because if he's short on cash, then obviously he isn't me. Now that Spider-Man's true identity has been revealed, I'm only honoring the principle of respecting a contract by not buying my way out of it. But I promise you here today: for every one dollar I take from the Coca-Cola Company, I'll donate ten. Yes—you heard right. Ten times the amount, out of my own pocket! And all of it goes to the United Nations Children's Fund!"
Clap-clap-clap-clap...
As Tony's voice fell, another round of thunderous applause broke out from the reporters below!