WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #61 by Nick Spencer, Patrick Gleason, Edgar Delgado & VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Spider-Man is back and stronger than ever, thanks to a new costume that enhances his strength and durability. After not beating anyone for a very long time, Spider-Man was finally able to take down three villains at one time. And all Peter Parker had to do was sell out.
In Amazing Spider-Man #61, Peter Parker starts working with Norah Winters and J. Jonah Jameson to livestream his crimefighting in exchange for a paycheck, which traditionally hasn't been what Spider-Man is all about. It is also something that Peter Parker rejected early on in his career when show business cost him his Uncle Ben's life.
Norah Winters had been trying to get Peter Parker to work for her at Threats and Menaces, her website. This was due to Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson putting on a podcast that brought in record numbers for the company. However, Peter refused to return her calls because he wanted nothing to do with her offer and was more interested in his responsibilities. However, Parker had been living on unemployment and needed a way to make money to pay his rent. Being a superhero is hard, but these heroes still have to find a way to survive in the real world, and fighting supervillains all of the time doesn't leave a lot of time to make a living. However, when he realized that he needed a way to pay the bills, he went to Norah and learned that he could focus on fighting crime and make money at the same time.
Spider-Man's arrangement with the company has him adopting a new costume Threats and Menaces made for him, equipped with a built-in camera that livestreams his battles for subscribers online. He would be connected throughout his fight with J. Jonah Jameson and would take requests from fans for one-liners while in the heat of battle. He would also have fans vote on what move he finished a fight with. Complicating matters, however, is the fact that neither Spider-Man nor J. Jonah Jameson are aware that Norah Winters is working for one of Spider-Man's classic villains, the Chameleon, and it was his idea to bring in Spider-Man making this entire deal questionable.
In Amazing Fantasy #15 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Peter Parker gained his powers and he decided to use his skills to make a quick buck. He went on late-night talk television before working the professional wrestling circuit. He wasn't using his powers for good; he was using them to make money. He ignored his responsibilities and his Uncle Ben died as a result. That theme was continued in Amazing Spider-Man #1 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko when Spider-Man tried to join the Fantastic Four, but he left when he learned that didn't come with a paycheck. The reason Peter wanted to make money using his powers at that time was pure. He wanted to help Aunt May, who was getting overdue bills and cutoff notices. Peter Parker has always made money from his role as Spider-Man by selling photos of himself in action to the newspapers.
Even though this was Spider-Man's original sin, Peter Parker has decided to use his powers to make money once again, and even though he is fighting villains, it comes with a risk. When a hero does something for reasons other than helping people, they lose respect, even in themselves. The fact that Spider-Man is working for Chameleon, even if he doesn't know it, means that eventually, Peter Parker's decision could come back to bite him.
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