Phil Sheldon’s diagnosis of lung cancer is confirmed and his doctor gives him odds
of living another five years with radiation treatment plus chemotherapy and six
months without. Phil doesn’t want to talk about this and hurries out of the
hospital with his wife Doris confused about his reaction. Phil meets with
Bennett Schwed, publisher of his first book Marvels about a second book;
Schwed suggests one on villains but Phil is hesitant. Phil stops by the Daily
Bugle offices and hangs out with some of his co-workers at a bar, trading
stories about the Marvels but Phil is uncomfortable and leaves, upset that his
life’s legacy consists of taking photos of a bunch of freaks….
At
home, Phil puts off making decisions about his treatment to look through his
files for ideas. He comes upon a picture of Maggie, the little mutant girl who
came into their lives and vanished as suddenly as she came. Phil sees this as
one more failure in his life and he sinks into torpor as news stories of heroes
and villains play out….
Phil
attends a Bugle party to celebrate Peter Parker being nominated for
Photographer of the Year but he is disgusted, seeing Parker as a hack who takes
pictures making Spider-Man look bad at the behest of J. Jonah Jameson. He
storms out onto the streets where he is accosted by a gang of punks with
robbery or worse on their minds. Spider-Man arrives and clobbers the punks and
Phil goes for his camera automatically. On his way back to the party, Phil
realizes he’s cranky because he has quit doing what mattered: taking photos
that told the truth. Energized, he goes home, tells Doris to arrange for his
cancer treatment and determines to make people believe that the Marvels are
heroes….