Let's rewind a bit. Herman Schultz, with his crew and their self-made Shockers, donned the iconic black masks of bank robbers, ready to hit the bank.
After all, the Chitauri ruins had been cleared; there was nothing left to dig up. And having learned to make quick money, they couldn't go back to honest work. Besides, they now had an unprecedented tool—the Shocker emitter, capable of opening any vault.
They chose a time no one else would—early morning, before the bank opened. They picked this time partly because it was unexpected; no one would think of robbing a bank before it opened. Secondly, Herman didn't want to kill anyone, so he chose this time when there would be no bank employees inside.
Of course, there was a third reason: the Shocker was powerful enough to blast open bank doors and vaults, allowing them to force their way in even if no one was working.
"Just like I said, this is the most powerful safecracker." Herman, wearing his black mask, took the lead, blasting open the bank doors and rushing in with his men. "Boys, find the vault!"
"That's easy, isn't it?" A subordinate set his Shocker to level two and swept it wildly around the bank's interior. "Whatever doesn't get swept away is the vault!"
The group shouted, "Good idea!" and got to work. They were completely unaware that as they caused widespread destruction, something was crawling in from outside through the broken door, clinging to the ceiling, silently watching them.
"My spider-sense has been blaring since I got in here. What is that thing? Doesn't look like Chitauri tech; more like some weird gadget bought from who knows where?"
Spider-Man watched as a criminal aimed his weapon at the counter, and the counter instantly shattered into pieces.
"Sound waves... No, shockwave weapons? I wish I could see colorful shockwaves in real life; it would be so much easier to dodge."
Muttering, Spider-Man shot a web, snatching away a Shocker emitter: "Hey, guys, don't you know the bank doesn't open until nine? At this hour, please use the ATM!"
"It's him!" A Shocker gang member recognized Spider-Man. "It's that bug who beat up so many people! Blast him!"
"I guess your 'so many people' aren't exactly good neighbors!"
Spider-Man shot a web onto the ground near the speaker's feet and launched himself forward using the web's elasticity. Before the opponent could pull the trigger, he kicked the enemy flying, simultaneously firing a web to point another enemy's Shocker emitter downwards. The level-two impact directly sent the opponent flying, hitting the ceiling, then falling down, instantly knocked out.
"Oh, oh, sorry, I really didn't expect that. Looks like an ATM isn't quite suited for your withdrawal methods either. Why is my spider-sense buzzing so much?! Behind me!"
A side somersault coupled with continuous web-slinging marked the beginning of Spider-Man's first confrontation with Herman. Herman was much more skilled at using the Shocker emitter than the others; all of the webs fired were shattered by invisible shockwaves, only Spider-Man himself managed to temporarily dodge.
"While in some ways I'd really like you guys to tell me where you bought this thing, I guess you'd rather explain it to the police, right?"
Spider-Man, bouncing around the bank floor, used his spider-sense to dodge the invisible shockwaves. He couldn't get close to his opponents, nor could he fire webs, so he had to find another way.
"Bought?!" Herman roared, tearing off his mask, unleashing a fury that Spider-Man couldn't comprehend. He set the shockwave to its maximum safety setting, level three—a strength capable of cutting open a vault door—and pulled the trigger, aiming at Spider-Man.
"Hey, wait! Don't be angry! What did I say to upset you?"
Spider-Man, hanging upside down from the ceiling, began to run at high speed. He glanced back at the ceiling that had been pierced through, realizing things were going south. He used a web to hook the bank counter, tearing it down and throwing it.
Herman continued to fire at the incoming counter, but the shockwaves only shattered the table. As for Spider-Man, he had vanished amidst the flying office papers.
Where was Spider-Man?
"I'm here!"
Grabbing Herman's shoulder from behind, Spider-Man punched him in the face, sending him reeling and collapsing to the ground. The Shocker emitter fell beside him.
"Dude, if this thing really is your design, you're pretty much an engineer. Why don't you get a proper job?"
Peter happily webbed the Shocker emitter, curiously fiddling with it. He set it to the lowest power and tested it on the remaining half of the counter. The power was mediocre; it couldn't even completely shatter the counter.
"Oh my god, how much power did you use... The outside walls are starting to collapse, the entire building's load-bearing structure is compromised. If you keep hitting it, the whole building will collapse."
Herman, who had been dazed by the punch, fully sobered up upon hearing this.
"What? The building structure is damaged? That's impossible, I didn't set that much power... The Shocker emitter shouldn't have that much destructive power!"
It was only then that Peter Parker realized the problem.
"What did you say this thing was called? Shocker?! This is truly shocking."
Another Shocker gang member who had just been beaten took advantage of the moment to stand up, picked up a Shocker gun, and set it to its highest setting—not level three, but for some reason, the safety was broken, and it went to level five. He fired at Spider-Man. Thanks to his spider-sense, Peter dodged instantly, but the concentrated shockwave cut a clear crack in the bank's wall, not just one wall, but piercing straight through the entire building. Sunlight shone in from outside.
"Damn it! I have to make them stop!"
Realizing that the entire building would collapse if this continued, Peter immediately made a decision. He directly evaded and shot webs at the same time. Relying on his spider-sense, the focused shockwave almost grazed his body, while the webs successfully pulled the opponent's hand from the trigger.
Then, Peter snatched the weapon, held up the Shocker emitter, and with a forceful pull, broke it in half. This way, he didn't have to worry about the opponent continuing to use it.
It was only then that Herman realized that the Shocker emitter was more troublesome and powerful than he had imagined. The decay effect of high-power shockwaves after destroying physical objects was much lower than he had anticipated, causing the shockwaves to retain very powerful force even after shattering objects.
"Stop fighting!" Herman saw his other companion raise his weapon and urgently shouted, "If we keep fighting, the whole building might collapse!"
But the dazed accomplice who had just stood up seemed unable to hear Herman's command. He turned the knob, setting it to the highest level—not level three, but for some unknown reason, the safety was broken, and it went to level five.
Herman was dumbfounded and immediately yelled, "Frank, throw that thing away! The recoil from that thing will kill you!"
The subordinate named Frank looked at the Shocker with confusion, then pulled the trigger.
But just pulling it, he lost his footing and almost flew into the air. The reason it was "almost" was that in the nick of time, Spider-Man kicked the person away. But the trigger had already been pulled and gotten stuck, crashing right into the incoming Spider-Man.
Thus, a massive impact struck the ground, and the explosive shockwave instantly stunned the entire Shocker gang, including Herman. Spider-Man, holding the Shocker emitter, was thrown into the sky by the tremendous recoil. The powerful impact, along with him and the Shocker emitter, not only pierced through the bank's ceiling but also tore through over a dozen floors, finally embedding him in the ceiling of one of the upper floors.
"Ah, my back, my back..."
Peter pulled himself from the ceiling, feeling his back ache, but he was okay. Fortunately, his physical abilities were superhuman; facing such an impact only left him bruised, and with his decent self-healing ability, these bruises would probably disappear in a few hours.
"By the way, are the MCU-style universe Shockers always this... realistic? A little disappointed."
Spider-Man, having pulled himself from the ceiling, leaped from the hole he'd made, landing in a superhero pose back on the bank's first floor. All the Shocker gang members were still unconscious on the collapsed bank floor. Spider-Man glanced at the almost completely shattered bank floor, then, as usual, tied up all the criminals, sealed their weapons with webs, and swung out of the entrance.
Then, Spider-Man creatively wove several lines of text into his web, describing the severe condition of the building, and set up blockade and evacuation signs at the intersection.
The web fluid would only last two hours. If the NYPD and Department of Damage Control couldn't find a way to secure the building in two hours, it would be a problem.
Even if it could be secured, the entire building, with its compromised load-bearing structure, was undoubtedly a condemned building.
"Hey, Uncle Ben, Gwen!"
They hadn't entered the subway station since Spider-Man wove that large net. They were just hiding near the entrance, making it easy for Peter to find them.
"I found a way; we can go that way. Looks like traffic isn't bad right now."
Peter, running over with his backpack, waved to them, then patted Uncle Ben's car: "Luckily, your car's fine, Uncle Ben."
"Who's that guy?"
Gwen, who had been in London for two months, pointed at the web hanging over the street. She had no idea New York had this web-slinging freak. Peter "uh-ed" for a moment before explaining: "There's a guy who calls himself Spider-Man recently. He's been fighting crime. You know, super-powered stuff."
"Oh, well, his taste isn't very good then."
Gwen said as she opened the car door. Peter half-jokingly retorted, "Are you talking about his suit?"
"No, I mean his shoes. They're the same as yours."