Orphaned at an early age, Peter Parker lives in Queens, New York with his beloved Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Peter leads the life of a normal student, working as a photographer at the school paper, pining after his beautiful next-door neighbor Mary Jane Watson and hanging out with his buddy Harry Osborn.
On a school field trip where Peter and his classmates are given a science demonstration on arachnids, Peter is bitten by a genetically-altered spider. Soon after, he discovers that he has gained unusual powers - the strength and agility of a spider along with a keen, ESP-like "spider sense".
At first, Peter decides to use these powers to make money to impress Mary Jane. He appears in a wrestling match and, armed with his new spider strength, wins the match in record time. But the crooked wrestling match promoter refuses to award Peter the prize money. Moments later, the promoter is robbed and Peter has the opportunity to catch the burglar fleeing from the promoter's office, but because he wants revenge Peter refuses to stop him. Tragically, the burglar kills Peter's Uncle Ben during a carjacking as he flees the scene of the crime.