While battling Doctor Octopus last issue, Spider-Man
was hit by his nullifier which caused Spidey to lose his memory! Doc Ock
convinced Spidey that the two of them work together and Spidey loads the
nullifier into their van. While they make their escape, Doc Ock uses the
nullifier on the pursuing police car, before the nullifier suddenly starts to
overheat. They arrive at Doc Ock’s hideout where Doc Ock works for hours on the
nullifier, finally surmising that they need one last component to complete the
nullifier, a small quantity of isotope 16. The isotope is being held at a
nearby army base, Fort Tyson, and Doc Ock commands Spidey to be the one to go
get it for him, causing his spider-sense to blare, though Spidey doesn’t know
the significance of the strange feeling. Doc Ock also commands that Spidey
remove his mask, so he knows who he is, causing Spidey to be suspicious that
Ock doesn’t already know. Realizing his mistake, Ock tries to goad Spider-Man
into a fight to distract him and claim it was a test before things escalate too
much.
After receiving a map to the base, Spidey heads out to
retrieve the isotope, all the while wondering if things are what they seem. We
then cut to Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn, worried that Peter hasn’t been seen in
days, as they pay a visit to Aunt May to see if she has any answers. This just
causes Aunt May to worry, on top of worrying about what the papers have been
saying about Doctor Octopus, as she is comforted by Anna Watson.
Mary Jane Watson arrives at that moment, sporting the paper showing that Spidey and Doc
Ock have apparently joined forces. After Harry suggests that Peter is likely
just out taking photos for the Daily Bugle, Aunt May frets more than ever about
Peter’s dangerous choice of work. Meanwhile, John Jameson leads a meeting of
various police and military personnel about what to do about Doc Ock and the
nullifier. George Stacy, Gwen’s retired police captain father, suggests that
Doc Ock may not be trying to leave the city, earning the appreciation of John.
Captain Stacy then receives a call from Gwen asking him to check the accident
reports for any possible info on Peter.
Speaking of Peter, Spidey continues to make his way to
the army base, sneaking in by crawling underneath an approaching truck carrying
a missile. Once inside the base, Spidey sneaks in through the vents, all the
while thinking about how distasteful this all feels and the bad feelings he
gets about Doc Ock but having no other information to go on. Spidey acquires
the canister containing the isotope while webbing up the guards that try to
apprehend him. As Spidey escapes the base, he drops the map leading back to
Ock’s hideout and even notes that he could have easily grabbed it, wondering if
he subconsciously wants it to be found. It is indeed found and shown to Col.
John Jameson, who mobilizes a strike team to check out the lead. Speaking of
Jamesons, John’s father J. Jonah Jameson is frustrated that his own son is in
charge of the nullifier operation and won’t tell him anything. Joe Robertson
wisely reminds Jonah that his son couldn’t reveal any classified information,
to Jonah’s chagrin. When Jonah asks where Peter is, Betty Brant informs him
that no one has seen Peter in days, worsening Jonah’s mood.
Spidey makes his way back to the hideout and gives Ock
the isotope before one of Ock’s men notices that Spidey left the map behind.
With this blunder, Ock decides that Spidey has outlived his usefulness,
grabbing Spidey in his tentacles. Spidey yanks Ock off balance with his webs
before Ock’s goon hears the sounds of helicopters. Jameson’s army strike team
arrives and quickly captures the henchmen, before filling the hideout with
smoke grenades. While Ock deals with the soldiers and Spidey remains unsure what
to do, John Jameson sneaks in and uses the nullifier on Doc Ock, rendering his
mechanical arms useless. Ock commands Spider-Man to take care of the rest but
Spider-Man, though still confused, admits he at least knows that he’s no
partner of Ock’s. As Doc Ock is led away, John Jameson thanks Spider-Man but
says that he still has to take him in. Spidey refuses, saying that there’s
still too much he has to figure out, as he swings away. The issue ends with
Spidey now a fugitive, with no more answers than he had before, as a feeling of
hopelessness sets in, not even being able to recognize his own face.