Our story begins with Abner Jenkins, otherwise known
as the Beetle, being released from prison after finishing his sentence. Having
not been rehabilitated, the Beetle immediately dons his armor once more and
sets off to get his revenge on the one who defeated him before, the
Human Torch. The Torch meanwhile, sees the news of Beetle’s release, and flames on to
go find him, much to the annoyance of his girlfriend, Dorrie Evans. At the same
time, Peter Parker decides to stretch his legs after a long study session,
taking to the rooftops as Spider-Man! The public reacts with fear and distrust
at seeing Spider-Man, while they cheer and applaud the passing Human Torch,
much to Spidey’s frustration. Little do either know, the Beetle has found the
Torch and starts silently following him, as Spidey heads in the other
direction, none the wiser.
Torch arrives at Dorrie’s house to find her quite
upset with him, fed up with Johnny always having to leave in the middle of
dates to do hero stuff. She gives him an ultimatum, that she’ll take him back,
as long as he doesn’t use his flame for a full 24 hours, and he agrees. The
Beetle, meanwhile, was outside listening the entire time, and decides to use
Dorrie to get to the Torch. The next day, some kids bump into Dorrie on the
street causing her to drop all of her things. Peter happens to be walking by and
helps her, noticing only after she leaves that she dropped her wallet. Peter
returns her wallet to her, and she invites him in for a drink, finding him
pleasant and thinking that Johnny could learn a thing or two from Peter. Johnny
returns, seeing Peter leaving, and questions Dorrie about Peter, as the Beetle,
as Abner Jenkins, keeps watch outside.
Later, as Peter is out window shopping with
Betty Brant, Johnny confronts Peter, telling him to stay away from Dorrie! This
causes Betty to leave dejected, as Flash Thompson and a bunch of the other guys
witness the altercation. Peter blows up at the Torch, after the
misunderstanding caused Betty to become upset, as the other kids start to think
that maybe Peter isn’t as puny as they thought. Flash rebuffs them, saying that
Peter knows that Torch won’t fight a normal guy, proving his point by taking
the opportunity to rib the Torch a little himself. Peter tries to explain
things to Betty, but she leaves to be alone, causing Peter to destroy some
bricks in frustration. With Betty mad at him anyway, Peter decides to make some
moves on Dorrie as Spider-Man, in order to mess with the Torch more.
Spider-Man arrives at Dorrie’s house, just as the
Beetle was going to capture her, causing the two to confront each other. Spidey
and Beetle spend a bit out maneuvering each other, with Spidey finding the
Beetle’s armor tougher than he expected. Dorrie witnesses the scuffle outside
and calls Johnny, who thinks it’s just a clever ploy to get him to flame on and
lose their bet. Spidey ends up tackling Beetle right through Dorrie’s front
window, continuing their fight in her house. Meanwhile, Johnny decides to head
over anyway, thinking that she’s had her fun for the day. Back at Dorrie’s
house, the Beetle is able to grab Dorrie and fly away, as Spider-Man gives
chase. Johnny arrives shortly after, and noticing all of the webs about,
concludes that Spider-Man took Dorrie, as he flies after them, quickly catching
up to Spidey and attacking him! Spidey uses his webs and agility to keep the
Torch at bay, while also trying to lead him in the direction of the Beetle.
Meanwhile, at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson asks
Betty to contact Peter, as he hasn’t brought Jameson any photos lately. Betty
reaches Aunt May, who says that she thought Peter was with her, causing Betty
to assume he’s with Dorrie. Back at the scuffle, Spidey and Torch catch up to
the Beetle, proving it was he who took Dorrie, as the Torch rescues her and
both heroes pursue the Beetle into an abandoned building. The Beetle does his
best to avoid the two heroes, as they get in each other’s way. Eventually,
they’re able to hit Beetle from both sides, as their combination of webs and
fire, put the Beetle out of commission. Dorrie thinks Spider-Man was in league
with the Beetle but the Torch remains unconvinced if unsure. This causes Spidey
to storm off, frustrated that no one seems to trust him, as the issue ends with
Spidey sulking and wondering if he’ll ever be trusted.