We start off our story action packed, with Spider-Man stopping a store robbery. Spidey stylishly takes care of the goons, ending the
fight by wrapping a door around them. At first the female head of the store
thanks Spidey for his assistance but her male compatriot is wary of Spider-Man
due to the Bugle’s articles, telling him to keep back. Spidey angrily swings
off, changing back to Peter and lamenting about how poor his public reputation
is due to the Bugle. Getting home, Peter hears news from Harry Osborn that his
Aunt May is sick, causing Peter to rush over on his bike. He’s greeted by
Anna Watson, who tells Peter that the doctor had given May a sedative and Peter
mourns not being home to hear of the situation earlier. Peter dejectedly makes
his way home, feeling terrible that he’s neglected Aunt May much more since he
moved in with Harry and feeling even too stressed to study for his upcoming
exam.
The next day, Peter can barely concentrate on his
exam, being sure he failed it. Peter’s professor, Miles Warren, asks to speak
with him and expresses concern that Peter’s grades have been steadily
declining, as Peter assures Professor Warren that he’ll buckle down. Gwen Stacy
then tries to invite Peter to a get-together she’s having but Peter is forced
to decline, with his grades and Aunt May’s illness weighing too heavily on him.
Peter makes his way home, bemoaning his other issues, such as not being able to
see MJ or having to decline Harry’s father’s offer to work for him, as being
Spider-Man keeps getting in the way. Peter then catches an editorial on the
news by J. Jonah Jameson, once more calling Spider-Man a dangerous menace and
offering a reward for anyone who can bring in Spider-Man. This makes Peter
realize that Jameson hates him even more than he thought and Peter starts to
think that maybe he’s right, that only someone deeply mentally disturbed would
continue to do what he does. In a deep
fit of depression and anxiety, Peter realizes that being Spider-Man has come at
the expense of every other area of his life, his schooling, his relationships,
his job opportunities, as well as the possibility that he grew into seeking the
adventure and excitement more than actually helping people. With all of this in
mind, for the sake of his sanity and his life, Peter leaves his Spider-Man
costume in a trash can, deciding that he needs to grow up, and be Spider-Man no
more!
The next morning, a young child runs right into the
Jameson’s office at the Daily Bugle, to the protests of Betty Brant. The boy
presents the Spider-Man costume he found to Jameson who excitedly orders an
extra to broadcast the news of Spider-Man’s apparent retirement. The news soon
becomes the talk of the town, with the public and talk show hosts alike voicing
their opinions on what could have become of Spider-Man and why. The criminal
element likewise reacts to the news, as a powerful, mysterious figure calling
himself the Kingpin uses the situation to spread the word of his planned
takeover. Frederick Foswell, in the guise of Patch, notices the whispers making
their way through the underworld as tons of mob bosses meet to discuss the
possibility of the Kingpin taking over the mobs. Foswell himself apparently
considers the idea of becoming the head of crime once again himself, as no one
would suspect him now that he’s gone straight.
The next day, Jameson proudly displays the Spider-Man
costume in his office, when Peter comes by to tell Jameson that he won’t be
selling any more photos, to better focus on his studies. Jameson is
shell-shocked by the information, but Foswell gets suspicious, noting how Peter
stopped selling photos right after Spider-Man’s disappearance. Meanwhile, a
crime wave makes its way through the city, organized by the Kingpin, in order
to confirm that Spider-Man is really gone, as he decides to move ahead with his
plan to unify the underworld like a business, with him at the top! The next
day, Peter gives Gwen a lift, as they secretly pine for each other, on his way
to see Aunt May. Peter stops in to see that Aunt May is doing better, as
Mary Jane Watson jokingly mourns the fact that Peter didn’t even notice her, before
she heads out. Peter makes his way home to study, feeling like a million bucks,
when he suddenly hears a report of a robbery on the radio. Peter instinctively
moves to change to Spidey, before remembering that he left all that behind,
resolving to read about it in the paper the next day.
The next day indeed comes with Peter finding Aunt May
and Gwen both busy, noting the irony that now that he has time for them, they
don’t have time for him. As Peter is cruising home, he notices a night watchman
being assaulted up on a roof. Peter instinctively scales the wall and quickly
knocks out the two assailants, keeping sure that the watchman doesn’t get a
good look at him. As Peter thinks over his actions, he realizes that the
watchman reminds him of Uncle Ben, as he remembers the events that led him to
becoming Spider-Man in the first place. This causes Peter to reaffirm why he
became a hero to begin with, knowing that he can’t ever fail to act again when
some is in danger, no matter the burden. Meanwhile, Foswell goes to the Kingpin
to announce himself as the former Big Man and his desires to run the crime
rackets again. Kingpin doesn’t take kindly to this, vaporizing the gun Foswell
had with him with his disintegrator cane and capturing Foswell. Finally, Peter
makes his way up the wall of the Daily Bugle to retrieve his costume, and
sticks around to announce to Jameson that he’s back. Spidey swings out, back
and better than ever!