Still reeling from her father’s death, Gwen stresses
about why Peter’s been so distant lately. Gwen then receives a surprising call
from her Uncle Arthur, inviting her to live with them in London! She says she
needs time to think, not wanting to leave Peter. Not long after, Peter stops by
and she tells him about her uncle’s offer. In a panic Peter asks her to stay
with him. However, when he’s reminded of her hatred of Spider-Man, he pulls
back, feeling he doesn’t have the right to ask that of her. He heads out with
Gwen thinking he no longer cares and curses what his life as Spider-Man has
brought for him! He realizes that he can’t stop being Spider-Man though and so
decides to go swinging around to try and get Gwen off his mind.
Elsewhere, Hobie Brown has just as much on his mind as
Peter. Having seen the news of Captain Stacy’s death, Hobie is starting to
wonder if Spider-Man was playing him when he asked Hobie to impersonate him (in
ASM #87). Hobie dons his Prowler gear once more and heads out to find out if
Spidey really did kill Captain Stacy and trick him, feeling it’s his duty to
bring Spider-Man to justice! Meanwhile, Spidey just can’t get Gwen off his
mind. Fed up with everything, Spidey decides that he’s going to tell Gwen who
he is! A couple of cops spot Spidey as he’s swinging over to Gwen’s and they
decide to follow him just in case. Spidey peeks inside Gwen’s window and sees
her crying. This almost makes him rethink things but realizes he can’t falter
now, whatever may happen.
Just as he’s about to tap on the window, Spidey’s
spider-sense goes off and he just barely dodges a blast from the Prowler!
Spidey realizes all he’s done is scare Gwen when she looks outside to see
what’s going on, as the Prowler tries to subdue Spidey. Spidey tries to explain
that everything is a misunderstanding, but Hobie doesn’t listen. Spidey leads
Prowler away from Gwen just as the cops arrive. Spidey and Prowler’s tussle
leads to them falling through a skylight into an elevator shaft. In trying to
subdue Spidey, Prowler ends up falling and landing hard on the elevator. Spidey
gets his costume off and rushes the unconscious Hobie to a hospital, leaving
him in an empty bed. Not long after, Hobie’s girlfriend Mindy arrives and
tearfully promises to stick by him. Seeing them together makes Spidey realize
how much he doesn’t want to lose Gwen. He rushes to her apartment only to find
someone else moving in and Spidey finds out Gwen’s at the airport! He rushes to
the airport as fast as he can but he’s just too late; Gwen’s plane has
already taken off. Peter dejectedly walks away, feeling that after everything
else, being Spider-Man has now cost him the girl that he loves!