Will things inside really get as grim as this cover? Let’s find out. It begins with The Green Goblin attacking a truck delivering atomic materials, and stealing some. Really raising the stakes early! Then we cut to Spider-Man, who’s been combing the city without sleep for 2 days looking for Harry. He even forgot his apartment was blown up. Spidey swings over to the hospital to check on MJ, where almost the whole cast of the book is waiting for him:
“Old Mary Jane sure is neat!” Peter & Aunt May go in to see Mary Jane, who totally blows off her brush with death like it’s nothing, as usual. She says there’s bigger things in the world to worry about, and turns on the radio to prove it, so Peter can hear about the man in a green costume on a bat-shaped flying device who hijacked a truck earlier…
Cold, Pete. Spider-Man swings up to the scene of the crime, where some weirdly aggressive cops are still interrogating the poor drivers, and acting like they sabotaged themselves. Spidey sneaks into the wrecked truck and finds bits of a pumpkin bomb, confirming the story, before being chased off by the cops. Then he swings over to Norman Osborn’s old house, fearing what he’ll find inside. It’s Harry, of course, and it’s fightin’ time.
They keep beating on each other, Spider-Man maintaining the upper hand because Harry’s so new to the super business, but then…
Ruthless. These are all people Harry loves, too. Spider-Man knocks him out and then rushes off. He thinks he knows which one will be the real bomb, but has run out of webfluid at a really inconvenient moment. He remembers the costume he hid on the roof, and runs home as fast as possible, hoping a spare web cartridge is in there, and it’s his lucky day (Well, you know, relatively speaking). That gives him the speed he needs to get to Grant’s Tomb.
Day saved, Spider-Man swings back to the warehouse just in time for Harry to wake up and attack him again. In the battle, screaming about killing Peter, Harry smashes into his monitor console, electrocuting himself unconscious. As Spidey hears police sirens, he takes the Goblin suit off his deranged friend to protect him. But…
Poor Harry Osborn. Life has rarely gone his way, and now he’s a psychopath trying to kill everyone he loves. Pretty dark stuff. But what’s not dark is this issue’s Marvel Value Stamp is right where it should be, so don’t you worry.