Across town, a man named Bobby sits on the fire escape, outside the apartment he shares with his alcoholic mother. When Bobby's mother calls for him to come and have a bite to eat, he snaps at her, saying very disrespectful things to his mother in response. Fed up with her boozing ways, Bobby jumps down from the fire escape and takes off. Running into the street, he accidentally bumps into a passer-by, knocking him to the ground. Angry, the bystander calls Bobby a rather nasty name. Bobby stops in his tracks and turns to face him. He then asks the man to repeat what he just said, flashing his gun hidden in his jacket. Needless to say, the man does not answer.

Spider-Man is web-slinging across town, in search of crimes in progress. Not far from there, Bobby is in the process of robbing a convenience store. The spooked cashier tries to persuade Bobby to not rob her but to no avail. Thankfully for her, Spider-Man arrives on the scene and easily takes Bobby out…perhaps a tad too easily. Bobby is sent flying so hard into a large freezer display that he is knocked unconscious. Realizing that he hurt his opponent really badly, Spidey instructs the cashier to call an ambulance.

Bobby is in a world of hurt. He is now in the hospital but not out of the woods yet. A policeman is stationed outside his room, waiting for him to get better to drag him off to jail. Inside the room, his mother is giving him an earful. She cannot believe he just pulled such a stunt – she thinks he's lucky to not have been killed. Heaving a sigh, she stands up and tells Bobby that she is going to try and borrow some money for a lawyer. On her way out, she adds that things are going to have to change; she then slams the door behind herself. As Bobby lies in his bed, he takes a peek toward the window. He is completely shocked to see Spider-Man's head glancing back at him. Thinking that Spidey is back to finish what he started, Bobby starts screaming for help. The cop stationed outside his room bursts into the room but Spidey is already long gone.

Spidey is angry with himself. All he wanted to do was check up on Bobby, not give him a heart attack. Worse, according to what Bobby's mother said, Bobby's gun was not even loaded. There was no way for Spidey to know this; however, he still thinks his beating of Bobby was too harsh on the poor guy. Frustrated, and confused about the strength of his spider-like abilities, he finds an abandoned apartment building and takes out his frustration on anything he can find.

A short time later, Peter Parker sits in his room, deep in thoughts. In walks Aunt May with a tray of food for him. Peter claims that he's not hungry but Aunt May knows he's lying. She knows for a fact he's secretly been eating junk food and hiding the wrappers under the cushions in the living room. Aunt May goes on saying that she understand how he feels, which is why she's allowed him to stay home from school for the past few days. Peter responds that there is something else bothering him, but he cannot speak to her about it. It's just something he'll have to work out on his own. Aunt May tells Peter that she knows he will and offers words of advice.

The next morning, Peter arrives at school, only to be – once more – the target of Flash Thompson's bullying. Fed up with Flash, Peter prepares to retaliate with verbal threats but stops short when he remembers what happened to the robber (Bobby) at the convenience store. He tells Flash to leave him alone and quickly walks away. This only serves to ignite roars of laughter from Flash and his posse.

Returning home later that day, Peter is furious, both with himself and Flash Thompson. He could easily beat the tar out of Flash but he's scared of breaking every bone in his body. He realizes that his powers are not meant to be abused because, in a split second, he could go from super-hero to murderer. He vows to not let that happen.

Having been released from the hospital, Bobby sits at home watching TV and listening to his mother yammering about how worried she is about him. When his mother offers to make him something for lunch, Bobby prepares to give her a hard time about it but decides that it's best not go argue with her – he thus asks if she can make him a sandwich. After making him lunch, Bobby's mother sits down with him and pours her heart out, telling Bobby that she loves him and that seeing him at the hospital, all banged up, it reminded her of what his dad (her husband) used to do to both of them. Bobby tells his mother not to dwell on things from the past but she has a hard time letting go. She apologizes for not doing more to protect him from his father. The guilt from not protecting him has consumed her, her entire life, which has led to her starting to drink. He may not believe her but Bobby means everything to her. Standing from his chair, Bobby says that he's a nothing, a nobody, and he'll be that for the rest of his life. His mother tells him not to say that; after all, he is still young – only eighteen – so he still has a chance to make something of himself, unlike his idiot father. Bobby asks his mother why she married him, if she thought he was such an idiot. She admits to have fallen blindly in love with him and did love him in the beginning; however, that quickly changed, when he turned out to be a monster. Angry, Bobby asks his mother why she stayed with him (her husband) when she could have easily just grabbed him and gotten them out of there. He is mad that she didn't do anything, which make him wonder how much she really loves him. Having said that, he grabs his jacket and storms out of the apartment.

At the Parker home, Peter is working on math problems in the living room (on a Friday night) when Aunt May comes in with a box in her arms. When asked what is in the box, she explains that they are old action movies that he and Uncle Ben used to watch together when he was little. She wants him to go through the box and pick the ones he likes; the rest, she'll donate to the library. Excited, Peter responds that he wants them all, knowing full well that Aunt May purposely brought those up to cheer him up. As he sits there watching them, he can't help but to think about Uncle Ben and how the two of them used to watch movies together. In a flashback to an earlier time, Peter tells his Uncle Ben (while watching a movie) that he wants to be like the guys on TV – guys that can punch their way through anything. Uncle Ben tells Peter that, back in the day, he got in a few fights of his own. Peter imagines his uncle as a regular Bruce Willis kicking butts and taking names but Uncle Ben is quick to point out that he was a young idiot who learned the hard way that violence is a dead end. Peter asks what he means by that. Uncle Ben explains that the real world is nothing like what they see in the movies. Being a hero isn't about punching someone or blowing up the bad guy, it isn't about revenge of who has the biggest muscles. Uncle Ben continues explaining that it's about putting other people first, even when you know that you are going to fail – most of all, it's about doing the right thing, no matter what anyone else think. Back in the present, Peter races down the stairs and takes his leave, telling Aunt May that he's off to do the right thing.

Peter, as Spider-Man, goes to Bobby's house to apologize for what happened earlier at the convenience store. Bobby is not home, so his mother points Spider-Man in the right direction. While Spidey swings toward Port Authority, Bobby is busy buying himself a gun, a real one this time. And he intends to use it against Spider-Man if he runs into him again.

Spider-Man is swinging toward Port Authority when the cable of a nearby crane breaks, causing the whole crane structure to start falling apart. Reacting swiftly, Spidey unloads his web cartridge and ensnares the falling pieces, allowing bystanders to scurry for cover. One of the bystanders happens to be none other than the aforementioned Bobby. With very little strength left to hold on any longer, Spidey is forced to let go, secretly hoping that every one made it out safely. As the dust settles, everyone starts cheering for Spidey, including Bobby! Getting back to his feet, Spidey apologizes to everybody for not hanging on any longer than he did. Firefighters who were present at the scene tell Spidey that, thanks to him, they were able to evacuate everybody and clear the area, thus saving the lives of thousands. He's a hero, as far as they're concerned. Realizing he was able to save all these people without throwing a single punch, just like his Uncle Ben thought him all these years ago, Spidey swings away, beaming with pride. Nearby, Bobby has a change of heart after having witnessed what Spider-Man just did. He takes his gun and throws it down the sewer. He then calls his mother from a payphone, telling her that he's changed his mind – he agrees with her that it's not too late for him after all.

It's Saturday; Peter Parker is walking aimlessly along the street when he runs into Flash Thompson. Flash tells Peter to go ahead and run the other way, smiling evilly at him. Peter turns to leave but then he turns back toward Flash and yells at him that he is not afraid of him and that he will never fight him, not because he's scared, but because he thinks it's a stupid and immature way of solving a problem. He adds that, if Flash continues pushing him, he will regret it big time. Flash is speechless at first, but then, he tells Peter that he was just teasing him, just like he teases everybody else; Flash adds that he finds Peter to be too sensitive and that he never stands up for himself. Peter points out that he did just that. Flash comes to that realization (finally) and walks away. Before leaving completely, he turns back around and tells Peter that he's still not off the hook. Peter knows too well that Flash is lying. He knows for a fact that Flash will be back to acting like a jerk to him as soon as they're back to school on Monday. Peter is all right with that, because he knows he could pound him into hamburger with one hand tied behind his back. But that's not what heroes do so...

The end...for now.