In Amazing Spider-Man #2, after realizing that no one but him could stop the creature known as Shadrac (a.k.a. Greg Herd, a.k.a. Override), Peter made the fateful decision of reassuming the responsibility of being Spider-Man. This came after Mattie Franklin, who was granted the gift of power during the Gathering of Five ceremony, failed to perform as well as the real Spider-man when she adopted his identity when he decided to call it quits. Peter's wife, Mary Jane, who is away on photo shoots regularly doesn't know that Peter is still Spider-Man, although she is slowly starting to become suspicious.

In Amazing Spider-Man #9-10, Mary Jane, who is away on a photo shoot, is still receiving phone calls from an apparent stalker/obsessed fan. Upon receiving his latest call, she rushes back to New York.

In Amazing Spider-Man #11, Mary Jane is back in New York. But the stalker is hot on her trail. At the end of the issue, her limousine is stopped dead in its tracks by an explosion. When she gets out of the vehicle, there is a huge banner with a message from the stalker. At that same moment, Spider-Man drops in and takes her away.

In Peter Parker Spider-Man #11, Mary Jane reveals to Peter that someone is stalking her and he reveals that he is Spider-Man once again. More information about the possible connection between Senator Ward and Arthur Stacy is revealed in that issue. The rest of the issue deals with the Eight Day crossover, which does not affect the continuity of the Amazing Spider-Man series.

In Amazing Spider-Man #12 the Sinister Six are reformed by the Sandman to take down Doctor Octopus and Senator Steward Ward. Spider-Man confronts them and reluctantly helps out Doc Ock and Senator Ward in the process. (Arthur Stacy also tries to assassinate Senator Ward in this issue but Spider-Man arrives just in time to stop Arthur from committing a serious mistake). However, at issue's end, the sixth and final member of the newly reformed Sinister Six is revealed: Venom. This is where this issue picks up.

ACT 1: Somewhere in New York City a subway station violently explodes. Nearby, Mary Jane Watson-Parker is fast asleep when the explosion wakes her up and sends her falling to the ground. Two armed individuals immediately enter her room; they tell her that there's been an explosion in the basement of the building and that they need to taker her to a safe location right away. Elsewhere, the stalker sits in front of a multitude of monitors and television screens and makes a call to the Daily Bugle, telling them that he'd like to report some bombings and that he knows how to stop them.

ACT 2: A short time later, Mary Jane is being questioned by special agents from the FBI (i.e. Federal Bureau of Investigation). She tells them all that she knows. When they ask her about the current whereabouts of Peter, her husband, she replies that he had to take care of some personal business and that she doesn't know where he is. Peter is in fact dressed in his Spider-Man costume and being strangled by the sixth and final member of the newly reformed Sinister Six: the infamous Venom – and surrounded by the rest of the "six-pack": Mysterio, Electro, Kraven the Hunter II, the Vulture and Sandman. Sandman informs Venom to stay out of their way and reminds the others that Doctor Octopus and Senator Ward are their primary targets. He tells Venom that if he wants to kill Spider-Man, to do it quick and leave. Meanwhile, Kraven throws one of his poisoned spears trough Mysterio's mist hoping to hit Doctor Octopus and Senator Ward who – although not shown in the panel – are fleeing the scene. Whether or not he hits his mark remains to be seen. As Spider-Man struggles to break free from Venom's grip, a bomb suddenly lands a few feet away from Venom and violently explodes into a ball of fire. As Venom cannot stand fire, he lets go of Spider-Man, who uses that opportunity to flee the scene. Spidey heads over to a nearby rooftop to express his gratitude to the man who just saved his life: Arthur Stacy. Arthur was there during this entire time as he had tried to assassinate Senator Ward – in the last issue – from that same rooftop but had been stopped by Spider-Man and you all know what happened after that (i.e. the Sinister Six appeared and tried to kill Senator Ward and Doctor Octopus – hired by Ward to protect him). Spidey thanks him for helping out and before leaving, he webs up all of Arthur's weaponry so as to stop him from trying to kill Ward again. Meanwhile, Sandman reluctantly helps Venom by extinguishing the fire that ignited when the bomb blew up; the other members of the Sinister Six watching over. After some tough negotiating, the Sandman and his crew convince Venom to join them in their endeavour. In the last panel on the page, it is revealed that Kraven's spear found its mark: Doctor Octopus is bleeding and will not get far, as the spear's tip was drugged.

ACT 3: At that moment at a secret location, Mary Jane is being told that she will have to spend the night with the FBI agent; that location being the safest place for her. At that moment, an explosion rocks the building across the street from where MJ is being held. The blast of the explosion shatters all the windows where they are located, sending everybody to the ground. As the agents stand back up one by one, they realize that MJ has fled the scene. Seconds later, she is seen at the street level, hailing at a taxi to stop. She climbs in the back seat and tells the taxi driver to just drive. The taxi driver's face is not revealed but he looks suspicious.

ACT 4: Elsewhere, as Doctor Octopus makes his way across the New York City's rooftops carrying Senator Ward in his tentacles, he suddenly starts to feel the effects of the poisoned spear. He suddenly misses his step and begins falling through the skies. At that moment, Spider-Man appears and saves both Doc Ock and Ward from imminent death. Nearby, the Sinister Six are led by Kraven the Hunter, who uses his amazing hunting abilities to track down Doc Ock and Ward while the Sandman – the true leader of the group – ponders about which one of his newfound allies he trusts (Vulture and Kraven) and doesn't trust (Mysterio, Electro and obviously Venom). Meanwhile, as Spider-Man lowers Doc Ock and Ward to safety using a webline, he overhears a radio news broadcast from within an apartment that reports that the terrorist bombings that had been plaguing the City earlier that morning were the work of a stalker seeking to get to Mary Jane and that Mary Jane has left police protective custody, as a result of the building she was in having been targeted by the stalker. Spider-Man continues to lower Ward and Doc Ock on a nearby rooftop, where Arthur Stacy appears and puts a gun to Ward's head. Spider-Man tries to negotiate with Arthur, telling him that Ward is not worth it. Arthur replies to Spider-Man that he has no idea what Ward has done or what he is capable of doing. Having discussed long enough, Spidey quickly grabs the gun out of Arthur's hand. Clueless as to why Arthur is trying to kill him, Ward bluntly asks him. Angry, Arthur is in disbelief that Ward does not remember what he did. Before Ward is able to respond, the Sinister Six appear, surrounding them. The Sandman tells them that Ward is theirs and that Ock will die and he tells Spider-Man to swing out of there with the old guy (Arthur Stacy). Realizing that he's been double-crossed and that he will not be allowed to kill Spider-Man, Venom is furious with the Sandman. The Sandman simply replies to Venom that he lied and whacks him hard into a nearby wall. A still very groggy Doctor Octopus tells Spider-Man that Ward must not be allowed to be captured by the Sinister Six. Spidey is torn between helping Doctor Octopus and helping out Mary Jane.

ACT 5: Elsewhere, the cab that Mary Jane jumped in earlier stops in front of the offices of the Daily Bugle. Mary Jane tells the driver that she didn't ask to be brought there. She begins freaking out when she realizes that the cab's doors are locked and that she can't get out. The driver replies that he wanted to bring her there because that is where he wanted to prove his love to her and to the world. As he says that, he pulls down the visor on the passenger side, which has a bomb strapped to it. The cab driver is the stalker. Mary Jane is frightened. Meanwhile, her husband – as Spider-Man – has his own hands quite full, battling the formidable Sinister Six. Spidey tries his best to protect Ward but ends up failing. As some of the members of the Sinister Six get closer and closer to Ward, the Senator begins feeling very strange, his eyes now glowing red. Suddenly, beams of red light emanate from his body and hit each of the Sinister Six, sending them flying all over the rooftop. At the same time, Mysterio tells Electro to do it now. Electro electrifies the air, and somehow Ward begins remembering what happened to him in the past (i.e. what Arthur was about to tell him earlier). Then an explosion of light rips the sky in half and everything goes back to normal. Quickly, the Sinister Six leave the scene, leaving Spidey and Arthur Stacy behind. Arthur tells Spider-Man that he has no idea of the significance of what just happened. He tells Spidey to go back to his life. Spidey immediately thinks about MJ and webslings away, under the watchful eyes of Venom who emerges from the shadows.

ACT 6: At that moment, back in the cab, where MJ is being held captive, the stalker tries to grab her but she "pepper-sprays" him in the face. She then breaks through one of the back windows using her feet and climbs out of the cab, screaming that he's got a bomb. With the stalker still in the cab, the bomb violently detonates. At that moment, Spider-Man drops down on the scene next to Mary Jane, who is kneeled on the ground. Mary Jane is furious at him. Peter does not dare say anything. Elsewhere, Electro and Mysterio are seen accompanying the newly super-powered Senator Ward. To what end is not revealed.

Story Number Two

WRITER:  Tom Brevoort
PENCILLER:  Geof Isherwood
INKER:  Rodney Ramos
STORY #2 TITLE: Each Day A Grain of Sand Through Life's Hourglass
REVIEW:  A few months earlier. William Baker, a.k.a. the Sandman comes out of the Symkarian Embassy in New York City, the staging base for the team of international mercenaries known as the Wild Pack. As he prepares to embark into a cab, he is suddenly accosted by a man, who, using some kind of device, renders him unconscious. When he awakes, he is shackled to some kind of large electronic device; the Wizard standing over him. The Wizard explains that he wants to change his personality back to what it used to be years ago: that of Flint Marko; and to use the newly reborn Marko for a (evil) project of his. The project, although not directly explained here, was to reform the Sinister Six – as he did over the past few issues and as reviewed above – and to take down Senator Ward. The Wizard starts the experiment but something goes awry and the machine overloads, causing the Sandman to break free from the shackles and flee the scene. The Wizard's plan, however, has succeeded; it wasn't William Baker that fled the scene, it was Flint Marko. A short time later, the Sandman returns to the Embassy and whether he has realized or not that his personality is that of Flint Marko remains a mystery for now.