PREVIOUSLY: In Web of Spider-Man #50, Puma mistakenly accused Spider-Man of being a common thief so Thomas Fireheart, Puma's alter ego, vowed to correct this imbalance of honour by purchasing the Daily Bugle and starting a campaign of positive promotion aimed at making Spider-Man into a local hero, as oppose to a criminal, which is what J. Jonah Jameson was known as doing.

There were many occasions where Spidey felt that Puma had repaid his debt of honour but Puma made it clear to him that it was not the case, leaving Spidey to be frustrated about the whole thing.

To settle the debt of honor, Peter Parker and Thomas Fireheart head to New Mexico, in Spectacular Spider-Man #171, where they partake into a purification ritual, from which they realize that the only way to settle the score is if one of them dies and the other lives on. At issue's end, they get ready to battle to the death.

Guided by his spider-sense, Spidey pinpoints Puma's location; he is hiding in the creek bed. As Spidey approaches the stream where Puma is supposedly hiding, Puma suddenly emerges from underneath the mud and pounces towards him. His claws out, he scratches Spidey on the shoulder. Ticked off and in pain, Spidey punches Puma, sending him flying inside a dark crevasse in the canyon wall behind him where he disappears. Exhausted and hurt, Spidey does not pursue Puma and simply sits down against the canyon wall, pondering about what he got himself into.

Back in New York City, more precisely in Brooklyn Heights, Mary Jane Parker meets with Jason Jerome to talk with him. Jason is under the impression that Mary Jane chose Brooklyn Heights to meet because he thinks she doesn't want her friends and family to see that they are lovers. MJ replies that she is not his lover to which Jason replies that she eventually will be. He then adds that a beautiful woman such as her should not be left alone and unloved, which is why she was made for him. MJ somewhat concurs with Jason and surprisingly asks him what they should do next. Jason replies that they should "meet", which means, obviously, that they should get in bed together. Shockingly, MJ tells Jason to meet her at her place at 9h00 that night and walks away.

Back in New Mexico, Spidey uses webbing to patch up the cuts on his shoulder, while waiting for Puma to resurface, feeling his eyes fixed upon him. As he tries to stand up, Spidey stumbles clumsily – the result of Puma's claws having been poisoned – and enters the crevasse to hide from him. But Puma has gotten out of the crevasse and watches as Spidey makes his way into it. Puma jumps down from the above ledge and enters the crevasse behind Spidey. Just then, a small stone rolls down the rock face behind him. Diving to the ground, a web-line misses his head but by a few inches and ends up sticking into a nearby cactus. Puma grabs hold of the web-line and pulls with all his strength, hauling Spidey out of his hiding place. Using the momentum to his advantage, Spidey tackles Puma, causing the two of them to roll down to the bottom of the hill behind them. Having reached the bottom, the two rivals slowly stand back up and without taking their eyes off each other, they pounce towards one another, screaming: "to the death!". Punches are thrown in every direction from both opponent but Puma gets the upper hand and grabs Spidey in a chokehold. Spidey manages to kick Puma in the gut and sends him flying into a nearby large cactus. Using this opportunity to his advantage, Spidey disappears into the crevasse of a close by mountain. Infuriated, Puma follows him inside the crevasse, tracking his scent to a deep chasm within the entrails of the mountain. As he reaches the abyss, Puma is forced to crawl along a narrow ledge surrounding the chasm. As he leaps onto the ledge, a web-line suddenly ensnares him around the neck, lifting him off the ground and dangling him over the deep hole, courtesy of a very clever Spider-Man. As Spidey swings Puma over the chasm, he suddenly remembers the lesson he learned while partaking in the purification ritual the night before, which is that once you've let out the beast inside you, it's hard to get the beast back in. Realizing that what he is doing is wrong, Spidey lets go off the web-line, just as Puma manages to set himself free and jump on the ledge on the other side of the chasm. Landing on the ledge, Puma asks Spidey why he did not kill him when he had the chance. Spidey replies that he thinks that there might be a chance to settle the debt of honor between them without killing each other. Puma replies that it is impossible and reminds Spidey that they agreed to battle to the death. Spidey retorts that they are too evenly matched, which is what the Shaman's dream vision was trying to tell them, and adds that if they take this battle to the death, both of them will die. Puma replies that honor demands blood and that he is willing to die for it because a man without honor is nothing. Spidey replies that they have people depending on them – Puma's tribe depends on him while Mary Jane depends on Peter – and asks him where the honor in dying is if it means they betray them. Starting to realize that he might have been wrong about the whole debt of honor thing, Puma slowly transforms back into his alter ego, Thomas Fireheart, all the while wondering if his craving for honor was in fact the bloodlust of an angry beast, which he now fears he bas become. Taking off his Spidey mask, Peter tells Fireheart that he is a man and men make mistakes. Shaking Peter's hand, Fireheart tells him that he wanted to destroy him more than anything else in the world. Peter replies that maybe what had to be destroyed was the hatred between them and tells Fireheart that he does not see him as an enemy. Fireheart replies that he does not see him as an enemy, nor does he see him as a friend. Peter concurs with him and asks to be taken back to New York, because he misses Mary Jane a lot.

Speaking of MJ, she is at her apartment in New York City with the lights all turned off when Jason Jerome, whom she invited to her place earlier in the issue, arrives. Jason enters the dark apartment and finds MJ standing in front of the window, her silhouette illuminated by a full moon. Jason speaks and tells MJ that he's been waiting for his moment every since he met her on the set of her soap opera. Flicking on the lights, MJ tells Jason that he's going to have to wait just a little bit longer. Standing in the middle of the room in a jumpsuit reminiscent of Flashdance, dozens of pictures of her and Peter covering the walls around her, MJ tells Jason that the man in the pictures is HER LIFE and that she's HIS wife. Advancing towards him with fury, MJ tells Jason that she cannot believe he would think that she would throw away her relationship with the only man she has ever loved for the thrill of a meaningless romance with him. Slowly stepping back, Jason replies: "Well, not in those words, exactly", which ticks off MJ so much that she slams her hand in his chest, making him drop to the floor the bottle of wine he was carrying. As he whines about the wine splashing onto his new pants, MJ pushes him into the elevator and slams the door behind him, screaming at him to "send her the bill". Calming down, MJ hopes that Jason has finally gotten the message because she has. She is lonely and she needs romance and that can only come from the one she loves and has ever loved: Peter Parker.

The end...for now.