As Doc Ock climbs onboard the limousine, the octopus-like vessel that was carrying him returns to the river. Sitting down, he informs his driver to take him to Forest Hills Queens. Having said that, he takes a small photo album out of his trenchcoat and starts staring at a picture of Aunt May, telling himself that the world may fear the name of Doctor Octopus so long as she knows him as the man he was and the man he could have been.
Meanwhile at the Parker homestead in Forest Hills, Queens, Mary Jane Parker, her niece, Kristy Watson and Aunt May's companion, Willie Lumpkin, are busy setting up the Xmas tree, while Aunt May is busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen. May comes out of the kitchen and enters the living room with a plate full of sugar-free cookies, made especially for Kristy who has been suffering from bulimia, an eating disorder disease where the individual purges everything he or she eats. Kristy grabs a cookie and so does Willie, who wiggles his ears in delight. As MJ witnesses Aunt May laughing at Willie's jokes, she can't help but wonder where Peter is.
Web-slinging above the Manhattan streets, a web-bag full of Xmas presents, Spider-Man (i.e. Peter) is making his way back towards Queens, when he hears a commotion from the street down below. He makes his way down to street level where he finds three thugs harassing a Salvation Army Santa Claus impersonator. Hanging upside down from a light pole, Spidey tells the miscreants to be smart and give the fake Santa his money back. One of the thugs speaks up and tells Spidey that they are not scared of him and points out a rooftop billboard behind Spidey. The billboard reads "Spider-Man: Nature's Friend and Ours" and shows Spidey holding a kitten and a puppy. Humiliated, insulted and degraded, Spidey loses it and webs up the three thugs together in a giant cobweb, suspended from a light pole. Unknown to Spidey, until his spider-sense kicks in, is that Nick Katzenberg witnessed the whole thing and has pictures of him to sell to J. Jonah Jameson, the publisher of the Daily Bugle (Nick intends to tell Jameson that Spidey assaulted these innocent kids who were just out having holiday fun). As Spidey turns around to try and stop Nick, the latter has already jumped back in his car and has taken off, heading towards the Bugle. Handing over the night’s collection back to the fake Santa, Spidey heaves a loud sigh and swings into the night.
On his way to the Daily Bugle, Katzenberg makes a quick stop in the slumps to meet with one of his informants, a homeless man named Twitch who, after receiving a small payment, divulges to Nick that something big is going to take place at midnight that night and hands him over a piece of paper containing the address where this thing is supposed to happen.
Peter/Spidey arrives at the Daily Bugle, and after changing into his civilian clothes in a deserted stairwell, goes down to the newsroom where the office Xmas party is being held. As Peter enters the room, he is stunned to see that J. Jonah Jameson is dressed as Santa Claus and is handing over gifts to the staff, two of which are right next to him: Gloria Grant and Joe "Robbie" Robertson. Jameson howlers at Peter to get his butt in there and have a good time. Peter comes closer and he and Jonah exchange Xmas gift. Jonah hopes that Peter bought him something expensive while Peter hopes to get his bonus check but both are in disbelief when they realize they've bought each other the exact same tie. Moving right along, Peter gives Robbie his gift, which is a nice Meerschaum pipe. Betty Brant, who is nearby, asks Peter if he has anything left in his bag of goodies. Peter replies that he has a very special gift for Mary Jane, for which he saved every cent for months, skipping lunches and dinners. Putting a hand in the bag, Peter extracts a crystal-carved bird that MJ saw at Cartier a while back. Betty and Robbie comment on how nice it is and so does Nick Katzenberg, who has just entered the newsroom. His exact words: "A bird for a broad, eh, Parker? Bet you got some sweet treat waiting at home, huh, kid?". Peter tries to remain calm as Katzenberg advances upon him and continues making rude comments about Mary Jane. Katzenberg pushes his luck too far however when he asks Peter if maybe he can get a piece of Xmas pie too, elbowing him in the ribs. Pissed off, Peter retaliates by elbowing Nick in the ribs a tad too hard and sending him crashing into a nearby table where Nick accidentally knocks the bag containing MJ's crystal bird to the floor. Infuriated with himself and Nick, Peter grabs hold of the latter and smashes his head into the punch bowl, telling him to never make another crack about MJ or else he'll rip his bloody head from his shoulders. Calming down, Peter realizes that he's just lost control in front of his friends, almost revealing his spider-powers in the process. Apologizing to Jonah, Peter takes his leave without saying one more word. Lying on the floor, covered in punch juice, Katzenberg screams at Peter that he is going to sue him. Joe Robertson and Lance Bannon help Katzenberg up, who suddenly realizes that he has to be somewhere when he takes a peek at the clock. Katzenberg takes his leave, while Jonah wonders who is going to clean the mess left by Peter and Katzenberg.
A short time later, Peter, as Spider-Man, rides atop a bus leading to Forest Hills, Queens. As he gets to the Parker homestead, he is surprised to see that a limousine is parked in the street across from his Aunt May's house, just as his spider-sense kicks in. Peter heads towards the limousine to find out what the source of the commotion is. Meanwhile, Doctor Octopus is outside the house, looking through a window at Aunt May and the others (i.e. Willie, Kristy and MJ). Doc Ock had hoped he could perhaps spend Xmas with May, as she was the only woman that was ever kind to him. But as he sees her enjoy herself with Willie and the others, he realizes that to intrude upon their joy would only result in him embarrassing himself. As he readies himself to leave, he turns around and comes face to face with Spidey sitting atop the roof of the limousine, the driver webbed up from head to toe. Spidey does not wait for an explanation and launches himself at him with all his anger. Doc Ock had not wished to fight but Spidey gives him no choice and a huge battle ensues. Punches are thrown, trees are uprooted, until both Spidey and Doc Ock hold each other in a chokehold. Just then, the front door of the Parker house opens and standing in the doorframe is Aunt May. Both Spidey and Doc Ock let go of each other and Doc Ock apologizes to Aunt May for disrupting her merriment. Turning to Spidey, Doc Ock tells him that they will continue their discussion at a latter time, to which Spidey concurs. As Doc Ock takes his leave, Spidey cannot help but wonder why the evil doctor looked so sad when he spoke to Aunt May. Now surrounded by Willie, MJ and Kristy, Aunt May asks Spidey why Doc Ock did not come in and if it was him – Spidey – that drove him away, something that would not make sense since the papers call him – Spidey a hero. Spidey replies that he is not sure if he is a hero and that maybe on Xmas eve, no one is a hero or a villain.
Meanwhile, somewhere on a Manhattan rooftop, Nick Katzenberg, camera in hand, is ecstatic about the prospect of the meeting that is taking place down at street level between two individuals hidden in the shadows, as indicated to him by Twitch, his informant. Snapping pictures, he wishes that they would step out in the light to get a better picture of them. His wish is granted when the two men emerge from the shadows and enter the lobby of the building in front of which they were standing. One of the man, whose identity is concealed (by the panel) fixes his rose and follows his ally inside the building. Back atop the rooftop, Nick Katzenberg is in heaven.
To be continued.
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