PREVIOUSLY: In Spectacular Spider-Man #173, Doctor Octopus shows up in Manhattan to spend Xmas with the only person that was ever kind to him: Aunt May. But as he arrives at the Parker household in Forest Hills, Queens, he witnesses her having a great time with her companion, Willie Lumpkin, Mary Jane Parker, her niece-in-law, and Kristy Watson, MJ's niece. Realizing that intruding on her joy would only result in his embarrassment, Doc Ock prepares to leave.

Just then however, Peter Parker, as Spider-Man returns home – his frustration at a maximum – the result of a humiliating encounter with street thugs and running into the very unpleasant Nick Katzenberg while at the Daily Bugle. The two enemies battle it out in the front yard of the Parker property but soon interrupt the fighting when Aunt May shows up at the front door. The two rivals part ways, though promising each other to finish the battle later.

Also in the issue, Nick Katzenberg is able to take some incriminating pictures of two individuals meeting in Manhattan, thanks to a tip from his informant named Twitch.

Meanwhile at the Daily Bugle, Jameson is still going on and on with his speech. Having changed back to his civilian clothing, Peter joins Mary Jane and other Bugle staff members, including Joy Mercado, Lance Bannon, Nick Katzenberg, Gloria Grant, Joe "Robbie" Robertson, Ben Urich and Kate Cushing, all of whom are almost dozing off listening to Jameson. Finally, after what felt like hours, Jameson ends his speech and pulls down on the rope attached to the tarpaulin covering the specially-commissioned statue he is unveiling. All those in attendance are speechless at the sight of an oversized concrete statue of J. Jonah Jameson. Jameson takes their silence as a compliment and tells them that he is trembling in delight. His spider-sense tingling, Peter realizes that Jameson is not the only one trembling; the whole ground beneath their feet is. Grabbing hold of Mary Jane, Peter yells at the others to get away from the statue. As the trembling continues, the Jameson statue collapses on itself, to the utter devastation of its owner. Sensing danger and knowing where to look to find answers to his questions, Peter heads into a dark alley and switches to his Spider-Man costume. Then he finds a manhole and enters the high-tech maintenance tunnel running underneath the Bugle building.

Spidey is making his way through the tunnels when he sees a shadowy figure standing at the end of an adjacent tunnel. He takes off after him and soon find himself facing none other than Doctor Octopus, who jumps down at him from a manhole in the ceiling. Doc Ock strikes at him with his tentacles but misses Spidey when the latter jumps out of harm's way. Spidey is fooled however because Doc Ock purposely missed him and he goes on to rip a power cable right out of the tunnel wall, which he uses to electrocute him. Shaken but still conscious, Spidey dives into a smaller duct to try and lure Doc Ock out in the open where he has a better chance against the multi-armed fiend. Doc Ock follows him in, his tentacles clawing at him. Knowing full well that he has no chance of defeating his opponent in close quarters such as these maintenance tunnels, Spidey jumps down into another vertical shaft, hoping that Doc Ock will not follow him in. But Doc Ock manages to grab hold of one of Spidey's ankles and he begins smashing him against the walls like an old rag doll. Spidey is able to set himself free from the tentacle and land on the connecting tunnel floor down below. But as he looks up, he realizes that Doc Ock has started to take apart the shaft walls, which start collapsing on themselves, burying Spidey alive in the process. Pleased to have defeated his opponent, Doc Ock returns to the task at hand. From memory, he makes his way through the maze of maintenance tunnels until he finds the maintenance elevator shaft, which he begins climbing in.

Meanwhile at the Daily Bugle offices, the Bugle staff (and Mary Jane) is treated to a catered buffet while Jameson goes into his office to take care of a little business. As the staff mingles, MJ cannot but worry about where Peter might be. She steps away from the group and begins wandering around the office. As she roams around the office, she comes across an open elevator shaft. As she looks down the shaft, a tentacle suddenly emerges out of the shaft and grabs her by the neck. Doc Ock has arrived.

Several floors down below, Spidey has survived the collapse of the tunnel and is trying to get himself out of there, pushing debris aside. After a few minutes of wandering around, he finds a side access tunnel leading into the main tunnels. He begins to make his way through the access shaft when more debris collapses on top of him, pinning him down to the ground, just as his spider-sense kicks in, reacting to a loud humming noise.

Still alone in his office, Jameson stares out the window, delighted to have his newspaper back. As the door to his office opens, Jameson immediately assumes that it is his wife Marla but he is shocked when he turns around and comes face to face with Doctor Octopus holding Mary Jane in his tentacles. Jameson implores Doc Ock to release Mary Jane and asks him what he wants. Doc Ock replies that he wants twenty million dollars or else the Daily Bugle and all its employees will be destroyed. As Doc Ock explains that it was him that destroyed the statue earlier, Spidey is seen struggling to get out from underneath the rubble. Back in Jameson's office, Doc Ock threatens to kill Mary Jane if Jameson doesn't act quick and explains that the temblor device he planted under the building will begin emitting shattering seismic vibrations in less than a minute once he activates a button on the remote control he has in his hands. Terrified, Jameson is speechless and does not know what to do. Down in the maintenance tunnel, Spidey – although still trapped underneath the debris – has gotten closer to the source of the humming heard earlier. The danger: large clamps are attached to the Bugle's foundation and the other ends are connected to this huge machine, which emits the humming sound.

To be continued.