PREVIOUSLY: In the last few issue of Spectacular Spider-Man, Harry Osborn began hearing voices in his head. He seemed to recognize the voice but his reaction told us that whoever was speaking to him should not have been able to. So who was the person behind the voice?

In Kraven's Last Hunt, by J. M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, in which Kraven the Hunter commits suicide, the creature known as Vermin is captured by Spider-Man and sent to the Ravencroft Institute where Dr. Ashley Kafka begins working hard to try and cure him, as he used to be a human before the infamous Baron Zemo turned him into a half-rat half-human. This issue picks up not too long after Vermin is sent to Ravencroft.

The story quickly switches location and we are transported to the New York City sewer system where Vermin appears to have escaped from Ravencroft. As he makes his way through sewer tunnels erratically, he comes across a young black boy who is looking for help to get back home. Although he initially sees the boy as a scared little piece of meat, he agrees to take him home.

Meanwhile at Ravencroft, Dr. Kafka is showing Spider-Man, gruesome pictures of the massacre caused by Vermin when he escaped from the institute. Dr. Kafka tries to explain Vermin's reasoning for attacking her staff and escaping from the institute, even going as far as saying that he was doing progress, but Spidey doesn't buy into it and gives her a hard time about it before taking off into the night.

As Spidey web-slings away from Ravencroft, he can't help but reminisce about the whole Kraven the Hunter/Vermin affair that took place just a little while ago. A few stories below, at ground level, Vermin emerges from a manhole, carrying the little boy in his arms and the two of them make their way to the little boy's home. Seconds later, Spidey reappears above and web-slings down to street level where he finds the open manhole. But as he peeks through the manhole into the sewer tunnels, he realizes that there's nothing there.

In another part of town, Harry Osborn and his son, Normie, are watching TV together. Harry tells his son that when he was young, he used to sit with his dad, Norman, and watch TV just like they are doing now. He then goes on and pours his heart out to his son who barely listens and stares, like a zombie, at the television. Just then, the ghostly figure of Norman Osborn appears to Harry and tells him to make Normie listen to him. Harry takes in his dad's advice, grabs hold of Normie's arm and starts yelling at him. Normie instantly starts crying and Harry feels so bad about it that he ends up apologizing for yelling at him, while the ghost of Norman Osborn watches on with a look of disappointment on his face.

Meanwhile at the Parker Soho apartment, Mary Jane is lying in bed, watching television, when she hears a creaking noise coming from the skylight. Thinking that it is Peter/Spider-Man, she gets up to greet him but when she reaches the skylight, Peter is not there. In fact, Peter, as Spider-Man, was there but changed his mind at the last minute and continued his patrol hoping to find Vermin. As he makes his way across town, he realizes that once he finds Vermin, he'll remember that underneath the fur and fangs, Vermin is just a man, just like Dr. Kafka told him earlier.

Back at Ravencroft, Dr. Kafka is watching a videotape of one of her sessions with Vermin. In it, she tries to get him to relax and think back to a time before Baron Zemo turned him into Vermin, to when he was just a little boy. But when Vermin does think back to the time when he was just a little boy, he starts freaking out and launches himself at the video camera and destroys it. Dr. Kafka shuts off the television and grabs hold of Vermin's file, which contains pictures of his victims, as well as a picture of Vermin and her. As much as she knows that he is a monster, she still embraces what little humanity is still left in him. And this clouds her judgement.

In another part of the city, someone hidden in a dark alley attacks a woman that happens to be passing by. Spidey, who was in the area, swings down – thinking that Vermin is behind the attack – and grabs hold of the attacker, who is revealed to be but a small-time thug who was just trying to score some quick cash. Leaving the thief for the police, Spidey quickly takes off, realizing the huge mistake he's just made. He makes his way home and climbs in bed with his wife. However, he does not manage to fall asleep. Elsewhere, Harry Osborn is also unable to fall asleep as he holds his wife Liz in his arms. Could this be a premonition of things to come? Could this mean that the Green Goblin and Spider-Man may fight each other again soon?

Meanwhile in another part of the city, Vermin attacks the driver of a fuel truck and steels the truck from him. Then, accompanied by the little black boy, he makes his way to the boy's home, which is also Vermin's home. Did you figure out the connection between the little boy and Vermin? If not, read the review for Spectacular Spider-Man #179 and it might answer some questions for you.

To be continued.