PREVIOUSLY: Although Peter Parker/Spider-Man was mainly preoccupied with the Vulture in the last three issues, he was still concerned with the fact that the whereabouts of his best friend, Harry Osborn – who took over the mantle of the Green Goblin and subsequently attacked him – were still unknown to him, as he disappeared without leaving a trace at the end of Spectacular Spider-Man #183.

However, at the end of Spectacular Spider-Man #188, Harry Osborn resurfaces in New York City and runs into Aunt May, to whom he hands over a present to give to Peter.

This issue picks up not long after.

Liz-Allan Osborn is having breakfast with her brother, Mark Raxton, a.k.a. the Molten Man, when she suddenly starts to tear up at the kitchen table. Mark stands up and comes over to console her. Just then, Little Normie enters the kitchen and asks why she is crying. Liz tells Normie that she is all right and turns to look at her son. To her surprise, Normie is holding a big orange pumpkin that he apparently found in his room when he woke up. Mark tries to convince Normie to give him the pumpkin but as he does so, some kind of gas starts to emanate from the pumpkin. Within seconds, all three of them pass out. As the smoke dissipates, the culprit is revealed: the Green Goblin. "Gotcha" he says.

Back at the Parker apartment, Peter explains to MJ how Harry gave the box to Aunt May when he ran into her outside the police station (in Spectacular Spider-Man #188). MJ cannot believe it and heads into the bedroom to get some Advil. Pissed off at Harry, Peter crushes the jack-in-the-box with his bare hands. Just then, MJ yells for him from the bedroom. Peter races into their bedroom and sees what MJ was screaming about: a stuffed Spider-Man costume is spread out over the bed. As Peter and MJ realize that Harry must have been in the house, Peter's spider-sense suddenly kicks in. Peter tackles MJ to the ground, as the Spider-Man dummy blows up. Peter and MJ get back to their feet and come to the realization that the stuffed Spider-Man costume was in fact stuffed with paper, like some sort of over-sized party favour. Worried for Liz and Little Normie, MJ asks Peter if he thinks Harry has been upstairs, where Harry and Liz live. Peter replies that Harry wouldn't hurt them but the Goblin probably would. Peter and MJ break into Liz and Harry's apartment and find, sitting on the kitchen table, a letter addressed to Peter with the word "GOTCHA" written on it.

Mark, Liz, and Little Normie awake in a large dining room, a feast spread out on the table in front of them. Harry, wearing his Green Goblin costume, raises his wine goblet and offers a toast to the Osborn family: "May the bonds of love and trust that have held us together all these years continue to endure until the end of time". He then knocks back his goblet of wine, grabs Normie, and starts dancing around the dining area with him in his arms. With Normie still in his arms, Harry comes close to Liz and asks her to join them. Terrified, Liz stays put, transfixed on Harry. Realizing that Liz is scared of him, Harry calms down and tries to convince her that everything is going to be all right. Frightened, Liz tries to storm out of the dining room but when she opens the large door seemingly leading outside, she comes face-to-face with a large brick wall on the other side of the door. Harry begs her to come back to the table so he can explain everything to her. Just then, Mark comes over and tries to manhandle Harry into letting them help him. Harry retaliates by throwing a small pumpkin bomb at him. Mark's shirt bursts into flames but his metallic skin prevents him from being burned alive. Pissed off, he confronts Harry but Harry is a lot stronger and faster than he gives him credit for. With a single punch, Harry sends him crashing into a wall, which knocks him out. As Mark lies unconscious, Harry tells him not to try and divide the Osborn's, nor to try to turn his son against him, or else he'll kill him.

Peter, as Spider-Man is web-slinging above the New York City rooftops, in search of the Green Goblin. As he swings away, he ponders about a bunch of stuff, including what pushed Harry over the edge (e.g. the death of his father, his father murdering Gwen Stacy, and discovering that his best friend is Spider-Man). He also wonders why he let him get away in Spectacular Spider-Man #184.

Meanwhile, Mary Jane makes an unexpected visit to Aunt May at her house in Forest Hills, Queens, at eleven o'clock at night; Peter sent her over there to watch over May, afraid that Harry might try and hurt his beloved aunt. When asked what she is doing there, MJ lies and tells Aunt May that she had a fight with Peter and that she subsequently stormed out of the apartment and came over there. Aunt May buys into her explanation and puts a kettle of tea on the stove. MJ, who is now sitting at the kitchen table, notices that Aunt May received a bouquet of fresh flowers, which sits on the table. MJ inquires about who sent the flowers and Aunt May reveals that it was Harry Osborn.

Mark (Raxton) regains consciousness; Harry (still wearing the Goblin costume) explains to Normie that it was all a little game and that his uncle Mark is fine. Raxton reluctantly agrees to go with Harry's phoney routine and sits back at the dining table. Liz, however, is still standing silent nearby. Harry convinces Normie to persuade her to come and sit at the table and she too reluctantly agrees. Still, she remains silent, obviously upset. Realizing this, Harry takes off his Goblin mask, thinking that it might help. Normie jumps on the band wagon and tells his mum that it's just his daddy in a silly Halloween costume, which he finds quite funny. Liz replies that she does not find it funny at all. Sitting down at the head of the table, Harry agrees that it isn't funny and explains that what they've all been trough is in fact very sad. He then swears to them that a new era devoid of sadness is beginning for the Osborn's. He explains that after his last encounter with Spider-Man, he felt like his brain was going to explode, due to all the confusion swirling around his head. However, he had a revelation not long after and he realized that the path of the Goblin was what he needed to follow to get rid of all the pain and protect those he loved. He also realized another thing, which was that his father made a major mistake when he became the Green Goblin: he was so obsessed with his life as the Goblin that he left him behind. Harry turns to Mark, Liz and Normie and swears to them that he will never make that mistake.

After scouring the City in search of Harry, Spidey finds himself at the old Osborn's homestead, where Harry grew up and where Norman, his father, hatched his sick little schemes. As Spidey makes his way through the house, his spider-sense suddenly starts buzzing, confirming that Harry must be nearby. He opens a door and has but a few seconds to dodge a giant Green Goblin jack-in-the-box that's shooting at him with a machine gun. Using his trusty spider-sense and his amazing speed and agility, he manages to destroy the jack-in-the-box. He then makes his way down the staircase from which the jack-in-the-box emerged but when he reaches the room at the bottom of the stairs, he finds himself in a dead end. As he screams for Harry to show himself, the wall behind him suddenly goes up, revealing the dining room where Mark, Liz and Normie are being held hostage by Harry.

Harry is pissed off when he sees him but quickly calms down and invites him to join them. Spidey reluctantly agrees and sits down at the table with the others. As he starts eating, Spidey ponders about what to do next. After all, he does not want to endanger Liz and Normie's lives. As the supper progresses, Harry starts accusing Spidey of haunting and hounding him and his family because they have what he never did: love for each other. Spidey defends himself adequately and starts to fear that perhaps Harry is about to announce to the others that the man behind the mask is none other than Peter Parker. However, Harry does not do that but he does continue yammering about how strong the Osborn's are. This does not sit well with Raxton who loses his temper and launches himself at Harry and tackles him down. Harry retaliates by finger-blasting Raxton in the face, then he starts pummelling on the not-so-mighty Molten Man (It is revealed at that point that Raxton activated one of Spidey's spider-tracer, which led him to the old Osborn's homestead). As Harry beats on Raxton, Spidey intervenes and tells Harry to stop immediately. He then tells Harry that the two of them are leaving and that he’s going to get him some help. Putting the Goblin mask on, Harry yells that he does not need help and tries to zap Spidey with a shot from his finger-blasters; Spidey dodges the attack. Just then, Liz – with Normie in her arms – gets involved and tells her husband that he does need help. Harry is furious with her, citing that she is siding with Spidey (and Raxton). Liz replies that all she wants is to see him get better and that if he does not want to do it for her, she suggests he does it for Normie. Harry calms down and asks his son if he thinks his father is crazy. Confused and probably afraid, Normie replies that he does not think he is crazy and tells his father that he loves him. Harry picks Normie in his arms and rejoices that his son has sided with him; Liz falls to her knees, crying. Having witnessed the whole thing, Spidey sneaks up behind Harry and implores him to stop what he is doing before things get worse and out of hand. Thinking that Spidey is trying to take Normie away from him, Harry calls upon his Goblin glider. The glider takes flight and comes up behind Spidey. Spidey's spider-sense warns him of impending danger but he realizes that if he dodges the glider, it might hit Harry and possibly hurt Normie in the process, since Harry is still holding him up. So Spidey has to resort to letting the Goblin glider hit him square in the back. Spidey struggles back to his feet, only to get punched in the face twice and then get finger-blaster by Harry, who was waiting for him. Harry revels in the fact that after all these years of feeling so small and helpless, he now has the power to crush anyone who gets in his way: "I truly am the Green Goblin!!" Spidey punches Harry with all his might and tells him that he is not the Green Goblin; what he is is a very sad and sick man who has hurt himself and everyone who loves him for far too long. Harry gets back on his feet and launches himself at Spidey screaming: "Long live the Green Goblin"! Both he and Spidey connect with each other with a solid hit. Then another and another, until Harry gets the upper hand and grabs Spidey in a chokehold. As Harry tries to strangle Spidey, who is struggling to break free, he continues to torment and taunt him. Harry's words push Spidey over the edge however and the wall-crawler manages to set himself free. He then proceeds to hit Harry with all his strength; Harry is sent flying into a wall, where he's rendered unconscious. As Harry lies unconscious against the wall, Spidey tells him to go ahead and tell the world about his secret identity because he's not afraid to deal with it, since he's had to deal with worse than that.

Liz approaches Spidey and asks him what to do now. Having webbed Harry, Spidey tells her to go upstairs and call the police. At first reluctant, Liz finally agrees that it is the best thing to do. As she makes her way upstairs, Spidey checks up on Raxton, who is slowly regaining consciousness. Raxton asks about Liz and Normie. Spidey replies that Liz is upstairs and that he'll check on Normie. From the corner of his eye, he sees little Normie kneeled down next to his unconscious father, a look of hatred on his face...hatred directed at him...at Spider-Man.

Straitjacketed, Harry, still in his Green Goblin costume, is being put in the patty wagon by two armed policemen. But before climbing onboard the vehicle, Harry asks to make a special announcement. The policemen tell him to get in the van and keep his mouth shut but Spidey intervenes and tells the cops to let him talk. Harry proceeds to tell everybody present that he knows the identity of the man behind the mask of Spider-Man and that he's going to tell the world...but not just yet. Having said that, Harry maniacally starts laughing out loud. The policemen shove him in the van and close the door behind him. As the van pulls away, Spidey is left standing there by himself, while the Green Goblin's laughter echoes on.