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.

In Spectacular Spider-Man #191, a new individual by the name of Jessie Black Crow, who, though crippled, has the ability to transform into a black crow, uses his powers to convince Spider-Man and the Puma into believing that they are fighting each other when in fact they are fighting psychological manifests created by Jessie. At issue's end, Jessie metamorphoses into some kind of super-powered Navajo Indian chief, who goes by the (unoriginal) name of Black Crow, and uses his powers to bring Spider-Man and the Puma together and transport them to the middle of some desert somewhere.

In Spectacular Spider-Man #192, Spider-Man and Puma confront Black Crow as part of a ritual in which they must decide the path that they will walk for the rest of their lives. At issue's end, Spidey is given the opportunity to murder Black Crow but he chooses not to act upon it. Puma on the other hand embraces the cat within him and murders Black Crow, so to speak. In fact, he murders a duplicate of Black Crow; nonetheless, by doing so, he chooses the path of the assassin. As the issue concludes, both Spidey and Puma are brought back to New York City where Black Crow enlists the help of Spidey to capture Puma before he kills again.

Spider-Man has scoured the City, been to Fireheart's office, his penthouse, and the result so far has been frustration, confusion, and rage. As he lands in an alley, he punches a brick wall in aggravation. Just then, the wind picks up and a piece of newspaper hits him in the chest, just as the caw of a crow echoes into the night. As Spidey scans the newspaper and reads its headline, he realizes what Puma is going to do next: he's going to assassinate Senator Maguire, who is featured on the newspaper.

Elsewhere, Puma has stopped by the office of his human alter ego and has picked up the scent of Spider-Man, who was just there (as seen in ACT 2). Totally infuriated, he takes off through the broken window and makes his way across the City to the "Top of New York Hotel", where Senator Maguire is staying while in New York. As Puma scales the building, his thoughts reveal that he was paid two million dollars to assassinate the Senator. He accepted not because he wanted the money, but because he wanted the chance to throw off the yoke of enforced responsibility associated with the tribe and give Puma his due. Having reached the proper floor, he comes crashing through the window of the room in which the Senator is sleeping. Wasting no time, he grabs the Senator in a chokehold and hauls him out of his bed. Just then, three armed security guards enter the bedroom and tell him to back away from him nice and slow. Puma laughs at them and makes his move. Within seconds, the three men are incapacitated. Puma turns his attention back to the Senator who is utterly terrified and crying. As Puma prepares to attack the Senator, Spidey arrives on the scene and confronts him. In no time at all, the two have engaged into battle, which soon spreads outside the hotel and above the New York City skyscrapers. The fight continues atop a nearby rooftop, where Puma calls Spidey "Parker". Realizing that Puma still knows the man behind Spider-Man's mask enrages Spidey. Gathering all his strength, he punches Puma with all his might. Puma is sent flying into a neon signs, which electrocutes him and incapacitates him. Lost in his rage, Spidey grabs Puma and picks him up above his head, preparing to toss him down the building on which he is standing. But as he readies himself to do so, the caw of the crow echoes into the night, making him remember about his experience on the mountain (as seen in Spectacular Spider-Man #192). Realizing that he will not betray himself, Spidey lets go of the Puma and drops him off safely on the rooftop. Puma stirs and readies himself to attack Spidey. Spidey tries to reason with Puma by telling him that he is not going to fight him and that he won't play this game by the beast's rules. Puma replies that there is no other way and attacks Spidey. His claws rip through Spidey, making him fall to the ground. Seeing Spidey lie on the ground and not defending himself, Puma comes to the realization that there is no point in killing him. Spidey supports that fact when he tells Puma that he cannot prove how powerful he is unless he – Spidey – brings his power to bear against his (Puma's). Puma realizes how right Spidey is and curses him. Just then, a small black crow zooms by and seemingly grazes Puma's eyes. This makes Puma forget that Peter Parker and Spider-Man are on and the same; a gift from Black Crow, in return for his courage and his trust. Spidey thanks the crow, as it flies away. As he ponders about what to do with Puma, he hears a growling. Turning around, he notices Puma crouching down on the ground. And for a good reason; over a dozen armed cops have just arrived on the rooftop and are surrounding Puma. Refusing to be a beast of burden once again, Puma starts running towards the edge of the rooftop, while Spidey screams at him to stop. The cop in charge orders the others to start shooting. And so they do. Bullets go through Puma's body like a hot knife through butter. And he falls off the edge. Spidey jumps after him, hoping to catch him but as he looks down, there is no broken body in the street, no retreating shadow on the walls. Spidey gazes at the moon, wondering if Black Crow's magic somehow spirited Puma away or if Fireheart has managed to somehow save himself. As he continues staring at the moon, he wonders if destiny will eventually draw him and Puma back together for some ultimate confrontation.

The end...for now.