In Spectacular Spider-Man #219 (Part Four of Four of the Back from the Edge storyline), Spider-Man and Daredevil battle the Owl and the Vulture. Though Spider-Man is given the antidote to the virus, it is reveal, at issue's end, that the antidote is a fake and that he is still dying. The only good thing that happens in this issue is that Spider-Man near brush with death makes him change his mind about giving up his life as Peter Parker.

In Amazing Spider-Man #397, Part One of Four of the Web of Death storyline, Spider-Man is still feeling the effects of his poisoning by the Vulture during the aforementioned storyline. He is dying and does not know what to do. If it weren't enough to deal with, he is starting to have memory flashes of himself in a containment chamber similar to what the clone was in when he was created. Before he can compose himself, Doctor Octopus appears but when he notices that something is wrong with him, he leaves him for the time being. At issue's end, Doc Ock and Spider-Man face off again, only to have Spider-Man unmasked. The mysterious Kaine also shows up in this issue and it appears that he has as much interest in Spider-Man as he does with the Scarlet Spider.

In Spectacular Spider-Man #220, Part Two of Four of the Web of Death storyline, Doctor Octopus struggles to find a cure to the poison coursing through Spider-Man's bloodstream (Doc Ock wants Spidey to die at his hands, not through a poisoning). While this takes place, the enigmatic Kaine continues to spy on those whose lives revolve around Spider-Man; most specifically Mary Jane. At issue's end, Peter and Mary Jane are finally reunited. But, as they enjoy each other's presence, Peter realizes that the antidote concocted by Doctor Octopus did not work, hence he is still dying. Before he can let Mary Jane know, she informs that she is pregnant with his child.

In Amazing Spider-Man #398, Part Three of Four of the Web of Death storyline, Peter is still feeling sick from the poisoning. He and Mary Jane go out to dinner and they have a chance encounter with Detective Raven. Their dinner is also interrupted again when Peter spots Doctor Octopus watching them. Peter dons his Spider-Man costume and confronts the evil doctor. They battle for a while until Doctor Octopus reveals that he has found a cure for the poison. Peter/Spidey takes the serum and starts to feel a little better, but he suddenly collapses and starts to head towards "the light at the end of the tunnel".

Back in "Heaven", Peter encounters the late Harry Osborn. Harry tells Peter that he, as opposed to the others (i.e. Ben, Richard and Mary), does not lack the necessary motivation to keep him (Peter) here because he is convinced that he (Peter) belongs here. Harry transforms into the Green Goblin and tells Peter that he can ease his torment and alleviate his guilt and put an end to all his regrets for all eternity. Realizing that death is not the refuge he imagined, Peter chooses to return to the pain, the fears, the insecurities and the failings.

Back in the real world, Doctor Octopus is administering CPR to Peter, while Stunner is riveted to a nearby heart monitor. Doc Ock prays that Peter pulls through and his prayers are answered when Stunner informs him that Peter is starting to respond and that he is going to make it. Doc Ock is ecstatic, however, the time has now come for his plan to be set in motion. He orders Stunner to leave before Peter fully regains consciousness and because she has a most important duty to perform. She kisses him goodbye and takes off. As she leaves the laboratory, the mysterious figure known as Kaine watches on from a nearby rooftop.

Back in the laboratory, Peter has fully regained consciousness, though he is confused and uncertain about what is going on. Doc Ock welcomes Peter back and puts his Spider-Man mask back on. He then informs him that, though he saved his life, he only did it because he did not want to see his greatest foe perished due to poisoning. While Spidey tries to make sense of all that, the police arrive at the laboratory to arrest Doc Ock (It is revealed that Doctor Octopus instructed Stunner to call the cops so that Spidey would not feel pressured to turn him in). Doc Ock surprisingly gives himself up and tells Spidey to get some rest, as he expects him to be in peak condition the next time they encounter each other. As Doc Ock is hoisted into a waiting patty-wagon, he tells them all that he does not fear prison and that he will eventually find a way to escape and battle Spider-Man again because he – Spider-Man – will always be waiting for him. As he watches on, Spidey realizes that he probably will be waiting.

While Spidey swings back towards his apartment, Mary Jane is busying herself with cleaning the apartment and wondering if they will ever have a normal family life or at least some semblance of one. As she prepares to take out the garbage, Peter enters the apartment carrying a bouquet of rose and a large box and tells MJ that "today is the very first day of the rest of our lives". He hands her the roses, then lets her open the box he was carrying revealing that it contains a build-it-yourself baby crib. On cloud nine, she jumps in his arms and Peter suggests they unplug the phone, disconnect the TV and break out the power tools.

Several blocks away from there, Stunner stands on the ledge of a rooftop, seemingly waiting for something, or rather someone, as part of Doctor Octopus' plan. Suddenly, a grenade is thrown her way and explodes right next to her in a cloud of gas. Caught completely by surprise, she is unable to get out of harm's way and passes out by asphyxiation. As she lies unconscious on the rooftop, the culprit behind the explosion is revealed to be Kaine.

Inside the moving patty-wagon that is carrying Doctor Octopus to prison, the evil doctor smiles as he hears the noise of something landing on the roof of the vehicle. When the roof is torn to shred and Kaine glances down at him through the hole, Doc Ock's expression quickly changes when he realizes that something must have happened to Stunner (who was supposed to help him break out, which was part of the plan they had set in motion earlier). Freaking out, he takes out the surrounding guards that are inside the vehicle with him, and takes off after Kaine. The battle is fierce and brutal, as they both try to take each other out. But in the end, after explaining to Doctor Octopus that he does not harbor any personal antagonism towards him, Kaine breaks his neck (for reason of his own). Nearby, Stunner regains consciousness and races to her beau's help but by the time she reaches him, he is already dead and Kaine is long gone.

To be continued.