In Amazing Spider-Man #532, Peter Parker is given an ultimatum by Tony Stark: whether he joins him in his support of the Superhuman Registration Act, thus being forced to reveal his identity, or he is going to be hunted down like a criminal, as will Mary Jane and Aunt May, who will be considered accomplices. Peter spends the entire issue trying to make up his mind. After a lengthy conversation with his wife and aunt, Peter comes to a decision and flies off to Washington DC to partake in a press conference alongside Tony Stark. As Spider-Man, Peter joins Tony on stage and tells the media assembled that he has an announcement to make.

In Amazing Spider-Man #533, Spider-Man takes off his mask and reveals his secret identity to the world.

Now, Peter Parker has to deal with the ramifications of revealing his identity.

ACT 1: At a little league baseball game, Mark Raxton, a.k.a. the Molten Man, is paid an unpleasant visit from the Chameleon, who wants Mark to join him in his plot to go after Peter Parker, who recently revealed to the world that he is none other than Spider-Man. Mark is resilient to join the Chameleon – he’s on the side of the angels after all – until the Chameleon points out Electro, hiding in the shadows, ready to strike the kid that Mark is looking after on the weekends, should Mark refuse to join them. When Mark tells the Chameleon to let him know when to get started, the Chameleon replies that the extermination of Peter Parker has already begun.

ACT 2: Spider-Man is falling to his death, courtesy of the villain known as Scarecrow, with whom he currently is entangled. Knowing that he has but seconds to react and change their course, Spidey shoots a webline that snags a nearby wall and, using the momentum of the swing, sends the two of them crashing through the window of a building. As they both struggle to get back on their two feet, Scarecrow removes his mask, revealing the Green Goblin underneath and calls him Peter. Spidey is taken aback for a moment, until realizing that Scarecrow is using his powers to make him believe that he is seeing things that aren’t there. A clicking noise coming from Spidey’s costume seems to bring him back to reality and he proceeds to punch Scarecrow’s lights out. As Scarecrow lies on the ground semi-conscious, Spidey reveals that his costume has a built-in purifier, which allowed him to neutralize Scarecrow’s toxins. Just as Spidey goes to ask Scarecrow why he attacked him, Will O’The Wisp arrives on the scene and confronts him. Spidey pretends to not remember him, which ticks him off greatly. Suddenly, Spidey’s spider-sense kicks in, warning him of impending danger. He launches himself towards Wisp, just as the Scarecrow’s pitchfork comes crashing down exactly where he was standing moments earlier. As Spidey soars in Wisp’s direction, Wisp becomes intangible and Spidey passes right through him. Emerging on the other side, Spidey is sent flying out of the building, as Wisp was standing in front of the broken window. As Spidey falls towards the ground, he opens his arms, and uses the webbing stranding from his waist to his arms to soar through the air and carry him back to the broken window. But, by the time this all takes place, both Scarecrow and Will O’The Wisp have disappeared.

ACT 3: A short time later, Peter calls Mary Jane, who is at a rehearsal for a play, to let her know that he was attacked and to tell her to go home, where she will be safe with Aunt May. As MJ makes her way to the stage and tries to smash an annoying bee, she tells Peter that she cannot go into hiding every time he feels like something bad might happen to her. When Peter tries to argue with her, she explains that being married is an equal partnership and as such, since she supports him, she expects him to support her. With that said, she hangs up the phone and turns her attention to the play, only to find everybody staring at her. When she asks what they are staring at, one of them asks if she was arguing with Peter. She replies that she was and the same person comments that she was therefore fighting with Spider-Man (They have a difficult time believing that she would be fighting with him). Unbeknownst to them, up in the theater rafters, the being known as Swarm is spying on MJ.

ACT 4: Meanwhile, at the penthouse apartment of Thomas Fireheart (a.k.a. Puma), Felicia Hardy (a.k.a. the Black Cat), who spent the night there, throws a remote through the TV plasma screen. When asked by Fireheart why she did that, she replies that she is sick of the media playing Spider-Man’s reveal over and over again, like they are throwing it in her face. She adds that, before, there was only a handful of individuals who knew about it, and it made her feel special, intimate, and sexy. When Fireheart hears her say this, he realizes that she still has feelings for Spider-Man and confronts her about it. She is speechless, leaving little to the imagination.

ACT 5: Peter pays a visit to Madame Web to see if she can help him sort out what has been happening to him of late (i.e. all those attacks from super-villains). She is not much help, though she explains that visions of storms of fire and hell, and rivers of hate and damnation, have been crowding her thoughts. However, she is unsure if it might happen or is definitely going to happen. Peter asks if it is connected to the current war and she replies that it is unclear. She comments, however, that war begets war, blood demands more blood and from destruction comes greater destruction.

ACT 6: Meanwhile, at the home of Liz Allan Osborn in Riverdale, New York, Liz peruses through old photo albums and makes a comment about how Peter brought death to all their lives. Suddenly, she starts to smell sulfur, sneaking up on her, coming from the hallway. Just as she realizes that whomever is causing the smell probably burned his way through the front door, Mark Raxton, her step-brother, appears in the kitchen, in full Molten Man form.

To be continued.