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.

In Sensational Spider-Man #29, Mark Raxton, the Molten Man, is coerced into joining forces with the Chameleon, after Chameleon threatens to have his subordinate Electro kill Normie Osborn, should Raxton refuse to join him. Elsewhere, Peter Parker, as Spider-Man, is confronted by Scarecrow and Will O'The Wisp, Mary Jane is being spied on by the being known as Swarm, and Felicia Hardy (a.k.a. the Black Cat) comes to the realization that she still has feelings for Peter, though she currently is involved with Thomas Fireheart (a.k.a. Puma). After escaping from Scarecrow and Will O'The Wisp, Peter visits Madame Web, who, as usual, predicts that worse things are about to happen. At issue's end, Mark Raxton, in full Molten Man form, shows up at the home of Liz Allan Osborn, his step-sister.

This is where this issue picks up.

ACT 1: The story opens at the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City. Max Dillon (a.k.a. Electro) is lying low, waiting for his next phone call from his employer, the Chameleon. A voice calls up to him, questioning his love of art. Dillon recognizes the voice as being that of Peter Parker and proceeds to destroy a painting worth millions of dollars, simply out of anger. Switching to his Spider-Man costume, Peter kicks Electro in the chest and sends him flying into a wall. Electro loses his trenchcoat and retaliates with jolts of electricity. Peter dodges his attack with a series of flips and jumps, all the while trying to get Electro to come clean about what he and the other super-villains are planning. Obviously, Electro remains silent and continues to blast jolts of electricity at him. Wanting to put an end to the battle, Spidey shoots some kind of strand (from his costume) that attaches itself to Electro's chest, grounds him, steals power from him like a siphon and blasts him with an amazing amount of feedback, which knocks him out. As Peter/Spidey stands next to the unconscious body of his adversary, he cannot help but wonder what else is in store for him and his family.

ACT 2: At the theater, Mary Jane is in the middle of rehearsal when she gets stung by a bee. As she looks up just then, she is horrified to see that the being known as Swarm is flying down from the rafters towards her. Courageously, she tells the other actors to get out of the theater while she faces Swarm. Thankfully, she is not alone, as another actor, Brian Sears, a former stuntman from Los Angeles, grabs hold of a 75 lbs sandbag and throws it at Swarm. The sandbag impacts Swarm in the chest, causing the bees forming his body to scatter all over the place. Though appreciative of Brian's help, MJ realizes that Swarm is as deadly when scattered as when he is not. She takes off running, trusting that he will follow her, so as to give the others a chance to leave. And it works; as Swarm takes off after her, providing an opportunity for the others to leave the theater and alert the police of what is happening. As Swarm catches up to her, MJ grabs hold of a nearby loose curtain and throws it over him, momentarily fazing him. She then rushes towards a nearby wall, where she pulls down the fire alarm. Water immediately starts gushing out of the sprinkler system, weighing Swarm's bees down. Swarm is fazed, but not enough to prevent him from lunging at MJ. As MJ wonders how she is going to stop him, a club comes crashing down on Swarm, shattering his skull and knocking him to the ground, courtesy of Brian Sears. As MJ catches her breath, she cannot help but wonder if being a target for every freak Peter's ever ticked off, as Spider-Man, will be what her life is going to be like from now on. Brian is speechless and suggests to MJ that they should get out of there before Swarm pulls himself back together.

ACT 3: Elsewhere, the Chameleon is reminiscing about learning Spider-Man’s identity years ago (Norman Osborn told him) and how Mary Jane humiliated him when he came after her (as seen in Spectacular Spider-Man 242-245). Somehow, something happened and he no longer knew his secret identity…until now. The entire world knows and the mask has become irrelevant. The Chameleon deems this unacceptable: "I had you dead to rights, Parker, but now, I’ll just have you and your family dead. Your wife. You. And your aunt. I want to feel your aunt’s frail neck twist and snap beneath my fingers." As he finish his pondering, his face transforms into that of Peter Parker.

ACT 4: A short time later, Peter Parker, as Spider-Man, asks the Black Cat why she is so upset with him. She replies that she is upset because she thought he would tell her that he was going to reveal his secret identity, rather than finding out about it with the rest of the world. Peter apologizes to her profusely, telling her that he did not have that luxury. Black Cat accepts his apology, although she is still obviously upset that he did not tell her. They come to rest on a rooftop, where Black Cat asks Peter why he wanted to see her. Peter replies that someone is playing with him and that someone is sending goons after him and Mary Jane. Black Cat asks what happened to MJ and Peter explains how she was attacked by Swarm. Black Cat speculates that perhaps Norman Osborn is the mastermind behind the attacks but Peter explains that the attacks are too haphazard to have been devised by Norman. He feels like someone is trying to take advantage of the crapstorm his outing kicked up, but without thinking it through. Black Cat deduces that Peter is asking for help, which is why he came to her. Peter confirms that he is asking for help, especially as protection for MJ and Aunt May. Just then, his cell phone rings; he answers – it’s Liz Allan Osborn. She cuts the pleasantries and tells Peter that her stepbrother, Mark Raxton has taken Little Normie and that he won't give him back until he meets with him. Peter, accompanied by Black Cat, swings off towards Liz's house, unaware that Liz was threatened (by Raxton, Scarecrow, and Will O'The Wisp) into calling him and pretending that Normie was kidnapped

ACT 5: Meanwhile, at Avengers Tower, Aunt May, returns from grocery shopping, accompanied by two Iron Men. Peter greets her and tells her bodyguards that he'll take over from there. The Iron Men take off, telling Peter that they'll be nearby if he needs them. With them gone, Peter asks Aunt May if she has her key-card to enter into the building. She replies that she does. Peter, revealing himself to be the Chameleon in disguise, says: "Well, in that case…after you".

To be continued.