Amazing Spider-Man #254

Issue Details

Synopsis

WITH GREAT POWER... The NYPD are recovering the Hobgoblin's battle van from the Hudson River. Also on the scene is Spider-Man, who is taking pictures of the recovery operation for the Daily Bugle. Spider-Man recalls the battle that led to the battle van crashing into the Hudson and the apparent demise of the Hobgoblin.  He also thinks about all the changes that have happened since that moment, particularly his time on Battleworld and his new costume that has strange abilities that he doesn't fully understand. Spider-Man decides to tag the battlewagon with a spider-tracer since he fears that it survived the plunge into the Hudson, perhaps the Hobgoblin survived as well. As the police load the van onto the back of a flatbed, an inconspicuous looking trucker observes the salvage and radios to his mysterious employer, telling him where the van is being taken.   Meanwhile, Spider-Man is lost in thought over his own problems, particularly the continued turbulence with his girlfriend the Black Cat, and how his Aunt May is upset with him for dropping out of grad school.   Seeing a payphone becoming available, Spider-Man swings down and attempts to call his Aunt May. The phone is answered by Victor Palermo, one of his Aunt's tenants. When he tells May that it is her nephew Peter calling, May is still upset with him and doesn't want to talk. Peter is hurt when he learns that his Aunt doesn't want to talk to him, much to Peter's dismay. As he web-slings toward the Daily Bugle, Peter worries about the rift that has been created between himself and his aunt.   Hitching a ride on a delivery truck, Spider-Man gets into the Bugle through the loading dock but is spotted climbing on the ceiling. The wall-crawler escapes into a stairwell and webs the door close. He then wills his costume to turn into street clothes and begins the seventeen-story hike up to the Bugle offices to sell his photos. Meanwhile, a group of men continues to track the Hobgoblin's battle van. They create a distraction that holds up the police escort so that the flatbed truck carrying the van continues on alone. The truck drivers are then distracted near a construction site, a magnet crane is used to lift the battle van off the back of the truck.   Meanwhile, Peter Parker arrives at The Daily Bugle, where he laments the lack of photo assignments. Suddenly, a reporter comes out from Joe Robertson's office in a fluster over yet another re-write, so Peter asks Betty what's going on with Joe Robertson. Betty suspects that Joe is trying to live up to the standard of J. Jonah Jameson after his departure from the editor-in-chief position. Peter gets a phone call from Nathan Lubinski, who has taken Aunt May out for lunch, and asks Peter to meet with them so he can sort things out with May.   No sooner is Peter off the phone however, when he is told that the police band radio is reporting that the Hobgoblin's battlewagon never made it to the impound yard. He rushes out of the office and changes into Spider-Man. He tracks his spider-tracer to the construction site, where he spots hired thugs examining the vehicle. Spider-Man gets the drop on them, but the battle is interrupted when an explosion knocks him off his feet. As the smoke begins to clear, Spider-Man thinks he is up against the Hobgoblin, when it actually turns out to be Jack O'Lanturn.   The wall-crawler demands to know what Jack's connection to the Hobgoblin is, but the villain refuses to talk. He then leads Spider-Man on a chase in order to lure him away from the van, so that his men can transport it elsewhere. Unfortunately for Jack O'Lanturn, the moment he is gone, the battlewagon springs to life and drives off on its own -- much to the confusion of the hired men.   While Spider-Man chases Jack O'Lantern across the city, Nathan Lubenski, along with May, waits for Peter to show up at the restaurant. Aunt May deduces out what is going on, and admits that she might be acting foolish, but she feels that she and Peter have been drifting apart lately, and that she doesn't know who he is anymore.   At that moment, Jack O' Lantern leads Spider-Man into the middle of a massive toy store. There, the wall-crawler is distracted with keeping the patrons safe that Jack begins gaining grown. He ultimately escapes after activating the fire sprinklers and ripping loose some electrical wires. While Spider-Man is busy preventing the wires from electrocuting the customers, Jack O' Lantern escapes, telling the wall-crawler to give his regards to the Hobgoblin.   With the battle over, Spider-Man changes back into street clothes and rushes to the restaurant where he was supposed to have met Nathan and Aunt May earlier in the evening. However, they are long gone by this time. As he turns to leave, he is confronted by Nathan who came back. He scolds Peter for letting his Aunt down again and accuses him of never caring about her to begin with, leaving Peter speechless.Nathan turns to leave, telling Peter that he never knew what Peter was really like.