Hyde... in Plain Sight!

While attempting to bring the Cobra to the authorities, Spider-Man is interrupted by the villain's former partner, Mister Hyde. Hyde demands that the wall-crawler turn over the Cobra or be killed as well. Refusing to do so, Spider-Man tries to get away with the Cobra, but Mister Hyde rips a heating duct off the roof they are on and tosses it at them. When that fails, Mister Hyde tries to rope them up with a live electrical wire but misses. Spider-Man fears that, due to an injured ankle, he won't be able to keep away from their attacker for very long.

Meanwhile, Ned Leeds and Marla Madison are waiting at the police station for Spider-Man to arrive. Marla suspects that because Spider-Man is an outlaw, he had lied to them about bringing the Cobra to the police. Just then they are joined by the Daily Bugles photographer, Lance Bannon. As they are getting Lance up to speed they suddenly hear a loud boom from outside and rush out with the police to see what the cause is. Outside they see that the side of a building had landed on the back end of a taxi cab, narrowly avoiding the driver. They turn their attention upwards and spot Spider-Man and the Cobra trying to flee Mister Hyde, who continues to toss chunks of building at them. When the debris misses the hero and his prisoner, the people on the street scatter to avoid the falling debris.

Spider-Man quickly comes up with a plan and tosses the Cobra at Mr. Hyde. Sure enough, the villain catches his former partner only to discover that his hand is now stuck in a wad of Spider-Man's webbing. Still, Mr. Hyde punches the top of a chimney, sending it flying toward the wall-crawler. Spider-Man quickly uses his webbing to whip it back at his attacker, but Hyde easily smashes it with his fist. On an adjacent rooftop, Ned Leeds and Lance Bannon watch the battle as it carries on. When Ned worries about their safety, Lance refuses to go, wanting to take photos of the battle. Meanwhile, Spider-Man tries in vain to knock out Mr. Hyde, but the villain crushes a water tower sending we web-slinger back on the defensive. The water from the smashed tower spreads to the building where Lance and Ned are, washing Bannon off the rooftop. He is saved from a fatal fall thanks to the quick actions of Spider-Man. On the ground, Lance complains about how the wall-crawler was unable to save his camera as well. In response to this indignation, Spider-Man webs Lance's mouth shut and goes back into battle.

However, by this time Mr. Hyde has escaped from sight, and with five o'clock coming, Spider-Man needs to leave, hoping that the two villains can keep until he can continue his hunt for them. In a nearby alley, Mr. Hyde strongarms the Cobra into revealing the location of his penthouse, and all of his stolen loot. Meanwhile, Spider-Man has returned to Empire State University where he changes back into Peter Parker. There he begins cleaning out his teaching assistance desk after giving up the job. As he does so, he feels a sense of loss, thinking of all the good times he had in this job. On his way out, he is stopped by Marcy Kane, who tries to get Peter to come with her to the lab. However, Peter insists that he is busy and quickly slips away. Marcy returns to the lab where she, Peter Hopkins, Philip Chang, Roger Hochberg, and Debra Whitman were planning to throw a surprise party for him. When Debora hears that Peter managed to slip away, it causes her to worry as she suspects that Peter might also be Spider-Man.

At that moment, Mr. Hyde has reverted to his human form of Calvin Zabo and tosses his jacket over the Cobra's costume. He then gets them past the doorman at Cobra's apartment complex. Once inside the elevator, Zabo ingests the formula that transforms him into Mr. Hyde. Once in the penthouse, Mr. Hyde takes a vial of acid out of his alter-ego's medicine bag and uses it to burn off the webbing that keeps him attached to the Cobra and then shackles his former partner. Mr. Hyde vows to get revenge against the Cobra for leaving him to rot in prison after he was defeated by Captain America. However, before he can harm the Cobra, Spider-Man comes crashing in through the window. The wall-crawler had managed to track them down thanks to a spider-tracer he planted on the Cobra when he gave him up to Hyde. This time, Spider-Man uses his quips to play on Hyde's short temper. This allows him to get a number of good blows and a shot of webbing in Hyde's face for good measure. Driven to a fury, Hyde becomes sloppy and is tossed through the walls of the penthouse and sent crashing to the street below. Going down to confront his foe again, Spider-Man is surprised when Hyde gets up after the heavy fall but is relieved when his enemy collapses to the ground again.

Meanwhile, the Cobra has managed to break free from his bonds, just as the police arrive on the scene. He attempts to get away, but before he can slip out the window he is cornered by Spider-Man. With all the fight taken out of him, the Cobra returns to the cops and begs to be arrested so nobody can hurt him anymore. Spider-Man is glad, because due to his injuries he's not sure if he could handle another fight and web-slings home to go and soak his foot.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Cobra, Mister Hyde, Marla Madison, Ned Leeds, Debra Whitman, Lance Bannon, Macy Kane, Phillip Chang, Roger Hotchberg, Steve Hopkins

Continuity Notes

• Peter cleans out his desk in the teaching assistant's office at ESU in this story. As seen in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #68, he had to give up the job in order to keep up with his schooling, his job at the Bugle, and his activities as Spider-Man. The fact that he uses a typewriter at his desk should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

• Debra Whitman fears that Peter might also be Spider-Man, she began having these suspicions in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #68.

• Mr. Hyde makes mention of his recent defeat at the hands of Captain America. That happened in Captain America #252.