Attempting to stop a bank robbery on a crowded New York street, the amazing Spider-Man finds himself blamed for the accidental shooting of an innocent bystander. The newspapers -- especially The Daily Bugle and its publisher, J. Jonah Jameson -- have a field day with the incident, which makes the web-slinger the perfect target for mayoral candidate Brian Timilty.

However, Timilty is secretly the pawn of Tyler Stewart, a wealthy businessman seeking to take over New York's crime syndicates. With Timilty in office and the mob under his control, Stewart will become the undisputed king of New York. To ensure his success, Stewart executes a plan guaranteed to keep the wall-crawling superhero from interfering with his grand designs: He frames Spider-Man for a grisly murder!

Wanted by the police and forced into hiding, Spider-Man must find a way to clear his name. And that's when Electro and the Rhino -- two of his deadliest foes -- arrive on the scene to complicate matters....