Peter Parker joins a group of his fellow students in protesting about the building of a nuclear reactor on the ground of his college. The students are concerned that the plutonium by-product of the nuclear reaction could fall into the wrong hands and an atomic bomb constructed. While this is happening, Reporter Gail Hoffman arrives in New York to interview Spider-Man following his well publicised rescue of a jumper.

In order to make their point the students steal some plutonium from the lab. Spider-Man appears on the scene in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the theft. But Spidey is spotted by security guards and is naturally blamed for the theft.

Meanwhile, in Switzerland, villain Mr White reads a newspaper report of the theft and deduces that it was the students rather than Spider-Man who stole the radioactive material. He plans to relieve the students of their ill gotten gains. He departs immediately for the United States with his monstrous henchman, Angel.

White kidnaps Peter Parker, a known associate of Spider-Man in an effort to locate the plutonium. When one of the students involved in the theft is admitted to hospital with radiation poisoning, Peter changes to Spider-Man to track down the plutonium. But White and Angel get there first. In the ensuing fight, Spidey is hurled off a twelve story building and plunges earthward, seemingly to his death......

Spidey saves himself from his death dive by forming a net with his webbing. But in the confusion, White and Angel escape with the plutonium. Jonah Jameson, owner of the Daily Bugle, discovers that White has fled to Los Angeles and arranges for Peter Parker and Gail Hoffman to travel to the west coast in search of White.

White is demanding one billion dollars in return for not setting off the plutonium bomb in a heavily populated area. The authorities assume, wrongly, that he means New York. In fact, White plans to set off the bomb in Los Angeles at the time the President is giving a speech there.

Spider-Man finally tracks White to his lair and learns of White's plans. He locates the bomb and defuses it at the last second. But White ecapes, vowing that he and Spider-Man will meet again.

Guest Stares: Joanna Cameron (Gail Hoffman), Robert Alda (White), Anne Bloom (Carla), Dick Kyker (Angel).

Comments About this Episode

This movie saw the introduction of Spider-Man's external web shooter and utility belt. For some reason he only had one web shooter which was worn on either his right, or left, wrist. A rather bulky contraption and the palm trigger is not shown. How Spider-Man activated it in the series is a mystery as he would just point his hand in the designated direction and webbing would shoot out. The utility belt was also bulky and while it had a Spider-Man insignia on the front, it was a metal belt buckle rather than the red lighted Spider-signal that he wears in the comics. The movie also introduced the Spider-tracer which Spider-Man would follow using a tracking device. Later in the series, this is minituarised and slips into his utility belt. Joanna Cameron, fresh from her own series as the DC super-heroine, Isis, plays reporter Gail Hoffman of The Weekly Examiner, a Florida-based national paper (read: supermarket tabloid). More than a few comparisons can be made between her and Lois Lane. Peter actually attends classes in this episode, rather than just working in the labs. He also has his first flash of Spidey-sense here, something never fully explained. Peter's eyes light up and flash red and blue, and he sees negative images of whatever dangerous action is in progress. This is one of the best written stories in the series, despite an awfully silly showdown in a western ghost town suposedly on the outskirts of Los Angeles (can you say "Western back lot," boys and girls? I knew you could.) Still, the fight is very enjoyable. Another scene near the end involves Spidey jumping from a helicopter high above the city, later to web-line onto a second. Though the copter sequences are exciting, the blue screen falling effects looked terribly cheesy.