The Final Chapter Part 1 of 4. Continued in Spider-Man #97. Last Issue of the 1st Volume.

In Sensational Spider-Man #33, we saw was should have been the last part of "The Gathering Of Five" storyline, but the gathering of five ritual has yet to take place. Well, we are finally going to see this ancient ritual, with five participants vying for five separate powers: Power, Immortality, Knowledge, Madness, and Death. The participants are Norman Osborn, a pawn shop owner named Maxwell, Madame Web, Dr. Gregory Herd (AKA Override), and the surprise ending cliffhanger mystery person from the last issue of Sensational Spider-Man. We will meet that person in this issue in the first part of "The Final Chapter" storyline.

The storyline opens up in the top of the tower that is Osborn Industries. All the participants have joined together wearing red robes with gold trim. Each participant must understand to the fullest extent, the risks involved in partaking in the ritual. We also meet the mystery person from the end of Sensational Spider-Man #33. She is named Martha Franklin, and has never been seen before fully until now. It was her father who agreed to be a participant in the ritual, but she is there in his place, since his courage failed him. Elsewhere, a cab stops at the Parker residence and drops off Alison Mongrain and Joe Robertson. They have been followed by the Molten Man, who wants Mongrain dead. Why? Probably because she has something to tell Peter, and Peter only. As they approach the house, the sewers begin to steam, and the Molten Man pops out surprising both. Several miles away is Spider-Man, who is swinging his way towards home to his wife Mary Jane. MJ at this time is on the phone, but looks out the window to see the Molten Man with Mongrain and Joe Robby. The Molten man says that his head is hurting for some reason, but attacks the two anyway. Raxton then flashes back to a time a little bit earlier when he is shackled up. Her remembers that he was at his desk at work getting ready to leave, when his employer kidnaps him. The kidnapper then plants a device in his brain, and soon is turned into the Molten Man once again, following orders of his employer. There is a homing device somewhere in the city that draws Molty to it, but the closer he gets, the greater his pain gets. So great is the pain, that when Molty reaches the device, he will want to destroy it. His employer now removes a protective helmet to reveal himself to be Norman Osborn. Remember Raxton is Liz Allen Osborn's brother and works for Osborn.

So where is this homing device that the Molten Man wants to destroy and thus rid him of the pain in his head? Inside of a locket that Alison Mongrain is wearing. Joe Robertson takes the locket and throws it into the street, where Molty goes after it, and he becomes calm once again. Mary Jane comes rushing out of her house to the side of a dying Alison Mongrain. Robertson pleads with her to tell them what it was that she wanted to say to Peter, and she recognizes Peter's wife and feels it's all right to give her the message. Alison Mongrain, in her last words before dying, blurts out the following message: "May is alive!". Mary Jane is shocked, thinking that her baby that was first thought dead when born, is still alive. She cried and tells Robertson just this, as Joe holds her.

Now back to the gathering of five participants who ready themselves for the ceremony. Osborn catches Mattie Franklin reading a Spider-Man magazine or comic, then he takes it and rips it up. Mattie thinks that Spider-Man is cool, and you bet this does not go over well with Norman. Seconds later, the five participants ready their pieces of the ancient rock fragments to be combined with the center spindle. As they come together with the fragments, a mystical energy appears around them, and they all begin to feel the energy within them. The center piece is now set in the middle, and now the participants place their piece of the fragments around the center spindle. The first to go is Madame Web, and when she does, she goes flying across the room. The first belief of the power she received: Death! Second to go is young Ms. Franklin, and after she places her fragment alongside the other, she feels a little buzz and nothing else. Third to go is Greg Herd, who feels a blast of energy go through him after he places his fragment alongside the other two. It is first believed that he received Immortality. Next is Maxwell, who places his fragment next to the other three, and then he feels a shock to his brain, and begins to froth at the mouth. Of course, everyone thinks that he has received the gift of madness. This leaves the gift of Power believed to be the only gift left. Osborn is pleased to enter his piece, and then he feels his mind and body expanding in a thousand directions at once.

Pleased with the outcome, Osborn pulls a new costume of the Green Goblin out and prepares to put it on. At the same time at the Parker residence, MJ says goodbye to Robertson, then is greeted by her husband. MJ tells Peter the message that Mongrain intended for his ears, and then Peter rushes out of the house to go after Osborn and try and get May back alive. MJ on the other hand, thinks that this is all a trap, and warns Peter of this possibility. He leaves anyway, because he feels he has to go.

So we learned the "gifts" that the participants received, or did we? Time will tell in the rest of the "Final Chapter" storyline, as well as upcoming issues of the re-boot. This is the last issue of Amazing Spider-Man in it's first volume, but the second volume will eventually be dual-numbered to display both numbers later on. There will be a month off for the spider titles before the new number one hits the stands. Read the next installment of the "Final Chapter" storyline in Spider-Man #97.