A Superhuman Registration Act is passed which requires all people possessing paranormal abilities to register with the government. Those who do not register are considered criminals. Some heroes, such as Iron Man, see this as a natural evolution of the role of super humans in society, and a reasonable request. Others view the Act as an assault on their civil liberties. After being called upon to hunt down fellow heroes in defiance of the Registration Act, Captain America goes underground and forms a resistance movement.

In Amazing Spider-Man #532, Peter Parker is given an ultimatum by Tony Stark: whether he joins him in his support of the Superhuman Registration Act, thus being forced to reveal his identity, or he is going to be hunted down like a criminal, as will Mary Jane and Aunt May, who will be considered accomplices.

In Amazing Spider-Man #533, Spider-Man takes off his mask and reveals his secret identity for the whole world to see.

In a brutal battle between the pro and anti sides of the Superhuman Registration Act, Bill Foster - the anti-registration hero known as Goliath - is killed. Other members of Captain America's resistance are captured and brought to the pro-registration faction's holding facility in the Negative Zone. Both sides retreat in order to regroup and plan their next move.

Many heroes are left injured, discouraged and questioning where they stand. While some of Captain America's allies are joining with Tony Stark, Spider-Man is beginning to question his loyalty to Iron Man – and the Invisible Woman and the Human Torch leave the pro-registration side and go in search of Cap's underground, officially breaking up the Fantastic Four.

In Amazing Spider-Man #535, Peter Parker finally decides to make his move to the anti-registration side of the Superhuman Registration Act. After helping Aunt May and Mary Jane escape from Avengers Tower, Peter, as Spider-Man prepares to leave, only to be confronted by Iron Man.

ACT 1: The story opens with a bang, with Spider-Man falling from Avengers Tower, into a hot dog stand. As he struggles to get back on his two feet, Iron Man shows up to continue the confrontation. Spidey lays a solid punch on the tin man that sends him crashing into a brick wall. Before Iron Man is allowed to get back up, Spidey lunges at him to keep the upper hand. But as he does so, Iron Man activates an emergency override, which seemingly turns off his new costume and sends him falling to the ground, incapacitated. As Iron Man boasts about being smarter than him, Spidey utters a few words that are not immediately audible. When Iron Man bends over closer to Spidey to hear what he just said, Spidey surprises him with a face-full of web and a double-fist punch that sends the tin man to the mat. Before disappearing into the sewers, Spidey reveals that he figured Iron Man would have built some kind of failsafe device into his costume so he fixed his costume to remove that option.

ACT 2: Sometime later, Peter meets Mary Jane in an abandoned school where she and Aunt May are hiding. After hugging affectionately, Peter explains that he stopped by the bank to clean both of their accounts, which should suffice for a while until things get back to normal. He then reveals that he is worried about her and Aunt May. MJ replies by questioning how much trouble they are in and by commenting that, since he gave up his identity to the government, he is not hiding in that respect. She goes on explaining that he would only be breaking the law if he joined the anti-registration team lead by Captain America and fought against Iron Man and his pro-registration team. Peter’s silence, upon hearing out his wife, reveals to her that he has already joined Captain America's anti-registration group. When Peter finally speaks, he tells MJ that he was wrong to side with Tony and he has to do whatever is necessary to fix it, which includes fighting Tony, if need be. Having said that, he tells MJ that he thinks she and Aunt May should take their money and use it to go as far from New York as they can, at least until things calm down. He is worried that the stress of running away from the authorities will be too much for her and Aunt May to bear and, with them gone, he will be able to move quicker and get more things done. Just then, Aunt May – awakened from a snooze – walks in on the conversation and tells Peter that she should have a say in the matter. Before Peter can respond, Aunt May explains that if he is responsible for their situation, then so are they, and if they are all equally responsible for the decision, then they all have to equally share the consequences. With that said, she calls for MJ to follow her, as they are heading out to pick up some groceries and find a new place to stay. Peter responds that he should go but MJ reminds him that his face is too recognizable at the moment. Peter replies that – being a supermodel – her face is as recognizable as his but MJ proceeds to undo the buttons of her shirt to expose her breast and tells Peter that people will be too busy watching her chest to notice her face.

ACT 3: Later, as Peter sits on a bench over in the abandoned school's playground, he daydreams about a conversation with his younger self. His younger self asks if things will eventually get better and Peter replies that it will, though things will get a lot more complicated. His younger self is unimpressed with his answer, asks for more life advice. Pondering about it for a few seconds, Peter tells his younger self to use sunscreen, eat his vegetables, and protect his friends. And to savor life, the good times and the bad times, because even with the bad times, people love you and you are alive, and being alive is amazing. His younger self cannot believe that Peter is telling him to wear sunscreen, rather than giving him actual advice on life. Put off, his younger self walks away, leaving Peter to ponder his situation.

ACT 4: A short time later, Peter, MJ and Aunt May check themselves into a seedy hotel where they cannot be tracked. As they start to put some stuff away, May tells Peter that, before leaving Avengers Tower, she managed to grab his original blue and red costume for him to wear.

ACT 5: Minutes later, Peter, as Spider-Man, takes off into the night and heads to a television studio, where he interrupts a news broadcast for a special announcement. Spidey tells the viewers how he has come to disagree with the principles of the Superhuman Registration Act, based on Tony Stark's operations, which he witnessed firsthand as his confident. He goes on explaining about heroes being imprisoned, without trial, in the Negative Zone, for refusing to register their secret identities. This, Spidey views as an attack on civil liberties and he therefore cannot continue to support the Superhuman Registration Act as it has been created and enforced. Concluding his announcement, he takes off his mask and tells the world that, from this day on, he will do everything in his power to oppose the Act and anyone attempting to intimidate and arrest those who also oppose the act, in the cause of freedom.

ACT 6: Witnessing this news broadcast from Avengers Tower, Iron Man tells his men to bring in Spidey.

To be continued.