Spider-Man: Painfully. But I told you then... I don't look the other way.
It's Valentine's Day, but the opposing factions of New York's criminal underground are showing no love. Criminals from both Tombstone's and Silvermane's mobs are at war with each other in places as unlikely as a flower shop, a fight which Spider-Man breaks up... though he forgets to pick up flowers for his dinner date with Liz. Despite this, Harry is glad to see Peter show up at Jazzy Gianni's, and both are surprised to see a beautiful Gwen Stacy step of of the cab with Mary Jane. Liz, however, is not impressed.
Elsewhere, J. Jonah Jameson is being dragged to the opera house by his wife, as she demands a romantic evening "or else". As Rigoletto warms up, a meeting of malevolence is taking place high above the audience. In one corner sits Tombstone, the reigning "Big Man of Crime" who wants to keep the criminal element as he currently runs it. Across from him is Silvio "Silvermane" Manfredi, who intends to return things to his old-fashioned management style. Rounding out the meeting is Dr. Octopus, the "Master Planner" who feels that super-villains and science are the future of New York's underworld. Accompanied by their respective subordinates Hammerhead, Silver Sable, and Vulture, the trio begin their meeting.
At Jazzy Gianni's, Peter's group is suddenly interrupted by Flash Thompson and his posse showing up, and they're made to all share the table. Flash takes this opportunity to ask Peter a favor: don't let him do anything stupid around Sha Shan. A very tall order, indeed, but Peter agrees to subtley warn Flash with a "friendly" elbow.
Back at the opera, Tombstone, Silvermane, and Doc Ock share their plesantries, but the situation quickly turns violent when they begin asking each other who set the summit up between them. Hammerhead knocks out Sable and Vulture and throws a machine gun to Tombstone. Doc Ock fights back with his arms, while Silvermane pulls his own ace-in-the-hole: a suit of powered armor. As their fight tears up the room and falls into the lobby, Hammerhead helps himself to the meal, with dreams of becoming the new Big Man once the three villains kill each other.
As his dinner date continues, Peter is suddenly called by Robbie at the Bugle. Frank "Patch" Foswell had gone undercover at the opera house to spy on the villains and needs someone for photos, and Peter is forced to bail on the date for work. He only barely enough time to tell Liz goodbye... except the goodbye is actually meant for Gwen instead. When he shows up as Spider-Man, the three villains begin to attack him as well as each other, though their attempts to call their allies for backup are met with cell-phone interference.
At Jazzy Gianni's, Liz's brother Mark is seen talking with a suspicious mustached man. When he suddenly buys a basket of roses for the table with a suspicious pile of money, Liz's expression brings a frown to Mark's face. Meanwhile, Harry is angry that Peter bailed on the date, and Flash is still trying not to look like an idiot around Sha Shan. Eventually, Sha Shan explains to Flash that she likes him for simply being an honest young man, and the two share a dance.
Spidey is still struggling with keeping the villains' in-fighting under control, especially in regards to innocent bystanders. When Doc Ock manages to pin Spidey down, he suggests to Tombstone and Silvermane that they should work together to ensure the death of their mutual wall-crawling pest. Tombstone refuses, as he can't afford to be seen working with criminals in public. Silvermane has no such issue and attempts to crush Spidey in a powered-armor bear hug, but Spidey removes him from the fight by killing his suit's hydraulics. Upstairs, Sable has recovered and demands Hammerhead to tell her who's jamming the phones, but Hammerhead shrugs and walks away.
Doc Ock eventually tears a chunk of the floor out, causing him, Spidey, and Tombstone to collapse into a utility tunnel. Spidey takes advantage of this to knock out Doc Ock and pull his harness's battery. All that remains is Tombstone, who has no issues with pounding Spidey to a pulp now that no one's watching. After a brutal fight, Spider-Man emerges victorious and sees to it that all three of the crime lords are taken away before returning to Liz at her home. However, Mark refuses to let Peter see Liz out of anger for his abandoning her and believing he has feelings for Gwen. He warns him that Liz is too good to be considered "second choice" in a relationship, and too good for Peter to be in a relationship with her.
The next day at the police precinct, Spider-Man is furious to learn that Tombstone made bail less than a day after his arrest. Captain Stacy reassures Spidey that Tombstone is under very close and very constant surveillance, making it that much harder to continue his criminal activities. It seems to placate Spidey, but Stacy warns that there is now a power-vacuum in the criminal underworld, and that "nature abhors a vacuum".
Indeed, by the time Tombstone returns, and realizes someone else manipulated Hammerhead for the uprising, a new Big Man of Crime reveals himself: the Green Goblin.
This episode provides examples of:
- Adaptational Early Appearance: In the comics Spider-Man first face Silvermane when he was in college, but in the show he faced Silvermane while still in high school.
- All for Nothing: Spidey finally beats Tombstone, but bailing from his date with Liz puts their relationship on thin ice. Furthermore, not only was Tombstone bailed the next day (though he would be on constant watch from now on), a new "Big Man of Crime" in the form of Green Goblin is already on the rise due to a power-vacuum in the criminal underworld.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: Spidey asks himself and the cops why he should stop three of the worst villains from taking each other out. Then he remembers the citizens around them that may be caught in the crossfire.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Doc Ock and Vulture wear tuxedos over their supervillain outfits.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Spidey may have stopped the Mob War, but the only one to completely benefit from it is the Green Goblin, whose competition has just been eliminated, leaving him as the new Big Man of Crime.
- Batman Gambit: The ending reveals the entire confrontation was a scheme by the Green Goblin to eliminate his biggest rivals. Silvermane and Doc Ock go to prison, while Tombstone's image and operation are damaged.
- "Be Quiet!" Nudge: Peter tries to keep Flash from saying anything stupid during dinner with kicks under the table. When Peter later has to leave, Kong decides to get in on it for no other reason than because it looked like fun. It should be noted that Flash asked Peter to do this, which the latter is more than delighted to do.
- Berserk Button: Doc Ock remains largely calm during the brawl until Spider-Man shows up.
- Call-Back: Remember the man and woman that Spider-Man saved by webbing together last season? Well, here the guy proposes to her, and she gives a Big "YES!". Even Mary Jane, who'd just been saying that Valentine's Day isn't that romantic, admits that it's sweet.
- Cassandra Truth: Tombstone tries to inform Silvermane and Doc Ock that Hammerhead has betrayed them all, but neither of them buy it due to Hammerhead's reputation as a loyal stooge.Tombstone: We were all betrayed, by Hammerhead!
Silvermane: Hammerhead is a stooge! He doesn't blink without orders!
Doc Ock: Indeed. Your denial lacks sincerity. - Continuity Nod:
- Tombstone recalls the last time they fought. Spidey recalls the last time Tombstone offered to pay him just to "look the other way". He refused before and reminds him that hasn't changed (after ditching the symbiote of course).
- As Mark and MJ try to cheer Liz up by claiming that there's nothing romantic about a commercial holiday like Valentine's, they are naturally interrupted by a woman's enthusiastic acceptance of her boyfriend's proposal...and the happy couple in question look somewhat familiar.
- Et Tu, Brute?: The brawl starts with Doc Ock and Silvermane teaming up on Tombstone, but Doc Ock quickly makes it into a three way, seeing it as a chance to eliminate the competition.Silvermane: Et tu, Octopus?
Doc Ock: (chuckles) What can I say? An opportunity is an opportunity, Silvermane. - Enemy Mine: Dok Ock tries to get Silvermane and Tombstone to work with him to take out Spider-Man. Unfortunately for him, Tombstone would rather fight them to keep up his public appearance as a law-abiding philanthropist, only turning his focus on their mutual foe after they fall out of sight of witnesses, at which point Spidey has already taken out the other two.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Silvio panics when Sable is injected with something by Hammerhead. When he sees that she's okay (just sedated), he is furious and armors up, joining the fight.
- Everyone Can See It: Deconstruction. Peter makes it pretty obvious that he's more interested in Gwen than his current girlfriend Liz, and Liz's brother Mark doesn't approve of his sister being Peter's "second choice".
- Evil Power Vacuum: Captain Stacy discusses this briefly. With Tombstone defeated and exposed, the criminal underworld will likely call for a new "Big Man". Green Goblin manages to take the role by the time Tombstone is out of prison.
- Falling Chandelier of Doom: Spidey manages to catch it, though it ends up getting smashed anyway when the villains plow through.
- Foreshadowing: Mark Allan meeting with Blackie Gaxton, who is revealed in the next episode to be his bookkeeper.
- Freudian Trio: The initial sitdown highlights this is how the three crime lords compliment each other. Silvermane is the Id—so quick to take things personally and not having any real goal beyond having what he feels is rightfully his. Tombstone is the Superego—advocating a more relaxed approach to crime and being more concerned with the bottom line. Doc Ock is the Ego—having a long-term scope to his agenda, but also getting caught up in his anger issues (mainly courtesy of Spider-Man).Silvermane: Look, Big Man, here's the bottom line: the Manfredi family's ruled New York for decades. You are not taking what is mine.
Tombstone: You old-school types always make things personal. But a criminal empire should be run like a business.
Doc Ock: Not a business, a science. You both think so small, fighting over scraps like rats. - Good News, Bad News: Spider-Man is infuriated that Tombstone made bail and is already out of jail. George reassures him that Tombstone's public standing is irreversibly damaged and that he's now under the microscope of multiple law enforcement agencies, so it's only a matter of time before he ends up in prison for good. The bad news, as George says, is the little matter of the Evil Power Vacuum.
- Hidden Depths: Hobie Brown took his date to the opera and quietly chastises Jonah for talking, suggesting he genuinely believes Classical Music Is Cool.
- Hypocritical Humor: Hobie Brown (the guy that can't get a word in edgewise) quietly shushes Jonah for talking loudly during the opera. Jonah's response just proves the point.Jonah: ZIP IT! PEOPLE ARE TRYIN' TO HEAR!
- Implied Death Threat: "You're fired. Expect your severance package soon."
- Instantly Proven Wrong: With Liz grousing about how Peter bailed during dinner, Mark and Mary Jane try to soft-peddle things by saying there's nothing really romantic about "a commercial holiday" designed to sell cards and flowers. At a nearby table, a woman reacts to a marriage proposal with a Big "YES!", and everyone cheers the happy couple. Mary Jane concedes that maybe the day is a little romantic.
- It's Personal:
- Tombstone accuses Silvermane of being too focused on this. Of course, when Hammerhead sedates Sable and invokes a brawl, Silvermane makes this personal.
- And then there's Doc Ock.Doc Ock: You will pay the price for your constant interference, arachnid!
Spider-Man: I'm kind of broke. How 'bout you pay tonight, and I'll owe you one?
- Last-Second Word Swap: Silvermane during the toast. "To the Valentine's Day Massac — um, Summit."
- Mêlée à Trois: The summit erupts into a three-way between Tombstone, Silvermane, and Doc Ock. Of course, Spidey gets in on the action, too.
- Mob War: The climax of the gang war between Tombstone, Silvermane, and Doc Ock.
- Mythology Gag: Gwen's makeover causes her to resemble her look from the original comics.
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Flash is deeply worried about alienating Sha Shan this way, to the point of asking Peter to keep him from saying anything stupid.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Tombstone stops Doc Ock and Silvermane from killing Spider-Man because there are too many witnesses. Of course, as he says down in the sewer, there are no witnesses down there.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Mark refuses to let Peter see Liz after seeing him pay more attention to Gwen and chews him out over making Liz feel like she was "second choice", declaring that she's too good for him.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Gwen gets a major makeover from MJ for her date with Harry.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: As Spider-Man and the crime lords fight, the opera going on at the same time provides suitable thematic overtones.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: When caught in a bear hug from Silvermane, Spider-Man quickly uses his webbing to blind him, expecting him to let him go and start flailing blindly. However, though Silvermane is a little shocked, he just notes he doesn't need his sight to squeeze Spidey and almost crushes him until Spider-Man figures a different way out.
- Took a Level in Badass: Demonstrated when Spider-Man beats Tombstone in a one-on-one fight.
- Unwitting Pawn: Everyone was this to the Green Goblin.
- Valentine's Day Episode: The episode takes place on the holiday in question.
- Valentine's Day Violence: A seemingly peaceful Valentine's Day summit between New York's three top crime lords (Tombstone, Doc Ock, and Silvermane) quickly (and predictably) erupts into a three-way brawl for control of the criminal underworld, with Spidey himself stepping in to try to protect civilians from being caught in the crossfire.
- Wham Episode: Say hello to the new Big Man of crime.
- Wham Line: When Peter leans in to kiss Liz, he accidentally touches Gwen and apologizes to her. Liz's brother Mark takes notice and warns Peter later of his goof-up.
- Wham Shot: The Green Goblin's Chair Reveal.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Invoked. Hammerhead's reputation as a loyal stooge causes Tombstone's warnings about his power play to fall on deaf ears. That was part of the Green Goblin's plan.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Sha Shan reminds Flash that any offhand comment he makes isn't going to cause her to forget his true character as an honest and principled person.
