Spider-Man's date for the prom: the Sandman?! The Sandman is totally out of control and rampaging through Coney Island, all because of Spidey! Can the wall-crawler make up for his mistake, save his college scholarship, and somehow escort three dates to the senior prom?! Let's see the Charlie Brown of the super hero set pull himself out of this one! A story for all those fans of classic Spider-Man action!
Things have gone from bad to worse. Flash has whipped himself into a near-murderous rage of Peter stealing "his" girl for the prom, Betty is willing to quit her job rather than miss said prom, Liz is trashing all of Flash's momentos and is dreaming of a future life with Peter, and the Sandman is now a three-story hulk of sand spending his time discussing his problems with a stray cat. But worst is Peter, being stuffed into the ultimate indignity of his late uncle's powder blue, ruffled tuxedo. Not to mention the fact that he's now stuck taking three girls and may be killing the Sandman. Hoping to find his missing notes at Flash's house, he slips into the ol' union suit and heads right over, not finding the notes but witnessing a brief encounter between Flash and his abusive father.
Failing that, Spider-Man tries (and fails again) to reconstruct his experiment from memory while the Sandman wanders the streets wanting nothing more than death. Meanwhile, both Betty and Liz visit the Parker homestead and let a very confused Aunt May know her darling nephew has three dates. As for Peter, he's wandering the streets with the knowledge that he has no other option than to show at the bridge, despite knowing how Flash's father would react. Along the wya he runs into his science teacher, the man supervising his grant, and reveals that he heard him promise it to Blake. The teacher, Mr. Del, tells him that he was coddling Blake "so he gets his diploma and gets out," but believes Peter's the frontrunner. The first bit of good news for Peter in days quickly evaporates, however, upon returning home to a livid Aunt May. Insult to injury: Mary Jane canceled out claiming she "wouldn't be caught dead at some square prom with someone I don't even know." Ouch.
Later that night at the bridge, Peter finally has decided on a course of action. In front of everyone, he uninvites Liz to the prom, admitting he only agreed because he wanted to stand up to Flash Thompson. He reaction is predictable, but before the red handprint fades from Peter's cheek, Flash loses his balance and falls, barely managing to snag a support beam. All eyes are on Flash as he slowly slips off, saved from certain death by a certain red-and-blue-covered wall-crawler who set set the world's record for fastest change of clothes.
The prom goes on as scheduled, with Flash and Liz being crowned as royalty. Betty has a change of heart (and finds out about Liz) and goes back to work, prom dress and all. And Spider-Man? He spends prom night in the lab, cooking up an antidote for the Sandman's condition. It works, and Sandman expresses his appreciation by pounding him into the ground and slithering off. (Hey, he didn't kill him, it's a start!) In Peter's own words, "a fitting end to the high school career of Peter Parker. Filled with chaos, heartbreak, disappointment ... action, ingenuity, a last-minute save, and through it all one nerdy, albeit responsible guy, just trying to get by in red and blue long johns."
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