The Gathering Of Five Part 5 of 5. Continued from Spectacular Spider-Man #262.

It's The Gathering Of Five part 5 of 5, the last part...Or is it? Anyway, part four introduced to us the last of the five participants in the impending ceremony, but that person's face was not shown. Just who it is will be let out of the bag in this issue, as that person joins Norman Osborn, Greg Herd (Override), Madame Web, and a pawn shop owner named Maxwell as the five participants trying to gain gifts in the form of power, knowledge, immortality, death, and madness. Also, a character is introduced here that will eventually go on to have their own series for a year and a half after gaining one of the gifts from the ceremony. This issue will definitely have much more concerning the gathering of five than it's previous part 4 that took place in Spectacular Spider-Man #262, I promise!

The story opens up in a private hospital where Dr. Greg Herd is at the side of his wife Annie, better known as Aura. Annie is now on life support from being caught in the middle of a laser fire, and is now fighting for her life. Her husband, Greg has volunteered to be a participant in the gathering of five to hopefully gain a gift that could eventually help his wife. His wife comes to for a bit and states Greg's name, fully aware of who he is. Having her this way was like a gift, and that it the title of this story in this issue. At the home of Peter Parker and Mary Jane, Peter does some house work, using his webbing to patch up some holes that are leaking in the roof. Peter and Mary Jane reminisce over some old photos that they find in the attic, including old ones of Spider-Man and some old ones of Mary Jane's modeling career. At this point, Mary Jane realizes that she is going to have a difficult time telling Peter that she wants to go back into modeling, instead of getting a college education. Back at the hospital, Greg tells his wife about his upcoming participation in the gathering of five, then shortly leaves the hospital. Outside the hospital, Greg thinks about how to prepare for his wife if he is unable to receive one of the more desirable gifts from the ceremony.

Later that day, Spider-Man begins to swing throughout the city, and he eventually comes upon an armored car heist that has previously taken place. At the same, Mary Jane is at Empire State University, where she withdraws from her classes. Later that night back at the hospital, Anne Herd reaches out to someone by her side, talking about the great pain that she is in, and the great pain that she sees in her husband. The man she is talking to is Norman Osborn, and she wants him to do something about her situation, and end her pains. He urges her to re-consider and give it a couple more days, then is she feels the same way, he will honor her request and bring her the peace that she is seeking. Back to the armored truck heist, Spider-Man learn that it was Greg, or Override that has committed the robbery. Override makes his way through the streets and then realizes that Spider-Man is following him. Override then goes inside a hotel and in one of the elevators. When Override gets to the top of the building, he goes outside where he meets Spider-Man, who has just scaled the building. Spider-Man kicks him off the top of the roof, and then shoots a web at his feet catching him. Spider-Man dares Override to override his web-shooters at that moment, as Override is hanging by a web-line. Spider-Man ends up webbing him up and then delivers him to the police.

As it turns out, Spider-Man's webbing dissolved in an hour, and Override escaped with ease. He then returned to the hospital to see his wife, and brought the money that he stole from the armored car. He talks to her, and asks her to hold on for just a little while longer, still with the hope that he will receive some magic gift. Back at the Parker home, Mary Jane still has a hard time telling Peter about her career decision, and it gets even harder when Peter gives her a gift of a brand new Psychology book. She eventually finds enough strength to tell him about her return to the modeling business, and surprisingly, Peter is very understanding. Whatever she wants, Peter will be there by her side. Her re-entering the world of modeling will enable them to live a better life, especially when the re-boot occurs.

And that's the end of the issue. No ceremony, and no more on the gathering of five. While there is a substantial amount of detail to the participants of the gathering given in this issue (more than what was disclosed in Spectacular Spider-Man #262), it's really not enough to justify falling under the storyline The Gathering Of Five. The ceremony actually takes place in Amazing Spider-Man #441 in what should have been part six, but it is the beginning of another (four part) storyline entitled The Final Chapter. It is the storyline in which a heck of a lot more happens in it when compared to The Gathering Of Five. Also, this is the last issue of Sensational Spider-Man due to the impending re-boot that will only include two of the four titles starting over with a number one issue. Oh yeah, there was another Blade advertisement, but the joke must have gotten old by this point!