Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #243

After reconciling his relationship with Mary Jane, Spider-Man learns about a hostage situation in the Our Lady of Grace Chapel! He enters the church with hopes to take care of the armed men, but if they detect Spidey all will be lost!

The issue begins with Mary Jane walking in and catching Amy Powell with her arms around Peter. Then Lance Bannon(Amy’s ex) shows up and asks Peter what’s going on. Peter was trying to help Amy get back together with Lance, but she is still angry. Amy storms off, and Lance follows. Mary Jane tells Peter she had just stopped by to tell him that she was back in town and gives him back the key to his apartment.

Peter changes into Spider-man and swings by to see Curt Connors. Spider-man asks Dr. Connors to examine a piece of shrapnel from last issue’s explosion. Dr. Sloan walks in with a stack of papers. Spidey sneeks a look at his exam and is elated that he passed.

Spidey swings away, still happy that he passed. He realizes however, that all the time he’ll be spending time studying will cut into his hero-time. He overhears a television news report that a group of terrorists have overtaken a church and are holding the parishioners hostage. Spider-man swings over to the church and rescues the hostages and decides to take the photographs he had taken to the Daily Bugle.

After visiting the Bugle and also stopping by to see Felicia Hardy in the hospital, Spidey realizes he must make a decision.

He’s going to pay Felcia’s hospital bills and to do that he will need money. His main source of money is to sell photographs to the Bugle. Being a full-time student will cut into his Spider-man time, which means less money.

The next morning, Peter gives his lab partner the lab notes he had been keeping. A lady from the registrar’s office hands Peter a letter informing him that he had been approved for the Bio-Physics graduate program at Empire State. Peter looks at the paper, crumples it up, and throws it on the floor.

He has made his decision.