In "Spider-Man 2" the movie, Peter Parker is constantly late for work, science class and get-togethers. In "Spider-Man 2" the game, we find out why.
He is stopping carjackings, saving a construction worker from falling off buildings, helping the police win shootouts and breaking up armored car heists.
Anyone who plays "Spider-Man 2" from Activision can say definitively that these are the activities that keep Parker, aka Spider-Man, late. You will know this because of the repetition. You stop the same crimes and save the same worker again and again and again.