Doctor Octopus is finally appearing in John Romita’s run on the series! He has proved to be just as dangerous of a foe for Spidey as he ever was. Last issue, he thought he killed Spider-Man. Shame on you Octopus!, rules in comics is always check for a corpse!. He feels its time to lay low. Last issue also saw Aunt May advertise for a border to live in her house. Can anybody else see where I am going with this? Well the first page of this issue has Otto Octavius (Doctor Octopus san his deadly tentacles) replying to Aunt May’s ad in person. For you continuity buffs this is not their first meeting. Aunt May tells Doctor Octopus that she does remember when she visited her with Betty Brant years ago (from Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1). Actually it was not as much as a visit as it was a kidnapping, but poor May never even realized it.

Aunt May is just about to let Doc Ock accept the room when she remembers the police wanted him. Octavius assures her that the newspapers blew the entire incident out of proportion and that everything was a big misunderstanding. Lucky for Doctor Octopus that Anna Watson is away on a trip because she would never fall for such a story. However May did, and Doctor Octopus feels that this is the perfect place to lay low. All while this is happening, Spider-Man has been searching for Doctor Octopus all over the city and he can’t seem to find him. He finally gives up and goes home. Peter is all alone since Harry is out on a date so he decides to call his Aunt May. While May is answering the phone, Doctor Octopus goes up stairs to begin the next phase of his plan. He opens his suitcase to reveal his metal arms, which he still has under his mental control. They bring him some communication devices. Remember all those henchmen Doc had in the Master Planner storyline (Amazing Spider-Man #31-33)? Well not all of them got captured apparently. Doctor Octopus tells them to get ready for another series of crimes. Living with Ock is already affecting May’s life. Her precious television is not working because of the electrical interference from Octavius' communication devices.

Last issue, Harry was not too happy with Peter. Now it seems old Harry is ready to let bygones be bygones and he asks Peter if wants some breakfast. Peter is in his room working on his web fluid and had not realized Harry was back. He locks everything up and then emerges ready for breakfast. Harry was not about wait for Peter to lock everything up in his room. Harry is very insulted because he thinks Peter is afraid that he will steal whatever is in the room, so Harry rushes off to see his father. Peter takes his cycle (Peter had a motorcycle around this time) to the Daily Bugle wondering if they know anything about Doctor Octopus’s whereabouts. On the way there he ponders what his secret identity is doing to his friendship to his roommate Harry. Peter has been so busy these last few issues, that he has never had time to meet the City Editor Joe Robertson (introduced in Amazing Spider-Man #52). Daily Bugle secretary, Betty Brant introduces the two and sure enough, Joe wants to know how Peter manages to get those awesome pictures of Spider-Man. Peter tells him its just luck and Jonah reminds him that he hasn’t brought any pictures in a long time. Peter tells Jameson he is on Doc Ock’s trail and wonders if Jonah has any leads. Jameson doesn’t know and Peter gives up.

Now it is a waiting game, as Peter decides to just wait for Doctor Octopus to make the next move. Peter heads to the Coffee Bean where Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson are hanging out. The two girls trade some witty banter at the others expense. Peter states he is going to visit Aunt May and Mary Jane says one of my favorite lines, “Aunt May? Who can buck competition like that?!” That’ll teach Gwen and Mary Jane to fight over boys. Peter walks into Aunt May’s place and is very surprised to see Doctor Octopus.
Aunt May tries to calm her nephew down and Ock understand because he knows how emotional teenagers can be. Doc Ock tells May he will talk to Peter man to man. After May leaves, Otto talks to Pete, and it is a talk that would make any ordinary teenager wet his pants. Pete is told that he and Aunt May will be killed if he tries to do anything. Peter realizes that at the moment there is nothing else he can really do.

After Peter leaves, he is obviously not in the best of moods. He needs to figure out a way to remedy this Doc Ock as border situation without giving Aunt May "the big one". When he discovers some of Ock's henchmen deliver equipment, he knows it is time to act. As Spidey, he flashes the Spider signal through Ock's window. His reaction is the usual "but he is dead" thing that all villains usually recite. Spider-Man moves away from the window because he wants Ock to pursue him out of the house. He must avoid having a potential fight too close to Aunt May at all costs. Doctor Octopus senses that Spider-Man is trying to lure him away and decides to stay put. He summons the Master Planner henchmen to take care of Spider-Man. The helicopter the henchmen are in come to Queens and begin to outnumber our hero, while Ock looks on across the street from his safe haven. Just as Ock is smiling about how things are going his way, Spidey proves that he can't be outnumbered just like that. They finally decide to use some gas on him. While that temporarily weakens him, Spidey soon recovers and begins to finish off the henchmen. By the time he has finished webbing them up for the newly arrived cops, a crowd has gathered to witness the event. Spider-Man notices Aunt May and realizes that with her out of the house, he has a chance at Ock.
 
Doctor Octopus is questioning May Parker's absence and fears she wised up and called the cops. He puts on his arms just to be safe. Lucky him, because Spidey soon burst through the window to begin the battle. At first, the battle is in Doc Ock's favor as he uses his tentacles to trap Spider-Man. Spider-Man plays possum so Ock will lower his guard. When he does, Spider-Man takes full advantage of the situation. Suddenly the battle now has a watcher, and I am not talking about the guy from Fantastic Four. Aunt May has returned and she is investigating the noise from within the house. Imagine her surprise when she sees Spider-Man. Doctor Octopus assures her he will save her but she has already fainted. Doctor Octopus is worried about the possible arrival of the police so he flees. He notices that Spider-Man is staying behind and tells him one of those "to fight another day" speeches. Spider-Man is worried about Aunt May and could care less about what Ock just said. He can't seem to revive her and even takes off his mask to prove she has nothing to fear. He finally calls Doctor Bromwell and changes his clothes. When Doctor Bromwell arrives, he tells Peter that May will pull through after he evaluates her. Peter says he has no idea what could have caused the shock. After Bromwell leaves, Peter concludes that it is good Aunt May was not conscious when he took off his mask because that would have caused much more trouble. Really, Peter? Actually when she did find out much later, it did cause trouble but it was not the kind of trouble he expected. We now end the issue with Peter in a rage and we have a feeling that next issue Doc Ock is going to have a major battle on his hands. Poor Peter would be singing a different tune if he saw next months cover though.

It was great to see the Master Planner Henchmen again. Once again, Doctor Octopus is proving to be a different kind of villain. He is giving Spider-Man more than his fair match in the brains area. Having him under the same roof with Aunt May must have also been pretty nerve wrecking. So far this storyline is proving very interesting and we still have two more parts to go. Remember when Sally turned Peter down for a date in Amazing Fantasy 15? How about when Liz accepted a date out of pity because she couldn't bear to turn him down again way back in Amazing Spider-Man #4? Well it appears those days are gone. In this issue, both Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson do some more fighting over Peter and two observers wonder what Pete has. Somebody says it is both looks and brains. Our Petey has sure grown up! You got to love it! Who can deny that this is the golden age of Spider-Man stories? Next month things get even more interesting, as the verbal battles between MJ and Gwen continue, Spidey is mad at Doc Ock, searching the city for him, and John Jameson returns. Wait until you see the cliffhanger ending to end all cliffhanger endings. All this and more next issue!

by Julio Barone

Reprinted In:
Marvel Tales #39
Spider-Man Comics Magazine (Digest) #2
Spider-Man Essentials III