Summary
Spidey breaks up a gang of small-time hoods trying to steal a safe from a warehouse, lamenting that fighting crime has almost gotten too easy. Meanwhile at the U.S. Atomic Research Center, "Doctor Octopus," the "most brilliant atomic-researcher in our country today," uses a contraption he created, with four robot arms, to conduct research with volatile chemicals. However, a radiation explosion causes him to suffer brain damage and fuses his arms to his body. When a doctor tells Doc Ock he can't leave the hospital, he decides it's because they're jealous of his work (a response implied to be from the brain damage). He uses his arms to free himself from his room and takes the hospital staff hostage. Meanwhile, JJJ tells Peter he desperately wants photos of the injured scientist for "The Daily Bugle," but the hospital is closed to visitors. Pete promises to get some photos, but, upon arriving, discovers Dr. Octopus is holding hostages. He helps the hostages escape, but he's roundly defeated by Doc Ock in the process. (Doc Ock -- or, at least, his arms -- exhibits super-strength, holding Peter at bay and rending his Webs.) Ock hurls Peter from his window, declaring him no threat, and a discouraged Peter contemplates giving up his costumed identity for good. Meanwhile, Doc Ock leaves the hospital and takes over the Atomic Research Center. The governor asks the Fantastic Four to help, and, since they're busy with another case, they decide to send in the Human Torch. But, the Torch is too exhausted from recent adventures and must wait several days before he can "flame on." In the meantime (since he clearly has nothing better to do), he gives a lecture to Peter's high-school class about staying in school and never giving up the fight, noting that the FF has lost many a battle but always returns. Inspiring Peter, Spidey decides to take on Ock again, creating a chemical compound that fuses together his arms. Engaging in hand-to-hand-to-hand-to-hand combat, Peter despairs, until he realizes that he could use Ock's arms to get close to him and deliver "a smashing right." He knocks out Doc Ock, delivers him to the Army, and finds a re-powered Johnny Storm in his hotel room to thank him for inspiring him. Since the Torch isn't needed to take on Doc Ock, he gives a demonstration at Peter's school the next day, leading Flash Thompson to tell Peter he should watch a real man, like Torch or "Spider-Man." The narrator notes that Peter never got a photo of Doc Ock, but he "couldn't care less."
The Review
I didn't realize Dr. Octopus' evil comes from brain damage related to the explosion that fused him to his arms. I mean, I knew the arms got fused to him, but the brain damage part was new to me.
It's interesting to me that Pete is still motivated largely by money, even if his immediate concerns over HOW he's going to make money have been resolved. On one hand, we do see him engage in some pretty basic crime fighting here, rounding up a group of guys stealing a safe from a warehouse. But, in both his battle with Doc Ock in this issue and in his previous battles with the Chameleon and the Vulture, he first engaged the super-villain in his attempt to make some "dough." I wonder how long before he becomes more of a "traditional" hero, acting completely selflessly. (Of course, it's the fact that he's NOT acting completely selflessly that makes Pete more interesting than I imagined he was.)
Super-Man? SUPER-MAN? Yes, indeed, Doc Ock calls Spider-Man "Super-Man" at one point.
Lee really establishes Peter's pluck here. First, we get the start of Peter bantering with his enemies (something I wondered when would happen last issue). It's not great banter, but it's banter nonetheless! It's mostly focused on how great Spidey is (similar to his proto-banter with the Vulture). I was going to put that in the "different than now" category until I thought about it and realized even today most of Pete's commentary is how unlikely it is for a villain to beat him. But, here, in the beginning, Lee uses it to establish how cocky Peter has gotten by his string of successes and decides to deliver to him Peter's first real defeat. Moreover, Lee again excels here in showing us what I think would be a pretty normal teenage response to this sort of adversity, to become so discouraged he wants to quit. But, he's inspired by Johnny Storm, learning that the FF has been defeated and had to get back into the game, and he uses his brains (again) to concoct a formula (on the fly, no less!) that helps him to defeat Doc Ock.
One of the best anachronisms of this issue? A doctor makes a house call to Johnny's hotel room! I'm not entirely sure why Johnny is staying in a hotel, but I'm pretty damn sure a doctor wouldn't be visiting him in it nowadays. Also of note, Peter uses his Spider-Sense like a homing beacon here, using it to find Johnny Storm as he did to hunt down the ship with which the Chameleon intended to rendezvous in issue #1. I wonder when his Spider-Sense will narrow to just being a early-warning system, as it (mostly) is today.
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