Comics : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #54

This story is part of a Lookback Series: Al Observes

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In Detail...

"The Tentacles and the Trap!"

	Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #54  Summary: Battle at Aunt May's House  Arc: Part 2 of "Doc Ock Wins"
	Editor:  Stan Lee Writer:  Stan Lee Pencils:  John Romita, Sr. Inker:  Mickey Demeo Cover:  John Romita, Sr.	Staff Only Images Review Edit
	Nov 1967 : SMURF 054.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1)  Reprinted In: Marvel Tales #39  Reprinted In: Essential Spider-Man #3  Reprinted In: Spider-Man vs. Doctor Octopus (TPB)
Characters: Watson, Anna (BTS), Aunt May Parker, Betty Brant, Doctor Octopus, Gwen Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, Joseph

"Of course I remember you!", Aunt May says to the prospective boarder on her doorstep, "You're that kindly Dr. Octopus whom I visited in 1964 with Miss Betty Brant!" (In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, don'tcha know?) "Now that I realize you are to be the landlady, dear Mrs. Parker", rejoins the suave Otto, "I will accept the room sight unseen!"

Aunt May, acting addled as usual, stops suddenly. She's just remembered that Doc Ock is wanted by the police. "That was just a mistake", Ock tells his patsy, "Spider-Man was the culprit. I was trying to stop him from stealing the nullifier." May buys this hook, line, and sinker. "To think you'd risk your own life trying to save us all from that dreadful Spider-Man", she says. Anna Watson, it turns out, is away on a trip but May is sure she would welcome Ock as a boarder "as much as I do".

Back in Manhattan, Spidey has scoured the whole city unsuccessfully searching for Octopus. He returns to his apartment (where "Harry must be out on a date!") and decides to call Aunt May. The phone rings, just as Ock is paying May the "first month's rent in advance". ("That should keep her out of my hair until my plans are complete", he thinks.) As May talks to Peter, Otto climbs the stairs, finds his room, puts his suitcase on his bed and opens it. His metal arms come writhing out, holding his communicating equipment. "I can again make plans to steal the priceless nullifier", he states, "Luckily all of my men were not captured when my career as the Master Planner was cut short by the accursed Spider-Man!" He uses his equipment to contact his flunky (who has apparently been waiting at his station for a call for the last twenty issues) and declares "Your wait is over! Soon we shall strike again!" Meanwhile, Ock's equipment is wreaking havoc on Aunt May's TV reception. "I wonder if Dr. Octopus could fix it for me?", she says, "He seems so very capable!"

The following morning, in the Manhattan "pad", Harry Osborn (tieing his bow tie) calls into Pete's room to see if he wants any breakfast. Pete has left his door open and has been busy mixing up web-fluid with his Spidey suit hanging in plain sight on his closet door. Calling out, "Just a second, Harry! Be right with you!", PP closes his door and loads the web fluid into his extra cartridges on his belt. When he opens up again, Harry has turned sullen. "I can't wait for you to lock everything up tight as a drum before you'll talk to me", he says, "If you're afraid I'll steal something, just move out!" And he goes off to visit his father.

Still brooding that "my Spider-Man identity is fouling up the best friendship I ever had", Pete rides his motorcycle to the Daily Bugle. Once there, Betty Brant introduces Pete to "our new City Editor"... Joe "Robbie" Robertson. (Yes, this is Robbie's first appearance in the Spidey universe.) Joe is interested in learning how Peter manages to get "those action-shots of yours". Parker tells him it's "beginner's luck". The agitated arrival of J. Jonah Jameson saves Peter from elaborating further. JJJ wants to know why Peter hasn't brought in any photos lately and our hero responds by asking if anyone has a line on where Dr. Octopus is hiding. "Sure! Sure!", says Jonah, "I've got 'im on my key chain, for a lucky charm!"

Deciding he won't get any decent information at the newspaper, Pete cycles over to the Coffee Bean to see what's "shakin'". (Sure hope it's a Saturday. Otherwise he's skipping school.) Sure enough, Gwen and Mary Jane are hanging around outside. The two women get out their claws and scratch at each other for three panels before Pete tells them he is going to visit Aunt May. When he gets to the Forest Hills home, his spider-sense starts buzzing "like mad". He rushes in and is shocked to discover Dr. Octopus sitting at the table having tea with Aunt May. May introduces her new boarder and Peter, angrily pointing a finger at Ock tells her, "He's a criminal! A deadly menace!" "You mustn't say such things, dear," says May, "After all, he is our guest!" A bowing, smiling Ock says, "He's just over-emotional... like so many of today's teenagers."

Peter's protests are interrupted by his Aunt who tells him that Ock is entirely innocent... a victim of "that horrible Spider-Man". Octopus volunteers to speak to the lad in private... "man-to-man". When May leaves the room, Otto grabs Peter by his jacket lapel and says, "Now listen, you punk kid... and listen good! One more peep out of you... to your Aunt... the papers... or the cops... and it'll be curtains for both of you!" Peter would like to tackle Octavius right away but he is afraid of what it would do to May's weak heart. He can't act and he daren't leave his Aunt alone with a madman.

Telling May that "I've some studying to do", Peter leaves the house. He hangs out, watching from across the street until dark. He changes to Spider-Man but still hesitates to attack "because of Aunt May". Still, when a delivery is made to the house for Ock ("Must be equipment for some new crime!"), Pete knows he must act.

As Octopus plays with his beakers and test tubes, Pete shines the spider-signal into the room. The startled Doctor cries out, "No! No!! It isn't possible! I killed him! He's dead!" Ock rushes to the window but Spidey has climbed around the building. He hopes to entice Ock to come out and fight away from Aunt May. But Octopus doesn't fall for that. Instead, he contacts his Master Planner henchmen (six of them still sitting around together wearing their crimson outfits with purple boots, gloves, and masks... don't these guys have a home life?) and tells them it is time to attack Spider-Man. As the web-slinger waits on Ock to leave the house, he is kicked in the head by one of the henchmen, hanging from a rope which is dangling from a helicopter. (Getting there so fast you'd think their hideout was just down the block.)

Now, it appears that Spidey has moved away from his Aunt's house and taken up a position on the side of an apartment building since Ock is shown watching from a window a block away as the other henchmen climb down the rope and tackle the wall-crawler. All six of Ock's men jump onto Spidey but he is able to knock all of them away. Realizing that they cannot prevail in a straight fight, the henchmen resort to gas. Spidey, not able to hold his breath in time is quickly weakened. The masked men pull our hero off the wall on which he's standing and use him as a punching bag as he lies on the ground. But there are so many men that they get in each other's way and Spidey takes advantage of the confusion to clear his head. The wall-crawler punches back, gets to his feet and starts mopping up the place with his opponents. A crowd has gathered around the fight and the police have been called. In minutes, Spidey has defeated the men and webbed them together. (I'm not sure what ever happens to the helicopter.) It is then that the police show up and the webhead notices that Aunt May is among the crowd, having "slipped out to see what all the excitement was about". Spidey realizes that this means that "Ock will be home alone" (I have this mental picture of Ock holding his hands up to his face and yelling "Aaaaaaarrrggghhh!"). He takes advantage of the situation.

Inside, Ock, too, realizes that "the old lady's gone". He straps on his arms, ready for a fight. It is lucky for him that he does, for, seconds later, Spider-Man eschews all subtlety and crashes right through Otto's window. Octopus quickly wraps him up in his tentacles. He pins Spidey's arms back and wraps an arm around our hero's neck as he punches him in the mug with another. Spidey realizes that he'd only be wasting his strength trying to break free so he plays possum instead. When Ock releases him, Spidey leaps into action!

Unfortunately, Aunt May chooses this time to re-enter the house. She hears all the noise upstairs and goes to investigate. When she sees the battle, the shock is too great for her and she passes out. Ock uses the distraction to knock out the entire outside wall and make his escape but Spidey stays behind, cradling his unconscious Aunt in his arm.

A frightened, heartsick Peter knows that it wasn't Octopus who scared her but Spider-Man. With tears in his eyes, he rips off his mask, exclaiming, "It's all right, Aunt May! You're safe! You've nothing to fear from Spider-Man!" but May does not revive. Frantically, Peter calls Dr. Bromwell (who promises to come at once) and it is only after the call that he realizes that he is still in his Spidey costume. He changes to his clothes and agonizes. "If... if she doesn't recover, it'll be my fault."

Twenty minutes later, the doctor shows and pronounces May fortunate... this time. "Do you know what caused the shock?", he asks. (Could it have something to do with that demolished wall on the side of the house, Doc?) "I'm not quite sure.", Peter replies.

In the aftermath, Peter decides he was foolish to remove his mask in May's presence. "It might have made things worse than ever." He looks over the damage, decides he must call a plasterer (I think a bricklayer would serve him better.) and hopes he can afford the repairs. And the more he thinks about Ock flaunting his power by breaking through the wall, the angrier he gets. "I'll show him what strength really is!", he vows. "He won't get another chance to return and jeopardize the life of Aunt May! No matter where he is, I'll find him! And this time, nothing will stop me from ridding the world forever of the menace of Dr. Octopus!"

By Al Sjoerdsma (E-Mail)