Amazing Spider-Man #427
Sacrifice Play!"
As the True Believers prepare the ceremony to bring back Otto Octavius, the woman known as Stunner thinks back. She thinks about how her current form is an illusion and a lie. She thinks back to growing up as a fat child that was constantly mocked and bullied by her peers. This led to her withdrawing from society and lived a solitary life until she met and became lovers with Otto Octavius. She was deeply hurt when he died and now, with Spider-Man's life about to be forfeit in order to bring Otto back, Stunner realizes that she is willing to do anything in order to bring her beloved back from the dead. As Master Zhi and his True Believers begin the ceremony it is watched by the Rose, Delilah, Carolyne Trainer -- the current Doctor Octopus -- and Stunner. On one side of the room, the Rose tells Delilah that he hopes that with the resurrection of Octavius, the villain will be indebted to the Rose for not only bringing him back to life but using his greatest enemy as a sacrifice. On the other side of the room, Doctor Octopus is prepared to step in should the ninjas actually manage to bring their beloved back.
While this is happening, Peter Parker drifts into unconsciousness. His mind finds itself in a black void in a life or death struggle with a monstrous form of Doctor Octopus. As he wraps Peter in his tendrils, Doctor Octopus tells him that he is coming back from the dead and there is nothing that Spider-Man can do to stop him. Suddenly he sees what appear to be spirits of his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. They both tell Peter to not give up and keep fighting and not to allow himself to be responsible for the rebirth of Doctor Octopus. That's when Harry Osborn, in his Green Goblin costume, comes flying in to help Peter break free. He explains that he can't allow someone other than his father, Norman Osborn, destroy the wall-crawler. However, Peter refuses to let anyone fight his own battles, reminding Harry that he is Spider-Man and has more than enough strength to break free.
As Peter breaks free in this dream, Spider-Man regains consciousness and breaks free from the chains binding him to the table. He then knocks out the True Believers that are part of the ceremony. Stunner tries to stop Spider-Man from getting away, but he manages to knock her aside. Realizing that the only way to prevent them from bringing back Doctor Octopus is to get away, Spider-Man flees outside, fighting off the ninjas that are stationed outside. Back in the meatpacking plant, Master Zei tells those gathered that the situation is grave, if they do not complete the cemetery now, Otto Octavius will be lost to them forever. Faced with losing her beloved, Stunner offers to sacrifice her own life in order to bring him back. Outside, Delilah joins the battle against Spider-Man. At that moment, the Black Tarantula has arrived in New York and is staying at the Plaza Hotel. There he meets with Madam Qwa, who tells him how her brother is using his power to help the Rose bring the original Doctor Octopus back to life. The Tarantula decides to allow this to happen, thinking he can get Octavius to work for him. When Qwa notices the Tarantula's aid, Chesbro, leaving the apartment, she asks where the servant is going. The Black Tarantula explains that Chesbro has been sent out on a personal matter. Back at the meatpacking plant, Stunner prepares for the sacrifice by thinking back on a past relationship with Otto Octavius. He thinks about how he truly loved her for who she was, and was able to look past her obesity. How he built her the virtual reality matrix that allowed her to become Stunner. After all the love he gave her and everything he did, she feels that she owes him everything and this is why she is willing to sacrifice herself.
As Master Zei prepares the final ceremony, Carolyne approaches Stunner and reveals that she need not die because her presence here is as a virtual reality matrix. However, she assures Stunner that Otto will be brought back to them. Showing her a device she brought along, she explains that it contains the remains of the Master Programmer. She explains that, when she worked with Otto, Carolyn assisted in creating the Master Programmer which was a copy of Otto's mind an personality. On the roof, Spider-Man continues to fight the True Believers and Delilah. As they fight, Spider-Man insists that he will do whatever he can to stop them from bringing Doctor Octopus back to life. Delilah, however, believes that Zei will fail and that will give her the opportunity to eliminate him. Meanwhile, Mary Jane is at Empire State University spending time with he classmate Shantal Wilsk and Professor Marina Caches. Both Mary Jane and Shantal are fascinated by the lectures that Caches gives on criminal psychology. As they talk about their personal lives, they are unaware that they are being observed by Chesbro, the Black Tarantula's faithful assistant. As they talk, Marina tells them about how she fled her native South America in order to get away from her ex-husband. At that moment, Spider-Man is losing ground against Delilah and decides to retreat into the ventilation system. At this time, something is going wrong with the ceremony leading Master Zei to believe that something is angering the Beast, the creature the True Believers worship. Fearing for his safety, the Rose decides to hide until the danger passes.
As Spider-Man battles Delilah in the vents, the ceremony is nearing completion. Just before it is finished, Carolyn orders Stunner to retreat back to her human body while also implanting the device containing the Master Programmer to Otto's head. Angelina retreats back to her body, but the powerful energies at work cause her virtual reality visor to shatter. Just as Spider-Man finishes knocking out Delilah his spider-sense begins going off again. That's when Otto Octavius -- the one true Doctor Octopus -- comes crashing through the wall. Seeing the astonished look on Spider-Man's face, Doctor Octopus asks the wall-crawler why he isn't happy to see that Doctor Octopus lives again.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Stunner, Doctor Octopus (Octavius), Doctor Octopus (Trainer), Rose, Delilah, Black Tarantula, True Believers (Madam Qwa, Master Zei), Chesbro, Marina Caches, Master Programmer
Continuity Notes
Doctor Octopus was murdered by Kaine in The Spectacular Spider-Man #221.
At the time of this story, everyone believes that Aunt May had died in Amazing Spider-Man #400. This was an impostor as revealed in Spider-Man #97. What is not clear is if these are real spirits, illusions, or some supernatural force posing as May (or her impostor) and Ben.
At the time of this story, everyone thinks that Harry Osborn is dead following the events of The Spectacular Spider-Man #200. However, unknown to everyone at the time, Harry survived as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #581. He will resurface again in Amazing Spider-Man #545. Again, it's not clear if this is an illusion or a supernatural force posing as Harry here.
During this exchange "Harry" says that he is the only Goblin who is "really dead". This is a vague reference to the fact that everyone believed that Norman Osborn had died dead following a battle against Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #122. However, he survived, as explained in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1. Peter recently learned that Norman was alive in Spider-Man #75.
