Amazing Spider-Man #681
Spider-Man and the Human Torch have come to rescue the Apogee space station owned by Horizon Labs. They and John Jameson now have found themselves surrounded by the crew who have all been taken over by an army of octobots sent there by Doctor Octopus. The trio decide to make an escape and enlist the aid of the Avengers or someone to get the station back under control. Unfortnately, they arrive at the docking bay just in time to see the Fantastic Four’s Pogo Plane blow up.
Back on the surface, Horizon Labs have re-established a video feet on the outside of the space station just in time to see the Pogo Plane explode. This upset mayor J. Jonah Jameson who demands that more be done to save his son on the space station. However, the prognosis is not good, although the Apogee is still intact Jurgen Muntz informs Max Modell and the others that the space station’s orbit is beginning to decay.
At that moment, John is leading Spider-Man and the Torch back to the space shuttle in the cargo bay as it is their only way off the space station. Unfortunately, it too explodes as they arrive, prompting the Torch to absorb all the flames to preserve what oxygen they have left. Meanwhile, Spider-Man finds an octobot in the debris and grabs it because it is the only clue that can help them figure out what Doctor Octopus is planning this time. Elsewhere on the space station other octobots are taking control of the station’s computers and using them to reposition a number of satellites orbiting the Earth.
As John, Spider-Man, and the Torch compare notes, Spider-Man deduces that they could defeat the octobot controlled crew members by shutting off the oxygen on most of the space station. While this can be done from the ground, John points out that the crew is blocking all outgoing transmissions. That’s when the Torch pulls out his cell phone which was designed by Mister Fantastic and jokingly says it is powerful enough to speed-dial Galactus. They use it to call Max Modell on the ground and they tell him their plan. As they cut off the air on the space station, the trio put on space suits that allow them to move around the space station while the rest of the crew is knocked out.
With his octobots being deactivated, Doctor Octopus demands to know what’s going on. Watching from the Sinister Six’s hideout on the ocean floor. He is furious when he checks the security feeds and sees that Spider-Man is meddling in his plans again. Doctor Octopus appears on the control monitors as Spider-Man and the others enters the control room. Seeing the state of his old foe, Spider-Man is horrified.[1] However, Doctor Octopus knows that he only has days left to live and decides to cut Spider-Man’s shorter by hours and sets the space station to crash. As the space station begins to go into re-entry, Spider-Man quickly webs up all of the crew and stashes everyone inside a deprevation chamber. Watching from the ground, the staff at Horizon Labs and J. Jonah Jameson fear the worst.[2] Jameson hopes that Spider-Man doesn’t survive if he fails to save his son’s life.
As the space station explodes, everyone in the deprevation chamber survives the blast. The Human Torch then begins absorbing all the heat and flame generated by re-entry and uses it to create a jet to slow their descent. This allows Spider-Man to safely deploy the parachutes. After splashing down, they report that everyone survived, prompting everyone at Horizon to celebrate. As the crew is being recovered by a passing ship, J. Jonah Jameson speaks with his son and asks him to not go into space for a while after this experience. As the rescue efforts continue, Spider-Man and the Torch congratulate each other on a job well done. Looking at the nearby beach, Spider-Man asks if the Human Torch intentionally made it so they splashed down near Daytona Beach for spring break. Johnny responds by saying he loves a happy ending.
Meanwhile, at the secret hideout of the Sinister Six, Doctor Octopus announces to his team that the mission was a success and they can now move forward with his final master plan….
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Human Torch, Sinister Six (Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Electro, Rhino, Sandman, Chameleon), John Jameson, J. Jonah Jameson, Glory Grant, Max Modell, Jurgen Muntz
Continuity Notes
Otto Octavius has been suffering from physical degeneration after years of head injuries caused sever brain damage. He learned about this condition back in Amazing Spider-Man #600.
J. Jonah Jameson mentions the death of his wife, Marla Madison. She was killed in Amazing Spider-Man #654.
Topical References
On the final panel a plane is flying by with a banner reading “Spring Break 2012”, the year should be considered topical.
