Amazing Spider-Man #698
Day in the Life
The alarm goes off at the Raft maximum security prison. Guards rush down to cell block six and confirm that all of the prisoners are still contained. They rush into the room where Doctor Octopus is being kept on life support since his recent capture. There the doctors say that Octavius set off the alarm because he started speaking for the first time in weeks. However, nobody can really understand what he is saying because of all of the hoses pumped in through his mouth to keep him alive. The whole time Octavius has been repeating the same two words over and over: Peter Parker. While somewhere in the city, Otto’s words are received by a golden octobot that has recently came online in the city.
Elsewhere, Spider-Man is swinging through the city who feels like he is having the best day of his life. He enjoys web-slinging across the city until someone cries for help. There is a new villain called the Destructoid who has just committed a robbery. This is an easy victory that is over with a single punch. An officer arriving on the scene informs Spider-Man that Destructoid is a “bluffer” a crook who wears a flashy outfit to trick people into thinking they are a super-villain when they don’t actually have any powers. When the officer asks the web-slinger to come down to the station to file a report, Spider-Man tells her that he has a life and swings away.
Spider-Man changes out of his costume at his apartment and puts side his annoyance with the police officer to revel in his new home. Taking off his mask he notices that he has a scratch on his face and figures it probably happened when he was fighting the Hobgoblin earlier. He then checks his voice mail and finds a message from Mary Jane Watson asking if he is going to come down to her nightclub later that evening. As Peter gets dressed, he thinks about the first time he met Mary Jane Watson. He thinks about the history they have had together and wonders why they aren’t back together yet and decides to fix that.[1] The next message is from Jay Jameson who reminds Peter that he promised to visit his Aunt May in the hospital.[2] The last is from Max Modell who is reminding Peter that he is having his first evaluation at Horizon Labs.
Peter heads into work still unable to believe that he is working for Horizon Labs. When he meets with Max, Modell tells Peter that the quarter is coming up and he has yet to provide a new invention. Peter assures Max that his latest invention will make his past creations trifles by comparison.[3] Peter returns to his lab where he begins working on a new batch of web-fluid. He thinks about how he invented his web-shooters back in high school and about how many years he wasted his potential before landing the job at Horizon Labs.[4] After he is done for the day, Peter gets dressed and heads down to MJ’s nightclub to meet up with Mary Jane.
There, Mary Jane is surprised to see Peter all dressed up. He tells Mary Jane that they should stop dancing around things and get back together. Mary Jane is surprised he is springing this on her now since he is supposed to visit his Aunt May and decides to go to the hospital with him. When Mary Jane goes to get her jacket, Peter checks out the two women at the bar and tosses them a flirtatious wink. Soon, Peter and Mary Jane are the hospital where May is undergoing rehabilitation under the guidance of Sha Shan Nguyen who is teaching her how to walk with a cane. Peter tries to bring up his relationship status with Mary Jane, but she reminds him that they are there for his Aunt May. That’s when Peter’s Avengers ID card begins vibrating. He is being called down to the Raft and tells May and her husband Jay Jameson that he has to go. This upsets Jay who thinks Peter has been ignoring his Aunt May, but Mary Jane assures Jay that Peter is in the middle of a crucial experiment.
Soon, Spider-Man arrives at the Raft and is admitted inside by showing his Avengers ID car. There he meets with his teammates, Captain America, Wolverine, Hawkeye, and Spider-Woman. Captain America has called Spider-Man in because they think Doctor Octopus is dying and that he is calling for him. Spider-Man doesn’t find this all that surprising until Captain America says that he’s specifically asking for Peter Parker. Spider-Man asks Cap to take him to Doc Ock’s cell. Spider-Man manages to convince them to leave him alone in Otto’s cell with the security cameras off.
Inside, Spider-Man asks Doctor Octopus what he wants. All Otto can say is Peter Paker’s name. Spider-Man confirms that he is Peter Parker and takes off his mask. However, Doctor Octopus insists that he is Peter Parker. As it turns out, Doctor Octopus managed to find a way to swap bodies, trapping the mind of his greatest foe in his failing body. This comes as a such a shock to “Doctor Octopus” that he starts flatlining. “Peter Parker” puts his mask back on as doctors rush inside to resuscitate his old foe. As Spider-Man leaves the Raft with his fellow Avengers he tells them that he’s not concerned about his old enemy as he has better things to do with the rest of his life. The Avengers are completely unaware of the fact that Spider-Man’s body has been taken over by one of his greatest enemies.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Mary Jane Watson, Max Modell, Sha Shan Nguyen, Aunt May, Jay Jameson, Avengers (Captain America, Hawkeye, Spider-Woman, Wolverine), Spider-Slayer, Morbius the Living Vampire, Lizard
Continuity Notes
Peter’s flashback is taken right from Amazing Spider-Man #42, when he and Mary Jane first met. The couple dated for years until they broke up for good circa Amazing Spider-Man #545 because Mary Jane could no longer handle his double-life. See Amazing Spider-Man #638-641.
May Parker was injured when the city was attacked by Terminus in Amazing Spider-Man #693.
Peter has invented three things while working at Horizon Labs: noise cancelling headphones in Amazing Spider-Man #650, a new motorcycle helmet in Amazing Spider-Man #656, and a cryogenic device in Amazing Spider-Man #666.
Peter invented his web-shooters after he first got his spider-powers back in Amazing Fantasy #15.
