Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #7
Countdown Part 2
Mary Jane Watson is trying to re-set Peter’s dislocated arm after his most recent fight with Doctor Octopus. The process is painful and Peter’s screams of pain are heard by his neighbors, even waking up the typically drunk John Anderson. Peter apologizes for calling Mary Jane to help him out with this, but he tells her that he couldn’t ask Aunt May to help him with this, thinking it was beyond her strength to help. Mary Jane tells Peter that he doesn’t have to apologize because she actually kind of missed doing things like this.[1] After the arm is reset, Peter asks Mary Jane if she is okay with doing these sorts of things again. She assures him that it’s done and after he describes his recent battle with Doctor Octopus, and how Ock modified his mechanical arms, he concludes by saying he probably swallowed half of the Hudson River retreating. Mary Jane jokingly says she likes it when Peter talks dirty and tackles him.
Late that evening, Doctor Octopus comes knocking at the door of Mister Crips, a grumpy homeowner in Queens. Otto forces his way inside, telling the man that this is the home where his parents both died. Tossing Crips aside, Otto begins reliving memories from his childhood once inside. In the kitchen, he remembers how his mother would coddle and protect him from his domineering father.[2] Remembering how his father used to abuse him and his father, Otto backs away. Mr. Crips pleads with Doctor Octopus not to kill him. As Octavius scoops Crips up with his mechanical arms, he tells the man that nobody ever wants to die. At that same moment, Peter and his friends are all hanging out on the roof of his apartment building.[3] Mary Jane takes the opportunity to get to know John Anderson, who is originally from New Zealand. He tells Mary Jane that he got bored of New Zealand and decided to go to New York City because, thanks to the superhero population, there is excitement everywhere. John admits that he even fancies trying to becoming a sidekick, telling her he would call himself the Kiwi Kid. Peter eventually makes an excuse that he has to get up early in the morning so he can go out on patrol as Spider-Man.
That afternoon, while Spider-Man web slings across the city, there are reports of heavy traffic due to two different events. First, a security detail guarding the arrival of ancient Sumerian artifacts to the Central Museum of Antiquities, the other being the arrival of Palestinian delegates that are arriving at their New York Embassy. During the call-in segment of the radio program, Doctor Octopus calls the radio station to tell them that he has taken 11 hostages at the museum and he is holding them and the Sumerian artifacts hostage and demands a large sum of money. Suddenly, Spider-Man’s spider-sense beings going off, although he doesn’t know why just yet. At that very moment, the radio host doubts Otto’s claims, and Octavius decides to prove what he is saying is true by setting off a bomb that shatters the from of the museum. When Spider-Man arrives at the scene, he notices that police have been pinned down by gunfire. Swinging up to a higher vantage point, the web-slinger discovers that Doc Ock isn’t using gunmen, but has set up automated weapons to keep the police at bay. Peaking through one of the windows, Spider-Man spots who he sees as Doctor Octopus and swings around to the opposite of the building and ambushes the figure. However, instead of ambushing Doctor Octopus, he ends up tackling a dummy set up with a recorded message instead.
Removing the tape over the mouth of one of the hostages, she tells Spider-Man that Doctor Octopus escaped through a hole he punched through the floor. Jumping down into the sewers, Spider-Man follows the trail which leads him to the Palestinian Embassy, which is in ruins. Spider-Man realizes that Otto’s plan all along was kidnapping Palestinian Foreign Minister. He realized that Octavius played him and that when all is said and done, this is going to be all his fault.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Mary Jane Watson, Flash Thompson, John Anderson, (in flashback) Theodore and Mary Octavius
Continuity Notes
This opening scene lays out some of the status quo in Spider-Man’s life right now.
Peter said that he couldn’t ask Aunt May to help reset his shoulder. This is because, at the time of this story, Aunt May had just learned that Peter is Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #35.
Peter had to call Mary Jane because, although they are still together, this story comes after the couple spent a period apart that ran from Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2001 until Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #50. The couple, however, are taking it slow. They won’t start living together again in Amazing Spider-Man #509.
For more on the abusive childhood of Otto Octavius check out Spider-Man Unlimited #2, Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #9, and Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One #1.
Flash Thompson is depicted as being in a wheelchair here. He was targeted by the Green Goblin who staged a car accident that put Flash in the hospital in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #44-47. Flash has been in a catatonic state since. He will eventually snap out of him in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3.
Topical References
When describing New Zealand, John Anderson tells her that the country is full of sheep and Hobbits. This is a reference to the fact that director Peter Jackson used his native country as a filming location for the Lord of the Rings between 2001 and 2003. Jackson would later also film the Hobbit films there from 2012 to 2014.
This story states that the delegates from Palestine is going to the country’s new embassy. I can’t find anything in particular that can verify any dates, but Palestine doesn’t have an embassy in New York (at least anymore, as I write this in 2020) they do, however, have a foreign consulate that is part of the United Nations presence in the city. I’m not going to spend my day looking into the history of Palestine’s diplomatic presence in New York City is, but let’s just split things down the middle and call this a topical reference. I think it’s safe to say that the Palestinian Embassy in this story can be considered a fictional location that exists exclusively in the Marvel Universe.
