Countdown Part 4

Doctor Octopus has kidnapped Hayyan Zarour, the Foreign Minister of Palestine, threatening world peace. He has made only one condition for the release of Zarour: Spider-Man is to unmask in Times Square before the media. Left this some huge decisions, Spider-Man thinks that there is only one person who can help him right now. He soon arrives on the roof of the apartment building where he lives as Peter Parker and finds his neighbor John Anderson passed out on the roof. Waking up the drunken New Zealander, Spider-Man asks if he’s the one they call the Kiwi Kid.

Meanwhile, at the family home of Otto Octavius, the sound of Otto talking to himself, wherein he appears to be speaking to his late mother. Noticing that his victim is awake, Doctor Octopus removes Hayyan’s blindfold to reveal that he has been tied to a bed next to a mannequin rigged with a bomb. Otto decides to ask his captive a question about when one can tell a secret. When Zarour asks what he is talking about, Otto explains that this is the home he grew up in as a child with his mother and father. and asks if Hayyan can keep a secret. Otto then begins telling the politician about his childhood in this home. He says that it was not a happy place as his mother coddled him which often led to arguments with his father, a man who thought men should be strong. Otto’s father despised how much of a weakling and a coward his son was. His father was a construction worker and on one rainy day, he slipped while working on-site leaving his body shattered. Despite his injuries and the pain the caused, Otto’s father remained in bed and refused to go to a hospital. Seeing his son crying over his condition led to fresh recriminations from his father. This led to another argument between Otto’s parents and fed up with her father’s abuse, his mother left for the night to stay at a neighbor’s house, leaving her son behind. Otto concludes his story by saying that he was there when his father died and afraid that me might just be sleeping, the young Otto Octavius sat in the corning until dawn just in case.[1]

At the conclusion of the story, Hayyan Zarour calls Doctor Octopus insane. Otto disagrees again, Octavius then says that he is not afraid of Spider-Man, he’s afraid of dying before he can prove his superiority over Spider-Man. With that, Otto sets the bomb and leaves Hayyan, saying he wants the minister to know what it’s like to spend time in this very room waiting for something to explode.

Meanwhile, Peter Parker has been sending the last few hours with Mary Jane before he has to go to Times Square and meet the demands of Doctor Octopus. He assures Mary Jane that this will pass, and assures her that he has a plan all figured out and that it all depends on Otto. At that same moment, the media is forming around Times Square waiting for the noon deadline for Spider-Man to show up and unmask. The whole world is watching, since the capture of Hayyan Zarour has sparked violence in the Middle East. Also on the scene are the police and as Captain Cleeland tries to assess the situation a note from Detective Neil Garrett is delivered to her. Reading it, she orders her men to remove all personnel that are stationed in the sewers below Times Square immediately. She also asks for a radio antenna that can receive shortwave frequencies. When she questions the homeless man who delivered the note about Detective Garrett, the man tells her that it wasn’t a detective who gave him the note, but a man he says was dressed up as an ostrich. Actually, this is John Anderson, who has come up with a make-shift Kiwi Kid costume. At that moment, Anderson has been helped up onto a telephone pole by Spider-Man and is told to keep filing a nearby house. On the ground, Detective Garrett and a group of Mossad agents are preparing to storm the house. The leader of the Mossad unit reminds Garrett that their involvement must remain a secret given the history between his country and Palestine. When Neil asks if this doesn’t work out as planned, the Mossad agent tells him to brace himself for war.

By this time, the NYPD have cleared out the sewers just as Spider-Man arrives in Times Square. Moments before noon, Doctor Octopus comes crashing out from under the street. He reminds Spider-Man that he is to unmask at noon or Hayyan Zarour will be killed and he will be responsible. As the clock strikes noon, Doctor Octopus orders Spider-Man to unmask, mockingly welcoming the wall-crawler to civilian life. However, when Spider-Man unmasks, Otto Octavius is shocked to see what is underneath.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Mary Jane Watson, Neil Garrett, John Anderson, Hayyan Zarour, (in flashback) Theodore and Mary Octavius

Continuity Notes

1. This account of Otto Octavius’ family upbringing is at odds with other accounts. Spider-Man Unlimited #2 and Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One #1 state that Theodore Torbert Octavius died after Otto graduated college. One could assume that the story told here is different due to the fact that Otto is unhinged after spending time in the house he suffered so much abuse in. One could say that since Otto suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of his father that he infantilizes himself in the recollection of his father’s death.

Topical References

• This story was written not long after 9/11 and during a period where relations between Israel and Palestine were particularly tense. The political themes in this story are reflective of the era in which this comic was published and should be considered topical as relations between Israel and Palestine and how they parlay into America’s relationship with both states tend to differ.

• The video camera that is given to John Anderson to film the rescue of Hayyan Zarour is depicted as a camcorder that records on tape. This should be considered a topical reference as these types of video cameras are now obsolete.