Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure #2
Negative Exposure Part Two
From his cell at Ryker’s Island, Doctor Octopus goes on a long rant about how people wander around like hydrogen atoms and how only he has the intellect to manipulate them to do his bidding. This is of little interest to Vernon, the prison librarian who has come to bring Otto a book of photography by Jeffrey Haight. He doesn’t understand why Otto is suddenly interested in this guy’s work. Otto, on the other hand, has deduced that Haight — a photographer for the Daily Bugle — harbors a grudge against Peter Parker for overshadowing him and knows that looking at his work will be the key to understanding the man behind it. He explains all of this to Vernon and then leafs through the book. He concludes that it is pretentious garbage and that Haight fancies himself a photographer but lacks ambition. He has concluded that the root of Haight’s frustrations is the fact that he has been working for the Bugle for years and has never had one of his photos published on the front page. When Vernon asks what Otto could want with a photographer like Haight, Octavius uses his hydrogen analogy again, saying that people — like hydrogen — can be manipulated in such a way that they explode.
At Washington Square Park, Jeffrey Haight continues his surveillance of Peter Parker in order to understand how a nerd like Parker is able to get such great photos for the newspaper they both to work for. He is soon joined by his girlfriend, Officer Anna Kefkin who worked at One Police Plaza after a back injury tied her to a desk. She tells him that she ran a background check on Parker and has turned up nothing. This upsets Haight, who was hoping that Peter was up to something criminal. When Anna asks why Jeffrey is so interested in Peter Parker he has her observe Peter through the lense of his camera. He specifically wants her to take note of the attractive redhead that he is hanging out with. He remarks how earlier he that day he saw Parker hanging out with a blonde who was just as attractive as this girl.[1] He wonders how someone with a freelance photographer’s salary is able to get women like that. Jeffrey then goes on to say that the women are just the tip of the iceberg, as far has his investigations show, everything seems to be going right for Peter Parker. Anna realizes that Jeff is still upset that his photos of Spider-Man’s recent battle with Doctor Octopus were buried in the back of the paper while Parker got the front page again. She tells him to stop worrying about Parker and to start working on his next photo exhibit. She tells him how she thought he had a lot of vision, but Jeffrey is tired of working on the fringes and wants his art to be seen by a wider audience. That’s when a report comes in on Anna’s police radio about a super-villain robbery in the Diamond District. Hearing the dispatcher refer to the villain as a bird, Jeffrey correctly deduces that they are talking about the Vulture. As Jeffrey races to the scene, Peter Parker overhears a radio report about the attack and makes a quick excuse to Mary Jane, saying that he has to pick up Aunt May’s prescription and races away before she can say anything edgewise.
When Jeffrey arrives at the crime scene he figures he’s got the leg up on Parker again, thinking that he is still in the park romancing the redhead. Unfortunately, when he tries to convince the officer cordoning off the area to let him through, he discovers that nobody is getting through because the Vulture has taken a hostage and is holding her at gunpoint. Seeing a Pultizer Prize in his future, Jeffrey runs across the street to a nearby apartment building to get a better vantage point, offering to pay one of the tenants to have access to the fire escape. By this time, Spider-Man has arrived on the scene and quickly pulls the gun out of the Vulture’s hand with a web-line, allowing his hostage to make a run for it. When the Vulture tries to ly away, Spider-Man snares his leg and is dragged along for the ride. Jeff is up on the fire escape and manages to capture photos of Spider-Man climbing onto the Vulture’s back and pinning his wings making him incapable of flying. Instead of falling to their death, Spider-Man quickly whips up a parachute made of webbing so they float safely to the ground where Spider-Man turns the Vulture over to the police.[2] Jeffrey snaps photos of the whole thing confident that he’s going to finally trump Peter Parker, completely unaware that Parker is Spider-Man and his automatic camera is webbed up directly over Jeff’s head and has been snapping photos the whole time.
When Haight arrives at the Daily Bugle to sell his photos he is furious to learn that Peter Parker managed to beat him there by an hours and Joe Robertson had already bought his photos. He cannot believe Parker was at the scene because he saw no sign of the young punk the whole time he was there. Adding insult to injury, Joe suggests that Jeff could learn a thing or two from Parker. Returning to his desk, Jeff gets a phone call from the lawyer representing Doctor Octopus who informs him that his client wants to arrange a meeting with him. Jeff is intrigued when the lawyer tells him that Otto Octavius admires his work and would like to discuss his art with him later that evening if he would like. Jeffrey accepts this invitation and after taking a boat to Ryker’s Island he is greeted by the warden. He tells Haight that it is very rare that Otto Octavius allows himself to be seen by members of the press. Haight learns that Otto is in a specially prepared cell because even bereft of his mechanical arms, he is still dangerous once re-wiring the music player of another inmate into a weapon. He is then taken to the block and told that he has fifteen minutes.
Jeffrey is amazed when he looks into Otto’s cell and sees that it is plastered wall-to-wall with his photographs. Otto lies to Jeff’s face, telling him that he is a huge fan of his work, comparing it to that of the great Edward Steichen. He then explains that he has called Jeffrey here because he wanted to personally thank him for capturing him so well in his photos. He expresses his regret that Haight’s photo was buried in the back pages, saying that whoever decided not to put them on page one deserves to be hanged. Just like that, Jeffrey Haight has been reeled in, thinking that perhaps Doctor Octopus is not quite so insane after all.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Jeffrey Haight, Vulture, Joe Robertson, Mary Jane Watson, Anna Kefkin
Continuity Notes
According to the Marvel Chronology Project, this story takes place around Amazing Spider-Man #170. To the uninformed, it sounds like Jeffrey Haight is talking about Gwen Stacy, which would be impossible since Stacy died in Amazing Spider-Man #121. However, at the time this story is set Liz Allan had re-entered the life of Peter Parker and it’s likely her that Haight is talking about.
Jeffrey Haight mentions how the Vulture, aka Adrian Toomes, was an electrical engineer before becoming a costumed criminal. For more on the Vulture’s origins check out Amazing Spider-Man #241.
Topical References
Outdated technology: Computers with CRT monitors. Walkman cassette players
