Negative Exposure Part Three

Jeffrey Haight thinks about the first time he ever photographed Doctor Octopus in action. The supervillain was in the process of stealing materials from a nuclear power plant leading to a clash with the National Guard. He recalls how the soldiers didn’t last 30 seconds against Octavius and his mechanical arms. Back then he wonders what caused someone to become something like Doctor Octopus. Now, however, as he stands before Otto in his cell at Ryker’s Island the only question he can think to ask is why he always wears sunglasses, even when he is inside. Otto tells him that’s a very good question and says that the explosion that initially fused the mechanical arms to his body also made his eyes incredibly sensitive to light.[1] However, Otto quickly changes the subject to Jeffrey’s photography. Seeking to manipulate Haight, Otto lies to his face by saying that he enjoys his work, having deduced that Haight has resentment towards Peter Parker, whose photos always end up on the front page. Playing on this jealousy, Doctor Octopus suggests that perhaps Peter Parker and Spider-Man are working together as co-conspirators.[2] After planting these seeds of suspicion in the mind of Jeffrey Haight, he concludes their visit. When Jeffrey asks if that was all he asked him to do, Octavius adds an extra bit of manipulation to his scheme by asking Haight to autograph a book of his photos. As he leaves, Jeffrey thinks about how weird this encounter was, completely unaware of the real reason why Otto Octavius had asked to meet him. After Jeff is gone, Vernon — the prison librarian — asks Otto if he got everything he needed from the photographer. He says that he’ll reap his rewards soon enough, saying that Jeffrey Haight is merely a catalyst for a grander scheme. As he says this, he thumbs past Haight’s personalized autograph to the dedication, taking note of Officer Anna Kefkin, who works at One Police Plaza’s evidence locker.

Later that day, Jeff meets up with Anna and tells her about his meeting with Otto Octavius. She can’t believe he went to go and see Doctor Octopus in prison but he explains that Otto invited him to talk about his work in photography. She can’t believe he would give a mass murderer like Octavius a moment of his time. She gets even more upset when he tries to justify it, even when she compares Octavius to Adolf Hitler. Their argument is interrupted when a bunch of commuters comes running out of a nearby subway station in a panic claiming that it is infested with zombies. Seeing this as an opportunity to get some front-page photos, Jeff rushes inside, ignoring Anna’s request that he wait until she can call it in. Inside, Jeff finds this horde of zombies but quickly discovers that they are some kind of immaterial illusion. Passing through them, he comes upon Mysterio, who is using his special effects knowledge to scare everyone away while he robs the subway station.[3] Spider-Man soon arrives to fight his foe, mocking him for committing a crime that is just barely a step above jumping turnstiles. With Spider-Man on the scene, Jeff begins taking photos rapidly hoping to beat Peter Parker to the punch this time. Spider-Man’s work is cut out for him as Mysterio uses his abilities to create holographic duplicates of himself to confuse the wall-crawler. That’s when Mysterio notices Haight and throws a fireball at him. Jeff refuses to move because he has a good shot, prompting Spider-Man to break away from the battle to push him to safety. After telling Jeff to get out of there, Spider-Man leaps back into battle. Single out the real Mysterio, the web-slinger delivers a single punch, putting Mysterio out of commission.

Later, after Jeffrey’s photos were once again rejected by the Daily Bugle, he manages to arrange another meeting with Doctor Octopus. Otto is certain that Jeffrey has come to ask him to kill Peter Parker. Jeff doesn’t want this, but ignores the suggestion to tell Otto his own idea: That they make a similar arrangement that Parker has with Spider-Man. Octavius regrets to tell him that there’s not much h can do without his mechanical arms which are locked away in evidence at One Police Plaza. That’s when Jeff, predictably, tells Otto that he knows someone who works there, just at Otto had planned. As Jeff is telling this to Doctor Octopus, Anna Kefkin is taking a look at the mechanical arms of Doctor Octopus unaware that her boyfriend was plotting to free them.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Jeffrey Haight, Mysterio, Anna Kefkin

Continuity Notes

1. Otto Octavius was caught in an explosion that fused the mechanical arms to his body in Amazing Spider-Man #3. The reason why he is not wearing them here is due to the fact that they had since been surgically removed from his body, as explained in Spider-Man Unlimited #3. Since then, Otto has maintained a mental link with his mechanical appendages.

2. This is not a very outlandish suggestion as Peter Parker led anyone who wonders about Peter’s ability to get photos of Spider-Man in action since Amazing Spider-Man #46.

3. Haight recounts how Mysterio was once a disgruntled special effects artist, as per Mysterio’s origin told in Amazing Spider-Man #13. 3

Topical References

• Jeffrey Haight states he saw Doctor Octopus as he attempted to steal nuclear material from the Indian Point Energy Center. This should be considered a topical reference. As I write this (August 2020) this reactor is scheduled to be completely decommissioned in the year 2021.

• Dated pop-culture references: Scooby Doo, Battlestar Galactica, Trouble the boardgame