Out of Reach Part Four

After working with Doctor Octopus, wunderkind Brigham Fontaine has used his magnetic harness to take a news station hostage in order to prove to the world that he was no mere pawn of Otto Octavius. Watching this are both Peter Parker and Doctor Octopus. Otto Octavius is furious over this recent development. As Peter changes into Spider-Man, Mary Jane tries to convince him to stay home as he is still in bad shape after his last battle with Doctor Octopus.

Doctor Octopus gets to the boy first and furious over his impotence decides to drop him off the side of a building to his death. Luckily, Brigham manages to convince Otto to spare his life by convincing the mad scientist that Brigham is the only suitable heir to Doctor Octopus, as he would carry on his legacy after he is gone. He apologizes for how he acted saying that he got carried away and made a mistake. As Octavius considers these words, Spider-Man arrives and pulls Fontaine out of the grasp of Otto’s mechanical arms. When Fontaine tires to fight Spider-Man, the web-slinger asks what Octavious did to him. The boy insists that he is acting on his own free will. As Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, Brigham thinks the web-slinger killed his idol when he knocks Otto off the side of a building, not seeing Otto swing himself inside a building with his mechanical arms. As Spider-Man goes after his foe, Brigham decides to do something and puts on his harness. Suddenly he begins channeling a lot of power. When he unleashes it on the wall-crawler, he decimates the entire building and buries himself, Spider-Man, and Doctor Octopus under a pile of rubble. Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus pull themselves out first and as they resume their fight, Brigham frees himself by blasting his way free, knocking out Spider-Man in the blast. Wondering what suddenly happened to him, Otto reaches out to the boy, saying that he is finally coming into his own as a super-villain. Not wanting Octavius to touch him, he knocks out Doctor Octopus with a blast of magnetic energy as well. When both Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus try talking the boy down, he accuses them both of trying to manipulate him for their own ends and unleashes another powerful blast of energy.

When Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus dig themselves out of the rubble this time, Octavius suggests that they work together as Brigham has become a danger to everyone. Spider-Man is reluctant at first but the pair are forced to retreat when the police arrive on the scene and attempt to arrest them. Spider-Man reluctantly agrees to team-up with Doctor Octopus. However, this only lasts until the web-slinger deduces that Fontaine is drawing his additional power from the city power grid and will be going there to recharge. Otto then secretly grabs a metal pipe with one of his mechanical arms and knocks out the web-slinger. When Spider-Man finally comes around and arrives at the power plant he finds that Brigham is barely able to control his power and is blasting Doctor Octopus about the place. Otto knocks Brigham off his feet, canceling out his powers momentarily. Unable to find a way to balance his power and asks for help.

Both Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus offer their aid to the boy, telling him that the other is only attempting to manipulate him, leaving the boy more indecisive than ever.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Mary Jane Watson, Brigham Fontaine

Topical References

• Outdated technology: CRT televisions

• Dated pop-culture references: Wheel of Fortune