Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One #1
As a young boy, Otto Octavius was taken to a museum where Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man is on display. While most of the other children were bored with the tour guide’s presentation on Da Vinci’s greatest work, Otto Octavius found himself inspired. Otto is particularly influenced when the tour guide tells them that the Renaissance was an era of creative momentum they may never see again.
On the day the class was being taught about the Cold War, Otto was particularly upset by this lesson, especially when they participated in mock duck-and-cover drill which brought the boy to tears. The bullies in Otto’s class made a point to torment him while they were all ducked under their desks. When Otto asked his teacher about what would happen if they were exposed to radiation, she tells Otto that if they were near enough to a nuclear bomb explosion they’d be blown to bits. In gym class, Otto became a target of bullies again while they played dodge ball. When struck by one of the balls, Otto’s glasses were knocked off his face. As he looked for them, one of his bullies got to them first and intentionally stepped on the glasses, crushing them. As the children laughed at them, Otto seethed with rage and imagined what they would all look like if they were blown away in a nuclear bomb explosion.
When Otto returned home from school, his mother, Mary Octavius, is disappointed to see that Otto’s glasses are broken again and suggests that they get upstairs and try to fix them. That’s when his father, Tobert Octavius, gets up from drinking beer in front of the television to see what’s going on. He’s furious to see that his son has broken his glasses again because they are expensive to replace. Otto runs to his room as his father begins to lose his temper. Tobert accuses his wife of raising a coward and he takes off his belt and goes up to Otto’s room to teach him how to be a man. However, Tobert is disgusted by how his son won’t even look him in the eye and orders the boy to look at him. Otto looks up and imagines what it would look like if his father was annihilated in a nuclear explosion. Something in Otto’s eyes frightens Tobert who wheels backward into Otto’s chemistry kit. Breaking a flash filled with a chemical, Tobert not only cuts his hand open but also suffers a chemical burn and is rushed to the bathroom by his wife to treat his wound. Picking up the broken piece of flash and seeing the blood dripping off it, Otto smiles and thanks it.
Years Later….
Otto is a teenager now and as he works on an experiment in his bedroom he overhears his father complaining about how the foreman on the construction site is always adding new machines for them to learn how to use. Angry that a bunch of eggheads would invent something they think would make the job go faster. Mary suggests that Tobert bring Otto to the construction site, thinking maybe their son could help him understand how these machines work. Tobert scoffs at this idea, saying that the boy doesn’t belong within 100 feet of real working men.
That’s when Otto enters the room and they notice that he has a black eye and that his nose was bleeding. Tobert becomes angry, thinking the boy got his glasses broken again. However, Otto reveals that he put his glasses in his coat pocket to protect them while he got his face beat in. He tells his father it wasn’t cowardice, but adaptation to one’s environment, suggesting that his father should try it out sometime. He then tells his family that he has a cause for celebration by presenting his mother the acceptance letter he received from the Massachusets Institute of Technology. He tells his mother that the acceptance letter was sent to the school and after his teacher read it to the class, some of his fellow students decided to celebrate by beating him up. Mary Octavius is proud of her son, saying that this will change everything, something that Otto agrees, eyeing his father leaving the room as his mother hugs him.
Attending MIT is a dream come true to Otto, although he finds his classes challenging, he still suffers the same type of bullying from his peers as he did back in public school. Still, he writes home to his mother and lies, saying that the environment is vastly different from the public schools he went to growing up. Still, Otto tries to stand up for himself when one of the jocks complains about the smell coming from the cheese in his lunch. Otto tells him the other student that he’s just ignorant of the finer things in life. However, when he is threatened, Otto literally falls out of his chair, much to his bully’s delight. Otto soon finds his niche when entering his professor’s office and completes a formula he has been stumped on. At first, the professor is furious that Otto has entered a restricted area. But, once he sees that Otto has solved his equation he is impressed by the young man’s work.
When Otto is introduced and invited to work with his professor’s collagues in the advancement of nuclear technologies, Otto awes them all and he quickly develops a superiority complex over his fellow scientists. They begin working on a device that will give people a visual demonstration on how they can harness radiation in the pursuit of science.[1] Otto writes to his mother telling her that while he enjoys his new job, he considers his current work a vulgar as it panders to the general public. However, he feels that it is necessary if they are to inspire the next generation of scientist.
On the day of the exhibition, children from Midtown High are brought to the convention center.[2] One such boy, Peter Parker, is tripped by one of his classmates and sent falling into Otto. Both have their glasses knocked off. Otto manages to find both of their glasses before anyone can step on them. Putting Parker’s glasses on his face, Otto disturbs the youth when he exhibits a deep hatred of bullies. On that same day, Otto receives a call from his mother, who tells him that his father died in a construction accident because he didn’t understand how to use one of the machines. Otto calmly gives his condolences and tells her to be strong until he returns home. Telling his professor he needs some time off for the funeral, he remarks how technology can give people so much but people often forget the price. He then tells Otto to take as much time as he needs. Left alone in the lab, Otto goes up to one of the machines and thanks it.
Otto attends the funeral and after the burial service, he is the last person at his father’s casket in the pouring rain. When the priest says that it is time for his father to be buried, Otto tells him that he was just thanking his father one last time. When the priest calls Tobert Octavius a good man, Otto scoffs at this. Telling the priest that his father was a brute who taught him nothing but the utter hatful ignorance of the lower classes. The priest tries to get Otto to understand that his father wasn’t a perfect man but that is the beauty of the Lord’s plan for everyone and how God sees the goodness in everyone as he did his own son. Otto finds this dimly amusing explains how this line of thinking if foolish. Left alone, Otto thanks his father for spurring him toward a god of his own design.
Later, MIT’s Dean, Lawrence Caswell meets with Otto’s professor who tells him that Ocavius has become more driven than ever after returning from his father’s funeral and that his grades are beyond measurment. This has earned him the attention of MIT’s liaison in the Defense Department. There is only one particular issue, Otto refuses to concentrate on proof of his scientific theories, leaving his work unpublished to date, as he appears to dislike his work being scrutinized by others. Still, his work is not based on anyone else’s discoveries but his own mastery in the field. They both decide that it is best to offer him a position within the defense department. When Otto later meets with military brass he instantly falls in love with the idea of working with the most state of the art equipment for the government. The only problem Otto has is that his mother needs to be cared for, but the military offers to move her along with him. Pleased, Otto agrees when he is told that his future is right around the corner. While everyone thinks it is a bright future in a positive sense, Otto agrees it will but in his mind’s eye he sees an entire city being decemated in a blast of nuclear light.
Recurring Characters
Otto Octavius, Mary Octavius, Tobert Octavius, Peter Parker, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan, Raymond Warren
Continuity Notes
That’s right, this story is implying that Otto Octavius played a part in building the device that irradiated the spider that went on to bite Peter Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15.
One of the students at Midtown is depicted to resemble Gwen Stacy. However, Gwen never attended Midtown, as Gwen Stacy #1 reveals, she attended Standard High. She does not attend classes with Peter Parker until he starts attending Empire State University in Amazing Spider-Man #31. That said, the only blonde in Peter’s class at the time was Liz Allan and I’ve labelled that character as such.
On Continuity
Like Spider-Man: Blue before it, the Marvel Chronology Project does not have a placement for this series with respect to how it fits in with the chronologies of both Peter Parker and Doctor Octopus. I believe that part of this has to do with the first battle between Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man that is depicted in this series which is vastly different than what is depicted in Amazing Spider-Man #3. Another difference on display here is the depiction of Otto’s mother, Mary Octavius. In most recountings, Mary Octavius was depicted as an overweight woman who was overprotective of Otto. She is depicted very differently in this series. There are other differences to take into account in later issues, but I’ll address those as we go along.
Like my assessment of Spider-Man: Blue, it’s my opinion that the differences in events in this story are the product of the story being told from different perspectives. Most looks into the past of Doctor Octopus are told from his own perspective and we’ve seen (particularly in Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 2 #6-10) that Otto will often change facts about his life depending on his state of mind. Also, given that Otto Octavius is a massive narcissist his condition is going to present his past in a way that looks the most favorable to him (just like any narcissist) So when it comes to fitting this story into continuity, particularly the events prior to the accident at the turned Otto into Doctor Octopus we can still consider these a version of the facts. Nothing is absolute in the Marvel Universe, but also, rather than tossing out continuity like the Distinguished Competition, Marvel either add onto pre-existing exposition or tells it from another perspective.
That all said, Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus:Year One can be slotted into the continuity of Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus quite easily. I’ve provided where I think these events would fit chronologically for each of the affected characters.
Chronology
Doctor Octopus Chronology
Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #7 (page 5, panel 4-5): Tobert orders Otto to get to bed, hits Mary when she tells him to leave the boy alone.
Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #9 (page 5, panel 1-3): Otto watches his parents argue, then watches his father mow the lawn.
Superior Spider-Man #3 (page 11, panel 1-3): Tobert beats Otto for wasting electricity by not turning off unused lights in the house.
Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Out of Reach #1 (page 1, panel 1): Otto is given a science award in school.
Spider-Man Unlimited #18 (page 7, panel 2) ~ Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Out of Reach #1 (page 1, panel 2-3): Otto is beat up at school. Otto's glasses are broken.
Spider-Man Unlimited #18 (page 7, panel 3) ~ Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #12 (2nd story page 2, panel 1): Tobert tells him to stand up for himself.
Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Out of Reach #1 (page 1, panel 4) ~ Spider-Man Unlimited #18 (page 7, panel 4) ~ Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #12 (2nd story page 2 panel 2): Torbert complains about how much glasses cost. Mary says Otto is a thinker not a fighter.
Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One #1 (page 1-9): Otto goes on a fieldtrip to the museum sees the Vitruvian Man. His teachers teach him about the Cold War/Duck and Cover. Otto's glasses get broken during dodge ball. His father gets upset that his glasses are broken again, becomes frightened of Otto cuts his hand on a flash. Otto thanks the flask for hurting his father.
Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #9 (page 5, panel 4 to page 7): Tobert gets into his accented at the construction site. Otto’s mother leaves him alone and Otto watches his father die in bed. (This recollection was made by Otto himself, who recalls that he was still a child when his father died even though all other accounts depict Otto as at least a teenager when his father died. At the time Otto recollects this, he is quite insane kidnapping a diplomat in order to force Spider-Man to publicly unmask, not caring for the international incident it would cause so the validity of this should be considered suspect. Perhaps, one could assume that Tobert was seriously injured during this period and did not actually die at that time)
Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #12 (2nd story page 1): Otto skips ahead to high school. goes to the aquarium is bullied by his classmates.
Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #12 (2nd story page 2, panel 3): Otto studies hard.
Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One #1 (page 10-11): Otto tells his parents that he has been accepted at MIT. Tells his father he should learn to adapt.
Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Out of Reach #1 (page 1, panel 5): Otto graduates from high school.
Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One #1 (page 12-20, panel 4): Otto attends MIT, is bullied by his classmates still. Impresses his professor and begins working on side projects. Bumps into Peter Parker during the set up of the radiation device that turns him into Spider-Man. Gets a call from his mother telling him his father died in a construction accident. Otto attends the funeral, listens to the priest's eulogy.
Spider-Man Unlimited #3 (page 6, panel 3) ~ Spider-Man Unlimited #18 (page 6, panel 5) ~ Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Out of Reach #1 (page 2, panel 1) ~ Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #12 (2nd story page 2 panel 4): Otto and his mother attends Tobert’s funeral. She tells him that early death is that of a manual labourer.
Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One #1 (page 20, panel 5-9): Otto is the last person at his father's grave. He has harsh words about his father to the priest.
Spider-Man Unlimited #3 (page 6, panel 4-5) ~ Spider-Man Unlimited #18 (page 6, panel 5) ~ Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #12 (2nd story page 2, panel 4): Otto graduates at the top of his class. His mother is proud of him.
Superior Spider-Man #11 (page 1, panel 3): Otto is in class with Donald Lamaze, he tells Lamaze — who doesn’t understand the lecture — to be quiet.
Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One #1 (page 21-23): Otto is offered to work for the United States Military. He accepts.
Peter Parker/Flash Thompson/Liz Allan/Raymond Warren Chronology
It’s my opinion that the appearance of these characters has to take place prior to the beginning of Amazing Fantasy #15. The reason for this logic is because Peter attends the demonstration on radiation on his own in that story. This story depicts Peter attending with his classmates on a field trip. The assumption here is that Peter’s class went to the exhibition the day before Peter decided to go again by himself to see the demonstration.
Topical References
All Cold War references in this story should be considered topical. Modern readers could assume that instead of the Cold War is a real thing that happened in the life of Otto Octavius, he is instead infatuated with that period of history. The duck-and-cover drills depicted here could be assumed to be a lesson to teach children of Otto’s class what it was like during the Cold War as opposed to actually participating in duck-and-cover drills. Likewise should all radio and television reports about Cold War escalation should be ignored. Also one should also ignore the fact that Otto’s professor at MIT was a student in 1940.
