Lethal Ladies

Betty Brant has been invited back to work for the Daily Bugle. As she is shown around the new operations she admits that the place has changed a lot since she last worked there.[1] Suddenly, Stunner comes smashing through one of the walls demanding to know where she can find Spider-Man, making Brant feel right at home. Joe tells Stunner that the paper is no longer on good terms with Spider-Man but assures her that he’ll find her if she continues her criminal activity.[2] He points out one of the wall-crawler’s spider-bots, saying that he is watching all over the city. This gives Stunner an idea as to how to get Spider-Man’s attention.

At that moment, “Peter Parker” has stormed out of the science building at Empire State University. He is furious that Dr. Don Lamaze accused him of plagiarising the work of Otto Octavius. A frustration since “Peter” is Otto Octavius, as he stole the body of his greatest foe.[3] Lamaze who was looking for an opportunity to get back at “Parker’s” constant disrespect assures the dean that his accusations are true and he’ll provide her proof soon enough. Otto on the other hand is raging and thinking of ideas how to get revenge. His girlfriend, Anna Maria Marconi, thinks that “Peter” is joking but he suddenly disappears so he can change into Spider-Man. As he swings away, he continues to rage over this as it will hamper everything he is trying to accomplish since taking over Peter Parker’s life.

That’s when Spider-Man gets a call from his Spiderlings at Spider-Island. They tell him that the Stunner is on the rampage outside of the Daily Bugle. Since Otto has a past with Angelina Brancale, he tells his minions to stand down and let him handle the situation. Otto heads to the Daily Bugle and is surprised to see Stunner because last he saw her she was in a vegetative state.[4] She explains that she came back from the brink because Spider-Man killed her beloved Otto Octavius and vows to get revenge.

Meanwhile, in Potter’s Field, Carlie Cooper visits the grave of Otto Octavius. She now knows that Doctor Octopus somehow managed to swap bodies with her friend Peter Parker. She has come to pay her respects and vows to expose the truth and bring justice to Peter. When she bends down to put flowers at the grave, the ground under her collapses. As Carlie struggles to get up a laughing goblin puts a hand over her mouth.

Back at the Daily Bugle, Stunner attacks Spider-Man while recounting how she sacrificed herself to bring her beloved Doctor Octopus back to life. Otto tells her that the ritual worked and tries to explain his current situation but she isn’t willing to listen. He then webs her up in his new formula, restraining Stunner long enough for his spider-bots to pick up her signal so they can shut it down. Spider-Man then leaves so he can deal with Don Lamaze. However, Stunner isn’t so easily defeated and refuses the density of her virtual avatar until she can phase through the webbing.

When Spider-Man arrives at Empire State University, he is surprised to see Anna Maria making the case that “Peter Parker” couldn’t have plagiarised the work of Doctor Octopus because she has seen him work and he has an almost frightening efficiency with the work they have been doing. Otto comes to believe that the Marconi woman understands him in a way that nobody else has. That’s when Stunner attacks and, thanks to his spider-sense, Spider-Man is able to save Don and Anna Maria from a bus that was tossed at him. While he is holding up the bus with his webbing, Anna Maria is forzen in fear. He tells her to get moving while he tries to keep Stunner at bay with his mechanical arms. Stunner is insulted to see Spider-Man using such devices and rips them right off his back.

As Stunner begins pounding on him, Otto pleads with Anna Maria to snap out of it and move. Trapped, Otto is about to tell Stunner that he is Otto Octavius. Luckily, the spider-bots arrive at Stunner’s hideout and shuts down her virtual reality projector before he lets out his secret. With the danger over, Anna Maria pulls away and remarks that Spider-Man is pretty familiar with her name. Otto explains that “Peter Parker” told him all about her and swings off before having to answer anymore questions. He goes to the the Stunner’s hideout and finds Angelina has been knocked out by the feedback that shut down her projector.

When Angelina wakes up she finds her VR projector gone. She is then visited by Doctor Octopus himself, actuall a VR projection created by Spider-Man from his headquarters at Spider-Island. He assures Angelina that Otto Octavius has cheated death and lives on. He then lets her down gently, saying that in the time Angelina has been her coma, Otto moved on and found another love. Otto then uses the holographic projection of his former self to pay a visit to Don Lamaze.

The following day at Empire State University, Lamaze rescinds the accusations he made about “Peter Parker’s” thesis. After making this to the dean and her peers he apologizes to “Peter Parker”. After this is all straightened out, Don pulls “Peter” aside and tells him about his late night visit from Otto Octavius. He is surprised to have heard from Octavius himself that “Parker” was actually the one that created all of his inventions. Otto agrees to this and warns Don to keep this a secret, for fear Octavius might visit him in the night again. As they leave the science building together, Anna Maria tells “Peter” that everything turned out fine because good things happen to good people.

Meanwhile, Menace returns to the Goblin Underground with her prisoner, Carlie Cooper. She brings him to their leader, the Goblin King, and passes her Cooper’s journal. Reading about how Carlie learned that Doctor Octopus had stolen Spider-Man’s life, the Goblin King is very pleased with this turn of events.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Stunner, Anna Maria Marconi, Carlia Cooper, Living Brain, Joe Robertson, Betty Brant, Goblin King, Menace, Don Lamaze

Continuity Notes

1. There is quite a bit of Daily Bugle history dropped right off the bat. Here are the facts:

   • Betty had worked on and off for the Daily Bugle for years, dating back to Amazing Spider-Man #4, when she was J. Jonah Jameson’s secretary. She eventually became a reporter in Web of Spider-Man #91. She continued working for the paper when Dexter Bennett took it over and renamed it the DB! in Amazing Spider-Man #548 even after most people jumped ship.

   • The DB! was later destroyed by Electro in Amazing Spider-Man #614. Betty started “Bugle Girl”, a blog which covered news in the city in the following issue.

   • Most people who left the DB! went to work for the Front Line, a rival paper formed by Ben Urich back in Civil War: Front Line #11.

   • J. Jonah Jameson and Marla Madison later bought back the rights to the Daily Bugle franchise and gave it to Joe Robertson and Ben Urich, who renamed the Front Line. See Amazing Spider-Man #648.

2. Joe holds up two newspaper headlines. They are:

   • Phil Urich being outed as the Hobgoblin. Phil became the latest Hobgoblin back in Amazing Spider-Man #649. More recently, Spider-Man publicly outed Phil before having him arrested. This did not sit well with Joe Robertson, who questioned Spider-Man’s methods as it put his staff at risk. See Superior Spider-Man #15-16.

   • The other headline is about the recent arrest of the Black Cat. Spider-Man left her webbed up for the authorities last issue.

3. Doctor Octopus stole Spider-Man’s body in Amazing Spider-Man #698-700.

4. There is also a lot of history between Doctor Octopus and Stunner:

   • The pair were lovers and at one point he developed the VR technology to allow the obese Angelina become the amazonian Stunner. For more on their romance see Amazing Spider-Man #427 and Spider-Man Unlimited #18.

   • She started fighting alongside Otto in Amazing Spider-Man #397 until he was murdered by Kaine in Spectacular Spider-Man #221. Otto was succeeded by Carolyne Trainer, another lover who became the new Doctor Octopus in Amazing Spider-Man #405.

   • Sometime after that, the two women teamed up with the Hand to resurrect Otto using Spider-Man as their sacrifice. When Spider-Man resisted, Stunner sacrificed her virtual self to bring Octavius back to life. This left her in a coma. See Amazing Spider-Man #426-428.

   • Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, Angelina had been in a coma for about four years until she woke up around the time that Peter Parker died in Otto’s body in Amazing Spider-Man #700, she resurfaced last issue.