The Peter Principal

It is the second day of Otto Octavius’ occupation of Peter Parker’s life.[1] He has used this opportunity to return a device stolen by the Sinister Six to Empire State University. Otto makes sure that the press is there to capture the official thank you from Ruth Goldman, the dead of students at ESU.

A special guest is Mayor J. Jonah Jameson who has come to thank Spider-Man for returning the stolen property to the science wing named after his late wife.[2] Instead of their usual antagonistic relationship, J. Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man treat each other with respect and even end up shaking hands on camera. Watching all of this is the spirit of Peter Parker, which still lives on secretly as a prisoner in his own body. He can’t believe what’s happening, or that nobody can tell that this Spider-Man is actually his greatest foe, Doctor Octopus.

Meanwhile, Mary Jane Watson and Carlie Cooper are meeting up for coffee. They are watching the news coverage of Jonah and Spider-Man shaking hands and both of them find it incredibly odd and both women wonder when things started getting so weird. For Carlie, it was during her encounter with Doctor Octopus just before his death. Something he said was bizarre, but she doesn’t want to speak of it because it is crazy. Mary Jane figures she can top that and tells Carlie that she and Peter might be getting back together.[3] This causes Carlie to do a spit take.

Later that day, Otto is on his way to meet up with Mary Jane for lunch. He has decided that to be a better Peter Parker is to get back together with Mary Jane. Listening to Otto’s thoughts, Peter can’t believe that Octavius is approaching this the same way he would one of his super-villain plots. He also can’t believe that Mary Jane can’t see the obvious, that his body has been taken over by his greatest foe. This third date is cut short when a firetruck speeds by and Mary Jane asks “Peter” if he is going to look into it. Realizing that he has to maintain character, Otto races off to change into Spider-Man, cursing how inconvenient a secret identity is. Peter, speaking to nobody in particular, says that this is what it takes to be a hero. However, Otto decides to do something about the constant emergencies that keep interrupting the things he wants to do.

Sometime later, at Horizon Labs, Uatu Jackson comes knocking at Peter Parker’s lab to ask for help on a new invention. Grady Scraps tells Uatu that they are no use to Peter anymore ever since he started using the Living Brain as a lab assistant. Inside the lab, Otto has been working tirelessly to create the first of an army of spider-bots that he intends to deploy across the city to deal with threats that are beneath his attention. When Otto goes for a make-up date with Mary Jane the next day, he shows her how his spider-bots are stationed on Spider-Man’s patrol rout so he no longer has to endlessly patrol the city. Even Peter Parker has to admit that this is an ingenious idea. Mary Jane then points out that this, as well as the recent press coverage of Spider-Man’s activities are all out of character for him. Peter can hardly believe Mary Jane could be so easily fooled when Otto explains his desire to be a better Spider-Man so he can spend more time with her.

Peter Parker’s spirit has to watch with increase alarm and horror as Otto continues to take Mary Jane out on dates and — surprisingly — manages to make some headway. On their next date, Otto takes Mary Jane to a planetarium. However, that night ends with nothing more than a kiss on the cheek. He then takes her out ballroom dancing, netting the same result much to Otto’s frustration. He starts getting more annoyed on date number three when he takes Mary Jane skating at Rockefeller Plaza. This time she thanks “Peter” for taking things slow, leading the real Peter Parker to hope that Mary Jane can sense that something is off about him.

On the fourth night, Mary Jane takes “Peter” to her nightclub for some dancing. While she goes on the dance floor alone, Otto wonders what is going wrong, as he figures that bedding Mary Jane should be easy since he’s Peter Parker. Even though his words are falling on deaf ears, Peter tries to explain that people can’t be treated like equations. That’s when Otto’s spider-sense begins going off, warning him of danger. However, instead of responding to the danger, Otto comes up with an idea to break though Mary Jane’s defenses. He invites her outside for some fresh air and then suggests they go web-slinging, something Mary Jane admits they haven’t done in a long time.[4] Peter can’t believe that Otto is ignoring his duty to try and get into Mary Jane’s pants. His attempts to remind Otto about “great power and great responsibility” don’t work.

Peter can only watch in horror as Mary Jane agrees to go web-slinging. She has such a great time she invited “Peter” back to her apartment. However, instead of inviting him to stay, Mary Jane says she has other company. That’s when Carlie Cooper turns on the light and reminds Peter — with a certain level of suspicion — that Mary Jane has been looking after her after she got shot.[5] As Spider-Man leaves the apartment wondering why everything continues to work against him while the spirit of Peter Parker is elated that Otto continues to be cock-blocked. That’s when Otto realizes that he can have Mary Jane whenever he wants because he can access all of Peter Parker’s memories. Peter is deeply upset and disgusted when Otto begins reliving all of Peter and Mary Jane’s most intimate moments with Octavius taking Peter’s place.

When Otto wakes up in the morning he feels refreshed and goes about the day with a bounce in his step. Peter on the other hand tells Otto to enjoy it while it lasts as he intends on getting him back for this. Now, Otto thinks he can go about his day without his obsession over Mary Jane and begins to check out and hit on every woman he crosses paths with, much to Peter’s growing alarm. After hitting on Sajani Jaffrey — one of his co-workers — Otto retires to his lab to continue his experiments. That’s when one of his spider-bots reports a disturbance. Checking his tablet, Otto sees three young boys in Vulture costumes attacking Mary Jane’s night club and decides to deal with the situation as Spider-Man. The three Vultures are attacking MJ’s club to get access to a hidden safe stashed there by the club’s previous owner, Adrian Toomes.[6]

As Spider-Man leaves Horizon Labs, Peter tries to get Otto to hurry, but wants Octavius to stop to stop a mugging. However, Otto is not Peter Parker and he dismisses this as unimportant and keeps on going. Back at MJ’s, Mary Jane is holding her own against the pint-sized Vultures. However, one of them grabs her and tosses her out a window as they make their escape. That’s when Spider-Man arrives and stops to save her. When he prepares to act, Peter Parker warns him not to use a web-line because it could snap Mary Jane’s neck and is relieved when Otto spins a net instead.[7] Mary Jane is relieved that Spider-Man saved her life and pulls up his mask to kiss him. To the surprise of both Peter and Mary Jane, Otto turns his head and refuses the kiss. This is because Otto has come to the conclusion that Peter Parker’s relationship with Mary Jane is a recursive loop and the only way he can keep her safe it to set her truly free of his life as Spider-Man. As Otto swings off, Peter Parker has to admit that he was wrong about Otto as he has been able to do something he could never do.

Later that night, Mary Jane tells Carlie about everything that happened. Mary Jane can’t help but admit that Peter is right. When Carlie remarks that Peter has almost become a different person she suddenly remembers what Doctor Octopus said on the day he died, how he insisted that he was actually Spider-Man. She doesn’t say anything about this, but tells Mary Jane that her arm is getting better and she has to report back to work. She figures that her work has been piling up and how there is one mystery in particular that she wants to solve.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Vulture, Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Carlie Cooper, J. Jonadh Jameson, Norah Winters, Grady Scraps, Sajani Jaffrey, Uatu Jackson, Living Brain, Ruth Goldman

Continuity Notes

1. Doctor Octopus took over Spider-Man’s body back in Amazing Spider-Man #700.

2. J. Jonah Jameson was married to Marla Madison circa Amazing Spider-Man Annual #18. Marla was tragically murdered by the Spider-Slayer in Amazing Spider-Man #654.

3. Peter Parker and Mary Jane have dated on-and-off for years dating back to Amazing Spider-Man #42. More recently, circa Amazing Spider-Man #545, Mary Jane ended their relationship — seemingly for good — because she could no longer handle his double life, see Amazing Spider-Man #638-641 for all the gory details.

4. Mary Jane specifically says it was during Spider-Island, which happened in Amazing Spider-Man #666-673. At the time, Mary Jane briefly had spider-powers and enjoyed web-slinging with Peter for once instead of simply being a passenger.

5. Carlie took a bullet when she tried to shoot at Peter Parker when he was trapped in the body of Doctor Octopus. The bullet bounced off one of the mechanical arms and ended up hitting her. This happened in Amazing Spider-Man #700. It should also be noted that Carlie also knows Peter’s secret identity, having figured out the truth in Amazing Spider-Man #673.

6. Adrian Toomes originally opened the Wake as a front for training a team of Vultures to do his criminal bidding in Amazing Spider-Man #674-675. Mary Jane ended up buying the property and renamed it MJ’s in Amazing Spider-Man #686.

7. Peter’s concerns are very valid since a sudden stop by web-line resulted in Gwen Stacy snapping her neck in Amazing Spider-Man #121.