Spider-Man: Doctor Octopus - Negative Exposure #3

Background

Part 3 of the Spider-Man & Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure series. Doc Ock is getting a lot (eh.. I mean A LOT...) of attention lately. Which is good, in a way, for between all the rubbisch, you'd think one of them will get it right. Right?

Story Details

Jeff Haight, while standing in front of Doc Ock's cell is remembering his first encounter with Doc Ock. Doc Ock is sweet talking him and Jeff falls for it. That Doctor Octopus has a copy of Jeff's book "ThugLife / StillLife" is what really makes Jeff happy. When Jeff has left Rikers Island, Ock speaks to a fellow inmate. He mentions that soon the photographer will give him what he wants.

The next morning, Jeff tells his girlfriend Anna who works as a police officer, about his visit to Octavius. She's mad at him, for Doc Ock is a mass murderer. She put her job on the line in order to allow him to make photo's in evidence rooms. But Jeff won't hear about it. Then suddenly people run from the subway. It's crawling with zombies. Jackpot, is what Jeff thinks and he runs for the subway. Leaving Anna standing.

At the subway station, Jeff is making a photo when a zombie walks through him. Clearly it's all an illusion, created by Mysterio. Then Spider-Man is at the scene. He fights Mysterio, which is difficult for there are a lot of him. A fireball is flying towards Jeff. Spidey rescues him, but Jeff's not at all pleased. He was about to make a great picture of it. When Spider-Man has defeated Mysterio, Jeff starts yelling. Spider-Man ruined his picture and he knows all about him and Peter Parker. It's time he did something about it.

Later, at the prison, Jeff is paying Doc Ock a second visit. He wants a favor of Octavius who guesses he wants to kill Peter Parker. But no, Jeff wants to be Doc Ock's personal photographer. Just like Peter is to Spider-Man. But there's a small problem. Doc Ock is in jail and his tentacles are at the storage downtown. Luckily, Jeff knows someone who works there...

General Comments

Again, a nice story with some twists and turns. Obviously, Doc Ock has a different agenda to Jeff Haight. Doc Ock is sweet talking Jeff who on his turn is persuading Doc Ock to help him. Doc Ock has to be the smart one here, he has the most to gain here. Jeff is obsessed with getting a picture on the front page, he'll do anything to get it there. Ock has to use that but still stay civilised. At the end of the story, he nearly ruined it for himself.

The Spider-Man action is 7 pages of this book. But since it's only the fight scene, it's not that much part of the story. This series was originally sollicited as "Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure" (which is still in the indicia on page 1) but Spider-Man was added to the cover later. I'm guessing to generate more sales. The story here is about Jeff and Doc Ock with guest appearances by Spider-Man and Anna.

Speaking of Anna, when she is mad at Jeff, it looks like she is giving a warning, when saying Doctor Octopus is a mass murderer. Pure speculation here. Jeff wants to be on the front page. Will Jeff end up on that page being a dead man himself? Just two more issue to go. Can't hardly wait.

Overall Rating

What can I say? Still a great story with great art. Not as good as the previous one, but our rating system does not allow me to give it 3.75 webs.