Spider-Man: Doctor Octopus - Negative Exposure #4

Background

Part 4 of the Spider-Man & Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure series. Last issue ended with Doc Ock Doc tricking Jeff Haight into helping him get his arms back. Will his plan work? Read on!

Story Details

Doc Ock is telling about his connection to his arms to Jeff. The arms are currently stored in a secure area of One Police Plaza. He persuades Jeff Haight to make up with his girlfriend Anna (they kinda had a fight last issue). So, he can get close to the arms.

Of course, Jeff says the right things to Anna and she then takes him to see the evidence room. The arms are in a vault. There, Jeff sticks a little device in the arms. Immediately, Doc Ock resumes control over them. Anna is hit in the manouvre and Jeff has to leave the building, quick. Leaving a seriously injured Anna behind.

Outside, Peter is taking a walk with Aunt May. He sees fire coming from One Police Plaza and makes up some silly excuse to rush off. The arms are outside, Spidey engages them. A shot fight follows. In the end, Spidey is on the ground, unconsious.

Back at Riker's Island, the warden pays Ock a visit. He heard about the arms and iss about the shot Otto Octavius when he himself is killed by the arms that break through the walls. Doc Ock is free again.

Later that day, Jeff is at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. He waits for both Doc Ock and Spider-Man. Where are they? On the final page we see Ock tossing police officers into the river and Spidey still down for the count.

General Comments

Well, Doc Ock is getting nastier. And at the same time, Jeff is getting more naive. In order to get that front page photo, he'll do anything. Doc Ock knows this and he plays his cards very well. Anna is the innocent victim of all this scheming. She's in love with Jeff and you know what they say about love and vision. She simply does not see what's going on and has to pay a very high price for this. How high exactly? We'll have to wait until the next issue.

There's one thing that puzzled me. How did Doc Ock take control over his arms so easily? He's in jail, no way he could have had that device in his cell. And Jeff, he's not smart enough to build it. Where did it come from? And when attached to the arms, Ock has instantly control over the arms. Why? I wish they'd explained a bit ore about that. But then I'd have to give this book the maximum score, leaving not much room to improve for the final installment of this series.

Overall Rating

Yes, another 4 webs! Great story, very well paced. Excellent artwork, very clear and crisp lines. I wish Staz Johnson would do more Spider-Man artwork. I think we could really use this kind of detailed artwork over at Spectacular Spider-Man and not that manga cra.... eh.... shi... eh... well you get the drift. And while we're on the subject, perhaps Vaughan can trades places with Jenkins as well.