A STORY HAS TO START SOMEWHERE, SO
LET'S BEGIN WITH A LONELY WAREHOUSE, IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, WHERE WE FIND A
ROBBERY TAKING PLACE..
Hold it, you guys! I think I heard
somethin'!
Relax, Charlie! It was probably just a
mouse!
SUDDENLY, THE MOST AWESOME IMAGE IN CRIME-FIGHTING
APPEARS ON THE WALL DIRECTLY ABOVE THE STARTLED THIEVES...
Mouse? You've never seen a mouse
like this before!
L-Look! It..
It's..
Don't be shy, fella! You can say my
name! It's Spider-Man!
Get ’im! There are
three of us! He can't take us all!
UGH!
BROTHER, YOU'RE LIVING IN A FOOL'S
PARADISE!
OOF!
OW!
MINUTES LATER...
Some big criminal mastermind you are!
Aw, shaddup! Whoever expectedSpider-Man to but in!
Look, Joe! Spider-Man's been here! And how!
are!
AND NOT FAR AWAY...
It’s almost too easy! I've run out of enemies who can give me any real
opposition! I’m too powerful for any foe! I almost wish for an opponent who’d give me a run for my
money!
AND LITTLE DOES SPIDER-MAN SUSPECT THAT HIS FRIVOLOUS WISH IS ABOUT TO COME TRUE!
FOR, AT THAT MOMENT, ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN...
Here comes Doctor
Octopus!
Doctor Octopus? Why do they call him that?
Watch! You'll see in a
minute!
See? It's that especially-designed
contraption he wears, which enables him to perform his experiments behind
the lead walls which shiled him from radiation!!
He created that get-up himself, and
he's the only scientist permitted to wear it!
He's the most brillian
atomic-researcher in our country today!
YES, SUCH A MAN IS OTTO OCTAVIOUS, BETTER KNOWN TO HIS
CO-WORKERS AS DOCTOR OCTOPUS! LET US WATCH AS HE
CONDUCTS A NUCLEAR EXPERIMENT...
My artificial extra arms permit me to
work safely with volatile chemicals which are far too dangerous to touch
without protection!
Though others fear radiation, I alone
am able to make it my servant!
BUT NOTHING IS EVER PERFECT, NOT EVEN THE
PROJECTS OF DOCTOR OCTOPUS! AND, AS THE UNSUSPECTING ATOMIC GENIUS CONDUCTS
HIS EXPERIMENT…
Look! The
radiation-meter has gone wacky! Something is wrong! There's gonna be a blow-up!
SOUND THE
ALARM!
BUT THE WARNING, ALAS, IS GIVEN ТОО LATE! AND BEFORE THE ALARM CAN
BE SOUNDED…
THEN, AFTER THE FLAMES AND SMOKE HAVE PARTIALLY
CLEARED…
Doctor Octopus is still breathing!
I hope we've reached him in time!
Even though he's still alive, he's
absorbed a great deal of radiation - - poor guy!
IN THE HOURS THAT FOLLOW, AFTER EXHAUSTIVE TESTS…
The x-rays show an uncertain amount of
brain damage! I'm afraid his mind has been permanently
damaged!
We can't remove those artificial arms
of his yet! The radiation has caused them to adhere to his body in some
strange way!
FINALLY, DAYS LATER, THE INJURED SCIENTIST RECOVERS
CONSCIOUSNESS...
What am I doing here? let me get up! I
must return to my work!
No! you've been very ill! you must stay
in bed! you need the rest!
But THE BRAIN OF DR. OCTOPUS-- THE BRAIN WHICH HAS BEEN DAMAGED BY
RADIATION-- REACTS IN A BITTER WAY…
They're jealous of me! They want to
keep me from my work! But I'll show them! I'm stronger than any of
them!
The window is barred! They're trying
to make a prisoner of me! The fools! No one can hold Doctor Octopus against
his will! No one!
THEN SUDDENLY, AT JUST A SUGGESTION OF A THOUGHT BY DR.
OCTOPUS, HIS ARTIFICIAL ARMS MOVE AS THOUGH THEY HAVE A WILL OF THEIR
OWN...
I’ve got to break those bars!
I did it!! My arms did it! Their
strength is incalculable! They can do anything!
Somehow, my mechanical arms have
almost become a part of me! They obey my every command
with such power! And with my brilliant mind, I'm the supreme human being on
Earth.
MINUTES LATER...
You wanted to see me, Dr.
Octopus?
Yes! Come in! Shut the door behind
you!
What is it? You-- oh, no! No!
Ha-ha! You don't believe what you see?
But it's true! I'm all-powerful!
From now on, I give the commands here!
MEANWHILE, AT THE OFFICE OF J. JONAH JAMESON, PUBLISHER
OF THE DAILY BUGLE...
I WANT PICTURES OF THE INJURED HEAD
SCIENTIST, DR. OCTOPUS, BUT NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO ENTER THE HOSPITAL
ANYMORE!
I NEVER HEARD
OF ANY HOSPITAL KEEPING PEOPLE OUT! DON'T WORRY, J.J. I'LL GET THOSE PIX FOR YOU!
My best men have tried and failed! But so
far you've succeeded in every assignment! I can't imagine how a teenager
like you does it!
Argument, J.J., is that you're never
to ask me how I do it!
Just have a check ready for me when
I bring back the pix of Dr. Octopus!
He doesn't suspect Peter Parker,
the teenager he assigned to the job, is going to have Spider-Man do
it!
AND SO...
Here's the place! Strange that it's
locked and nobody is admitted! What kind of hospital is it,
anyway?
Well, there's one way to find out... Spider-Man’s just the
cat to do it!
These suction fingers of mine will
get me up the wall in time! Boy, it's great being Spider-Man! I can do almost anything!
The only problem is - - my jobs are
too easy! I welcome a little competition once in a while!
AND, AS HE STEADILY CLIMBS UP THE SHEER OUTER WALL,
LITTLE DOES SPIDER-MAN DREAM THAT HE IS SOON TO GET FAR
MORE "COMPETITION" THAN HE EVER BARGAINED
FOR!
SECONDS LATER...
Almost there!
Holy mackerel! What's that?
Silence! Nobody is to speak when Dr.
Octopus speaks!
PEERING UNSEEN THROUGH THE LARGE PICTURE WINDOW, SPIDER-MAN WITNESSES A STRANGE, UNEXPECTED
SIGHT...
You can’t keep all of us prisoners forever , Doctor Octopus! We've done what you
asked—gotten you all the equipment you wanted! When will you let us
go?
Not until I'm
ready! With my powers, no one can resist me! You'll
remain to serve me until I no longer need you—and not before!
Well, well! So the good doc has
flipped his lid, eh? Well, this is just what I’ve been hopin' for—a little action!
But this is mad!
You have no right—
Right?! You dare speak to me of right?
I have the rightto do anything—as long as I have the power! And if you doubt my power,
here is a small sample...
No! Don’t! Let me
down!
Looks like it’s time for Spider-Man to join the party before he really hurts
that fella!
Hold it, doc! How about picking on
someone who can fight you back?
Spider-Man!
Well, I sure ain’t Albert Schweitzer!
You dare speak flippantly to me! You fool! When I'm finished with you, you’ll sing a different tune!
You don’t think those dumb-looking
flappers of yours can move fast enough to catch spider-man do you?
HEY..!!
WHA—?
Surprised? Doctor
Octopus is far more powerful than you dreamed! far more powerful
than even you!
Don’t let that one lucky punch go to
your head, pal! I’ve a few more surprises!
Ah! Most ingenious of you! Your
spider’s web!!
But, as you can see, holding only two
of my arms isn’t enough! I still have more!
No time to shoot my web again! He’s
faster than I expected!
But i can still grab his other
arms!
Oof! It takes all my strength! He—he
also has super-human strength!
My web! He snapped it! Nobody has
ever done that before!
And now, Spider-man, I grow bored with
this game! My time is too valuable!
Now, watch me trap a spider in a web
of my own--a web made of my new-found arms! Your strength is merely that of
a spider, but mine is the energy of an atom, born of a nuclear
accident!
I’m helpless! Can’t fight all those
arms at once! Don’t know what to do next! He’s just toying with
me!
You dared to mock me before! Why
aren’t you mocking me now? where are your brave words and taunts now,
Spider-man?
Or do you realize you’ve finally met
your master? And now, you can leave the way you entered! You’re no threat to
me!
WEAK, GROGGY, JUST BARELY CONSCIOUS, SPIDER-MAN HAS HIS FALL
BROKEN BY A TREE, AS HE FINALLY SLUMPS TO THE GROUND... IN
DEFEAT.
But I’ll defeat him with my
all-powerful arms, as I did before! He won’t elude me
now!
Ah, there’s
what I’m looking for—the chemlab!
I’ve got to move fast! It won’t be long before he finds
me!
There!! It’s done!
And now this wiring’ll suit my
purpose just fine!
Mustn’t make a mistake! Doctor Octopus won’t give me a second chance if
anything goes wrong.
I still can't be sure this will
work, but I've GOT to try it!
Now to find DOCTOR
OCTOPUS!
ONCE AGAIN, AT THE LAST
SPLIT-SECOND, SPIDER-MAN'S SPIDER INSTINCT SAVES HIM
FROM SUDDEN DEFEAT...
Hah!I've got you, SPIDER-MAN!
Wha--?
Oh, NO, you
don't!
MOVING WITH EVERY OUNCE OF
SPEED HE POSSESSES, SPIDER-MAN MANAGES TO LOOP ONE OF
HIS HASTILY CONSTRUCTED DEVICES AROUND TWO OF DOCTOR
OCTOPUS' ARMS BEFORE ANOTHER ARM, STRIKING OUT, FORCES HIM TO DROP
THE SECOND DEVICE...
OHH!
BUT SPIDER-MAN HAS SUPER-HUMAN STRENGTH, EVEN AS DOCTOR OCTOPUS, AND HE RECOVERS FROM THE BLOW IN SECONDS, IN TIME
TO DIVE OUT OF HARM'S WAY...
Now to get out of reach and watch
what happens!
You hope to defeat me with a foolish
thing like THIS? You must be MAD!
Oh, I see! It's a chemical which
fuses my metal arms together! Hmm... clever!
But I can take care of that easily --
after I dispose of you for
good!
S LOWLY, INEXORABLY, DR. OCTOPUS FORCES SPIDER-MAN BACK
AGAINST THE WALL, BLOCKING HIS WEB WITH HIS SWIFTLY-MOVING
ARMS...
HA-HA! Even your
fast-shooting web isn't quick enough for me!
He's using his fused arms like a
club! I can't retreat any further! My back is to
the wall! I've got to take a desperate
chance!
MOVING LIKE A PERSON
POSSESSED, SPIDER-MAN WHIPS HIS LEGS AROUND ONE OF DOCTOR OCTOPUS' TENTACLE ARMS, WHILE HE SEIZES THE
OTHER FREE ARM WITH BOTH OF HIS POWERFUL HANDS...
Got you!
But not for long!
THEN, BEFORE DOCTOR OCTOPUS
CAN MAKE ANOTHER MOVE, SPIDER-MAN SHOOTS HIS AMAZING
WEB DIRECTLY AT THE STARTLED SCIENTIST'S FACE...
I should have realized sooner, OCTOPUS, the best defense is a smashing offense!
That blasted web! It's spread out over
my glasses! I--I can't see! Can't get it
off!
Even though he can no longer see
me, his other arms are now around me -- pulling me toward him with
incredible strength!
Ah... there!! I
got them off!
I’ve got his two free arms apart!
But I dare not let go of them!
Give up, fool!
Sooner or later you’ll have to let go, and then I’ll
have you!
I’ve got one
chance... but I’ve got to time it to the split second or I’m finished!
SUDDENLY, SPIDER-MAN LETS GO OF
DOCTOR OCTOPUS’ ARMS AND, AT THE SAME INSTANT,
LASHES OUT WITH A SMASHING RIGHT!
Now!
I did it! I
knocked him out!
I had to let him go, and then
strike faster than he could move!
Strange that an old fashioned puch
to the jaw defeated the most dangerous villain I've ever
faced!
Better not take any chances! I’ll
wrap my webbing around him many times while he’s out! He’ll neverbe able to snap this!
LATER, AT THE SENTRY POST
OUTSIDE THE ATOMIC PLANT...
Captain! We’ve been hearing noises
inside there! Like a fight!
Someone must have sneaked past us
and—look! over there!
It’s the sign of Spider-Man!
There he is!
He’s waving to us to come on!
Careful, pal! No telling what’s goin’ on!
You’re tellin’ me! I’m gonna shoot first and ask questions
later!
Look! It’s Doctor Octopus! He’s all tied up and
helpless!
Don’t just stand
there! Get me out of this!
The authorities will be able to
handle Doctor Octopus now!
But I still have one more thing to
take care of—as Spider-Man!
MINUTES LATER, THE
DRAMATICALLY COSTUMED SUPER-HERO CLIMBS THE SHEER WALL OF A NEARBY
HOLTEL...
He's somewhere in this holtel! I'll
find him easily!
My spider sense tells me that his
room is just ahead!
AND INSIDE THE ROOM IN QUESTION...
Good news,Torch!
Your temperature is down and your virus is gone! By now, your flame should
be working at full strength!
Great, Doc! I wanna show my
partners in the Fantastic Four that I can tackle Doctor Octopus Alone!
FLAME ON!
And now for--
Relax,Torch! Doctor Octopus has been
captured already!
Thanks to you,
Torch, Octopus is safely under wraps! And I owe you additional thanks because, if not for you, Spider-Man might’ve been finished, too!
Huh?
So long,Torch! See ya around,
pal!
Flamin’ fireballs! I don’t get it! What did I
do??
THE NEXT DAY, THE HUMAN TORCH GIVES A PULSE-POUNDING DEMONSTRATION OF HIS
FULL POWERS BEFORE RETURNING TO HIS HEADQUARTERS...
Wish Spider-Man was still around to join me in this show! But I don’t
know where he cut out to!
Now there’s
my idea of a hero! The Human Torch--and a guy like Spider-Man, too! Why don’tcha watch and see what a real man is like, bookworm?
Someday I’ll tell you why, loud mouth! And I’m sure gonna enjoy it! Yes sir,
it’s gonna be a real pleasure!
AND, FOR THE FIRST TIME, A
CASE ENDS WITHOUT PETER PARKER DELIVERING ANY PHOTOS TO MR. JAMESON! BUT,
RIGHT NOW, PETER COULDN’T CARE LESS!