Peter Parker: Spider-Man #39
Operation Octopus
While doing a photo opportunity at the beach, Congressman Bradley Miles is attacked by what appears to be a shark. However, as his Secret Service security detail come to his aid they are too late to prevent the senator from losing an arm and a leg from the attack. As the creature retreats back out into the ocean, one of the Secret Service officers notices that it wasn’t a shark, but an octopus unaware that this undersea beast is being commanded by a device implanted into its head.
Sometime later, Peter Parker has taken his students on a field trip to a Science and Technology Convention. Unfortunately, his students ditch his explanation on how a Myoelectric device works in favor of watching a demonstration of a new virtual reality video game. Peter and Daphne Smith — a teacher who taught Peter when he was a teenager — both share a joke bout how kids have a shorter attention span.[1] Exploring the convention by himself, Peter thinks about how he would have lined up for hours to come to this place when he was a teenager. Entering an exhibit for a company called Bio-Technix he stops to take a free sample of their Bio-Bugs when suddenly his spider-sense goes off. This draws him to a demonstration by Bradley Miles who — thanks to Bio-Technix — has been fitted with a cybernetic arm and leg to replace the limbs he recently lost. Although the Congressman makes a light-hearted presentation about the benefits of cybernetics, Peter can’t help but shake the feeling of danger unaware that this is being caused by two individuals watching the demonstration from the shadows above.
Suspicious, Peter calls Joe Robertson at the Daily Bugle to ask what he knows about Bio-Technix, particularly Miles's blatant promotion of the company. Joe tells him that the Bugle was investigating rumors that Bio-Technix was been paying off politicians behind closed doors in order to speed up legislation however J. Jonah Jameson wasn’t interested and killed the story. The pair then share a moment to joke about Jameson’s inability to see a good story when he sees one. While elsewhere, Doctor Octopus has paused from his work to feed his pet octopus — Olga — a fresh lobster. That’s when Fusion enters the room and tells Octavius that it is time. Later, in order to learn where Bio-Technics operates, Spider-Man has brought the Bio-Bug sample to Daredevil to see if he enhanced senses can pinpoint where it came from.[2] Daredevil impresses Spider-Man by determining that the company has a building in Chinatown.
Back at their hideout, Fusion demands that Doctor Octopus complete the adjustments to the cybernetic limbs by the next day, or else. At first, Octavius is furious at being spoken to in such a disrespectful manner but cowers when Fusion approaches him. When Olga tries to defend her master by squirting ink in her tank, Otto tells her to stop. Fusion then suddenly changes into a massive spider putting fear into Doctor Octopus. When Otto begs Fusion to stop tormenting him, the other villain refuses to do anything of the sort until Spider-Man has been destroyed.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man has done some digging around about the Congressman and discovers that he managed to slip a bill through that allowed him to get the cybernetic limbs he needs. Confronting Miles, Spider-Man warns him that something is rotten about his dealings with Bio-Technix, particularly since he went to school with the company’s owner Amos Peters. When Bradley asks why anyone would believe anything a masked vigilante manages to dig up, Spider-Man points out that he’s not a politician and swings away. While at a party, Joe Robertson continues to press J. Jonah Jameson into allowing investigation into Bio-Technix, however, Jonah isn’t interested in covering anything about it because it is still not an interesting story to him.
By this time, Spider-Man has broken into Bio-Technics to investigate the company from the inside. Sneaking in through the ventilation system, Spider-Man finds and confronts Doctor Octopus in the lab. However, after a brief battle, Spider-Man is ambushed from behind by Fusion who helps Doctor Octopus take down Spider-Man with mechanical arms of his own.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Fusion, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Daredevil, Daphne Smith, Bradley Miles
Continuity Notes
Daphnie quips that the school children think the game Twisted Metal: Black is a documentary should be considered a topical reference.
Spider-Man calls Daredevil by his civilian name, Matt Murdock, that’s because Spider-Man and Daredevil know each other’s identities since Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #107-110.
