So last issue we saw Otto do something Peter never could. He let Mary Jane go. A shockingly, selfless act from the once super villain and I’ve got to admit when I first read that issue I was impressed by Otto. I thought it showed Doc Ock realising that MJ’s relationship with Spidey and how it constantly put her in danger was a somewhat selfish act. So there we are I’m relatively impressed by Otto, now let’s see if Otto can continue on his path to redemption as he meets his old friend The Vulture in The Superior Spider-Man #3.

The issue opens with Jameson, Carlie Cooper and Police Chief Pratchett stood on a roof below a “spider signal” waiting for Otto to arrive. Sure enough our “hero” soon arrives swinging on to the roof and the first words out of his mouth are, “idiot”. Oh dear, looks like Otto’s going to have to work on that whole respecting people thing. You see Otto thinks that a signal broadcasting his current location to the whole city is a pretty stupid thing considering how many enemies Spidey has. So Otto quickly disables the light and Jameson chews him about it, until Otto smooth’s things over by claiming he thought it was just a test. Now I’ve read people online saying that Otto’s’ whole, “this was obviously a test” was a sincere belief Otto and that Otto genuinely believed JJ was testing him. But I disagree. Throughout this series we've seen that Otto has no respect for anyone but himself, I think this is more proof of that. His language is sneering with sarcasm in my interpretation of events; he calls J.J “Your honor”. Secondly Otto’s a man with a bit of an ego, I don’t think he’d appreciate being summoned by anyone else, sure he gives JJ a secure number to ring if he needs him later but that’s different. That’s Otto operating on his own terms not J.J’s. When he gives J.J the number it’s a clear order “You may reach me that way, is that understood?” this is Otto taking charge and dominating the mayor.

It’s a bit too early to say whether this is a good or bad thing. The whole spider-signal was obviously a terrible idea and Otto’s point has merit. The way he went about dealing with it was rude and it’s certainly not how Peter would have handled the situation. Neither would Peter have tried to dominate J.J this way. But then again Peter never really had any respect for J.J either, even when he became mayor. So really I don’t think Otto’s doing anything too outrageous. He’s obviously rude but it’s not too different from the way Peter acted. Carlie calls him out on his domineering attitude asking him “what is he doing?” but Otto brushes her off, saying that Spidey’s always messed with Jonah. He’s not wrong but neither is she it’s an odd point which is only used to show that she suspects “Peter” of being Doc Ock. So Otto uses the police lab to change his mask lenses so he can track the magnetic signature that The Vultures wings emit and before long he’s swinging off to confront his “old” friend The Vulture.

As Otto swings through the city tracking the vulture he begins to reminisce on the old days when they were in the Sinister Six. Before I discuss the Otto/Adrian relationship I just want to take a moment to discuss Otto’s use of tech. I think it’s brilliant, Peter as Spidey was somewhat unfocused he basically swung around beating up petty thugs until one of them would finally reveal where the villain was or alternatively he’d blunder across them. Otto’s much cleverer than that and would probably consider it a colossal waste of time. Peters heart was definitely in the right place but he’s a clever guy, I’m sure that with a bit of thought he could have used similar methods to Otto. I do think Otto’s a much more efficient Spidey and Peter. But more on that next time back to Otto and The Vulture.

So Otto’s swinging after The Vulture and he starts to remember the old days in the Sinister Six. Shockingly despite The Vultures minions throwing MJ out of a window only a few days earlier Otto still thinks of the Vulture as “Adrian”. His use of the first name, I believe, shows that he still considers The Vulture a friend, and in the flashback we start to see why. You see Otto and Adrian were both thinking men, inventing their own tech to further there villainous goals. But I think the real reason that Otto liked Adrian was that Adrian praised Otto’s inventions. We all know that all it takes to get Otto onside is a bit of a compliment or some recognition. In the flashback The Vulture reveals a secret, he only got involved in villainy to pull off one successful heist and after he’d made his money doing that he was planning on retiring. When I looked at the first issue I spoke about how Otto seemed fond of the name “Sinister Six” and didn’t like Boomerangs gang besmirching it’s good name. Now as he reminisces fondly on “the early years” I can’t help but feel that there’s still residual pride in his Old team. But maybe that’s just me?

So Otto finally finds The Vultures lair when he does the stupidest thing he’s done so far. He reveals his position shouting “Adrian, Don’t move!” and then jumps into the middle of The Vulture and his minions. You see Otto’s plan is to give Adrian what he always wanted. A nest egg on which to build a new life and he tells him that he’s got millions hidden, presumably from his days as a super villain? Of course the Vulture doesn’t believe him and his minions attack. I don’t have to tell you why this is stupid do I? I mean come on it’s obvious. As far as The Vultures concerned this isn’t his old friend, it’s his arch enemy Spider-Man. Did Otto believe that he’d just take the money and go? Of course he did. You see Otto’s a man who’s somewhat blinded by pride and he’s highly logical , that’s obvious enough. So when he gives Adrian what he always wanted he probably expected him to thank him and be on his way. Never in a million years did Otto think he’d refuse, I mean that would be illogical he was giving him a way out of this life of supervillainry (is that word). As much as I think his is a stupid tactical move though I have to admit I like it.

You see this issue has made one thing clear. Adrian and Otto were good friends and Otto still considers the Vulture his friend. What do people do for their friends? They help them of course. Otto’s offer to Adrian is an offer out of the life of a super villain. This money would offer Adrian a similar opportunity which the body swap offered to Otto a fresh start free from your old life. A chance to be born anew. But Adrian rejects him, out of pride? Mistrust? Whatever the reason Otto’s offer is rejected and Otto is attacked. But here’s the point, Adrian’s refusal to escape his old life is analogous to the way that Otto’s falling in to old traps. He wants to have a fresh start away from his old life as a super villain. But he’s quickly falling back in to old habits. It’s a nice bit of symbolism and I like it but anyway on with the story. So Otto’s attacked by the Vultures diminutive minions and he smacks one away revealing that they are…….tiny Peter Parker clones!!!! No just joking there little children, imagine if they’d ever done that.

The reveal is a pivotal moment and my favourite panel in the comic. Seeing the little children reminds Otto of his abusive father and Ghost Peter is treated to a scene of Otto’s father smacking young Otto about. It’s clear that Otto’s protective of children and he flies into a rage. The lettering and art on this panel are fantastic you really feel Otto’s outrage at being made to hit a child and he begs his old friend to give him a reason as to why he’s been using children. As Adrian exposes that he’d always preyed on the young and declares that “this is what he is” Otto comes to a realisation. Adrian is not his friend and needs to be stopped.

Otto’s shock at finding out how cruel his friend truly is is a brilliant moment and shows some growth in Otto’s character. He was looking at Adrian Toomes through the goggles of Doctor Octopus and he saw a proud old man who was using his smarts to try and make some money so he could retire. He never saw the vicious acts such a man would commit to get his “big score”. Now he sees Adrian Toomes as he truly is, The Vulture, a man who preys on the weak taking what he wants at the expense at all others. In this case he’s taken young children and made them into his willing servants, sacrificing their innocence to feed his own greed. These kids tried to kill MJ last issue that’s how corrupted by The Vulture they’ve become. Now when we look at this through the lens of Otto’s abused childhood, things begin to fall into place. Otto grew up to become a super-villain. Was his own innocence taken by his abusive father? I’ll talk more about this later but it’s worth thinking about.

So Otto chases after Adrian and they have an aerial battle. Otto runs out of web fluid and Adrian gains the upper hand. You’ve got to love that Otto blames his running out of web fluid on the “infernal Parker luck”. The man just can’t believe that he made a mistake; he has to make it someone else’s fault. So The Vulture has Otto in a chokehold and things look bleak. But thanks to some plot convenience the pair happens to be above the Spider-signal and Otto reactivates it. This blinds Adrian and Otto steers his fall into the signal, burning and lacerating the Vultures body. More extreme violence towards a villain? Yeah it’s not good, but I’ve got to point out that when Peter’s been enraged he’s been rather “forceful” with opponents. Look what he did to the kingpin when he had Aunt May shot. I’m going to give Otto a bit of leeway here. He was very emotional after realising quite what his old friend truly was and he’s got some history with child abuse. I don’t condone what Otto did, but Otto’s reaction was understandable. Next time we’ll see Otto’s handling of Massacre and that’s a very different case. Finally Carlie Cooper chastises Otto on his treatment of the vulture and her suspicions about Otto being in Peter’s body are pretty much confirmed.

Okay before I get to the question as to whether Otto’s improved at all this issue I want to quickly discuss Otto’s abused past. Doc Ock, had a pretty crappy childhood, his dad Torbert was abusive and hated that Otto wasn’t a physical man. His mother was overbearing and kept him on a short leash. Without going into too much detail, it was a recipe for disaster. I’ll say this, Otto’s abused childhood makes him more sympathetic and it’s understandable why such a child may grow up to be such a disturbed young man. But does that give Otto an excuse for the things he’s done in his past life? No. No it doesn’t. It makes Otto a reflection of his own father. Otto grew up to be a violent and cruel man just like his dad, even worse as Otto’s plans have threatened the entire world! Otto’s backstory is a sad one, but don’t for a second let it be used as an excuse for his current behaviour. He’s killed and will kill again. He doesn’t deserve sympathy, pity perhaps? But don’t sympathise with him. Also looking at his reaction to the reveal of the children and his outburst I can’t help but think of an alternative interpretation of events. You see Otto’s a narcissist, he’s very self-involved to a pathological degree. So when he hits a child and it reminds him of himself, that what allows Otto to become so enraged. It has nothing to do with empathy for the child, instead the act of hitting a child reminds him of his old life, and how he felt when his father hit him. This diminishes Otto’s pride reminding him that he still feels fear and isn’t as strong as he likes to think of himself.

So has Otto put another foot forward on the path to redemption? It’s difficult to say. His reaction to Adrian’s actions is brutal but understandable far more so than his treatment of Boomerang. There are still worrying signs that point to Otto being proud of the Sinister Six, but then again he starts to see the truth behind his old colleagues this issue so? Perhaps he’s changing his mind. Anyway I’m going to say that this issue Otto doesn’t really improve on where he was on issue 2 so he’s not doing badly. But everything will change next issue when Otto takes his darkest turn yet when he deals with Massacre.