Doc Ock Rocks NYC
I had a goofy smile on my face at the end of this comic and at the end of the day you can’t ask for much more than that. That’s the power of a great comic, it can tell a tale of remarkable human character, as the forces of good and evil vie for supremacy, and all in 20 pages. I knew I was in for a treat as soon as I saw the cover, as this issue features the first appearance of Doctor Octopus one of Spider-Man’s greatest and most memorable foes.
This is a book which shows that great characters and character growth are what turn fairly average plots into compelling ones. The plot on offer is pretty standard, villain goes insane seeks to use new powers to gain… power and then gets vanquished by hero. But Doctor Octopus is a wonderful villain, he has physical might (his arms), mad genius and an obvious but difficult to exploit weak point (his body is soft and kinda pudgy). He handily vanquishes Spider-Man in their first fight, leaving out rookie hero tasting defeat for the first time. It’s his brief tale of redemption that elevates this story, he loses and spends some time finding himself before seeking out and vanquishing his foe. It’s not much by modern standards but compared to the alien invasions and hypnosis tales of the time it’s refreshing and grounded.
The art is functional and slightly stylish, with Ditko leaving coating panels in darkness and areas of black. There’s a wonderful panel of page 5 as Doc Ock is struck by the violent radioactive explosion that drives him to madness, it’s a beautiful image, black and red only. Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus both look great throughout this book and when they share panel time there are some wonderful mid action panels as the pair tussle. The cover is pretty great as well, leaving our villain in shadows clutching at an imperiled Spider-Man with some a pretty detailed background.
You couldn’t ask for much more from a one shot issue of a superhero comic book. We’ve got an ominous villain, a couple of great fights and a redemptive arc featuring a guest appearance. We also get some character development as Spider-Man faces his first really threatening villain. Finally we get the debut of Doctor Octopus one of the best comic book villains of all time (in this reviewers humble opinion). This is a nearly perfect issue, the first bonus page was a little ugly but you can’t ask for much more from a single issue story. Read this issue. Right now.
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