Author Zeb Wells, artist Ed McGuiness, inker Mark Morales, colorist Marcio Menyz, and letterer Joe Caramagna give Otto Octavius, aka Physician Octopus, new abilities in Amazing Spider-Man #28 on June 28. Octavius faces off against Norman Osborn, aka the Gold Goblin, another of Spider-Man’s standard arch-enemies.
Spoilers ahead for Amazing Spider-Man # 28
After the events of Amazing Spider-Man # 900, in which his old arms betrayed him and even helped Spider-Man escape the clutches of the Living Brain, Doctor Octopus was forced to abandon his former limbs. In Amazing Spider-Man #28 (after reappearing in #27), J. Jonah Jameson urges Peter Parker and Norman Osborn to help fix the damaged arms at OsCorp.
Osborn initially declines, citing his long-standing rivalry with Doctor Octopus; however, Jameson tells Osborn that he is already in the middle of his own second chance as the courageous Gold Goblin.
Doc Ock has some new tricks up his sleeve as well, most notably a set of weird, semi-sentient arms that can perform the same functions as his old cybernetic limbs but can also disassemble into a swarm of autonomous drones covered in green nano-goo.
Thanks in large part to the oddly endearing way in which Ed McGuiness, Mark Morales, and Marcio Menyz illustrate the ‘Ocktoids,’ as well as the numerous earlier models of Doctor Octopus’ ingenuity that they incorporate, the upgrade is actually rather darn impressive.
At the end of the chapter, Doc Ock has challenged and defeated both Spider-Man and the Gold Goblin, possibly announcing his role as Peter Parker’s foremost opponent, especially considering that Norman Osborn is currently Spider-Man’s ally.
On July 12, you can read Amazing Spider-Man #29 to find out what happens next in Doctor Octopus’s latest plot.
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