This one is always a treat! The origins of one of his most deadly and iconic villains. Ditko's was not only ahead of his time, he was evolving at an absolute crazy speed. His storytelling skills, his sharpness, his emotions at every sigle panel, he was a gem. We also have the first appearence of the spider signal here! And again, i just love how Human Peter is. He is trying to honor his uncle, he's helping his aunt to keep their lifes together taking pics for the bugle, he's studying, juggling so much. And yet, just like a teenager or any human being, he sometimes makes you think "dude, WHY?". He's having so much success fightiing crime, that again, he thinks he's unstoppable, going as far to wish to have someone to give him a challenge.

I love the fact that Ock is such a imposing villain, that's he is the first to beat SUPERMAN( Isn't that right, STAN???), he bested him one to one. Although Ock's temperamental and egostistical personas will be more developed down the line, it feels earned here, from the very beginning. And i love that even though Peter is learning and evolving as a hero completely by himself, he's still looking at the right places to learn a thing or two. Ever since his creation, the F4 at any capacity is a looming figure that indirectly shapes Spider-Man to become who he is meant to be, even Johnny which at this current time is as immature as Peter, manages to give him the necessary push forward to learn the big thing about being a hero: never give up. Basically, this is the first example we have in a Spider-Man comic of what would later become Peter's unbreakable will, he always gets back up, no matter what. Lovely, i love reading this run, it's the bible for all things Spider-Man. more

Okay, Doctor Octopus is one of my favorite Spider-Man villains, possibly my favorite altogether, so I may be a little nicer to this issue than the last.

Honestly, I fear that this review will be too short in comparison to my last two. This was bound to happen due to this issue only consisting of one story, but I find myself having less to say when I truly enjoy something. It's much harder to articulate positive thoughts over negative thoughts for me, but I'll try.

This is my favorite issue of the run so far, and I know that doesn't mean much when I'm only 3 issues in, but when people tell you to read the Lee/Ditko Era of Spider-Man, it is issues like this one that truly bolster that recommendation. That, despite the antiquated feeling, the story shines through as something worth reading. This is the first full-length Spider-Man issue, and you can tell that the extra space has given Lee and Ditko more freedom. Things don't have to be quite so rushed. The villain gets his time to shine, and as a whole, things are fleshed out. Spider-Man can have more of an character arc as well.

We finally get to see a villain that actually puts Spider-Man to the test. The Chameleon, the Vulture, the Tinkerer and gravity itself have nothing on Doc Ock. Spider-Man gets handily defeated, and it's not through some bullshit blindsided kick to the head like Vulture. Spidey is simply bested by Doc Ock, in a fair fight. The ego exuded from Doc Ock when he bitch slaps Spider-Man is character defining. And what happens next? Spider-Man adapts; he uses his smarts and he proves he's not reliant purely on his powers. Now, I'm aware that this issue kind of mirrors the Vulture story from last issue, but it's done better and we get a nice little character beat for Peter where he doubts himself. It's just a lot better.

Continuity wise, we get a few more big events here. The introduction of the Spider-Signal. It does come out of nowhere, which is something I praised last issue for *not doing.* But I am pretty sure they eventually get into more of why Spider-Man has it. J. Jonah Jameson is back at the Daily Bugle, as it should be. There's not much focus on the Parker financial woes, but I'm sure that'll come back soon enough. We also get to see the first inkling of the friendship Spider-Man and the Human Torch will form. That's covered more in the Strange Tales second annual that would soon be hitting shelves. But I'm not covering that, because taking on all the Spider-Titles themselves is more than enough of a workload. But we see the friendship start to bud here and that's what's important.

Overall, like I said, the longer story format works better and Doc Ock is one of the biggest Spider-Man foes for a reason. He's great.

Quote of the issue: "Where Are Your Brave Words and Taunts Now, Spider-Man?" more

banger. good intro to doc ock

(Cover date: July, 1963)