In a convention charged with
psychological significance, superheroes frequently fight distorted mirror
images of themselves.
Spider-Man battled other “animal
men” from the start, defeating the Chameleon in Amazing Spider-Man 1 and the Vulture in ASM 2. But Dr. Octopus, in the third issue, was the most clearly
mirrored of the villains (spiders and octopi both being multi-limbed, somewhat
creepy creatures). And Otto Octavius also provided an opportunity for dramatic development unique in superhero
comics at the time.
For The Amazing Spider-Man was not just a series but a serial, a soap
opera, and at first its teenage protagonist was really too immature to handle the
dangerous responsibilities thrust upon him by his guilt over his uncle’s death.
Peter Parker got a lesson in
life’s unfairness in the first issue, when after rescuing J. Jonah Jameson’s
son from certain death, the Daily Bugle publisher still trashed Spider-Man.
In the second issue, Spider-Man’s
challenges escalated from a master of disguise to the Vulture, his first fully
super-powered foe. Acquitting himself well in that showdown, Spidey regarded
his victory the way many inexperienced young men would.
He became overconfident.
“It’s almost TOO easy,” Spidey
mused. “I’ve run out of enemies who can give me any real opposition. I’m too
powerful for ANY foe. I almost WISH for an opponent who’d give me a run for my
money.”
In ASM 3 (July 1963), Lee and Ditko fulfill Spidey’s wish by
confronting him with Dr. Octopus, who gives him a beat-down that shakes his
confidence to the core. However, inspired by the Human Torch, a sadder but
wiser Spider-Man returns to fight another day…
Comics historian Don Alsafi noted
that Dr. Octopus, too, is characterized with subtle sophistication.
“When we first meet Dr. Otto
Octavius, he seems a genial sort of man: well-liked, respected by his
colleagues, and miraculously unscarred from the trauma of having been named
Otto,’” Alasfi wrote. “However, an explosive accident during his atomic
research causes the metal arms he uses in his experiments to fuse to his body —
and Doctor Octopus is born!
“Although we only get to see Octavius
for about a page before his mind becomes deranged, what’s interesting is just
how abrupt this change is, and the idea of a man suddenly enslaved by his
madness. In an era where most villains were evil just because, the astute reader quickly realizes that this isn’t the way
Otto has always been, and the tragedy of that original mind trapped within the
broken one is poignant.”
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