Amazing Spider-Man #159. Dr Octopus and Hammerhead

(Cover from August 1976.)

"Arm-in-Arm-in-Arm-in-Arm-in-Arm With Dr Octopus."

Words by Len Wein.

Pencils by Ross Andru.

Inks by Mike Esposito.

Lettering by Joe Rosen.

Colours by Glynis Wein.

Moonraker. It was the James Bond movie where 007 owed it all to Star Wars. This is the issue where Spider-Man owes it all to James Bond, as the lab from last issue is stormed by both a SWAT team and Hammerhead's previously forgotten henchmen.

In the tale's second half, we get more of the same as Hammerhead's men try to kill Spider-Man and Dr Octopus in the super-villain's secret lair. Throw in Hammerhead's somewhat ostentatious helicopter and you almost expect Sean Connery to turn up in his Aston Martin.

Amid all the chaos, there's just one question.

Just why do both sides insist on using, "anaesthetic bullets?" OK, at a stretch, you could just about credit a SWAT team with doing it, trying to avoid hurting innocent hostages, but Hammerhead's men? They're supposed to work for one of the most ruthless criminals this side of Los Angeles.

I admit it. I lied. There are in fact two questions, not one.

The second is Aunt May. How come she seems to have heart attacks at the drop of a hat but, whenever things are going on around her that'd give the average man in the street a cardiac arrest, it seems to do her no harm at all? She manages to get caught up in two armed sieges in this tale, get abducted, sees a ghost come back to life and gets directly threatened with physical violence and suffers no ill effects at all other than fainting.

For that matter, when he finally gets her free, Spider-Man doesn't seem at all concerned for her well-being He's clearly more intent on giving Dr Octopus the punch in the mouth he thinks he owes him than getting his aunt medical treatment, even though she's lying there, spark out. Perhaps he suspects what we must all suspect by now, that that "sweet old lady" is putting it on. Time to call in the lawyers, I reckon.

Lowlight of the tale has to be the return of Hammerhead's spinning office. It was a lame enough gimmick before without us having to endure its resurrection.

If the room's the lamest moment, compensation for it comes from Dr Octopus using a rubbish bin to bring down Hammerhead's helicopter. For that matter, the incident makes it a very strange issue indeed. It means we have a tale where Spider-Man's irrelevant in his own comic. The truth is, if Spider-Man was excised from this issue altogether, it'd make no difference at all to its settlement.

But, before we go, there's one more thing to be dealt with in this tale, because the revolving office isn't the only lame gimmick that returns, as the Spider-Mobile's revived by hands mysterious. Who is the man in the chair, working so hard on it? And who is his mysterious employer? You know, the large looking man? With the cigarette holder?

How could we ever hope to guess?

Amazing Spider-Man #158. Dr Octopus and Hammerhead

(Cover from July 1976.)

"Hammerhead Is Out!"

Words by Len Wein.

Pencils by Ross Andru.

Inks by Mike Esposito.

Lettering by John Costanza.

Colours by Glynis Wein.

Curiosity didn't kill the cat and falling from a great height didn't kill Spider-Man. Although, the method our hero uses to save himself at the start of this tale, whipping up a hang glider from webbing, is probably the least practical method of self-rescue he could've conceived. Still, it got him where he needed to be; in a rubbish skip.

But if Spider-Man's means of salvation is unlikely, it's an odd issue all round. Nothing much happens for the first half of it. Peter Parker goes home and repairs his costume. Peter Parker has a short chat with Glory Grant. Peter Parker has a short chat with Mary Jane Watson. Peter Parker has a short chat with Joe Robertson.

Then, suddenly, halfway through, it's all go go go, as he tracks down Dr Octopus and fights him again for no noticeable reason before it occurs to him that he should be helping Octopus to deal with Hammerhead.

And therein lie a myriad questions. It seems Hammerhead wanted Octopus to set up his ghost-busting machine.

Why?

Because he knew it'd restore him to, "life." Turns out that was Hammerhead's plan all along.

But why was it his plan? Hammerhead's no scientist. How did he know that's what was needed to sort him out? And why did he spend weeks pursuing Dr Octopus, as part of a scheme that might never reach fruition, instead of bringing in another scientist to do the deed for him straight away?

Ah, the vagaries of the criminal mind.

And the vagaries of Aunt May's mind. Even after seeing Dr Octopus tie up two security guards, she still thinks he's a sweet old man. You do wonder if she was doing some sort of drugs in those days because, whatever she was seeing, it sure wasn't what anyone else was.

Amazing Spider-Man #157. Dr Octopus and Hammerhead

(Cover from June 1976.)

"The Ghost That Haunted Octopus!"

Words by Len Wein.

Pencils by Ross Andru.

Inks by Mike Esposito.

Lettering by John Costanza.

Colours by Glynis Wein.

Just as in real life, people in comic books can change.

Admittedly, in the mighty world of Marvel Comics, they tend to change after being bombarded with radiation.

Dr Octopus is no exception. The difference being that, rather than changing into a big green monster, or a man with elastic limbs, Dr Octopus has changed into a drunken bum. That's nuclear accidents for you. Despite everything you might hope, they're rarely your friend.

Admittedly, the change in Octopus was wrought by the aftermath of the accident, rather than the accident itself but, aww, who cares? Nuclear accidents, I like to blame them for anything that goes wrong in Marvel's version of New York City.

But what about that atomic explosion? Wasn't Doc Ock blown to pieces the last time we saw him? He was but you can't keep a good villain down. He survived by climbing down a shaft and wrapping himself in his tentacles. Now he's back and determined to yet again become the fine, upstanding member of the community he's always been.

But more than just his lifestyle seems to have been rejigged. Dr Octopus's attitude has too. He's still a ruthless villain but now, his internal monologue suggests he really is taken with Aunt May, where, before, the implication's always been that he's been using her for his sinister ends. Maybe I'm a slushy romantic but I'm more than happy with this development. It makes Ock a more developed and complex character than the two dimensional one we've seen over the years. It's also good to see his embarrassment as he sits on the sofa with Peter Parker. Once, he would've warned Peter to, "Keep quiet if you know what's good for you." Now he merely squirms and politely asks him to pass the Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Sadly, no sooner has he told Parker how he survived the nuclear blast, than they have another visitor, as Hammerhead barges in.

Except Octopus isn't the only one who's changed. Hammerhead has too.

Now he's a ghost.

And he's out for revenge.

There's the obvious question here of just what Dr Octopus is frightened of. After all, Hammerhead's ghost seems to have no substance to it at all, meaning it's hard to see what harm it can do to either Octopus or Aunt May. Still this doesn't stop Octopus smashing out through the wall with Aunt May, nor stop Spider-Man from chasing him and trying to fight him. Quite why Spider-Man's so determined to fight Octopus when all Octopus is doing is trying to save his aunt from Hammerhead - the true aggressor in this tale - is something Spider-Man of course doesn't question. It's a Pavlovian response with him. He sees a super-villain, he has to hit him.

On other matters, we learn the Spider-Mobile's gone missing. You have to congratulate Len Wein on this development, as he must be the only person by this stage who actually even recalled its existence.

Liz Allen and Harry Osborn are starting to get friendly with each other, which is nice to see. They've both been under used in recent months, so it's pleasing to see them get some sort of storyline.

Not for the first time over the years, we get a cliffhanger ending that involves Spider-Man falling from a great height. As he managed to survive all his previous falls with ease, I have a feeling he won't be joining Hammerhead next issue in becoming a ghost.

Then again, I could be wrong. Will next month see the first ever adventure of Spider-Ghost?

Time will tell.