With Spider-Man having been knocked unconscious by
Aunt May last issue, he’s unable to stop Hammerhead from storming Doctor
Octopus’s fortress! Hammerhead breaks down the front door and Doc Ock
retaliates, locking himself in a control room and setting his hideout’s defenses upon Hammerhead and his goons! Firing lasers from the walls, Doc Ock commands
his own men to attack, ending up in shootout with Hammerhead’s guys, while
Hammerhead tries to ram his way into the control room! Elsewhere, Spider-Man
starts to regain consciousness, causing Aunt May to scurry off to phone the
police. Still not knowing what hit him, Spidey struggles to his feet and heads
in the direction of the shooting to snag some photos. Doc Ock spies Spidey on
his viewscreens, becoming aware of his presence, just as Hammerhead manages to
break the door down. Doc Ock keeps Hammerhead off his feet, but the arrival of
some of Hammerhead’s guys causes Doc Ock to flee the control room.
Ock runs down a secret tunnel, just on the other side
of the wall Spidey is crawling on, causing his spider-sense to go crazy! The
sensation quickly fades as Doctor Octopus exits the tunnel to find Aunt May
attempting to phone the police. Octavius assures her that everything was a
misunderstanding and tells her there’s nothing to worry about as he subtly uses
a tentacle to disconnect the phone line. Meanwhile, Gwen heads to the Daily
Bugle to find Peter, only to be told he’s not there. Betty and Ned tell Gwen
what they were trying to tell Peter about how Aunt May took a job from an
employment agency at a particular address. Robbie offers to drive them there,
feeling that there could be a story here! Back at Ock’s lair, Spidey sets up
his camera and swings through the throng of henchmen on both sides. He takes
out a couple of Ock’s guys before hitting the lights in order to crawl around
undetected.
Spidey then senses someone on the other side of the
wall he’s on and punches straight through it to grab Hammerhead! Hammerhead
headbutts Spidey in the gut, causing his ulcer to flare up, as he escapes the
lair with something he snagged from Ock’s control room! Hammerhead’s car leaves
from one entrance just as Robbie and company pull up at another, just missing
each other! They hear everything that’s going down inside and decide to call
the police themselves. Inside, Spidey pulls himself together when his spider-sense
goes off again just before Doc Ock rounds the corner with Aunt May. Doc Ock
attempts to “defend” May from Spider-Man, pinning him against the wall. Hearing
Ock declare his love for May causes Spider-Man to snap. Furious at Ock for
taking advantage of a poor old woman, Spidey slams him against the wall and
beats him mercilessly. In the confusion, Aunt May picks up Hammerhead’s
discarded gun and threatens to shoot Spidey if he doesn’t stop!
Spidey’s at a complete loss, when Aunt May is startled
by the arriving police sirens, and ends up firing over his head, allowing him
to escape out the window! Outside, Aunt May gets reunited with Gwen and the
others, to Gwen’s relief especially. While Doc Ock is being led away by the
police, he asks to speak with May for a moment, while the others wonder what he
could be talking to her about. Peter uses the basement of the lair to change
back to his clothes and sneaks out in order to reunite with Aunt May himself.
Peter expresses his joy that Aunt May is okay, when she drops a royal bombshell
on him. Octavius asked her to watch over his house while he’s away, and
thinking him a nice, innocent man, she’s decided to accept! She tells Peter
that he doesn’t need her anymore, but that Doctor Octavius does, leaving Peter
and everyone else absolutely stunned! Finally, at a New Jersey airport,
Hammerhead gets ready to take off, with big plans to use what he found at Ock’s
lair against him when the time is right!
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