Amazing Spider-Man #53

Issue Details

Synopsis

ENTER: DR. OCTOPUS Spider-Man reads the latest front page story of the Daily Bugle while hanging out front of the building. He's not surprised to see that Jameson has painted himself the hero and Spider-Man a menace following the death of Frederick Foswell at the hands of the Kingpin. Noticing Spider-Man is hanging outside his office window, Jameson shouts at the hero for distracting his employees. The wall-crawler responds by mocking Jonah's newspaper and tossing his copy into the irate publisher's face. Realizing that he is running late for classes, Spider-Man rushes to Empire State University. His arrival is spotted by Gwen Stacy and Flash Thompson, the latter is excited to see his long time hero. They are soon joined by Harry Osborn, who asks them if they have seen Peter Parker recently, as he is fed up of his roommate is never around to take his messages. As Harry grumbles about being Peter's personal secretary, Spider-Man slips into the empty gymnasium to change back into his civilian identity. He is almost caught in the act by Professor Miles Warren. To cover up his presence in the gym, Peter quickly scales up one of the ropes while he tucks the rest of his costume away under his clothing. Climbing down to meet Warren, he learns that his professor wishes to invite Peter and a friend to check out the latest science exposition. Peter accepts the offer and tells Miles that he will gladly go.  Outside of the gym, Peter runs into Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn. Harry snubs Peter and Gwen explains that Harry is upset with Peter's constant comings and goings. When Peter asks if Gwen wants to go to the science expo, she happily accepts. After class, the pair go to meet with Professor Warren, when they bump into Harry and Flash. Flash takes issue with a "civilian" like Peter Parker taking Gwen out for the evening, and this leads to a heated exchange between the two before Gwen breaks it up. Soon, they are on their way with Professor Warren to the exposition. On the way, they talk about the military's new missile "nullifier" device which will be on display. When they arrive, they discover that security is tight in order to prevent the nullifier from getting into the wrong hands. Peter soon becomes distracted when his spider-sense begins going off, warning him that there is danger present, but he can't figure out where it is coming from.   Later during the demonstration of the nullifier's powers, Peter discovers the danger when Doctor Octopus reveals himself as being one of the spectators in the crowd. Making his presence known, Doc Ock then fights his way through security to get possession of the nullifier. As people flee in panic, Peter manages to slip away so he can change into Spider-Man. Meanwhile, the military police on site try to incapacitate Doctor Octopus with tear gas, but the villain begins whipping his mechanical arms around with enough force to blow the gas back in the faces of the soldiers. That's when Spider-Man arrives on the scene to try and stop Octopus. The villain then attempts to flee out the side of the building, but Spider-Man follows suit. On the roof, Spider-Man sprays webbing onto Doc's goggles, temporarily blinding him. In order to stop Spider-Man, Octavius threatens to drop the nullifier onto the crowd below. Realizing he will have to let his enemy go, Spider-Man tags Otto with a Spider-Tracer before leaping down to stop the falling nullifier from landing on anyone. As expected, Doctor Octopus makes his getaway.   As the villain flees, he recounts his last battle with Spider-Man where they both found themselves trapped in an undersea hideout that was rapidly flooding with water. With Spider-Man pinned under tons of rubble, Doctor Octopus managed to escape by using his mechanical arms to keep him above water until he was able to procure diving gear and swim the rest of the way to freedom without drowning. Back at his new hideout, Otto discovers the Spider-Tracer and decides to set a suitable trap for his foe. Back at the exposition, Peter has changed out of his costume and rejoins Gwen and Professor Warren. He tells them that he was trying to find a camera to take photos of the situation for the Daily Bugle and is surprised when Gwen hugs him upon seeing that he is okay. Later, Professor Warren drops Peter and Gwen at the Coffee Bean to meet with the others. As Gwen exchanges pleasantries with Flash, and Mary Jane, Peter wonders why Harry is scowling at him. Before he can find out, Aunt May and Anna Watson arrive to tell Peter that they will be renting out a room so they can make extra money. Peter thinks it is a great idea, but warns his aunt to be careful about who she rents it out to. Peter decides to use this as an opportunity to track down Oct Ock, and tells his friends that he is going to walk his Aunt and Anna back home.   By this time, Doctor Octopus has rigged up a dummy of himself to lure Spider-Man into a trap. Sure enough, when the web-slinger tracks his Spider-Tracer to the Doctor's hideout he is lured right to the location of the trap. However, Spidey's spider-sense warns him of trouble, and suspecting a trap, he tosses a web ball at the dummy of Doctor Octopus, setting off the explosives that it was rigged with. Watching the building explode from his hideout, Doctor Octopus assumes that Spider-Man has been destroyed. Needing to lay low, Doctor Octopus fades into the night to search for a place of lodging, unaware that Spider-Man is still alive. Meanwhile, the wall-crawler vows to track down Doctor Octopus no matter what, unaware that his foe is just now meeting with his Aunt May in order to rent out the room that she put out an advertisement for.