AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #296-297 (1988): 1st Tracer Launcher

Splash page (literally, ’cause it’s wet) pays tribute to the classic Spider-Man No More panel.

It’s not overly obvious, but there’s the trash cans and the rain and the quitting and the “no more!”

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This story starts with Doctor Octopus still in a mental hospital due to his complete breakdown the last time he faced Spider-Man, but his disturbed dreams telepathically summon his indestructible arms, which then break him out of prison. This has been done before–by John Byrne when Reed fought Ock while his wife miscarried.

Spider-Man tracks him down and confronts him, and Ock is still susceptible to extreme mental stress at the mere sight of his foe…

He does snap out of it, though, and the two end up at a stalemate–so at the end of this story, Doc Ock is still at large.

One of the crimes Otto Octavius attempts is an art theft…

Yeah, that’s a reference to Bill Sienkiewicz.

And Spidey has new tech: A tracer launcher.

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