First appearance of Doctor Otto Octavius, who has powerful arms fused to his body due to atomic radiation.
The issue starts with Spider-Man wishing for a worthy foe.
And so it makes sense he gets his arch enemy in this issue. (I love those panels, by the way–Ditko does a great job at conveying the sensation of sticking to walls, and how creepy a human spider might be. Such great art!)
Spidey is based in science, but Octavius is a better scientist. Spidey has strength, but Ock’s arms are stronger. One thing Dr. Octopus isn’t good at, though, is knowing which superhero he’s fighting.
In the panel above, he calls Spidey “Super Man.” Makes you wonder what Stan Lee was thinking–maybe going to work for the decent competition? I’m tagging this a publisher cross over, even though it’s a misprint, because it’s funny. But I’m also tagging as a typographical error.
And speaking of typos…
Stan Lee can’t spell mackerel.
Spidey is beat at first.
But he gets back on the horse and wins in the end.
Also in this issue…
…the first spider-signal.
And Human Torch visits Peter Parker’s school.
Peter’s jealous of how people respond to him, since Spider-Man is still viewed as a menace, but jealousy is a frequent companion to love, so I consider this part of their bromantic relationship developing.
It’s also one of the best single-issue stories of all time, according to this objectively accurate list.