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WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #67 by Nick Spencer, Marcelo Ferreira, Carlos Gomez, Mark Bagley, Wayne Faucher, Morry Hollowell, Andrew Crossley & Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
One of Spider-Man’s most controversial storylines is “One More Day,” which saw Peter Parker and Mary Jane trade their marriage to Mephisto in exchange for the life of Aunt May, a decision that still holds great consequence in their lives. Yet this deal still wasn’t as harmful as the one made by his nemesis, Doctor Octopus, years later.
Octavius made his deal with Mephisto in 2019’s Superior Spider-Man #11, by Christos Gage and Mike Hawthorne. At the time, Otto was going by the name Elliot Tolliver, inhabiting a clone body and living in San Francisco. Things took a turn for the worse when the Spider-Man of Earth-44145, who was an alternate version of Norman Osborn, began to enact a scheme for revenge against Octavius.
“Spider-Norman” went after Otto’s friends and loved ones, leaving the Superior Spider-Man very few options to stop him. Moreover, Spider-Norman had leaked Otto’s true identity to the public and kidnapped an innocent child, threatening to kill him. Octavius was put in a helpless position, leading to him earning a consultation with Mephisto.
When Mephisto approached Otto, he offered to return Octavius to his old body, free of any physical or mental disease. Of course, this would also mean that Otto would also lose any traces of Peter Parker’s mind, which had helped him become a hero in the first place. Regardless of the cost, Octavius made the deal, so he could save the life of a child.
Anna Maria Marconi, Otto’s closest confidant, begged him not to take the deal, appealing to the good man he’d become and the progress he’d made. She had a point, considering Otto gave up his role as a hero, throwing away years of progress only to become a villain once more.
Otto didn’t just lose his life as a superhero, either. On a personal level, Doctor Octopus had lost the life of Elliot Tolliver. With this life gone, Otto lost his job at Horizon University, not to mention a romantic relationship with Emma Hernandez. By the time Otto became Doctor Octopus again, he felt no attachment to Elliot Tolliver’s loved ones, coldly leaving everyone he had cared for behind.
Since then, however, it seems that Doctor Octopus has felt this loss, as a sort of gaping void. In Amazing Spider-Man #64, by Nick Spencer, Federico Vicentini and Mark Bagley, Otto was recruited by Kindred to reform the Sinister Six. In return, Kindred promised Otto his old life and memories as the Superior Spider-Man. It seems that Otto can feel the absence of this life, working to regain all of the progress he’d made previously.
It’s this loss of progress and growth that makes Doctor Octopus’ deal with Mephisto even worse than Spider-Man’s, even though he made the deal for an arguably more noble purpose than Peter. Spider-Man was focused on saving his dying aunt, which wasn’t quite as heroic as Otto’s motivation.
Otto wanted to save a young child and stop a murderous supervillain from another dimension. Even though there was a more immediate reason for his deal, he still lost a lot more than Spider-Man did. Peter may have lost his marriage, but he also saved the life of his aunt and restored his secret identity. Peter and Mary Jane have also recently renewed their relationship together.
By losing his entire life as Elliot Tolliver and the Superior Spider-Man, Otto Octavius wiped out all of the personal progress he’d made over the years. In return, Otto was only able to stop one villain, which isn’t a very fair trade. Returning to his villainous roots, Doctor Octopus lost a life that he has proven desperate to regain.
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