Appearing in "Unmasked By Doctor Octopus!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- ⏴ Dr. Bromwell ⏵
- Peter Parker's High School classmates
- NYPD Officers
- Betty Brant's replacement
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- Spider-Man's Suit and Web-Shooters
- Spider-Man's Utility Belt
- Spider-Man's Spider-Signal
- Doctor Octopus' Tentacles
- Daily Bugle Newspaper
Synopsis for "Unmasked By Doctor Octopus!"
Betty Brant has returned to New York and taken back her secretary job at the Daily Bugle. Dr. Octopus has also returned to New York, plotting to get revenge on Spider-Man, and decides to use Betty as bait. Kidnapping Betty from the Bugle building, he tells Jameson to put a call out to Spider-Man to meet him at a nearby amusement park.
With his spider-powers seemingly gone because he's come down with a cold, Peter decides that he has no choice but to save Betty as he is, and so he accepts the challenge. When he tells Jameson (pretending that he just heard it, so his identity isn't compromised), Jameson reports the story himself.
When Spider-Man arrives to battle Dr. Octopus, all his powers have completely faded. Naturally, the powerless Spider-Man proves to be no match for Dr. Octopus. Dr. Octopus publicly unmasks Spider-Man. Octopus theorizes that Parker was simply posing as Spider-Man to save his girlfriend, because Spider-Man would put up a better fight. He flees the scene to find some other way to get the "real" Spider-Man's attention.
Everyone gives Peter grief for the danger he put himself in; however, Liz Allan finds the whole episode romantic, and her opinion of Peter changes and she realizes that she's attracted to him. The next day, Peter finds that the cold has passed and as a result, his powers are back. When Dr. Octopus releases animals from the zoo, Peter goes into action as Spider-Man. He rounds up all the animals, and gets into a fight with Dr. Octopus across the city.
Their fight takes them to an artist's loft, where they inadvertently start a fire; when the flames grow too big, Spider-Man flees and Dr. Octopus is knocked out by inhaling too much smoke. The fire is put out, and Octopus is turned over to the police. Later, Liz Allan asks Peter out on a date. Peter rejects her date, telling her that he's going on a better one with Betty Brant. He tells Liz to go out with Flash Thompson, because they deserve each other.
Notes
Continuity Notes[]
- Doctor Octopus recalls how Spider-Man rescued Betty Brant in the past. He is referring to the events of last issue.
- The unmasking of Peter Parker is revisited in a flashback in Amazing Spider-Man #87 and Sensational Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #28.
- On page 10, when Liz stands up for Peter, he thinks that she "never even knew [he] was alive". However, she had previously accepted to go in a date with him in Amazing Spider-Man #4, which Peter cancelled in order to go capture the Sandman.
- References pertaining to the type of camera that Peter Parker uses should be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
Chronology Notes[]
Events occur behind the scenes in this story that affect the chronology of the following characters:
Spider-Man:
- ⏴ Page 1-2 ⏵ - Peter Parker returns to New York after failing to capture Doctor Octopus in Philidelphia.
- ⏴ Page 3-22 ⏵ - Spider-Man catches up to Doctor Octopus, defeats him.
J. Jonah Jameson:
- ⏴ Page 1-2 ⏵ - Jameson is relieved to have Betty Brant back working for him.
- ⏴ Page 3-21 ⏵ - Jameson observes Spider-Man's battle with Doctor Octopus.
Betty Brant:
- ⏴ Page 1-2 ⏵ - Betty returns to her job at the Daily Bugle.
- ⏴ Page 3-21 ⏵ - Betty is captured by Doctor Octopus, rescued by Spider-Man.
Publication Notes[]
- Credits:
- Written in the white heat of inspiration by: Stan Lee
- Drawn in a wild frenzy of enthusiasm by: Steve Ditko
- Lettered in a comfortable room by: Art Simek
Trivia
- On Page 14, Panel 5, in an effort to attract Spider-Man, Dr. Octopus tips over a sign advertising Leedit, Inc. This is an obvious nod to Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (the KO still sounds like CO, and if you're referring to companies, a synonym for CO is Inc.).
