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The Doctor Is In

The episode "Reaction" aired on Spectacular Spider-Man this past Saturday. Here we see timid Otto Octavius make the transition to Dr. Octopus, or Doc Ock as many people call him.

Quick history lesson. Doc Ock first appeared way back in Amazing Spider-Man #3, vol. 1, 1963. The vile doctor has been one of Spidey's most lethal foes for more than 40 years and as I've stated before, could possibly share the number one spot with the Green Goblin as Spidey's greatest adversary.

This episode did not disappointed. Seeing Otto transform from a humble, obedient scientist to a raving megalomaniac was superb. Anyone that thought this version of Otto Octavius wouldn't make a great Doc Ock should be pleasantly surprised. Peter MacNicol puts some serious bass into his voice to make Doc Ock the egotistical, mad scientist we all know and love. The way Ock moved and used his metallic arms was very impressive. I really liked how each arm also functioned as a weapon (OK, more so than the usual grabbing), and I dig the black color of teh arms. All previous animated versions of Ock's tentacles have been gray, but I think the black works pretty well, especially with the brown trench coat.
As one might expect, Spider-Man had his hands full (pun intended) battling Doc Ock. In both encounters, Spidey was getting slapped all over the place while he did his best to avoid those arms. I cringed quiet a few times when Ock was smashing Spidey around like an angry kid throwing a tantrum.

With any great episode of Spectacular, there was a lot of other enjoyable stuff. Peter's interactions with his friends from school was a treat as always. We got more Mary Jane in this episode and just like the party girl she originally was in the comics, she tells Peter that the two of them are just friends, which deals an emotional blow to our hero's heart. Does MJ like Peter? I think so but true to her character in the '60s, she doesn't want to get too close to him or anyone because of her rough family background.

Rather than stay down bout MJ's dismissal, Peter accepted Liz Allen's invite to Conny Island and he ended up having a good time. Ironically, MJ ended up hanging out with Flash Thompson and the four kids ended running into each other. The two seemed to be drifting apart and I guess this was a long time coming, what with Liz developing feelings for Peter in the second episode. Liz and Flash broke up at the episode's end and Peter felt bad because Sally, being the jerk she's always been, blames Peter and of course he feels pretty bummed because of all this.

Will Peter try to get Liz on the rebound? And what about MJ? As for Liz, kinda hard to say, but I'm guessing Peter will give the girl her space. MJ, well in the comics, Peter's tolerance for MJ's flighty party girl behavior was little to none. Ironic that the very thing that drew most guys to MJ, her party girl persona, was the very thing that repelled Peter. As much as she liked Peter and flirted with him (before Gwen died), he was very much annoyed with this aspect of her character. What am I trying to say? As hot as MJ is she just isn't the serious type of girl (at least not yet) and Peter probably knows he could end up getting hurt if he even attempted a relationship with her. For now, they'll most likely stay friends. If Peter gets to dating Gwen (which I believe will happen eventually) we could see a look of jealousy on MJ's face.

Comments

Sol (Frederick) Badguy said…
This episode definately says and confirms one thing about young Harry Osbourn:
Yeah, he sure inserts this fluid in his system because of his drug abuse.
May 6, 2008 at 1:18 AM
Tommy said…
Even though he's a total douche at this point in history, I did like Flash trying to tackle Doc Ock to help out Spidey.

Sure, it's incredibly dumb, but it brings to mind the old irony of him loving Spider-Man, but torturing Pete during his High School years.


I enjoyed Spidey's banter during his fight with Ock, just as much as I loved Ock's transition.
May 6, 2008 at 2:40 PM
Reggie White Jr. said…
The banter in this ep was great!

Ock: Do you EVER shut up?!
Spidey: Sorry, no. My fans expect a certain amount of quippage in every battle.
May 6, 2008 at 6:04 PM
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