Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this book for me is the same one that would have been so routine only a few years ago. This is not New Marvel in any way. It is classic super-hero stuff, with gaudily costumed super-villains and super-heroes duking it out and another villain scheming to get revenge on the hero. There is pure super-hero joy to be found in these pages, whether it's Spider-Man cracking wise while he's cracking Mysterio's fishbowl helmet or the soap operatic tendencies of the relationship developing between Jeffrey Haight and Dr. Octopus.
Another thing I like is that Haight and Octopus have so much in common, allowing them to share a viewpoint despite their differences. Both of them are completely arrogant and sure of their own superiority, such that when confronted with someone who can obviously beat them, they must invent excuses for their failure. It's entertaining to note that Haight and Octopus hate the same person, even though they don't know it, and both for the same reason: because that person shows their arrogance to be unfounded. There's also a similarity of manic devotion to these ideals, as Haight starts out as a jealous photog but has devolved rather quickly (though believably) into the realm of someone willing to break a master criminal out of jail.
Though the title says Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus, the indicia gets it right in calling this a Doctor Octopus miniseries. Spider-Man is an antagonist, and almost an abstract one, because the story is about power, madness and arrogance, and the lengths that some will go to in order to prove their worth to themselves and others. Instead of having the characters (or worse, a narrator) talking about this kind of thing, though, Vaughan presents a story where we can see the devolution of Haight, how easily he's manipulated by Octavius, and how Octavius can be clever enough to manipulate someone while still being dumb enough to fall prey to Spider-Man's heroic skills every time.
In amongst this exploration of the criminal mind, though, Vaughan does manage to throw in some action. Staz Johnson and Danny Miki really rise to the occasion this issue with a fantastic depiction of the classically ugly costume of Mysterio, an intense depiction of his zombie illusions and a wonderfully energetic fight sequence between Spidey and Mysterio. He also does an excellent job in portraying the malevolent intelligence of Octopus or the loutish outrage that seems to be Haight's defining characteristic.
