Some mad spoilers will be had as the Otto Octavius era begins. It starts pretty much exactly how one would expect. Undoubtedly, this is a whole new Spider-Man. If for nothing other than it's a change from the norm, this first issue is highly entertaining. Its title poses the question: "Hero Or Menace?" and that answer is a ways off. In the meantime, Otto is embracing his new role as the webslinger. Understand that while this Spidey may be more effective (or at least feared by villains), he most likely is not going to be likable.
His first skirmish is with a group of scrubs calling themselves the "New Sinister Six". Naturally, Otto takes offense with this as he was a charter member of the group. He slings headlong into the fray, confident that he can beat down these B listers without much effort. He beats them up, incapacitating the Living Brain. When Speed Demon of all people takes Spidey by surprise, the wallcrawler makes his first real non-Peter Parker move and hightails it out of there. With Spider-Man gone, Boomerang sets his sights on a an advancing police officer. Otto instinctively gets between the cop and the "razorang", absorbing the punishment. Out of anger, he scratches Boomerang across the chest, drawing blood. He brings the downed Living Brain back to Horizon Labs as the now Sinister Five escape with their stolen item.
We then see Otto at work in the lab, where he is at his best. While he makes advances for the greater good there, he also uses the lab's resources for his own war on crime. His treatment of his co-workers is priceless. His inner turmoil is obvious when he realizes that none of his present and future accomplishments will be attributed to Otto Octavius. He tries to convince himself that living is a fair trade. At dinner with Mary Jane, he seems to ignore her entirely aside from "the view". He is, however, listening to the Sinister Five through nano tracers that he implanted with the scratch to Boomerang.
The book's best moment comes as we see Otto's ultimate plan to take the group down unfold. His elaborate setups, excessive force, and media savvy are blended together to a fine end. Naysayers of the death of Peter Parker may have a bit to chirp about as the story closes when Spidey holds back from killing Boomerang. Hopefully, a potential return of Parker is a long way away because this version of Spider-Man is very enjoyable and his death would mean even less than Captain America's if this didn't run its course.
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