Editing Doctor Octopus (section)

===Arachnophobia===
His crowning achievement of evil was the near-fatal beating of the [[Black Cat (Marvel Comics)|Black Cat]] (Spider-Man's then-partner) which led to Spider-Man beating Doctor Octopus to within an inch of his life. The trauma of the beating he received from Spider-Man left Otto Octavius afraid of Spider-Man and spiders in general for years, and he needed to be treated for his acute [[arachnophobia]].<ref>''Web of Spider-Man'' #4-5. Marvel Comics.</ref> Spider-Man was forced to let his nemesis beat him in combat so as to allow Octavius to break free of his fears and recruit him to save [[New York City]] from an exploding nuclear reactor; Octavius had been planning to detonate the reactor to kill Spider-Man indirectly, but after his out-of-control arms beat Spider-Man seemingly senseless, Spider-Man persuaded him to shut down the reactor to ensure that there were witnesses to his 'great triumph'. Octavius decided to let Spider-Man live on the grounds that he would now have to cope with the same humiliation he had endured.<ref>''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #297. Marvel Comics.</ref>