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When two known geniuses are put head to head, fans want to know what the outcome might be. In Superior Spider-Man Team-Up issue 11, we get to see this. Notoriously insane Green Goblin teams up with Doctor Octopus in order to get rid of Spider-Man once and for all, but unfortunately one of them is betrayed and things go sour. This leads to Doctor Octopus vs Green Goblin, a comic fan’s fantasy come true.
It starts with Doc Oc being invited by Norman Osborn (Green Goblin) to his home. Osborn had been assumed to be dead, so Octavius is immediately defensive, and rightfully so. Osborn has guns and cameras pointed at him behind one-way mirrors at all times. When a team-up is suggested, Doc Oc points out that he had tried that sort of thing before with The Sinister Six. After agreeing to work together, they combined their knowledge and love for science into an unexpected friendship. Octavius, in a moment of weakness, tells Osborn that he was once engaged.
Doc Oc tells the story of how he was engaged to a woman named Alice, who was a co-worker at a research center that he worked at. His mother, however, disapproved of him taking care of a woman who was not her. He was forced to call off the engagement to please his mother, which was ironic because his mother found someone for herself and left Octavius in the dust. When Osborn asks why he never looked her up, he responds by saying that he first wants to achieve his goal of being the greatest scientist that ever lived. Osborn is offended that his first priority is not destroying Spider-Man’s soul, which leads to us seeing Doctor Octopus vs Green Goblin. The scuffle settles when Octavius points out that they shouldn’t waste their energy fighting each other when it could be used to hurt Spider-Man instead.
Norman’s insanity goes overboard when he decides to find Octavius’s ex-fiance, run her car off the road, then infect her blood with a deadly virus. He shows Octavius this first-hand as she lies in a hospital bed. Naturally, Octavius loses his mind and tries to kill Osborn. He remembered that Osborn had a chest injury that even injured his heart, and decided to strike the area. He stops the attacks as Alice asks him why he is there. He is unable to say much, but decides to tirelessly find a cure to save Alice, but fails. He decides to attack Osborn again after she dies. Norman hides in his home, watching with cameras and remote-control guns to avoid confrontation.
Superior Spider-Man Team-Up issues 11 and 12 are the closest thing you get for Doctor Octopus vs Green Goblin. The whole thing is a flashback sequence, due to Octavius’ mind being in Spider-Man’s body and having to deal with Green Goblin from a new perspective. (This is the premise of the Superior Spider-Man run.) Waste no time (Affiliate Link) grabbing at least issue 11 to see all the fun.