Spider-Man/Powerpuff Girls: The Eight-Armed Monkey is a 1-hour episode special of the stop motion series Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility. The special revolves around Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus as they end up stranded on the world of the Cartoon Network TV series The Powerpuff Girls. Spider-Man must then team up with the young superheroines to defeat Doctor Octopus, who has teamed up with Mojo Jojo to build a mind control device that would take over the planet.
The special was first conceptualized after the success of Max Carroll's earlier crossover fanfiction A Puff of Responsibility, which saw a retelling of the Spider-Man origin story within the universe of The Powerpuff Girls. Originally planned to be a cross-collaboration between the writers of Power and Responsibility and PPG and RRB Z Unite, the special was altered to feature the original Powerpuff Girls series instead.
Plot[]
Spider-Man is investigating a disturbance at a warehouse at the docks. He enters and witnesses Doctor Octopus activating a door of pure light. Spider-Man interrupts the experiment and battles Doctor Octopus, only to push the both of them into the unstable portal.
In another reality, namely the city of Townsville, two circles of light open up in two different locations, one above the city itself, and the other above the docks. Spider-Man falls out of the one hovering above the city and lands on a rooftop. He then begins swinging across the city when he hears a cry for help. Spider-Man witnesses the Gangreen Gang terrorizing a woman and her daughter. Without hesitation, Spider-Man attacks the Gang and takes them out one by one and leaves them wrapped up for the police in a giant spider web. Spider-Man then begins to stop a series of crimes all across the city.
Meanwhile, Doctor Octopus awakens on a pier after landing from the second portal opened. He steals a trenchcoat and heads into the city. He eventually learns of Mojo Jojo, the alleged "super criminal mind" of Townsville, through a newspaper article. Ock then heads for Mojo's observatory and proposes an alliance with him, which the monkey gladly accepts.
Doctor Octopus and Mojo Jojo then attempt to rob a bank, only to be interrupted by Townsville's resident superheroes, the Powerpuff Girls. However, the girls are quickly defeated by Ock's tentacles. Spider-Man soon arrives and attacks Ock, sending him flying. Spider-Man is soon incapacitated by Mojo Jojo. Doctor Octopus and Mojo Jojo then escape.
The Powerpuff Girls, sans Buttercup due to her fear of spiders, rush to the aid of the wall-crawling hero. Spider-Man then explains how he and Ock originated from another universe. He then goes on to tell of how Ock was building an interdimensional portal, and how he had been the one that had accidentally pushed the two of them into the portal's light. Spider-Man then follows the girls back to their home in the suburbs in order to find a source of respite.
Meanwhile, at the observatory, Doctor Octopus and Mojo Jojo begin construction of Ock's weapon to help them conquer the planet; the Atomic Cylotron, a miniature sun which serves as a more powerful source of nuclear energy. Mojo questions the ethics of making a miniature sun, but Ock tells him that the "sun" would help them in their plan to conquer the Earth.
In the suburbs, Spider-Man is welcomed into the Powerpuff Girls' home by Professor Utonium, their father figure. After explaining the situation to the professor, Professor Utonium equips the heroes with magnetic ray blasters in order to subdue Doc Ock. At the observatory, Ock reveals that he had been developing a new type of power source using Mojo's advanced technology in order to power the mind control device.
Mojo then activates the mind control device, which begins influencing the citizens Townsville to commit crime and evil all over the city. Spider-Man and the Powerpuff Girls intervene and manage to disable the ray by shutting off the city's power supply, therefore reverting the citizens back to normal. Spider-Man and the Powerpuff Girls then finally crash into Mojo's observatory and disable Doctor Octopus' tentacles. The Powerpuff Girls then easily incapacitate Mojo, but Doctor Octopus escapes and takes his Cylotron with him. Spider-Man then chases after.
After arriving at an abandoned warehouse on the waterfront, Ock sets up his machine, only to be attacked by Spider-Man. The two fight, only for the Powerpuff Girls to intervene. Eventually, Spider-Man manages to knock Doctor Octopus into a power grid, which short circuits his tentacles. Spider-Man then manages to rip out the power couplings from the wall in an attempt to shut down the Cylotron. However, to his and the Powerpuff Girls' horror, the machine is still active, and is growing bigger, and will soon consume the entire Earth.
Spider-Man, realizing how grave the situation is, goes over to Octavius and takes off his mask, revealing himself to be Peter Parker. Ock, angered and humiliated, grabs Peter's neck and begins to choke the teenager. However, Peter makes Octavius realize his wrongdoings and Octavius releases him. Octavius then tells Peter and the girls to run just as the Cylotron unleashes energy which opens up a portal back home, taking out the support beams which keep the Cylotron afloat off the water, causing it to sink with him as the descend to the depths of the harbor.
On the surface, Peter thanks the girls for their aid in stopping Ock, and the girls thank him back for helping them stop Mojo. Peter then pulls his mask back on again and swings into the portal just as it closes and returns home.
Trivia[]
- The "Cylotron" that Doctor Octopus creates in the story is directly inspired by his power source machine from Spider-Man 2.
- On that same note, the climactic battle at the warehouse between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus pays homage to Spider-Man 2 as well, as Peter reveals himself as Spider-Man to help Otto Octavius realize that his machine would commit inter-dimensional genocide, thus forcing him to sacrifice himself to destroy it.
Development[]
Immediately after finishing the first 9 chapters of A Puff of Responsibility, Max Carroll dove into ideas for a potential spin-off. One of these ideas was to have the original idea for A Puff of Responsibility, which showcased a Chemical X-created Spider-Man fight off crime in Townsville instead of the Powerpuff Girls, crossover with a fanfiction of the main Powerpuff Girls series, which would have seen the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys working together to fight crime. However, this plot was scrapped due to fears of copyright infringement.
The following idea came from reading the relatively popular PPG and RRB Z Unite series by Nicholas-Cornish on the Powerpuff Girls Fanon Wiki. The story for this idea would eventually evolve into what became the final product. It featured the Spider-Man from Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility accidentally end up on the universe of PPG and RRB Z Unite after failing to stop a plot by Doctor Octopus to take over another universe. The Powerpuff Girls anime element was eventually replaced by the original series, thus leading to the final product.
Sequel[]
Main article: Spider-Man/Powerpuff Girls: The Rise of Demogoblin
Taking place during the series' tenth and eleventh seasons, The Rise of Demogoblin showcases the Powerpuff Girls as they cross over into Spider-Man's universe whilst fighting HIM, who follows. Miles Morales, the current Spider-Man after the death of Peter Parker, eventually encounters and befriends the girls. At the same time, HIM consults Harry Osborn, the second Green Goblin, and convinces a team-up between the two, eventually merging their bodies together in order to create the psychotic Demogoblin, who goes on the offensive against the heroes of both worlds.