Superior Spider-Man

[Will E Worm]

OP/ED: Is This Where SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN Is REALLY Going?

Judging by the reaction online over the last month or so, it would appear that there are many people who believe, thanks to the events that took place in "Suicide Run," the final arc of Amazing Spider-Man, that Dan Slott should be ranked amongst Spider-Man's greatest villains. After all, isn't he the man responsible for doing what everyone from the Alistair Smythe through Doctor Doom could never manage: The destruction of Peter Parker? But last week's one-two punch of Superior Spider-Man #1 and the teaser image that promises that Spider-Man is going to be "Fired" this April has me wondering whether Slott is less Norman Osborn and more Mysterio in this whole scenario... and whether the whole thing is a grand misdirection, distracting us from something else altogether.

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For years, we've heard about the idea of "putting the genie back in the bottle" for Spider-Man; it was assumed that that referred to the undoing of Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane back in the 2007 "One More Day" storyline, but that is far from the only way in which everyone's favorite friendly neighborhood wall-crawler has strayed from his classic comic book roots. As Dan Slott pointed out recently, "for years, thanks to J. Jonah Jameson, everyone thought Spider-Man was a menace and the readers knew the whole story. The readers knew this was a good guy, this was a hero who's not getting any breaks. They were rooting for him."

That's really not been the case for some time, however; Spider-Man has been a member of the New Avengers for almost eight years now, and in that time has worked with the team to save the world countless times. He's also served as part of the Future Foundation during that time, and thanks to Slott's own solo run on Amazing Spider-Man starting with "Big Time," he's gotten more and more respect from the world at large and his peers in particular over the last few years. And that just seems... weird. Whatever happened to the hard-luck hero? Everything just kept going right for this Spider-Man!

Of course, that may have been the point all along. Because now, the Spider-Man that Otto Octavius has inherited has it all... Respect, a super-science job and the love of a good woman. Just in time to ruin Spider-Man's reputation all over again. Oh, he won't mean to do it - He considers himself a superior Spider-Man, after all - but that lack of humility will doubtlessly be part of his downfall; even with Peter Parker's memories, he hasn't learned the kindness and self-doubt that is essential to being a hero, and he doesn't quite understand that whole thing about great power and great responsibility yet. Look at his behavior in Superior Spider-Man #1: There's little restraint, and little self-sacrifice, in his actions. No wonder that we're being teased with the prospect of the Avengers firing him come April, and don't be too surprised if we see "Peter Parker" losing his job at Horizon as well, considering the way he acts towards Grady and Max in SSM #1.

And take that idea and look further: We've already seen that this Spider-Man is far more violent and less self-controlled than Peter: How long before the public realizes that he's going too far in beating up the bad guys, and starts thinking of him as a bad guy himself? The titling of the first arc of the series as "Hero or Menace" is more than just a smart callback to the days of Spider-Yore: It's a sign of the uncertainty the public will feel about the new Spider-Man in days and weeks to come, as they realize that this really isn't the same guy they used to know. Otto Spidey may have the best of intentions to be a super-hero, but before too long, the world will start to consider him a menace all over again...

...Which, I suspect, is when the Peter Parker we know and love will return. We all know that he'll be back at some point, despite the protestations of Slott and editor Steve Wacker that this is the status quo from now on - Remember when we were similarly promised that Bucky was definitely dead during Fear Itself? - and this would be the perfect time to bring him back: With his reputation in tatters, the world against him and his friends unsure whether or not they can believe anything that he says. In other words, the classic Spider-Man set-up that Slott described above.

Instead of the brain swap and Otto Spidey being permanent, what if it's the middle of a long storyline that sees Spider-Man get everything he's ever wanted, only to lose everything due to circumstances outside his control? I have no way of knowing for sure if this is what's actually planned, or merely my own fevered imagination at work, but think about it: It's a wonderful way of rebooting the character back to his classic loser status without making a big deal out of it, another genie going back in another bottle in such a way that's far more subtle than the devil stealing a marriage. And, in its own way, a story that will demonstrate what is great about Peter Parker, and what makes him the best hero that he could possibly be: Continuing the good fight, without reward, without recognition, despite it ruining his life, just because he knows that it's the right thing to do. In other words, showing very clearly why Peter Parker will always be the superior Spider-Man.

 

[Will E Worm]

Best Shots Advance Review: SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1

Superior Spider-Man #1
Written by Dan Slott
Art by Ryan Stegman and Edgar Delgado
Lettering by Chris Eliopoulos
Published by Marvel Comics
Review by David Pepose
'Rama Rating: 7 out of 10

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A scientist with the proportionate strength of a spider. A crime in pursuit. A man shackled to a code of great power... and great responsibility.

But this is not Peter Parker behind the mask. And in certain ways, Superior Spider-Man isn't quite the same without him. As Otto Octavius reigns supreme in the body of his greatest foe, Dan Slott and Ryan Stegman speedily set up the new status quo rather than reinvent the wheel.

For action junkies, this is a good thing. The Superior Spider-Man cuts to the quick, pitting Otto against a very interesting group of supervillains — a new version of his old team, the Sinister Six. Otto's disdain for these usurpers is the hint of black comedy to this opening issue, which otherwise serves as basic setup to this supervillain's new life. Those who already knew Spidey's current status quo might just feel a bit uncomfortable with Otto's over-the-top dialogue in front of his hapless loved ones — well, uncomfortable with a chuckle at 20something Peter calling someone "dolt!" — but for new readers, it's about as accessible as it gets. The action also winds up adding some tension to the story, and while some of Otto's tactics reek of writer fiat, there are some — like his spin on the Spider-Tracer — that are pretty cool.

That said, the downside for it being nuSpidey 101 is, well... it's also a little basic. That's to be expected, of course, as Otto is just beginning to stretch his legs as the not-so-Friendly Neighborhood Wallcrawler, but Slott's run has always been very character-driven, breaking Peter Parker down to his basic elements and spinning off stories based on that. The new Hobgoblin, as an example, was a dark mirror image of Peter from the very beginning — a smart take to revitalize a supervillain. Otto doesn't quite have that brand-new spin to him just yet, so this comic comes off as very plot-driven. What's the key to Otto being a villain we both love to hate and hate to love? That's the missing ingredient to this book.

Well, the other one being the right inker. Artist Ryan Stegman is, in a lot of ways, a nice extension from Humberto Ramos, in the fact that his characters come off as cartoony and kinetic. But at the same time, they do also come off a bit sketchy, as the credits show he does his own inking, with Edgar Delgado on colors. Stegman's sharper lines remind me just a little bit of Chris Bachalo's, but sometimes that winds up doing more harm than good — a scene change to Horizon Labs was particularly jarring for me, as the building looked so scratchy and derelict that I thought it was an abandoned warehouse. But Stegman's take on Spidey himself looks nice, especially that splash page of him zooming into action — this is a sharper Spidey, a deadlier Spidey, one that looks like he could really break you.

Those railing against the new status quo will likely find something or another to be happy about with this all-new era of Spider-Man, as Otto struts his stuff on his official first day of the job. This self-contained opener does require preexisting faith to really get into, as this new Spider-Man is as smug and abrasive as it gets — but seeing the challenges he has ahead of him give me some hope. The Superior Spider-Man still has plenty of room to grow before he reaches his predecessor's boots, but Slott and Stegman have nicely set up the stage for this bad guy to have his own hero's journey.

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