Synopsis:
The footage is viewed live by people all over New York, including Doc SpOck, who creeps out "his" co-workers at Horizon Labs with his laughter. He then receives a message for Spider-Man, which turns out to be a summons to the mayors office. Jameson wants "Spider-Man" to apprehend Jester & Screwball for humiliating him. SpOck initially refuses, but changes his mind aftr Jameson inadvertently reminds him of the pranks he and Jameson have suffered at the hands of Spider-Man. SpOck remotely programs his network of Spider-Bots to locate the two criminals, then leaves with Jameson's blessing.
In Avengers Tower, Captain America is discussing Spider-Man's change in behaviour with Wolverine, Thor, Black Widow & Spider-Woman, noting that Spider-Man recently killed the criminal Massacre. Thor mentions his recent encounter with SpOck (referencing Avenging #18), how he was erratic and arrogant and that one needs steadfast allies on the field of battle. Wolverine disagrees however, saying they all have blood on their hands and they shouldn't desert Spidey when he needs them most. He askes that they wait and see where this goes next.Elsewhere, Doc SpOck arrives ahead of schedule for his meeting with his physics tutor, Anna Maria Marconi. As she arrives, a pair of guys make fun of her, which angers SpOck. This stirs a memory of him being bullied as a child, which is also viewed by Peter Parker, who is snooping around trying to find a way of regaining control of his body. After a conversation with Anna about the bullies, she tells "Peter" that the real reason she called him was to give him a second chance to make a first impression with the Dr. Don "The Schnoz" Lemaze (who Otto resents due to them being classmates together).
Meanwhile, Screwball & Jester land on a rooftop. Screwball tells Jester that the Jameson video is their best yet. Hundreds of people are linking to Screwball.com, completely unaware that Screwball's programs are grabbing all their credit card info and passwords. The pair don't notice that a Spider-Bot has caught sight of them. The little robot transmits it's info back to Otto, who instantly leaves, once again infuriating Dr Lemaze. As he changes into his costume, Otto notices the two boys who teased Anna earlier. He decides that he has time for one more thing.
SpOck arrives to attack Screwball & Jester, who are just at that moment deciding who to pull their last "Jest" of the day on. Screwball activates her helmet-mounted camera, broadcasting the fight live. SpOck behaves aggressively during the fight, punching Screwball in the chest. When he becomes flustered and attempts to apologise, Jester takes the opportunity to slingshot a projectile at SpOck, hitting him in the groin. Screwball then pelts Otto with paintballs, obscuring his vision and forcing him to rip off his eyepieces.As all this is going on, Anna is trying to call Peter, wondering where the hell he's got to. She then notices a crowd around the car of one of the boys that teased her earlier. It's completely totaled! Anna realises the boys are in the boot of the car. She frantically calls 911, wondering who would do something like this? (I think we all have an inkling who did it.)
Filled with rage at the humiliation, SpOck viciously attacks Screwball & Jester, which is witnessed by everyone watching the video, which includes Jonah, MJ & the Avengers. Wolverine agrees with Cap, they need to bring Spider-Man in. All this causes Peter to surface from Ock's memories, manifesting in "ghost" form. He is greeted by a horrifying sight. Jester & Screwball lying bloodied on the floor, with a bloodstained SpOck standing over them. Peter cries in anguish at Otto's actions. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?
Thoughts:
So far, this is the strongest issue of Superior with regards to the writing. Dan Slott handles the scene with the Avengers well, wisely tying things together with Chris Yost's work on Avenging, which I was really hoping he'd do given how consistently strong that series has been. I'm actually okay with Wolverine sticking up for "Spidey" (despite their brawl in Avenging #16), it showcases how he really has respect for Peter deep down, though he rarely shows it. The biggest flaw is "Spider-Man" himself. Otto isn't as interesting here as he is in Avenging Spider-Man, which is spectacularly ironic given this is the main Spider-Man title. Instead, he's a villian pretending to be hero, rather than one who is trying to be a hero, and that's quite disapointing. Screwball & Jester add a lot of humour to this issue, making it feel more like an issue of Amazing (and that's definitely a good thing). What made their fight with SpOck so interesting to me was how Otto handled it. The last time I saw Screwball (during "Who Was Ben Reilly?"), Peter defeated her instantly. Otto actually prolongs the fight with his over-aggressive attitude, which I felt to be a nice touch, as it actually shows that Otto isn't as Superior a Spider-Man as he thinks. Peter certainly wouldn't have been hit in the balls by Jester, though I'm by no means complaining about that.
Unfortunately, it's Humberto Ramos's turn to provide the artwork. Now I'm not saying that Ramos is a bad artist, not at all. He paces the action well and the angles look great, there are some shots that actually look really good. I just don't think Ramos is the right pick for a Spider-Man title. His style is hyperkinetic and borders on cartoony (again, that's not entirely a bad thing). I still think he'd be better suited to Deadpool.
While my opinions over this are mixed, I enjoyed this issue more than the others. Hopefully Slott can deliver next issue. I'm certainly interested to see what happens when SpOck is confronted by the Avengers...
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