Superior Spider-Man #21 Review!

Hello everybody, Donlinedude here and welcome to my review of Superior Spider-Man #21. Okay, I'm a couple issues behind right now, but I'm going to do my level best to get the following two issues out as soon as I can. I apologise for the delay.

Synopsis:

The newly restored Stunner attacks the Daily Bugle, where Joe Robertson is welcoming back Betty Brant to the team, asking where she can find Spider-Man. Unfazed, Robbie responds that "Spidey" will find her thanks to his Spider Bots (which their doing an expose on), which gives Stunner the idea of committing a crime to lure him in.

At Empire State University, Otto is fuming over the fact that Dr. Lamaze could ruin everything he's worked towards. He takes off, leaving behind a bewildered Anna Maria, and suits up, preparing to deal with Lamaze, but is suddenly contacted by one of his Spiderlings, who reports Stunner's rampage, prompting SpOck to intervene.

Elsewhere, at the supposed grave of Otto Octavius, Carlie Cooper stands with flowers, apologising to the dead man she now knows as Peter Parker for not believing him when he told her (back in ASM #700) that he was really Spider-Man in Doc Ock's body. she lays the flowers at the headstone, only for the ground to suddenly give way beneath her. She falls into the grave, but is more shocked to find that it contains no body. She's not given much time to ponder this surprise development however, as a cackling individual arrives and grabs her.

Meanwhile, SpOck is trying to explain his true identity to Stunner, but Angelina refuses to listen, railing against "Spider-Man" for killing Doc Ock, the man that she loved. Being more concerned about Lamaze's plans, Otto subdues her with his new web formula and sends his Spider Bots to track and shut down the virtual reality rig before taking off to deal with "more pressing matters". But Stunner is smarter than Otto gives her credit for, ripping through the webbing before pursuing him.

Otto catches up to Lamaze only to find that Anna Maria has already been trying to convince him otherwise of "Peter's" plagiarism. Touched by her defence of him, Otto is then forced to dodge a bus hurled at him by Stunner, which nearly crushes Anna & Dr. Lamaze if not for Otto holding the bus up with webbing. Stunner then rips Otto's metal arms from his back in disgust, while Lamaze abandons Anna Maria without a second thought. It looks as though Otto is set to have his own Gwen Stacy, but conveniently, the Spider Bots manage to reach Stunner's V.R rig and disable it, allowing Ock to win by the skin of his teeth.

SpOck soon arrives personally at Angelina's hideout, where he pilfers the rig while she is unconscious from neural feedback. When Stunner awakens, she is stunned herself to see Doctor Octopus standing before her, alive and well. Little does she know it's merely a hologram created and controlled by Otto using her V.R rig.

Ock tells her that, while he'll always care for her, he's moved on in the time she was away and found another, leaving Angelina in tears. Otto later visits Lamaze with his holo avatar, lying to his former colleague that Peter Parker was his assistant and came up with many of his greatest inventions. The next day, Lamaze officially retracts his accusations, meaning that "Peter Parker" is now a Doctor.

In the Goblin Underground, Menace brings the Goblin a present or rather a person, Carlie Cooper to be specific. To make matters worse (for Otto anyway) Menace has discovered her former friends journal (In which she's been keeping all her notes on the Superior Spider-Man) and presents it to the Goblin, who immediately delves in for a read...

Thoughts:

In my review of the last issue, I noted how much of the changes to the status quo seemed more like they were made for Peter than Otto, the opposite is true here, though the fact that Peter is now a Doctor would be an interesting thing for him to deal with. Carlie's capture by the Goblin's forces helps to streamline the many plotlines running through the veins of this comic, while simultaneously increasing the Goblin King's power, which makes his eventual confrontation with SpOck all the more promising. I'm also interested to learn what's become of Doc Ock's original body. Perhaps it's some sick joke by the Goblin?

Perhaps the best thing Dan Slott does in this issue is give Otto some more depth. The scenes with Stunner help to show a softer side to Doc Ock, and it's clear that it's difficult for him when he tells Angelina that he's moved on. This doesn't translate to other parts of the issue however. It's a missed opportunity for Otto to become somewhat humbled after Lamaze, a man he saw as a complete idiot, came so close to ruining him. As it stands, Otto seems as indifferent to him as he was before, which feels rather unnatural and rushed.

It's ironic that a D-List villain like Stunner could give "Spider-Man" more grief than the Vulture or the Spider Slayer, but it's appreciated since it shows that Otto isn't as Superior as he makes out. His acquisition of Stunner's hologram projector would certainly be an effective tool for disproving any suspicions about "Spider-Man's" identity, though I doubt it'll be used again with Darkest Hours and Goblin Nation hot on the heels of this issue.

Giuseppi Camuncoli's art quality is very consistent with last issue, with some beautifully framed shots. It's almost eerie seeing Doctor Octopus appear in his original form after all the time he's spent in Spider-Man's body. The shot of Carlie at Peter's grave is also suspiciously reminiscent of the opening panel of Otto in #1.

 

In short, this story arc was enjoyable, but it might not age well given how much it's built upon changes to the status quo...

 Score: 3.5/5.0