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

Superior Spider-Man #20 Review!

Hello everybody, Donlinedude here and welcome to my review of Superior Spider-Man #20. Once again I'm really sorry for the delay.

Synopsis:

The issue flashes back to the time of Peter Parker's death in #700 of Amazing Spider-Man (like we really need to relieve that all over again). Across town from Avengers Tower, at the hospital, Doctor Mondrian and his team are paged to the coma room, as one of the patients is showing increased brain activity. As they cart this mystery patient away for surgery, they pass Julie Carpenter, aka Madame Web, who wakes from her own coma screaming psychically that "the web of life is coming undone" and soon "all the spiders will die. The surgery is a success and the mystery patient revives only to hear that "Doctor Octopus" has just died, which enrages them.

We then cut to present day in Midtown Manhattan, where Otto Octavius is on his way to a date with Anna Maria Marconi. His conversation with her is interrupted by a Spider-Bot reporting a robbery in progress, which Otto heads towards. The robber turns out to be Felica Hardy, aka the Black Cat, who greets Otto in a flirtatious manner as he approaches her. "Spidey" responds by punching her in the face (WTH!!), which knocks out one of her teeth. Otto then fights and quickly defeats the bewildered Cat, leaving her webbed up for the police and utterly fuming, swearing that she'll never forget this.

Otto's date with Anna Maria involves a picnic on a web strung over a couple of rooftops. Otto answers Anna Maria's concerns about it's longevity with the revelation that he's improved on Peter's web-fluid (well that's certainly going to have a lasting impact). The new formula now stays up indefinitely, until Otto activates a dissolving agent. He also reveals that he's applying for a business loan to start his new company, Parker Industries (kind of ripping off Tony Stark there, aren't we Otto?), and invites Anna Maria to be a part of it. She accepts.

The next morning, Aunt May and Jay Jameson talk at the hospital about "Peter's" plans, which their both investing in. A large, hooded figure (the mystery coma patient from before) then emerges from the therapists office with Sha Shen, commenting that they're back on their feet now before leaving. We then cut to Otto signing the paperwork for his new endeavour along with May, Jay and Sajani Jaffrey, who'll function as his vice president.

Meanwhile, Carlie Cooper is talking to Yuri Watanabe at her apartment, saying she now has enough evidence to take to the Avengers. As Yuri leaves, Carlie calls Mary Jane Watson, warning her to stay away from Peter and to keep May and the others away too. MJ however, is otherwise occupied, she's arrived at the local firehouse, fully glammed up, to ask out firefighter Pedro Olivera (the one who saved her from the fire at the club). Like Black Cat, she doesn't get the welcome she was expecting, instead being pounced upon by Pedro's dog, Jake, but he offers to make it up to her with a coffee, asking that she call him Ollie.

Elsewhere, "Peter" presents his doctoral thesis to the board at Empire State University. It looks as though he has it in the bag, but then none other than Dr. Don "the Shnoz" Lamaze accuses him of "stealing" Otto Octavius' life's work (how deliciously ironic), dismissing everything as plagiarism. He vows to see "Parker" expelled and made the laughing stock of the entire scientific community...unless of course a certain web-head gets involved?

At Avenue B, the mystery coma patient enters an abandoned building, the subsequent scanning revealing her as Angelica Brancale, the former lover of Doctor Octopus. She activates a back-up system of her holographic avatar, swearing vengeance on the "Superior Spider-Man" in the name of Otto Octavius (Irony x2) as Stunner...

Thoughts:

Dan Slott has been teasing for a while now that the events in this issue would have lasting ramifications in the Spidey-Verse, and while I don't think they were all exactly as earth-shatteringly "shocking" as those seen in the previous issue, there's still a lot of very interesting developments and definitely a couple of surprises.

First off, SpOck punching poor Black Cat in the face. That certainly threw me for a loop. I've always liked the character of Felicia Hardy (in fact when I was first introduced to her via the 90's Spidey animated series, I actually wanted Peter to end up with her rather than MJ) and since she's on the cover for this issue I expected much of the issue to focus around the dynamic with Otto & Felicia, so it was a real surprise that this meeting was ended so abruptly and violently, but it was also a good use of misdirection and Slott looks to be taking the Spider-Man/Black Cat relationship in a different direction for when Peter returns (let's face it, we all know it's going to happen).

The concept of Otto forming his own business as Peter Parker was also unexpected, though I doubt it'll come to fruition and even if it does, it will likely be short lived. The scene with Dr. Lamaze brings a fascinating quandary to the table. While it was a very satisfying comeuppance for Otto (given how much he looked down on Lamaze), it could also mean the end for Peter's scientific career if Otto doesn't stop him, but taking that form of action is morally wrong.

Carlie Cooper's investigation into Otto's activities garnered a good piece of evidence last issue and I'm pleased that she's planning on taking this to the Avengers, though it's hard to shake the worry that Slott will cop out with this particular subplot. The reintroduction of Stunner isn't a surprise given the solicitations for the following issue, but I'm interested to see Otto's reaction to his former lover's return, especially since he appears to have moved on. Talking of moving on, Mary Jane's budding relationship with "Ollie", while a very funny scene, is also a little sad since it definitely has legs and would be a legitimate way of keeping Peter & Mary Jane apart even if she were to discover that Doc Ock had taken over his body. I know I keep talking about Peter's return, but it very much seems that Slott is setting up some elements that would affect Peter more than Otto.

Giuseppe Camuncoli provides plenty of polished, eye-catching pages in this issue. Black Cat in particular looks terrific considering her limited panel time. Slott's writing definitely seems to have matured through the course of the series. Here's hoping that he can keep it to this standard with the following issues...

Score: 4.0/5.0 

Superior Spider-Man #19 Review!

Hello everybody, Donlinedude here and welcome to my review of Superior Spider-Man #19, the conclusion of the "Necessary Evil" storyline and what looks to be the beginning of the return of Peter Parker (OMG!).

Synopsis:

On the Caribbean island Grand Tauro, Antoine Morant (banker to super villains like A.I.M, the Maggia & the Red Skull) is being pursued in a car chase by Carlie Cooper and Yuri Watanabe, aka the Wraith, who is on board his car. Wraith dives off the vehicle after being shot at and rendezvous with Cooper, who's close behind. Yuri suggests they play it cool since she got some of her fear gas in their vents, but Carlie insists that they need to nail him now since they can't risk losing this lead on uncovering "the Superior Spider-Man's" deception.

Back at Horizon Labs in New York, as people outside begin to notice the growing energy around the building. Otto Gunther (seriously?) Octavius defends his knocking out the Spider-Man of 2099 to the Horizon staff. Grady Scraps informs everyone of how Tiberius Stone's three separate acts of sabotage have led to this "time bomb" occurring. Stone unlocked the safeties on Peter Parker's Alpha energy generator (playing with the fabric of space), recalibrated Scrap's time door (explaining the chronotons) and tampered with Sajani's artificial vibranium (adding an alien harmonic frequency into the mix). SpOck dismisses the situation as "child's play", instructing Sajani and Uatu "Not the Watcher" Jackson (sorry, I just like saying that) to retrieve a sample of reverbium and the Alpha energy regulators respectively (Max Modell is annoyed by the former since Sajani was supposed to have destroyed all of it). He also frees Tiberius Stone to aide in constructing a counter device since he is familiar with the tech.

Max tells "Spidey" that they need Parker (don't we all) too since he was the one who solved the equation that cancelled out the reverbium's vibrations. Unfortunate, since he deleted all of Parker's memories (JERK!), Otto isn't sure if he has the equation. He can still recall the ones he's already accessed, so he furiously goes through them to see if the equation is among them. As this happens, we see a silhouetted figure lift and throw a ton of rubble off of himself in the mindscape (Could it be?!).

Otto is then shaken out of his deliberation by Modell, who reveals that he's been thinking for eight minutes! In that time, the group and Stone have patched together the counter device. All that's left is for someone to input the correct frequency, Peter's equation. Miguel comes to as Otto attempts to calculate the equation instead. Realising that "Spider-Man" doesn't know the equation, Max orders a full evacuation of the building. Everyone leaves except for Stone, who O'Hara webs back and holds down, deciding that Stone should die, regardless of the cost of his own existence.

As the staff of Horizon dash outside, they are confronted by Mayor Jameson who, after yelling at them, asks if they are about to blow up his city. Modell answers that there's still hope as "Spider-Man" is still in there, which doesn't give Jameson any confidence. Inside, Otto thinks he's finally cracked the equation and enter it in, only to get it wrong and run out of time. As the implosion occurs, Miguel has a change of heart and legs it, just making it out of the building with Stone in time as Horizon Labs implodes, seemingly killing Otto. 

86 years in the future, in Nueva York, Alchemax CEO Tyler Stone is informed by his scientists that the timeline has been fully restored. Stone then immediately damages the time machine, stranding Miguel in the past, with nothing but a download of his holo-assistant Lyla, and an ancestor he can't lay a finger on for risk of altering his future. Tiberius smugly leaves, telling Max to look forward to the numerous lawsuits as he has places to be. That includes celebrating the formation of a new mega-corp with Liz Allan and her lawyer Mr. Banks, a mega-corp called...Alchemax. The celebration is interrupted however, by the arrival of a young man named Michael O'Mara (sounds familiar), who notifies Stone that he's been assigned as his personal assistant, which the "bithead" totally buys.

Jameson meanwhile uses his contacts in Washington to have the charges against Max dropped, on the condition that he not pull any "science shenanigans" in New York as long as he's Mayor. Max agrees, though as soon as Jameson leaves, he breaks his promise and he and Grady bring "Spidey" back to life with a Doctor Who reference...seriously, look!

With the so-called "superhero" safe, Max makes a deal of his own with SpOck, that they both go their seperate ways and consider this chapter closed. As they leave, Otto looks on at the wreckage of Horizon with a hint of sadness. Arriving back at "his" apartment, Otto goes through his voicemail, with a whole load having come from Mary Jane. Deciding it's time he told her once and for all that she needs to move on, Otto calls her only to be told exactly that by MJ.

Later that evening, Max, Grady, Bella and most of the staff board the Zephyr (which Max still owns since it's one of his personal possessions) and leave New York for new horizons. Sajani & Uatu stay behind, Uatu because his mother wants him to take a break from all this and Sajani because of her previous indiscretion with the reverbium. SpOck contacts her shortly afterwards with a proposition in mind.

Back on Grand Tauro, Carlie & Yuri break into Morant's private compound, stopping the banker from shredding any potential evidence. Carlie swiftly uncovers a document that proves that the henchmen and equipment were purchased with funds straight from the secret bank account of Otto Octavius (Gotcha indeed)...

Thoughts:

It seems that almost every story-arc in this series ends with a dramatic change to the status quo. Dan Slott has stated that this issue and the next one in particular will feature huge changes to the Spidey-verse, and unlike his repeated claims that Peter Parker is staying dead, he's not lying. There are plenty of exciting developments in this storyline that close it out very well, making this the strongest arc of Superior to date!

For starters its great to see what happens to Otto Octavius in this issue. After spending so long bragging that he's the best there is at what he does (but what he does best isn't very good), watching him not only fail, but have others save the day and him was extremely satisfying and a huge ego-blow to the enormous "bithead" (wow, 2099 slang sure is infectious). It was an especially nice touch of irony to have the one thing Otto couldn't solve be something that Peter managed to do.

At first, I was beginning to consider it a major criticism that Miguel and Otto don't interact too much in this storyline, but the fact that Mr. O'Hara is "sticking" with us for a while renders this point moot and sets up an exciting new status quo for the character that warrants a new series (please get Peter David to at least guest write if that comes to pass!).

Miguel's brief moment of possible self-sacrifice is good as it shows him to be a more selfless hero than Otto, but his change of heart towards the end is also gratifying as this character is way too interesting to die. Maybe now that he's in the present day he can alternate with Otto on the Superior Spider-Man Team-Up series. I'd certainly like to see Chris Yost's take on the character.

It's kind of sad to witness the end of Horizon Labs. It was one of the best things Slott brought into the Marvel Universe and it's staff were all very entertaining. I don't think this is the last we've seen of them though. They'll likely return once Jameson's tenure as Mayor is up. He did say "Not while I'm Mayor" after all, that's more than a little foreboding.

There are a few plotholes present however. Considering Grady successfully went into the past to retrieve evidence of Tiberius Stone's wrongdoing, I'm confused as to why he didn't show this to the authorities once the they were all safe? This shocking bithead is the main reason the building imploded, and yet their happy to let him go free and sue them for their intellectual properties? I don't get it? A throwaway line about Grady losing the evidence would have been enough to explain this.

Ryan Stegman's work here is brilliant. Spider-Man 2099 looks as awesome as ever and the splash page of all the classic moments of Spidey lore when Otto tries to recall Peter's memories is rather striking (not to mention that it seemingly features a certain hero clawing his way back to consciousness). While I stand by my criticisms of past issues, this story arc marks an exciting set of changes for Spidey's corner of the Marvel U and I've enjoyed this story-arc thoroughly...

Score: 4.0/5.0

Superior Spider-Man #8 Review

Hello everybody and welcome to my review of Superior Spider-Man #8.

Synopsis:

At the H.E.A.R.T clinic, Dr. Elias Wirtham, aka Cardiac, returns with Otto Octavius's Neurolitic Scanner. He reassures Amy Chen as he fixes the device to her head that it is a magic helmet.Wirtham tells another doctor, Vargas, that the scanner is working, but he knows there's more that it can do. Unfortunately, the only one who knows how to properly work the device is it's inventor.

At Avengers Tower. SpOck is facing off with the Avengers while Ghost Spidey looks on. Peter makes the comment "not the face" which distracts Otto long enough for Black Widow to blast him in the back. Captain America then wallops Otto in the face with his shield and declares that it's time the Avengers got to the bottom of this.

Meanwhile, in her apartment, Carlie Cooper is on the phone to a mysterious individual who is apparently on a "leave of absence" thanks to her. She is (rightly) convinced that the Superior Spider-Man isn't the real Spider-Man, but she needs help from this person as she doesn't want to go into this half-cocked. The mystery person agrees to help her with the case.

Back at Avengers Tower, Otto regains consciousness to find the Avengers scanning him with various devices, the tests of which eventually prove to the Avengers that "Spider-Man"...isn't a Skrull, nor is he being possessed (what the hell?), which pisses off Ghost Spidey something rotten (I'm right there with you man). During the conversation, SpOck notices an abnormality in his brain patterns and asks to study some of the data firsthand. Cap states that SpOck is now on probation and if he steps out of line, he's fired (well at least the word was mentioned).

As the other Avengers leave, Black Widow asks to speak to SpOck in private. She tells him that she knows what this is about. She thinks that Spider-Man's change in personality has to do with the death of Silver Sable in Ends of the Earth. She also says that she's there for him as he now has "red in his ledger" (I wonder what that's a reference to). As the two converse, Ghost Spidey manages to take control of his right hand and draws a picture on the notebook in front of SpOck without him noticing. Widow gives SpOck a flash drive containing the data he wanted, Otto thanking her for the offer. As he leaves, Natasha notices the drawing by Ghost Spidey, but dismisses it as a doodle.

Otto makes his way to Horizon Labs, marvelling over his luck that neither Iron Man & Giant Man were present with the Avengers. Upon his arrival, he inserts the flash drive into his computer, but the data is "inconclusive". SpOck determines that he needs a better scan of his brain and he knows just how to get one.

Cardiac and the other doctors are prepping Amy for surgery when the alarm sounds. Cardiac suits up and confronts the intruder, who of course turns out to be SpOck, who engages Cardiac in combat when he refuses to yield the scanner. As they fight, Otto notices his invention and makes to snatch it off the girls head, with Peter trying his best to stop him. SpOck claims that he's in the right, retrieving the stolen property of Dr. Otto Octavius, but Cardiac interrupts saying that he's using the scanner to undo one of Ock's crimes. He explains to SpOck that Amy was in a car crash that killed her parents and left her with brain damage, the cause of which was Doc Ock's global warming scheme. Struck by a sense of responsibility, Otto fibs to the doctors and Cardiac that he has dedicated his life to studying Doc Ock's technology and he can work the scanner "like a virtuoso!" and perform the surgery himself.

The surgery goes off without a hitch thanks to Otto. Afterwards, he and Cardiac have a conversation in which they both admit they were wrong about each other, to the point where Otto even approves of the H.E.A.R.T clinic. He then asks to borrow the Neurolitic Scanner for a while, promising to return it once he's done. Cardiac agrees to this, notably calling SpOck friend. One of the other doctors then calls the two in, saying Amy wants to see the two of them. She thanks "Spider-Man" and offers him her toy, Mr Pinky Penguin. SpOck says he can't, but Cardiac reassures him that they've found her a replacement. A Spider-Man doll.

Later, at Horizon, as Otto muses over his "victory", Peter promises him it won't last as he will soon find a way back. Otto then responds with "no Peter, you won't", revealing that he can hear Peter now. He also reveals that "Peter" is in fact the memories of Peter Parker taking on a life of their own. SpOck instructs the Living Brain to prepare his equipment, as he's about to perform a "Parker-ectomy"...

Thoughts:

So in a storyline that was teased specifically with the word "Fired", SpOck doesn't actually get fired? From the Avengers or Horizon Labs? This is such a bizarre issue to review. It feels as though Dan Slott is cancelling out every good thing he does here with something bad. It's not the first time he's done this, the whole thing with Mary Jane in #2 was frustrating enough. Here though, it's in complete reverse.

After building up this showdown with the Avengers, having them scan SpOck and determine that he's fine is quite hard to swallow. I know the Avengers present aren't geniuses, but Slott makes them out to be monumentally stupid. SpOck attacked Captain America and refused to submit to the tests! Peter Parker would never do that and Cap should know that! It's such a massive cop out and what's worse is it could easily have been avoided by, oh I don't know, SpOck willingly submitting to the tests and not acting like a complete moron! Superior Spider-Man my arse! The scene with Black Widow is very mixed, the cheap gag at the end is annoying and the Avengers Assemble reference isn't exactly subtle, but I do like the way Widow opens up to "Spider-Man" and what could be done with this development going forward. Also it's good that SpOck remembers her words later on when he performs the surgery

There are some good things to enjoy about this issue though. I like that Carlie Cooper is still suspicious of "Peter" and the conflict with Cardiac is resolved in a very good way. the latter situation is very well written and gives Otto a much needed chance to grow as a character, and then it's ruined by the very next scene. I thought the whole point that Dan Slott was building towards was Otto being humbled by the girls gratitude for saving her life? Instead it's just used to massage his planet-scale ego, and then he moves onto attempting to get rid of Peter! Speaking of Peter, I was pleasantly surprised by the revelation behind his appearances here. This actually means there could be a lasting effect if Otto were to successfully perform his "Parker-ectomy". Which I suppose puts my fears to rest that Ghost Peter's presence in these past eight issues

I don't really have much to say about Humberto Ramos's artwork, there are some good shots here and there, though I was left confused by the Avengers vs SpOck scene, I couldn't tell if SpOck was dodging or being hit? While there is some very good stuff to be had in this issue, there's a lot of bad as well and it's just SO frustrating. I've been worried about the way #9 might be going for a while now and reading this issue hasn't helped at all...

 Score: 3.0/5.0