Superior Spider-Man #16 Review!

Hello everybody, Donlinedude here and welcome to my review of Superior Spider-Man #16.

Synopsis:

With everyone in the Bugle offices now staring at Phil Urch, Joe Robertson orders everyone to turn off their phone or get away from their keyboard, threatening to fire whoever texts, tweets, or posts a status update about the current situation. Ben Urich refuses to believe that his nephew is the Hobgoblin, but Norah is more sceptical, asking Phil to say himself that he is not the Hobgoblin.

Unfortunately for Phil, an anonymous employee tips off the media and "Spider-Man", who swiftly arrives at the Bugle. As Phil starts to lose it, Robbie reprimands SpOck for his handling of the situation and asks where his proof is. After noting the irony at play here, Otto proves his claim by explaining how he injected Phil with Nano-Spider Tracers. At this point, Phil finally snaps, activating his flame sword and using Norah as a hostage, quipping that "nothing says Goblin like a dead blonde!" (only if you're green though).

In his secret lab, Tiberius Stone laughs at Hobby's misfortune, before moving onto the next target on his list, Horizon Labs! As various news crews debate whether or not costumed vigilante's deserve secret identities, we cut to Captain Watanabe interrogating a Spider-Ling as the Wraith. Despite her use of "fear gas" (Man, Scarecrow would sue if he lived in the Marvel U, ha, rhyme!), the henchman maintains that everything involving their salary is above board. At Carlie Cooper's request, Watanabe sends her the Spider-Ling's bank number, which gives them a lead on a large (likely illegal) offshore account, and since Carlie knows Spidey's secret identity, this only serves to fuel her theory. The pair decide to travel to the Caymans in order to follow the money.

Back at the Bugle, Norah breaks free of Phil's grip and elbows him in the face, whilst also feeling the need to tell him their through (I don't think he'd have assumed otherwise). With no hostage, Phil resorts to using his Lunatic Laugh on the civilians. He falters however at the realisation that he's killing his "Uncle Ben", which allows SpOck to detonate the Nano-Tracers, stunning Urich. SpOck then tackles him through the window and out into the street.

Meanwhile, the Goblin King watches the chaos from his Goblin Underground. He chides "Spider-Man" for releasing Urich's identity to the public, remarking that "it's almost like you don't know how this game is played anymore" (if only you knew Gobby). He then instructs Menace (where the hell did she come from?) to bring Urich to him.

Surrounded by police and Spider-Lings, as well as several news-crews recording everything, Phil opts to surrender rather than continue to fight. SpOck picks up the now-discarded flame sword with the intention of killing him, but he's suddenly interrupted by an Avengers Priority Call from Captain America himself, who tells him that they need to talk (What, do you think he's a Skrull again Cap?). Otto deactivates the sword, thanking the people of New York for their efforts.

As the chaos dies down, the media begins to question why so many employees of the Bugle have led double lives as super villains. Robbie dismisses everyone except for Ben and Norah. He explains that Ben will have to be temporarily sidelined. Norah however will have to be let go since she was the one reporting the front page Hobgoblin stories.

En route to New Jersey, Phil Urich's convoy is attacked by Menace, who frees Phil and takes him to the Goblin Underground. After watching the news reports on his escape (Which includes SpOck blustering over it and Mayor Jameson dodging questions.) he's let in to see the Goblin King, but first he's given something else to wear. As he dons his new costume, the Goblin King informs him that Phil Urich's life is over, and this new identity, the Goblin Knight, is all he has. In return, the Goblin Knight promises to deliver "the spider" to the Goblin...

Thoughts:

Thankfully this story arc has managed to end in a way that isn't a cop-out. There's good payoff to the characters, especially Phil Urich, the ongoing plot threads are built upon very nicely and art from Humberto Ramos is pretty good, although it's a little rushed in some places.

Despite Phil Urich being exceedingly irritating in his previous appearances, I actually felt a small amount of pity for him as his life crumbles to dust here and he goes down what looks to be the point of no return. Dan Slott gives a surprising amount of depth to this character in this issue, which justifies the somewhat tragic nature of this issue. You could almost say that "the Superior Spider-Man" did kill Phil Urich, as by the end all he has left is the Goblin. Watching him lose control in the Bugle offices was very tense and it made sense (Another rhyme!) because he's under pressure from numerous things. Norah Winters on the other hand is still very annoying, her dialogue was nothing short of nauseating.

I very much enjoyed the appearance of the Wraith and the way in which both her and Carlie Cooper's ongoing plot to expose Otto is building. The same can be said of the Goblin King, whose army is becoming pretty impressive with the additions of Menace and the Goblin Knight, even if Menace's appearance came out of nowhere. I also appreciated that we see more of the fallout from Otto's actions.

While it's not perfect, this issue is the most satisfactory, as well as the most fun, conclusion to a Superior Spidey story arc so far and actually leaves me jazzed for the next issue and the re-introduction of Spider-Man 2099...

Score: 4.0/5.0

Superior Spider-Man #15 Review

Hello everybody, Donlinedude here and welcome to my review of Superior Spider-Man #15.

Synopsis:

Hobgoblin arrives at one of the Tinkerer's shops. He informs the Tinkerer of the destruction of Shadowland and asks that he fix his gear before abruptly leaving in a panic. The Tinkerer then opens a secret door to the back of the shop, where Tiberius Stone (whose been cowering there for weeks like the little weasel that he is) is working. With Kingpin out of the way, Stone no longer needs to hide from him. He agrees to do one final job for the Tinkerer, to fix Hobby's gear. While doing this, he thinks about the millions of ways to get back at the various people who've hurt him (including "Spider-Man"), declaring that they "MESSED WITH THE WRONG NERD!" (dude, seriously?).

Elsewhere, the "Superior Spider-Man's" minions and Spider-Bots are scouring the remains of Shadowland for the bodies of the Kingpin and the Hobgoblin. Carlie Cooper (whose investigating the site along with Captain Yuri Watanabe) pulls "Peter" aside for a quick chat, asking how on earth he can afford all the minions and equipment. SpOck answers that the cities helping out and she can ask Mayor Jameson. The body of Smedley Kornfield is soon unearthed, leading everyone, including Ock, to believe the Kingpin is dead. SpOck takes off, instructing Carlie to contact him once the Hobgob's bod is found. Carlie tells Yuri that she's all but certain of her "crazy theory about Spider-Man", relaying what "Pete" told her to Watanabe, who decides to do some investigating as her vigilante alter ego, the Wraith!

Meanwhile, Phil Urich is in trouble. Despite bagging a fat check from the Bugle for his Goblin footage, it's not enough to cover his rent to Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin, or his fixed gadgets. After a call from Kingsley, Phil resorts to robbing banks per his suggestion.

All the while, Spider-Ock becomes frustrated at his inability to locate Hobgoblin. He muses in his lair
whether he should commit 100% to Spider-Man and abandon the life of Peter Parker, only to put that thought out of his head when he receives a call from Anna Maria Marconi.

Realising that the Hobgoblin is unknowingly piggybacking off of his Spider-Bot hack and that this could tip Spider-Ock off to his schemes, the Goblin King shuts the program down temporarily and instructs his men to lie low for awhile, wondering aloud how well "the wannabe" will do against the Spider.

The call from Anna Maria turns out to be a summons to the Chancellor of ESU's office. He tells "Parker" that he'll be receiving a full credit despite his "spotty" attendance, at which point Otto kisses up to Doctor Lamaze. While leaving, Anna tells Peter that she cares about their future, which pleases Otto (I think that was the look on his face anyway?) though "unfortunately" he has to leave as the Hobgoblin has been spotted.

SpOck wastes no time in attacking Hobby, who is also furious at Spidey for ruining his job with the Kingpin. He attempts to kill SpOck with his flame sword, but Stone (who is observing not too far away) turns the device off via remote, which leads Otto to regain the upper hand. Gobby then retreats and discards his costume. Having tagged him with some Nano Spider-Tracers, SpOck is able to listen in on Phil bursting into the Bugle offices demanding an advance on his Goblin footage. SpOck then activates a feed broadcasting on every channel, instructing everyone in the city to contact him if they find the Hobgoblin, exposing his identity as Phil Urich (oh snap!)..

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Thoughts:

Okay, this is actually going quite well. The story has not at all gone the way I was expecting, but unlike the last story arc, that's actually a good thing. Despite the huge amount of plot elements Dan Slott is juggling around, he manages to keep a balance between them for the most part. I was relieved to finally get a moment of contemplation with Otto Octavius, never mind the fact that it took us a total fifteen issues to get to this point, and the idea he brings up about abandoning the Peter Parker persona is very intriguing.

Since Phil Urich has been soooo annoying in his appearances as the Hobgoblin, I actually found it quite amusing to watch his life come crashing down his pointy ears. "Since when did
being a bad guy become a job?" The Goblin King is becoming rather compelling as a master manipulator, and it was nice to see him exercise some common sense unlike Otto. I was also interested in the fact that both his and his assistants faces was kept obscured, much how it was in the original comics, Unless it's a fake out and its just ol' Stormin' Norman, I'm expecting a twist regarding the Goblin King's identity.

I didn't care for the way Mary Jane was characterised. After fifteen issues (not to mention all the guest appearances and team-up series) she's just now entertaining the thought of something being wrong with Peter? That's respect for your supporting cast right there. She should have been suspicious a long time ago.

Humberto Ramos' draws some good panels for the most part, although that shot of Happy SpOck is just wrong. To quote Scott Pilgrim, "that is eeeevil!"

Overall, a decent issue and hopefully the cliffhanger will be paid of in good form next time, though I've still got my doubts...

Score: 3.0/5.0

Superior Spider-Man #14 Review

Hello everybody, Donlinedude here & welcome to my review of Superior Spider-Man #14. Yeah there's been a bit of a break here, but I'll be putting out a video review of the three story arcs of Superior that I haven't reviewed on my Youtube channel either this week or the next, along with a review of the Claremont/Miller Wolverine series to tie in with the release of The Wolverine.

Synopsis:

In Hell's Kitchen, a father narrates that his son is afraid to sleep at night because they live in the shadow of Shadowland, property of Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin. The father is frustrated that no one is doing anything about Shadowland, when, as if on cue, the "Superior Spider-Man" arrives, complete with "Arach-Nauts", a small army of "Spiderling" minions & around 300 Spider-Bots, to commit "regicide".

Otto and his Spiderlings cut through the Hand ninja like a knife through warm butter, which convinces Kingpin & the Hobgoblin to fall back. Otto is forced to take a call from Mayor J. Jonah Jameson, who is disgusted that "Spider-Man" is attempting to blow up a building in "his city". However Octavius reminds Jameson of the conversation they had in the previous issue. Jameson protests, saying that lives will be lost, but Otto states the only bodies that will be found in the rubble of Shadowland will be those of Fisk and the Hobgoblin, deliberately leaving the last part of the exchange open to Fisk's security feed so as to intimidate the Kingpin.

Inside the castle, the Kingpin realises that, despite the voice being the same, this is not the Spider-Man he knows. This is one who will kill them if given the chance. He retreats underground with the Hobgoblin, revealing an obese man named Smedley Korfield watching television and stuffing his face. Fisk breaks Smedley's neck and tells Hobgoblin that Mr Kornfield's body has been modified to mimic his own DNA, which, along with cosmetically altered dental appliances, will allow the Kingpin to convincingly fake his death. He then activates the self-destruct sequence, escaping in a one-man sub and leaving Hobgoblin to die.

Ol' Phil is smarter than he looks however, and manages to escape the castle before it collapses. He thinks he's gotten away, only to scream when he realises one of the Spider-Bots has spotted him (what a sissy.). But lo and behold, the drone doesn't alert Otto, instead enacting "goblin protocol" and sparing Hobby, who takes the opportunity to flee.

With Shadowland now reduced to rubble, "Spider-Man" is thanked by the grateful residents of Hell's Kitchen, including the father & son from earlier. All the while, Jameson is fuming that SpOck has him completely under his thumb.

The father leaves for work a short while later, leaving his son with a neighbour. As he walks away, his narration resumes, saying that he believes his son will be safe because "Spider-Man" is watching over them all. Little does he know, new dealers are emerging on the streets, invisible to the Spider-Bot's sensors because of a little goblin tattoo.

Underground, in the sewers, or the "Goblin Underground" as they are now calling it, the Goblin King's henchman welcome the several members of the Hand ninja, who feel disgraced for retreating from battle. They join the rest of the small army building underneath New York as the Goblin King himself makes an announcement that, in having taken over several of the Kingpin's operations, they have now passed the tipping point. 52% of crime in the city is under their control. The Goblin cackles, declaring that New York is his...and he did it without lifting a finger...

Thoughts:

This issue was surprisingly fast. I was expecting more of a complex take down of Shadowland that perhaps might even fail, not an all-out assault by Doc Ock that actually succeeds! Like the decision to kill off Massacre, I'm glad that Slott was allowed to make this story decision and we're left with an interesting ending to this issue with the Goblin King making a surprise appearance as his power grows. It's good that he's making regular appearances and contributing to the plot rather than just standing around in the background letting us know he's there, like Cygor from the Spawn comics.

The "Superior Spider-Man's" new costume definitely reflects Otto's personality and I like the addition of the spider legs and the black lenses. Perhaps this is a metaphor for how Otto is twisting the image of Spider-Man to match his own warped personality? The art by Humberto Ramos is pretty good here since most of this issue is utter chaos and that's something Ramos' style is very much suited to. I will say that the pace was maybe a little too fast, but overall this was a good issue, though after the previous arcs, I'm more than wary of the next instalment...

Score: 4.0/5.0