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 #18 Review!

Hello everybody, Donlinedude here and welcome to my review of Superior Spider-Man #18. Sorry about the long delay with this post, but at least it's finally up, and hopefully when #19 comes out, I'll have my review of that up much faster.

Synopsis:

Face to face with his present day counterpart, Miguel O'Hara attempts to re-introduce himself to who he believes is Peter Parker. Unfortunately for him, it's really Otto Octavius, who has no idea who this guy is (since he erased Peter's memories before he had the chance to study them all). So he just elects to punch Miguel in the face instead. While Miguel briefly confounded by "Spider-Man's" actions, SpOck turns his attention back to Tiberius Stone, who continues to wind him up. O'Hara gets between the two however, declaring that Stone is under his protection (since he's Miguel's grandfather) and the two Spider-Men face off, each unsheathing their talons.

Inside Horizon Labs, lawyer Hector Baez leaves to go and help Max Modell, who is still in federal custody, despite Uatu "Not the Watcher" Jackson's protests. Grady Scraps is also about to enter his "Time Door invention (despite his girlfriend, Bella's protests and the fact that a future Spider-Man just came through the thing!) to expose Stone for the little swear word that he is.

Back outside, Otto manages to slash Miguel in the gut, only to find that it did jack squat! Miguel explains that his costume is made of UMF material, which is standard in the year 2099, though it looks cutting edge to a "low tech" like Otto, which infuriates SpOck to the point where he picks up a car with his retractable tentacles. Seeing his chance, Stone activates a portable Spider-Jammer in his hand, overloading "Spidey's" Spider-Sense and causing him to drop the car, which almost crushes Normie Osborn. Thankfully, Miguel saves him with a web line before taking off with Stone. A frustrated Octavius gives chase, remarking that this is all unacceptable (...you're unacceptable!)

 

He orders his minions to search for Spider-Man 2099 in conjunction with the Hobgoblin. The call is interrupted by another from Anna Maria Marconi, who is offering to come over and help "Peter" with his college thesis. Through his response, Ock realises that all his thesis work is stored over at Horizon and heads back there as fast as he can.

Meanwhile, Miguel puts some distance between himself and Doc SpOck, landing on a rooftop with Tiberius Stone.Tyler Stone (the corrupt CEO of Alchemax, Tiberius' son and Miguel's dad) informs Spidey that his personal timeline is stabilising. Miguel briefly ponders whether or not he should allow his scheming grandpappy to live since that will lead to the creation of Alchemax, but is interrupted from his thoughts by Tiberius, whose figured out that Spider-Man won't harm him, putting his theory to the test by jumping off the rooftop. Miguel saves him and promptly webs him to the wall,
 deciding to hotwire his wrist communicator to another channel. He "dl's" the thought bank of his holo-assistant Lyla to his location, instructing her to "info-dump" him on everything she knows about the connections between Tiberius, Horizon & Alchemax.

Travelling back into the past, Grady (who is invisible to everyone there ala the Pensieve from Harry Potter) uncovers Stone's sabotage of Peter Parker's demonstration of his "Parker Particles", taking photo evidence before contacting Bella and Sajani to input the next set of coordinates so he can jump back further. While this is going on, Otto is removing all of his equipment with the Living Brain. They are met outside by Hector & Max, who begs "Peter" to trust them as they can sort this out. Of course, Otto refuses to listen and ultimately infuriates Max by cutting him off mid-sentence to take a call from his Spider-Lings, who have located the Hobgoblin, but instead of Phil Urich, it's the Goblin King in disguise as the original Hobby. Out of patience, Modell informs "Parker" that if he leaves right now, he's fired! Guess what Otto does? As this is happening, Lyla informs Miguel that Stone's sabotage led to the actual destruction of Horizon Labs, which led to the rise of Alchemax. She also reveals the date of the event, which leaves Miguel "shocked" since (in the Marvel U anyway) it's today!

Heading back into Horizon Labs after firing "Parker", Modell discovers what his employees have been doing with the time door. Grady emerges from it just as Max calls for them to pull him out, saying when they hear what he's found it, the whole thing will be worth it. Outside, Otto frantically pulls on his costume as he fumes over all the different problems that are plaguing him. It's at this point that he receives a call from Mary Jane Watson, who simply wants to talk. Otto basically snaps at her before spotting Spider-Man 2099 heading to Horizon with Stone in hand.

Back inside Horizon, the time door has been shut down, but there are still several chronotons in the air. Grady explains that they aren't from the door and that this was always going to happen, a claim that's backed up by Miguel as he arrives with Stone. He tells everyone that the place is about to blow, but if they listen to him, they can all make it out in one piece. It's at this point that SpOck chooses to wallop Miguel in the face, asking "What?" (I don't know Otto, what could you possibly have done wrong?) as Miguel's watch states that a temporal event will occur in sixteen minutes!

Thoughts:

Midway through this arc and things are heating up nicely. Despite all-out mayhem occurring in these pages, Dan Slott keeps things surprisingly coherent for the most part, with a cliffhanger ending that makes the wait for the concluding chapter all the more difficult.

While I personally would have liked to have seen Otto's decisions throughout the series negatively affect him earlier than this, it's still good to see Slott taking him down this route now. It's rather satisfying to watch the "Superior Spider-Man's" mistakes, both past and present (which I guess is an apt phrase for this storyline), catch up to him. It definitely seems as though Doc SpOck won't be coming out of this unscathed.

Miguel O'Hara continues to function well as a duel protagonist. His detective work ensures that he remains his own character rather than being reduced to a pawn of Alchemax, and it also allows Slott to bring in more characters from 2099 briefly. And while he may not have much of a sense of humour, Miguel's actions provide some much needed comedy to the story, like when he calls Otto low-tech. The only moment that seemed a little out of place was the brief appearance of the Goblin King, though this could pay off in the next issue so it's not really a criticism.

Ryan Stegman provides some truly spectacular panels of artworks here. There's an abundance of detail in the characters and the surroundings, with an awesome action scene between the two Spider-Men. So far this has proved to be a pretty effective story. A lot is resting on the final part however and I'd be lying if I said I haven't been disappointed by Slott in the past, but hopefully he can deliver a satisfying conclusion to this story...

Score: 4.0/5.0