REVIEW: THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #2

(w) Dan Slott (a) Ryan Stegman

**CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1-2**

With The Superior Spider-Man, Dan Slott is exploring uncharted territory with the character: critical thinking. Peter Parker has always been a smart person. Incredibly smart, in fact. Unfortunately, that genius was usually squandered by Peter's one-track mind when it came to being Spider-Man -- the mask always took precedent, no matter the cost. And when we take an unbiased look at Peter Parker's entire career as a vigilante superhero, we can see that many of the tragedies and heartaches in his life were a result of unpreparedness or simple miscommunication. This may sound harsh, but it's one of the many truths the ghost of Peter Parker is forced to learn as he watches his own life being lived by someone else. The Superior Spider-Man #2 builds upon the events of the first issue without the storyline feeling like a Brian Michael Bendis super-decompression. Octavius isn't as righteous or 'good' as readers want him to be in Peter's body, but the switch has proved to be a fantastic source for new types of Spider-Man storytelling, and that's the best thing to happen to the character in years.

"He's saying super villain stuff! How can no one see through this?" ponders the Ghost of Peter Passed as he watches everyone in his life fall for Octavius' deception. I was worried Ghost Peter would only be popping up every once in a while when Otto needed a good kick in the pants to do the right thing, like a guardian angel with some alternative agenda. Having Peter float around aimlessly only to be unseen, unheard, and unknown to the world is fun because it lets Dan Slott convey the difference between the Amazing and Superior Spider-Men. Otto is doing things with the concept of being Spider-Man that Peter wouldn't have thought of in years. Like actively figuring out ways to balance an actual social life against crime-fighting, or being smarter about patrolling the city by employing spider-bots that connect with a tablet app to relay information about various incidents that require Spider-Man's attention. He makes nice with J. Jonah Jameson so the press isn't constantly on Spider-Man's case, and he actually dates Mary Jane Watson (or "the Watson woman"), something that hasn't happened in a great many years. Of course, it's not really Peter doing these things.

Ghost Peter isn't too fond of Otto's new ways, but just because Peter doesn't understand something doesn't make it bad. It happens a lot (in movies, at least) -- one scientist discovering the final solution to the chagrin and over-analysis of the other scientists out of jealousy and a feeling of failure. In the case of The Superior Spider-Man #2, ghost Peter mentions, on more than one occasion, that Otto isn't doing things like Spider-Man would do, and Mary Jane makes the same observation. This sequence feels like the first of many that will put Otto Parker's identity and reputation up to the test with Peter's personal relationships. Otto explains that he's trying to be "a smarter Spider-Man" by evolving the way he looks at being a superhero and a man in general. The most interesting part about Otto's drive to be better is that -- at least in this issue -- it's primarily fueled by his desire for Mary Jane. Otto takes MJ on multiple dates with little more payoff than pecks on the cheek and the cold shoulder one particular night. It's in the frustration of not even getting to first base that causes Otto to have his greatest revelation about Spider-Man as Spider-Man so far: Mary Jane and Peter's relationship is dependent on the Spider-Man aspect to keep it alive and healthy -- without the mask, there is no spark and no deep connection.

It could be argued that Slott has effectively cheapened decades of history between these characters by implying that their love was little more than some weird superhero/damsel-in-distress relationship that was only good when the world was going bad, or vice versa. Really, it's an astute observation on the nature of a super hero being in love with someone who isn't. In the beginning, Peter and Mary Jane had a relationship built upon a mutual respect and love for one another, but as time went on and Spider-Man's life began to affect Peter's, Mary Jane was often caught in the crossfire as the one who needed saving, with all the whirlwind emotions that come with being held hostage by a mutated thug or international crime syndicate. Otto's decision to break things off with MJ is one that merits significance because it's a decision that shocks ghost Peter because it's something he could never do, no matter how much sense it made. Otto understands how Peter and Mary Jane's relationship became dysfunctional and he puts a stop to it before it can even start back up.

The Superior Spider-Man #2 continues Dan Slott's fantastic look at a villain turned hero. Otto Octavius has a chance to change his life completely (and for the better) without sacrificing who he is at the core, which is something many of us wish we could have done at some point in our lives. The addition of ghost Peter into the mix is risky, and the jury is still out on how that element of the storytelling will play out, but for now, it's enjoyable and provides the Peter Parker presence fans really want. Giving Otto the chance to make Spider-Man into a better hero was a stroke of genius for Slott because it allows Otto to transfer his mad scientist ideas into competent tech with practical uses. I mentioned it in my review of the first issue and I'll say it again here: for me, The Superior Spider-Man is a whole lot more fun and interesting than Spider-Man has been in a while.

GRADE

8.5/10

REVIEW: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700

(w) Dan Slott
(a) Humberto Ramos

*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!*

*SERIOUSLY. READ THE ISSUE FIRST!*

"Spider-Man is Doctor Octopus now."

"What does that mean?"

"Doc Ock switched his mind with Peter Parker's, Doc Ock's body was about to shut down, and Peter had no way to escape. Now Peter Parker is dead and Doctor Octopus is running around in Spider-Man's body."

"So, Spider-Man's going to be a villain now?"

"No. Doc Ock's psychic 'mind meld' of sorts with Peter made him truly understand that with great power comes great responsibility. Since he's Spider-Man now, Doc Ock wants to be a better Spider-Man than Peter ever was."

"Sounds like Marvel's kind of running out of ideas."

This was the conversation I had with a friend of mine who doesn't read comic books. Yes, when the news was leaked about the big twist of The Amazing Spider-Man #700, I read it. As a journalist (and of course, this is not true for all writers), I find that a 'big reveal' in and of itself isn't the big news--everyone gets the same issue and sees the same twist happen. No, the most interesting part about a big twist in comic books is how much it affects the readers. I told my friend what was happening in The Amazing Spider-Man because whether you read comic books or not, you more than likely know who Spider-Man is and that he has an enemy named Doctor Octopus. Obviously, a non-reader is going to be bored by a plot summary of Siege or Blackest Night. But Spider-Man? It's a character--and, quite frankly, a franchise--that enough people are familiar with, that a change in the title's status quo actually gets mainstream media coverage. This doesn't happen very often, but it's always for something that changes the way we see classic characters that have been around for 40, 50, or 60 years.

In the case of The Amazing Spider-Man #700, that change comes with the apparent death of Peter Parker. My favorite glossed-over detail is that Brian Michael Bendis did this over a year ago in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. The timing of this is important for a number of reasons. The first is that Marvel very much hyped up Peter Parker's death in 2011, making a huge spectacle of it by spreading it's influence across most of the Ultimate comics at the time. The second is that, in a very real way, many Ultimate Spider-Man fans felt a personal connection to the loss of a character they followed for ten years as Marvel established and cultivated a brand new comic book universe. The third is that Bendis had a concrete plan for what was to come after Peter's death. These reasons, and more, formed one of the most poignant and emotional deaths in Marvel's history. Dan Slott has been writing The Amazing Spider-Man for a long time, and over the course of his run, he's built up the relationship between Spidey and Doc Ock to a point where something like a brain switch between the two characters could be more likely than a number of other ways Peter Parker could meet his apparent demise. But this is precisely what makes The Amazing Spider-Man #700 such a failure as a Spider-Man comic book.

Metafiction is great when it's applied correctly. In the case of NBC's low-rated yet critically lauded Community, pop culture aficionado Abed Nadir acts as a bridge between our world and the kooky, slightly-warped universe of Greendale Community College. Here, the metafiction makes sense because Abed is obsessed with TV, movies, video games, social media, and pretty much everything else in our modern lives. His obsession contextualizes how often the show brushes up against surreality. 

The concept of Doc Ock as the new Spider-Man is, in and of itself, a huge act of metafiction simply for metafiction's sake. Spider-Man's crux, for most of his 50-year history, is that Peter Parker is a wonderful, caring, kind, thoughtful, brave individual that the world population regards with skepticism and distrust. The readers always knew Peter was a true hero, while the rest of the world saw him as a menace. Though, in recent years, being a member of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four (for a short time during Johnny Storm's death) has done wonders for his reputation, meaning that slowly, the population of the Marvel universe has come to know and believe in New York's wall-crawler as the hero he's strived to be since his Uncle Ben was murdered. Now, the tables are literally turned. We the readers know that the menace known as Doctor Octopus is inhabiting Peter's body, while the Marvel universe at-large still believes it's business as usual under Spidey's webbed mask.

As my friend so eloquently put it: Marvel is running out of ideas. Dan Slott, Joe Quesada, and Axel Alonso (along with whoever else at Marvel will talk about it) will go on record more than once to defend this massive change in status quo--Thou dost protest too much, methinks. Fans and critics will identify the 'comic book cliche' and insist that this change won't be permanent. This is just background noise. What does it matter if it's not permanent? What matters is how this comic book was written, why it was written so, how the issue pays homage/honors the past 50 years of Spider-Man comics, and how it affects readers. In all of these instances, Slott has come up short with The Amazing Spider-Man #700. Instead of feeling like the grandiose, epic issue this should have been, we got Doc Ock running around in Peter Parker's body, a small cadre of C-list Spidey villains, and a half-hearted attempt to shake things up. 

This brain switch story should have been simply that: a story. In Slott's hands, the idea grew from what could have easily and interestingly been a good mini-series or run on ASM, to a media stunt designed to sell books without thought to the consequences. And yes, I know that Marvel's creative types probably had dozens of hours of meetings to discuss this whole situation, and I'm sure they went over it as many times as they could before agreeing it would work. Unfortunately, Stockholm syndrome is not a viable excuse for needlessly and meaninglessly get rid of one of the most popular comic book characters of all time.

All that being said, I'm excited for The Superior Spider-Man. After some frustrating hours after reading The Amazing Spider-Man #700, I eventually came to accept that this is what's happening--Doc Ock is Spider-Man and that's not going to change for the foreseeable future. So, in the spirit of diminished expectations, I read Avenging Spider-Man #15.1, an issue that's almost necessary to see how Otto Octavius truly morphs into a superior Spider-Man. Then I realized that I shouldn't need to have read Avenging Spider-Man to get the whole story, I shouldn't be required to purchase yet another book that, arguably, has some of the most important sequences from this sprawling narrative. In the end, it became glaringly apparent that Dan Slott's The Amazing Spider-Man #700 was a huge letdown. Slott's literal words aren't terrible, and the dialogue is usually organic and natural for whatever situation Spidey gets into. It's the bigger picture that Slott misses, and it's painfully obvious throughout the entire issue.

The forest is burning and Slott is only focused on one tree at a time.

GRADE

6/10

(COMIC) SPIDER-MEN #2 of 5

STORY: Brian Michael Bendis
ART: Sara Pichelli

Well hello, multiverse! In Brian Michael Bendis and Sarah Pichelli's Spider-Men #2, some revelations are made, some characters introduced to each other for the first time, and we get a whole lot of Mysterio! Last month's premier issue wasn't my favorite. In fact, I felt that Bendis went on an ego trip, writing as many witty one-liners as he could for the web-slinger and turning him into an anecdote machine. It came off as showy and overly-saturated. Spider-Men #2, however, makes a 180-degree turn and sets things right for this series. Miles gets some lines of dialogue, Peter freaks out a lot harder than he normally does, and Nick Fury meets the Peter Parker than could have been. This is an issue of graphic art and storytelling that reminds us why we read comics: for the fun of it.


Mysterio made a confusing cameo last issue, babbling on about "the other Peter Parker" before his machine sucked Peter Parker Spider-Man into some wormhole. Of course, we re Mysterio aders know that Pete has landed in the Ultimate universe, a dimension quite similar to ours, with minor differences like Nick Fury's race, a giant Triskelion outside Manhattan Bay, and a Spider-Man that isn't him. While is one of Spider-Man's oldest and most consistent villains, he hasn't had a major presence in the Ultimate line of books outside of one storyline that didn't reveal much about the character in a significant way.

Ultimate Mysterio's enigmatic nature is finally addressed with the reveal that Quentin Beck has been sending a Mysterio-avatar through the rift, using the Ultimate universe as some sort of sociological experiment. During Ultimate Peter Parker's encounter with Mysterio, he was never able to figure out how Mysterio's head stayed imaterial, a question that might have been minor at the time, but now ties into Beck's control of the dimensional portal and Peter's current dilemma.

Now, about Peter and Miles.

The only thing I really didn't like about their meeting was the obligatory 'fight of misunderstanding.' Peter starts freaking out - more so than usual - as everyone seems to know his real identity. Regular civilians tell Peter his choice of costume is, "in bad taste" in consideration of the deceased. Of course, Peter Parker-616 has never been the most put-together guy, so it makes sense that he would lash out at a different Spider-Man - who still knows the name Peter Parker - who randomly shows up and tells you you're actually dead. And even though it does seem logical, the fight still feels forced, like Bendis was bullied into including it simply for the sake of pitting the Spider-Men against each other. There had to have been better, more natural ways to make these two characters fight. In the pages of Avengers vs. X-Men, Spider-Man even comments on the age-old tradition of 'fights of misunderstanding' and how much he misses them. Each Spider-Man tries to unmask the other. Only Peter is successful - albeit after giving Miles a rather stuck-up lecture on superheros and masks - and Miles is forced to run around covering his face until he manages to knock out Peter and turn him over to Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.


Now, the inclusion of Ultimate Nick Fury was somewhat inevitable, as this summer's movie blockbuster, The Avengers, featured Fury as portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, who was the original inspiration for Ultimate Nick Fury in the first place. If that sounds a bit convoluted, it is, not to mention that the regular Marvel Universe (Earth-616) now has a black Nick Fury to call it's own. Obviously, Marvel is doing everything it can to make connections between the movie Avengers and the comic books that inspired the film (see black Nick Fury, Avengers Assemble, Hawkeye's new costume, etc.), so bringing in Fury was a question of "when", not "if".

Spider-Men #2 is a huge step forward from the first issue, not only in terms of story progression, but also of narrative structure. The subtle hints at past events connecting to current dilemmas is near-perfect, and Sara Pichelli's art just fits so well with the tone of everything going on. Mysterio looks menacing, Peter looks dumbfounded, and Miles looks overwhelmed. There's got to be more to Mysterio's involvement in this situation, and Bendis seems to be taking the series in the right direction. I'm definitely looking forward to next month's issue!

GRADE

B+

(NEWS) SPIDER-MEN, AND SOME THOUGHTS ON ULTIMATE MARVEL

A few days ago, Marvel (officially) announced Spider-Men, a five-part crossover series set to debut this June. As the name suggests, the House of Ideas is bringing Peter Parker - the standard Marvel Universe's Spider-Man - together with Miles Morales, the new Spider-Man in Marvel's Ultimate Universe. This historic event will be penned by Marvel Golden Boy, Mr. Brian Michael Bendis, with artwork from fan favorite Sara Pichelli.

Some quick history: Marvel began it's Ultimate line of comics - with Ultimate Spider-Man in 2000 - as a way to introduce a new generation of readers to classic Marvel characters without being bogged down by decades of continuity. When I first began reading Ultimate Marvel comics, the first trade paperbacks for Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men had already been released. I bought them both and sunk myself into this new line full of reimagined characters with histories I was experiencing firsthand, not reading about on Wikipedia or ComicVine. Marvel eventually expanded the line to include the Fantastic Four, the Avengers (dubbed 'The Ultimates'), along with appearances throughout the line from fan favorites like Daredevil, Blade, Hawkeye, and many more.

In 2008 and 2009, Marvel squandered the Ultimate universe with Ultimatum, the line's first mega-crossover that incorporated a five-issue limited series, all three ongoing series, and aftermath issues that led into a soft relaunch of Ultimate Marvel. Ultimatum totally changed the status quo by killing off 75% of the characters that writers has literally just spent years cultivating. I'm not talking about Banshee or Armor. Beast, Daredevil, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, and Dazzler all die in the initial tidal wave caused by Magneto. And that's just in the first issue! By the end of the series, Cyclops is dead, along with Professor Xavier, Emma Frost, Doctor Strange, Hank Pym, Polaris, Thor, Wasp and Wolverine. Basically, in an attempt to 'reset' the Ultimate line without totally relaunching, the writers cut the balls off a once-awesome-yet-slightly-waning line of comics. I'll be the last to say that making the mutant race a side effect of bio-chemical experiments is pretty lame, but at least it was something different.

After a chaotic and somewhat convoluted year of Ultimate Comic titles, Marvel once again hit the reset button by offering "The Death of Spider-Man", the second crossover event for the Ultimate universe that led up to Peter Parker's death at the tender age of 16. The aftermath of Peter's death is chronicled in Ultimate Fallout, which led directly into the second relaunch for the Ultimate universe. This time, instead of making it bigger, Marvel opted to trim down the line into three ongoing series and one mini-series. Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man (Vol. 2) introduces Miles Morales, the new boy who does whatever a spider can.

While crossovers with other universes has been done in the past (see Ultimate Fantastic Four, "Frightful" arc, Ultimate Power), Spider-Men marks the first time the Ultimate universe will intersect with Earth-616. Miles Morales has enough trouble living in Peter Parker's shadow without his adult self butting in! When Peter Parker arrives in the Ultimate universe only to find that the alternate, teenaged version of himself is dead, revelations are made that will rock the Ultimate universe! Stay tuned to "The Endless Reel" for our second Marvel event coverage of Spider-Men, starting this June.

- Jay