The Superior Spider-Man Vol. 6: Goblin Nation (Marvel NOW!) Review

The Superior Spider-Man Vol. 6: Goblin Nation (Marvel NOW!)

Somewhere, someone's arachnophobia is
going into overdrive.

Writers: Dan Slott and Christos Gage

Artists: Guiseppe Camuncoli                                          

Collecting: The Superior Spider-Man #27-31 and Annual #2

Background information:

There are plenty of people who hated Superior Spider-Man. From arguments that I never saw coming (apparently, Otto Octavius sexually abused Peter Parker and attempted rape of Mary Jane… maybe I’m just too young and innocent, but I never saw that), to ones that make a bit more sense (Otto never became a hero- which, technically, he didn’t). No matter what your take on Superior one thing is certain, nothing like this had happened in a Spider-Man book before. Otto has executed enemies, watched New York like a dictator, and deceived his friends and foes alike. Unbeknownst to him, the Green Goblin has been amassing an army of all of New York’s gangs.

Review:

What makes someone superior?

That question has been central to The Superior Spider-Man, and it’s one that has been investigated again and again. Sure, Otto Octavius has done amazing things in Peter Parker’s body- things Peter wouldn’t have dreamed of- and on the surface, he’s seemed effective, but does that make him the superior Spider-Man? In Goblin Nation this question comes to a head and we get a story that is not only a great tribute to Otto, but a reminder that in the end, only Peter can truly be Spider-Man.

Go ahead and ju-ump!
'might as well jump, JUMP!
Go ahead and ju-ump!

The Green Goblin now owns New York. And he’s taken it right from under Otto’s nose. To make things worse, the Goblin knows that it’s Otto under the mask and is set on destroying both him and New York. Otto needs to use both the few allies he still has, and his increasingly inadequate resources to take the Goblin nation down.

Volumes 1-3 of Superior Spider-Man dealt with making us think that Otto was Peter’s superior in every way. Volumes 4-6, however, are more about debunking that idea, and challenging Otto’s perceptions. Goblin Nation is Otto as his most broken. He’s realised just how futile his actions have been and is now suffering from a crisis of massive ego meeting massive failure. For those who have hated Otto the whole way through, this volume feel instantly vindicating; confirming their belief that only Peter can or even should be Spider-Man. For those who loved Otto as Spidey, this is a volume that will pull at heartstrings as Otto suffers more than we’ve ever seen him do. Either way you look at it, this volume will likely have something for you.



You have now seen the coolest part
of this volume!

But probably the greatest part of this volume is that it shows just how central Peter Parker is to the 616 version of Spider-Man. Goblin Nation shows Peter’s triumphant return to the webbed suit, and it is glorious. We get reminded of the kind of person that Peter is. More importantly, where Otto obtained Peter’s body through trickery, Peter gets it back by being the hero we all know he is. He is worthy of the role in every way and Dan Slott makes it very clear that even though Otto was a fun diversion, Peter is the true superior Spider-Man.



That said, for such an important moment in the Superior series, Goblin Nation reads like it should have been something more. Don’t ask me what more it could have been, I don’t actually know; but by the end, certain parts of the story feel like missed opportunities. In an odd way, I almost wanted this volume to milk emotions more than it did; that’s a big request for a series that both brings back Peter from the dead and says a permanent goodbye to Otto, but the return of Parker seems to matter to nobody but the reader. Mary Jane, Carlie Cooper, everyone who is in on Otto’s secret seem to react to Peter’s return with little more than a “oh, that’s nice, but we still don’t like you.” Yep, Superior Spider-Man ends with Dan Slott’s own version of “cool story, bro.”

It’s a fitting and very deserving end of the series, but Goblin Nation certainly could have been more and therefore gets four out of five cool stories… bro.

****

+ Great farewell to Otto.

+ True tribute to Peter.

- Story feels like it should have been more

Alternate Option: Scarlet Spider: Life After Death

Want more dark and gritty Spidey? Scarlet Spider is an appropriate source of this.

The Superior Spider-Man Volume 5: The Superior Venom (Marvel NOW!) Review

Superior Spider-Man Volume 5: The Superior Venom

"I think it says... SUPERIOR!!!"

Writers: Dan Slott and Christos Gage

Artists: Javier Rodriguez and Humberto Ramos

Collects: Superior Spider-Man #22-26 and Annual #1

Background Information:

Otto Octavius, the former Doctor Octopus, has switched bodies with Peter Parker. Peter has died inside Otto’s body and now Otto is the Superior Spider-Man. He’s determined to carry on Peter’s legacy but do it his way.

His way means fighting crime like a super villain. He has henchmen, an island lab and a robot servant. Long story, short, this is a very different Spidey to what you’re used to.

Review:

The must recurring theme in The Superior Spider Man has been Otto’s skewed idea of what being “superior” actually means. Last volume saw Otto fail spectacularly and this volume is not much different. But where Necessary Evil’s plot felt lacklustre and pointless, The Superior Venom is far more entertaining, far more significant and, most importantly, far more “Agent-Venom-Featuring”.

There! See?! Even HE says it!

In this volume, Otto has found himself bonded to the Venom symbiote. Tricking himself into thinking he can control the black piece of globular doom, Otto dubs himself the “Superior Venom” and goes about terrorising criminals in a way that New York has never seen him do before. Naturally, this earns him negative attention from his family, his workmates, and his allies.

If there’s one truly effective villain in Superior Spider-Man, it’s Otto’s pride. It’s been the cause of his downfall more than the Sinister Six, the Jester, the Spider-Slayer, or any Goblin has ever been. Seeing Otto’s pride get the better of him so many times in this series, and in Superior Venom, it’s at its best.

Seeing Agent Venom here is also great; I quite like Flash Thompson as Venom. I was introduced to him in the Venom issues that tied into Spider-Island, got a second taste with Minimum Carnage, and got very disappointed by his under-utilisation in Thunderbolts and seeing him here is great. Flash is an anti-hero-turned-hero these days and that lines up quite well with Otto’s hero-turned-anti-hero vibe. What really excites me, though, is Humberto Ramos’ art. Ramos’ art can look a little outlandish when applied to completely human characters like Mary Jane or even Peter; his cartoony “jangliness” sometimes looks silly on these people. On Venom, however, Ramos’ body designs only accentuate the “alieness” of both Agent and the Superior versions of the creature

SUPERIOR... um... superior... uh... FIGHTING! I'm really
grasping at straws here.

It’s not all great, however. The Annual Blackout story is underwhelming at best. I didn’t know who blackout was at the beginning of volume, not sure I really know at end, and not really sure that I care. The issue offers some interesting Otto/Aunt May drama, and makes references to Otto and May’s almost-marriage (which I surprised Slott didn’t refer to before- kinda the elephant in the room), but the issue has no relevance to the rest of the series. Odd, since previous issues had told such a tight tale, but there you go.

Superior Venom could have done just fine without the Annual, but it’s still a VERY fun read. It gets 4 out of five globular dooms.

****

+ Agent Venom

+ Otto vs Otto’s ego

- Blackout is… meh.

Alternate Option: Scarlet Spider: Life After Death

Another dark and gritty version of Spider-Man  

Superior Spider-Man Volume 4: Necessary Evil (Marvel NOW!) review

The Superior Spider-Man Vol. 4: Necessary Evil

Spider-Man takes hide-and-seek pretty
seriously.

Writer: Dan Slott

Artists: Ryan Stegman and Guiseppe Camuncoli

Collects: The Superior Spider-Man #17-21

Background Information:

Doctor Octopus is now Spider-Man (until he isn’t). Get over it.

Gee, that was quick.

Review:

The first three volumes of Superior were highly entertaining and well-paced. They took time to really showcase how a super-villain fights crime; killing criminals, unleashing drones to watch the city and even hiring minions complete with tanks to battle gangs. With that in mind, it’s sad that Necessary Evil sees a severe drop in momentum. The worst Superior Spider-Man volume is still better than the best Deadpool volume, but it’s still disappointing.

Yeah, shut up!

Over in the year 2099, Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of the future is noticing strange things afoot- Time is going crazy and it’s all because of something happening in 2013 and because it will somehow result in his ancestors dying, he needs to go back in time to save them. Meanwhile in the present, Otto’s workplace, horizon labs, is in a lot of trouble and will likely go under. It’s up to Otto to try and save his inventions from the company, and save the company if he has the time.

The first thing you’re going to notice about this book is the language Dan Slott uses for Spider-Man 2099. His dialogue is full of slang that, back in the 90s, writers were sure we’d be using in the 21^st century. Word and phrases like “shock” and “son of a glitch” pepper the 2099 Spidey’s quips and threats. It’s true to the character, a 90s creation first written by Peter David, but that doesn’t mean that these kind of quips have aged well.

That said, Miguel is a pretty well-written character. He’s the only one with the gall to call Otto Octavius “low tech”. To a certain point, his “edgy” anger falls flat when you consider that we have two angry versions of Spider-Man (the same happened when Superior Spider-Man Team-Up crossed over with Scarlet Spider), but thankfully, 2099’s Spidey acts as an effective “voice of reason” to Otto’s self-interest.

I’m making it sound like this is a terrible book, but it isn’t. Like I said, it’s still better than the best Deadpool. Slott does a great job of really taking apart Otto’s self-perception as Peter Parker’s “superior”, as he fails to save the day, and the possibilities to come out of this volume are worth the price of the book- Otto’s new start-up company, Miguel stuck in the present, it’s all stuff that I really want to see play out.

The weakest part of this book, though is the second story arc, featuring Otto’s old flame, the Stunner. It’s largely uninteresting, and for new readers, it may as well not exist. There is a great moment where Otto is accused of plagiarising himself, but I don’t know if it justifies the existence of the arc.

Spider-Man remembers everything in the dated-art medium.

Art here continues to be solid. I miss Ramos’ art, but it’s hard for me to hate Stegman’s pencils; it’s what I cut my Marvel teeth on, and it’s great to see his style still in play- the guy just gets spider-characters.

Necessary Evil is the official low point of Superior Spider-Man, but that’s a long shot from saying that it’s a poor book. There’s some great art here and the story progresses nicely, it’s just not amazing on the way. It gets a two-and-a-half out of five best Deadpool volumes.

** ½

+ Miguel well-characterised.

+ Art still good.

- Second arc not good.

- Some “shockingly” bad dialogue.

Alternate Option: Superior Spider-Man: No Escape

A great volume to if you find yourself needing a reminder on why you read this series.

Superior Spider-Man Volume 3: No Escape

Superior Spider-Man Vol. 3: No Escape

SUPERIOR... y'know what? This joke's
getting tired.

Writers: Dan Slott and Christos Gage

Artists: Guiseppe Camuncoli and Humberto Ramos

Collects: Superior Spider-Man #11-16

Background Information:

I know what the haters are thinking;

WAH, WAH, WAH… Superior Spider-Man is different to the Spider-Man I knew when I was eight. WAH, WAH, WAH… Dan Slott changed a character. WAH, WAH, WAH!

Okay haters, first thing; don’t cry on the internet- it makes you look silly. Secondly, shut up; Superior Spider-Man represents the best of Dan Slott’s run. Don’t believe me? Check out what people are saying about Slott’s current run on Amazing Spider-Man.

For those wondering, Otto Octavius’ mind is now in the body of Peter Parker. That’s Superior in a nutshell.

Review:

By now, you’d expect that Superior Spider-Man would have become stale as a concept. We’ve seen Otto as Peter in two volumes already. Surely there isn’t that much in that concept, right?

WRONG!

Slott’s showing us that the character of Otto has more than enough depth for many more stories to come. By now, I’ve reached the middle of the series, and it’s disappointing that the ongoing ends with volume 6, because there’s so much good here!

"So, I was thinking about power and responsibility the other
day..."

So, Otto/Spidey’s been called in to oversee the execution of Alistair Smythe, the Spider-Slayer, the guy most recently known for killing the wife of now Mayor J. Jonah Jameson and commonly known for creating robots designed specifically to kill Spider-Man. Smythe’s meant to be executed at an island prison known as The Raft, but thinks taking the prison over sounds rather more fun. Hell, he even releases Boomerang, the Vulture and the Scorpion to raise a special kind of hell. Naturally, Otto has to take them down in his own particular manner.

Yep, you’ve heard this plot before; it’s the story of the video game, Batman: Arkham Asylum. That’s my only real issue with this collection. See, Dan Slott tries really hard to convince us that he thought of this story all on his own; using the event to change the status-quo between Otto and Jameson. I find it hard to believe that anyone’s convinced it’s his own idea, though. Plagiarism has been fairly common in Marvel NOW!, Avengers Academy is a blatant rip-off of The Hunger Games. At least Avengers Academy admitted its influence. No Escape doesn’t even try to cover itself, and it’s disappointing, to say the least.

But that’s really the only problem here, as Slott goes back to what he’s been doing best; giving us a Spider-Man who fights crime using the same tactics that Otto used as a villain. This issue sees Otto get his own secret lair, massive spider-like tanks and an army of minions. It’s really fun to read and seeing Otto really put himself into Spidey’s role gives the book a great amount of character development not seen in other titles.

The fact that they look more like ticks
than spiders aside... this is pretty cool.

Throughout the whole of Superior Spider-Man, Slott has been teasing an eventual takeover of New York by the Green Goblin, and No Escape gives us the biggest developments for that eventual moment yet. I won’t go into it, as I’ve probably spoiled the series enough already. Suffice to say it is well worth your read.

Art here is up to its normal standard. I love seeing the exaggerated lines and expressions on these characters. A real stand-out for me has to be the faces drawn by Camuncoli and Ramos when Jameson freaks out. His face contorts in all different, hilarious angles. You’ll want to go back to these pages.

Overall, No Escape continues to be one of the best books in Marvel NOW! It’s a crying shame that the series is now over, especially considering the lukewarm reception given to the new Amazing Spider-Man. This collection gets a four out of five Arkham Asylums.

****

+ Otto as a hero is amazing.

+ Expressions are drawn excellently.

+ Building up to something awesome.

- Way too similar to a game based on a game for a certain Distinguished Competition…

Alternate Option: Superior Spider-Man: My Own Worst Enemy.

Start from the beginning. You’ll be glad you did (okay, so the technical beginning is actually The Amazing Spider-Man: Dying Wish, but you’ll know all you need in this one).

Superior Spider-Man Vol. 2: A Troubled Mind (Marvel NOW!) Review

Superior Spider-Man Vol. 2: A Troubled Mind (Marvel NOW!)

Something... Something... SUPERIOR!

 

Writer: Dan Slott

 

Artists: Humberto Ramos and Ryan Stegman

 

Collects: Superior Spider-Man #6-10

 

Background Information:

 

With the Marvel NOW! initiative, Dan Slott changed Spider-Man in ways that sent shockwaves of anger through Spidey’s fanbase; Spider-Man is no longer Peter Parker.

 

Okay, the change was never going to be permanent, but at the time, that’s what Slott was selling it as. People were attached to Peter, the guy who had been through hell, but still managed to be the nice guy who didn’t finish last. Now Peter was gone, his mind replaced by the mind of Otto Octavius (AKA Doctor Octopus). It’s not a change that sat well with fans, despite story quality.

 

The first volume was mostly set-up. We learnt that even though Peter Parker was technically dead, a portion of his mind was still around, influencing Otto’s decisions. Otto didn’t quite know it at the time, but a genius like him was gonna find out sooner or later.

 

Review:

 

GRRRR! HOW DARE THEY GET RID OF PETER PARKER! DAN SLOTT’S RUINED SPIDER-MAN! HOW DARE THEY CALL THIS SPIDER-MAN “SUPERIOR”! THEY’VE MADE HIM AN ANNOYING, SELF-RIGHTEOUS TWIT! DAN SLOTT DOESN’T KNOW HIS FANBASE! HE DOESN’T KNOW THE FANBASE! HE DOESN’T KNOW COMICS! YOU KNOW WHAT THE INDUSTRY NEEDS? STAGNATION! NEVER CHANGE CHARACTERS, NEVER HAVE NEW IDEAS!

 

Okay, those fans who are four-year-olds in adult bodies, happy now? I raged at Superior Spider-Man, an essentially excellent series that actually gives a half-fresh take on the character. But I’m gonna stop now, because Superior Spider-Man’s second volume, A Troubled Mind is great, if not as good as the last volume, and you’d be crazy to not read it.

 

"So, I was watching The Bold and the Beautiful, right? And..."

So, Otto has been continuing his penchant for brutalising villains, and that disturbs the superhero team that Spidey’s been a part of for a while. No, not the Fantastic Four; the Avengers. The thing is, Otto is absolutely unapologetic about it. In the meantime, Otto’s catching on to the fact that there’s still a remnant of Peter Parker left in his new mind, and it’s time he left for good.

 

Plot-wise, it’s nice to see that, apart from J. Jonah Jameson (who absolutely loves this new Spidey), nobody else is really convinced that this is a Superior Spider-Man. I love Otto as the new Parker, but it’s nice to see that people are suspicious about this very unfriendly neighbourhood hero. Carlie is still looking in to him, the Avengers renounce his membership and Mary Jane gets very disappointed in him when he doesn’t save her, calling the fire department instead. Indeed, what this issue does best is raise questions about the notion of being “superior”. Otto may be superior in terms of his methods, but his heroism in still inferior to Parker’s.

 

That said, the middle of this collection drags just a little bit. It’s mostly Avengers debating and running tests on Otto to make sure everything’s happening in Paters mind. I don’t mind an actionless issue or two (not that these issues are actionless, but those action scenes are certainly unengaging), and in A Troubled Mind, it certainly has its place. But the book’s main villains are the Jester, Screwball and Peter Parker’s memory. That’s not a memorable lineup- especially when last volume treated you to the likes of the Vulture.

 

Cap looks so serious sporting a stupid-looking chin-strap.

Art here is just as good as you would expect it to be if you’ve read My Own Worst Enemy. Spiderman comics tend to lend themselves to an unrealistic, but highly stylised form of art and that’s just what you get here. By now, it’s nothing groundbreaking; you’ve seen this in the last volume, as well as in Scarlet Spider and Spider Island.

All in all, though, A Troubled Mind, while not being as good as My Own Worst Enemy, is still notably good. It gets a three and a half out of five four-year-olds in adult bodies.

 

*** ½

 

+ Questions the notion of being “superior”

 

+ Not everyone’s convinced that this is a better Spidey.

 

- Villain lineup is meh.

 

Alternate Option: Scarlet Spider: Lone Star

If you can’t stand the idea of Spider-Man proper being dark, check out Spidey’s darker clone, and, y’know, stop whining.

Superior Spider-Man Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy (Marvel NOW!) Review

Superior Spider-Man Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy

SUPERIOR creepiness!

Writer: Dan Slott

Artists: Ryan Stegman and Giuseppe Camuncoli

Collects: Superior Spider-Man #1-5

Background Information:

Peter Parker is dead.

And it’s permanent.

No, really, it is.

What?

STOP LAUGHING! He’s dead!

Okay there ends the jest. But even if Peter Parker hadn’t already come back in the retconned Amazing Spider-Man, it would still be ridiculous to suggest that we’d never see the original Spider-Man again. Characters from Marvel’s mainstream universe never stay dead. Captain America came back, Thor came back almost immediately after he died, and it’s almost a guarantee that Wolverine’s upcoming death will, in fact, only be a temporary hiatus. Nonetheless, in a Spider-Man story called Dying Wish, a near-death Doctor Otto Octavius (also known as Doctor Octopus) switched minds with Peter Parker, causing your friendly neighbourhood hero to die in Otto’s old body while Otto began a new life in Parker’s body. With this new body though, came some fragments of Peter’s memories and Otto found himself determined to become a new, yet far superior version of Spider-Man.

Review:

There are plenty of comic stories that, while good, tend to tread ground that’s too familiar, too safe. They’re plenty enjoyable, but their focus on more of that same-old-same old can make the story somewhat stale. Superior Spider-Man, thankfully, isn’t one of those stories. In fact, it’s become the biggest game-changer for Marvel’s status quo in decades and though the series gained it share of controversy (including alleged death threats from die-hard fans to writer Dan Slott), the change pays off like nothing you’ve seen in years.

SUPERIOR cuddles!

It’s hard to say that there’s a real story to My Own Worst Enemy. Sure, there’s a few different arcs at play here, but that’s not really the point of the collection. My Own Worst Enemy is really about establishing the new Spider-Man’s status quo. In that way, it reminds me of the first issue of Scarlet Spider, only a change to a different status quo instead of establishing a new one.

And what a different status-quo it is!

Otto’s Peter is clearly cut from a different cloth than the Peter we all grew up with. Right from the get-go Otto is fighting crimes the way a supervillain would do. The first issue sees Otto reprogram a robot criminal to be his butler/assistant/minion and help him create new tools. Later, he develops an army of small robots to watch the city. Even the way he fights criminals is far more brutal and rage-fuelled than most superheroes out there.

More than that, the way Otto relates to Peter’s previous supporting cast is totally different too. Otto doesn’t play as well with others. He thinks his boss at Horizon labs beneath him, chooses to distance himself from Mary Jane (even though there are a few problems before that, which I’ll address later), and even makes peace with Mayer J. Jonah Jameson. What’s more, he’s haunted by the remaining memories of Peter Parker, who tries to steer Otto right.

I know, right?

All of this makes for a truly compelling collection and I can see it being a truly compelling series. It is, however, hardly a perfect book. There is one really quite disturbing scene, and people who have read this trade know exactly what I’m talking about.

See, Otto spends an issue trying his best to court Mary Jane Watson. I won’t go too far into it, but suffice to say that Octavius only has one thing on his mind. Thankfully, Otto changes his mind later on in the volume, but that doesn’t make the experience of reading his admittedly sick mind any more pleasant. I have to imagine that Slott thought this was something that we could all relate to, Mary Jane being continually regarded as very attractive, but it comes off as nothing more than perverted and gross. There is nothing entertaining about dirty old men trying to be taken seriously.

SUPERIOR "wooo!"

The art duties are taken by Ryan Stegman in the first few issues and his work is totally on point. Stegman did work on Scarlet Spider and he just seems to get how to draw spider-characters. His artwork is light and his colours are the perfect tonic for those who have grown tired of constantly reading comics that are designed to be “dark and gritty”. I can’t say the same for Camuncoli’s work. It comes off as dirty and not as interesting as Stegman’s. Still passable, but it’s a pity that Stegman couldn’t draw the whole book.

Superior Spider-Man may have a deeply disturbing bit of perversion, but My Own Worst Enemy is still a highly entertaining book that sets up one of the most interesting series Marvel has done for a long time. It gets a four and a half out of five dirty old men.

**** ½

+ Great new status quo.

+ Stegman’s art is great.

- Otto can be kinda’ pervy sometimes.

Alternate Option: Scarlet Spider: Life After Death

It’s another bad-boy Spider, but if a new Peter Parker rubs you the wrong way, this may make up for it.