Superior Spider-man is an interesting concept. For those of you who doesn’t know what’s up with Marvel’s new Spidey-title, Doc Ock’s taken over Peter Parker’s body. He inherited all of Peter’s feelings and memories, and so realizes he has to carry out Spider-man’s role. I didn’t quite like the first issue, and especially not the ending, but this month’s issue is marginally better.
Dan Slott (She-Hulk, The Amazing Spider-man) writes the story, and this issue focuses mostly on the interactions between Doc and Mary Jane. It’s an interesting journey into the mind of Otto Octavius, and it’s quite entertaining to read his super-villain speeches adapted for civil life. This gimmick might turn old fast, if Slott’s not careful. Of course, Peter Parker can never be quite left out, so we get to see him as a ghost in Doc’s subconscious, invisible and unnoticeable to all but us readers. It disappointed me to see that Parker couldn’t be left out, but I would lie if I said that I didn’t find his comments rather entertaining; his one-sided arguments with Octavius are at least written well.
Ryan Stegman (Scarlet Spider) delivers a solid look in his pencilling, and his art is something I enjoy. It’s got a nice sketchy edge to it, and yet delivers all the details I crave. Accompanied by Edgar Delgado’s colouring it gives the entire issue a complete look of the perfect mixture of reality and cartoons. Some of the panels and just beautiful to look at, such as the one in which Doc remembers all of Peter’s interactions with Mary Jane. However, some of the panels seem to miss the motion I want to see; they look flat and stiff, at times to the point where it actually bothered me. It’s very sad to see, as the art is great in most aspects, but lacks in motion.
This issue introduces what I except to be the first super-villain (apart from the New Sinister Six last ish) for Octo-Peter. Without giving too much away, I think it will be an interesting face-off and a very nice nod back to the very first issues of The Amazing Spider-man. Apart from that, it’s mostly about Doc’s feeling about being Peter, and his feeling towards Mary Jane. Seeing a mad scientist reacting to a young woman is a worrying thing to see, and I can imagine it might upset a lot of people, but I find it interesting.
An example of a panel lacking motion.
It’s up to a slow start, but seeing how it has improved from the first issue, I can dare to raise my expectations a tiny bit for Superior Spider-man. As for the price, it goes for $4, which I feel is a fair price. It’s not the greatest of issues, but it’s a nice book nonetheless.
