When Avenging Spider-Man first started, it seemed to be a great piece of Marvel Team-Up action with Spider-Man. Last week’s issue hinted that things are changing though, and this is now going to be a series that anyone following the events of Doc Ock in the current Spider-Man comics are going to want to pick up. Christopher Yost has been writing an amazing story so far that you just have a feeling is going to lead to something great.
Last issue while working on dealing with the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man stole the container that was keeping Sandman trapped and took him to an old underwater base that Doc Ock had built. Although it was interesting on why he might do, we didn’t really have a clear focus on his intentions.
The conclusion of this issue may have slightly changed and gave us a bit more perspective on what Spider-Ock is really up to.
In the Ends of the Earth story line that ended up with Peter and Ock switching bodies, one of the events that happened was that the Sinister Six ended with a slight brawl with The Avengers. For the most part the Sinister Six were surprisingly able to hold their own.
When Electro ended up fighting Thor, things didn’t work out quite well for him. Thor humiliated Electro in the fight and was blasted into space. Of course with no death scene, it was clear he’d be back somehow and finally he’s arrived back on Earth.
Doc Ock had built a tracker to notify him when Electro’s signature popped back up on the grid and ended up going to warn Thor. Everyone’s favorite Asgardian God is another example of why I’ve been enjoying the Avenging Spider-Man recently. People in this book not only notice Spider-Man’s personality shift they comment on it. It’s a speaking point that isn’t completely ignored as it is in Superior Spider-Man.
Honestly I’d love to see this Thor and the real Spider-Man have a team up after this. I’m sure their dialogue would be comedic gold!
So Spidey tries to warn Thor about Electro’s return and is just laughed off. What can such a mortal be compared to a God who controls lightning? Well once he turns to the scientists over at A.I.M. for help in being able to kill a god so he might just need to worry after all.
While Electro agrees to having his body changed to become a form of anti-matter, his attempt to kill Thor in a way that react when Thor uses any form of lightning he seems a bit off. Yes the man that can turn into electricity has always been a little overenthusiastic about taking down his enemies but never quite in a suicidal manner.
Spider-Ock of course ends up saving the day but you see even more character growth here then you’d expect. He shows to have a grudging respect for the God who is a true hero and once more the ‘with great power yadda yadda yadda’ line seems to brightly shine into Octavius’ mind. He truly is growing as a person.
At least that’s what you think until the last scene. Doc returns to his underwater base once more and this time puts a captured Electro next to his captured Sandman. It would almost appear that he is once again creating his very own Sinister Six. To what end? Only time and another ‘few’ issues will tell.
Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: Marco Checchetto
