When we last left ‘Superior Spider-Man’, the execution of the Spider-Slayer was put on hold thanks to one last Hail Mary play from Alistair Smythe. Using his Slayer-bots to free him and to upgrade some fellow inmates of the Raft in exchange for their services, the villain is looking to live up to his name by taking care of Spider-Man once and for all. But the all-new Superior Spider-Man isn’t about to take that sitting down, and with Mayor Jameson’s approval to do whatever is necessary to take him out, the good doctor is about to get more aggressive than before.
In the latest issue, even though Vulture is preying on innocent civilians and Scorpion is looking for Jameson in the bowels of the Raft (and Boomerang is tied up in some webbing), Otto is 100% focused on finding and killing Smythe no matter what. Luckily, the Lizard is around to help out the web-slinger in keeping some people safe.
Spidey’s fight with Smythe turned out to be as cutthroat as it could be. I’ll admit, I thought that they would’ve gone a few more rounds, but that last trick in the Spider-Slayer’s playbook was an impressive one. But as the former Doctor Octopus made perfectly clear throughout their battle, he took every possible precaution to ensure victory in this situation. Literally, he was prepared for everything, even that surprise from Smythe that ended up failing and lead to some justified gloating.
Even though Spider-Man vs. Smythe was the main event, I can’t overlook the undercard bouts. Particularly, I must address Dr. Curt Connors. Giuseppe Camuncoli’s take on the character is straight up vicious. It’s almost at the point that it’s hard to look at him because of how gruesome that mug is looking these days. It’s a great juxtaposition for the character since inside he’s the kind-hearted doctor but on the outside, he retains the monstrous visage of his past self. It’s all really quite poetic when you think about it, but that still doesn’t take away from how creepy the Lizard is.
Finally, a big theme of this arc was legacy. Otto thought a whole lot about what he would leave behind as the Superior Spider-Man. After doing his duty, the next step in ensuring that he becomes the best hero he can be was pretty curious. Sure, I’m all for pulling one over on old J. Jonah Jameson, but I really wonder what Dan Slott has in store for whatever comes next in this book. Based on the final page of the book, there’s obviously some big things coming and I’m very much looking forward to seeing them.
Final Score:
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #13
Written by Dan Slott & Christos Gage
Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, John Dell, Terry Pallot, & Antonio Fabela
