The new day that dawned for the former Doctor Octopus last year has definitely reached its darkest hours in the most recent arc of ‘Superior Spider-Man’. After dealing with Stunner, Spidey set his sights on Agent Venom, who came back to town to a best friend who didn’t remember that he was his best friend. That’s why Octo-Pete planned to separate the symbiote from its host and get rid of it once and for all. But things didn’t go as planned as the alien life form bonded with Spider-Man to create an all-new Superior Venom.
That brings us to issue 25 where it all comes to a boil when an all out war breaks out between Spider-Man and the Avengers. Meanwhile, the Green Goblin’s army grows stronger as a new member joins their ranks right before the ‘Goblin Nation’ arc begins in the next issue.
Business is finally starting to pick up in this book. The inhabitants of the Marvel Universe are finally starting to do something about their suspicions about their once-friendly neighborhood superhero. His standoffish attitude and extremely violent tactics catch up to him at last and it’s been a long time coming. This has been something that I’ve been waiting for since the Avengers confronted Spidey the first time, so I’m glad to see that it’s all starting to happen. That Tony Stark always did have a trick or two up his sleeve and I’m excited to see him pull them out in this series.
Another aspect of this book that has been simmering slowly in the background since the beginning is the whole Goblin situation. Now armed with the information that Stormin’ Norman desperately needs, the Green Goblin and his new minions can take on their greatest foe. Even though we’ve only been getting bits and pieces of the plan along the way, I have enjoyed writer Dan Slott’s method of only giving us a little bit at a time. He’s managed to give us enough each time to keep us interested and craving more. Now, with the huge storyline coming up in the next issue, it’ll all come together in what’s sure to be an epic conclusion to one of the year’s best comic book series.
Finally, the biggest thing that happened in this issue was the grand return of someone that we thought to be long gone. This is a pretty huge SPOILER, but they did already announce the return of Peter Parker in April with a new volume of ‘Amazing Spider-Man’, so I feel like we all knew that this was coming. But now the question is how. This seemingly comes out of nowhere, so I’m pretty anxious to hear how this all happened.
Overall, this issue was the culmination of a lot of things that we have all been questioning about this series and it all happened in such a great way. Slott brought together a number of things that we’ve come to know and love about Spider-Man and reinvigorate them to be something almost completely new. Venom, Spider-Man’s relationship with Mary Jane and the Avengers, and the Green Goblin are just a few of the things that the writer has made his mark on and it’s been great to follow along as it all unfolded. As much as I’m glad to get Amazing back, I feel like a big part of me is going to miss Superior.
Final Score:
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #25
Written by Dan Slott & Christos Gage
Art by Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, John Dell, Edgar Delgado, & Antonio Fabela
