Just when you think that Otto Octavius is finally going to get his comeuppance, this new issue happens. Things were leaning towards a possible end to the new, Superior Spider-Man, but the former Doc Ock really showed that he’s not going to give up without a fight. And to be quite honest, I wouldn’t mind if he won because I quite enjoyed this one.
In the last issue, Octo-Pete encountered some trouble with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes when a few Avengers began to take note of Spider-Man’s new, more aggressive behavior. The incidents with Massacre, Jester, and Screwball were one thing, but when the wall-crawler attacked the vigilante Cardiac, who is only looking to steal equipment that would help cure ailing people in his underground hospital, specifically an item created by Doctor Octopus before he passed away, that’s really when Captain America and company began to take notice. They know the sort of good works that Cardiac carries out, so after his scuffle with Spidey, they call their colleague in for questioning. Naturally, after Otto refuses to cooperate, a battle begins to brew.
The newest issue opens with the battle in progress. It’s Spider-Man vs. Wolverine, Black Widow, Thor, Spider-Woman, and Captain America. And, in a way, Spider-Man is fighting himself as well because Peter Parker is working on regaining control of his body. But after the Avengers neutralize their teammate and run the necessary tests that they need to run, they release him with no problem when all the results don’t indicate any sort of problem. Now free to go about his business again, the Superior Spider-Man is ready to finish things with Cardiac.
Overall, this issue made me extremely happy. Dan Slott is really making it hard to remember that it’s actually Otto Octavius in Peter Parker’s body. Otto is becoming more and more likeable. Yeah, he has his moments sometimes that reflect his old self, but he’s really showing some change and he’s becoming quite an interesting hero in my eyes.
Another cool thing on Slott’s part was the careful choices he made with his Avengers roster appearing in this arc. After they let Spider-Man go and he’s talking to himself about the test results, I just thought to myself, “Wow, what a great call.” The people who were missing all had good reasons to be missing and it reminded the reader of the shared universe that this comic resides in. Of course, that is if the reader didn’t quite get that from the Avengers crossover.
This issue made excellent use of stories that came before it. It also contained some great character-defining moments. As much as I love Peter Parker, the new Spider-Man is incredibly complex and just a joy to read. I know that this warm fuzzy feeling won’t last because people are starting to catch on to something being up with the friendly, neighborhood web-slinger, but I’m really going to enjoy it while it lasts.
Seriously people, if you’re still on the fence about this series because of what happened in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #700, you need to get over it quick because ‘Superior Spider-Man’ is a pretty great read so far. I’ll even say that it’s one of my favorite books on my pull list right now.
Final Score:
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #8
Written by Dan Slott
Art by Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, & Edgar Delgado
