The apparently final struggle between Peter Parker and Otto Octavius has arrived. This is, for now, the “last” issue of Amazing Spider-Man — here after weeks of leaks, spoilers, arguments, and apparently some death threats — and it’s one of the most baffling comics I’ve ever tried to take in. Hard to read, hard to describe, and hard to rate.
Prepare for spoilers.
The Amazing Spider-Man #700
Words by Dan Slott
Pencils by Humberto Ramos
Inks by Victor Olazaba
Colors by Edgar Delgado
So long, Doctor Octopus!
If body switching works the way it does in this latest arc, I’d love to be able to pull a switch with Dan Slott for a few hours. At first, I think, he’d be thrilled. He’d be able to write whatever he wants about his own comics, and no one would be the wiser, although some might find the change in a tone a bit jarring. But when he found my memories of reading ASM 700 for the first time, maybe he’d understand why this story is so difficult for me to accept, and I’d like to think it would make him as upset about it as I am.
What I’m describing is the solution Slott came up with for how to tell a story about Dr. Octopus as Spider-Man without making him a super villain. And I was absolutely impressed with his execution. As Peter’s last attempt at reclaiming his life fails and so too does the crippled body he’s trapped in, he discovers that he has enough of a mind link established to Otto to forcibly share his memories as they flash before his eyes. Kneeling in submission, Octavius begs for the pain to end as he experiences first hand all the hardest moments of Peter’s career. When the process is over, Peter’s life has ended, but he has extracted a promise from Octavius to live as a hero.
I was genuinely torn up reading this. Even my distaste for Ramos’s art style couldn’t diminish my appreciation for how cleverly Slott went about putting the full weight of Spider-Man on Octavius’s shoulders. But the way it ends feels completely wrong. There is something uncomfortable, distasteful and slightly disturbing about the fact that The Amazing Spider-Man has ended this way. It’s not because I believe this change will be permanent — it’s almost a certainty that Peter will eventually return, as no shift in super hero legacy ever does seem to be permanent. But there is a problem, and upon further reflection, it turns out it’s the same problem running through this entire issue.
You hit the — oh.
The very first scene of 700 is one of the most uncomfortable things I have ever read. And I give Slott enough credit to believe that it’s supposed to be, but that doesn’t make me any happier to have it around. Wearing Peter’s body like a fleshsuit, Otto snuggles with Mary Jane, attempting to carry out his ruse to the completion of an act that would, beyond any possibility of a doubt, be rape. The significance of this intention and its presence in ASM #700 has already become a hot issue of debate on the internet, as well it should have. This cannot be stressed enough: the very first act Otto performs in Peter’s body in ASM #700 is attempted rape. And as would be expected from a rapist, when he is rebuffed he reacts with anger, something that is so severely out of character for Peter that it should instantly have set off an alarm in MJ. And at first, I was ready to feel relieved at her bewildered, “Peter? What’s come over you?” But as soon as he brushes her aside to check on the status of “Dr. Octopus” — with a brusk “Not now, woman!” to boot — she seems to forget his unusual behavior and revert to “go get ’em, Tiger!” mode.
This disturbing characterization of Mary Jane continues throughout the issue. Alerted to the fact that Peter has escaped in his former body, Otto sets a plan in motion to ensure that his body switch will remain intact, locking all of Peter’s family and friends — from May & Jay to the Horizon crew to Jonah and of course Mary Jane — securely at Avengers Tower, and keeping them essentially as hostages without their knowledge. When MJ confronts him with the accusation that he’s hiding them away out of fear, he responds with a manipulative, condescending brush off that, again, would never come out of Peter’s mouth in a million years. “What’s the point? Why are you still hanging around?” he concludes with. Not to mention that he refers to her as “woman” again.
MJ’s response is heartbreaking, and has been included here in its entirety because it’s really necessary to drive home the point of just how infuriating this story is. Dan Slott isn’t an idiot. He knows that a tremendous portion of his readership, quite likely the vast majority, has been reading his title desperately hoping that the teases he’s constantly inserted would finally lead to the reunion of these two. It’s no accident, and it wasn’t thought up on a whim, that MJ’s confession comes here when she ought to know better than anyone else in the world that the person she’s talking to isn’t Peter. Her “one, basic truth that trumps everything” is what the readership has been trying to explain to Marvel for years, and Slott is purposely throwing it in the face of everyone who wants these two back together.
No offense, Doc, but you’re acting really weird.
But surely, even if MJ has somehow lost her mind completely, Peter’s determination will win out again as it always has. When he finally faces off against Otto, Slott writes him very well up to a point. I was thrilled by his desperate anger at the fact that Otto used his his — Peter’s — own fists to take Scorpion’s jaw off: “I swear, if you’ve used those hands to take a life…” And another thing that that really struck true about this scene is how perfect Jonah is. There’s a brilliant irony about how the man’s opinion has reversed after Peter saved May and Jay from a plane crash and he finally felt so grateful as to openly thank Spidey, only to have that newly earned respect aimed at Doctor Octopus and exploited to get him locked up as an unwitting hostage. Jonah even faces down the Scorpion in a moment that’s genuinely powerful for being both unexpected and true to form, showing that despite how much of an insufferable jerk he is, he’s a good man underneath it all.
Nothing, however, comes even close to the emotional resonance of the scene where Peter makes his last ditch attempt at saving his legacy. This sequence is executed flawlessly. It moves back and forth between Peter’s memories and his enemy, until the two of them slowly merge. All of the most painful deaths in his history flash by, with Gwen in the center. He lifts an enormous machine off his back, tears the symbiote from his body, defeats the Juggernaut and in a rare acknowledgement that the Straczynski run happened even punches Morlun’s lights out. Even I have to commend Ramos for the composition of this sequence, and if you’ve been reading my reviews you know how I feel about his art in general. It really is pretty overwhelming for a Spidey fan.
And that’s what just makes the whole thing so damn hard to swallow. These are all the memories that we have, too. These are the stories through which Peter Parker has inspired us and made us love him. And now he’s giving them away to someone who just tried to rape his wife. That’s not powerful or inspiring, and I don’t even think it’s clever. I just think it’s repulsive.
[I understand.] [You better. You’re Spider-Man now.]
There are already a lot of defenses out there.
One of the most popular is “this won’t last.” And in all likelihood that’s true, despite Wacker’s insistence on acting like it will. It won’t because it never does. Because in 2014 there will be a new movie starring Peter Parker. Because trying to explain to new fans that Doctor Octopus is Spider-Man but he’s Peter Parker but not exactly is not very conducive to bringing them into the fold. And also because the fans will probably hate this just as much as they hated being told that Peter Parker had always been a clone and having him written out of the book. So if this really is only temporary, then what’s the problem? Why react so negatively? And that’s a very good question.
There is a standard arc through which heroic stories generally proceed. A time of darkness is a necessary part of this arc. At some point the audience must feel that all hope has been lost and the hero has failed. They won’t necessarily believe it, but they have to feel it. But I believe there is a very necessary ingredient in that formula that’s missing here, and it’s that the audience has to also feel that they are in on it with the author. The audience knows what the author is doing and why. They understand that they’re being let down so that they can be brought back up, and in that sense, they’re on even footing with the author. Neither is directly at the mercy of the other and both are respectfully fulfilling their roles. Yet the readers don’t get that here. It’s like they’re being played with. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. How long do we have to endure Otto as Spider-Man, and why aren’t we being let in on it? Why is it that for this to be a dark turning point in Spider-Man’s epic, we have to feel condescended to?
Of course, there is another possible scenario. There is a more complex approach to storytelling, one that most critics, including myself, would probably consider deeper and ultimately more artistically developed. This approach deliberately bucks the trends and throws out the conventions, refusing the adhere to the expectations that its audience have built over time. Is it possible that this is the approach being taken in ASM 700?
That’s exactly where the problem lies: this dilemma has no satisfying answer. Slott is writing this story as if Spider-Man belongs to him, when the truth is that it doesn’t. If his goal is the buck the trend, then the outrage of fans is right: they’ve been coming here for fifty years knowing what it is they’re supposed to get, and the character belongs to them just as much as it does to Slott. Just because he’s in the writer’s seat doesn’t change that. Dan Slott didn’t make Spider-Man a worldwide icon. We did. We did it by purchasing his books and his toys and T-shirts. We did it by watching his cartoons and going to see his movies on opening night. Legally, Spider-Man belongs to Marvel, and since they’ve trusted Slott with him you could argue that he’s legally Slott’s for the time being. But in spirit, he is ours, and we deserve to be treated with respect by his current guardian. But get this: Slott thinks he loves Spidey more than we do. He said so. If you don’t believe me, turn to the end of the book and read his blurb in the letters page, where he brazenly types the words, with no apparent qualifiers or indications of hyperbole, “I am the world’s biggest Spider-Man fan.”
The hole gets deeper. In a USA Today interview that just came out, Dan Slott made the most damning public statement of his time on the book: “Doc is kinda like me: He’s short and schlubby. This is a guy who now gets to be in the body of Peter Parker. This opens up whole new things.” It’s hard to read this statement any way but one. This is Dan Slott’s world now. Dan Slott now gets to be Spider-Man. Later, in that same article, Slott claims that the story is “meta” because the original Spider-Man was considered a menace by the public, and now the new one has to face that problem with the readership. He knows exactly what he’s doing here.
But until I get to perform that mind swap, I seriously doubt he’s going to get it.
Pros: The storytelling in this issue is top-notch. It is very well paced. The moments that are meant to be poignant are undeniably successful. The book uses its length well. Jameson has one of his all-time shining moments. Peter’s flashback upon his death is gut-wrenching.
Cons: Peter Parker surrenders his body and his life to a criminal mastermind, murderer and attempted rapist. He dies alone and afraid. Readers are meant to find it touching and exciting that the hero we idolized as children and grew up devoted to has been beaten, spit on, and died alone with no fanfare or final triumph. This is darkness for its own sake; it has no deeper meaning, it does nothing to enhance Peter Parker’s tale. It gives every impression of being little more than the realization of an ancient fantasy for its author, written for his own pleasure at the expense of the fans who gave him his job. It is condescension distilled into fiction.
Grade: I wish I could retract the one F I’ve given in the past to make this one seem like it counts more.
“This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.”
-T.S. Eliot
Postscript…
This is my favorite review I’ve written for the Crawlspace, and I believe it’s also the longest. How’s that for meta? My own magnum opus to counter Slott’s. First off, I’d like to say that while this is the most critical I’ve ever been of him, it’s important to me to reaffirm that I’m criticizing his work, not his person. Slott is a nice guy who loves Spider-Man, and if he proves me wrong about Superior I’ll be happy.
Second: I’m sincerely encouraging readers who feel the way I do about this story to vote with their wallets. As for me, I’m going to be picking up Superior. That was a decision I thought long and hard about. The reason I chose to do it is because I would like to continue reviewing for the Crawlspace. I think this site is tremendously important to the Spidey fandom because it’s a place that’s completely independent and people speak their minds. Journalists should never be afraid of creating friction between themselves and the people they’re covering — if they are, they compromise their whole function. It’s been an honor for me to be able to contribute to what I believe is the best Spidey site on the net, so assuming Brad would like to have me continue on with Superior, I’m in it for the long haul. Everyone’s got to make up their own mind about how to react when big changes happen on a book they’re following. After One More Day, I vented to the owner of the comic shop I was visiting at the time that I was having a hard time accepting the change and wondered what he thought. A soft-spoken but wise man, he looked at me, shrugged, and said, “Well, do you wanna read Spider-Man?”
Finally: I’m hoping to make a separate post for the backups, or else edit something in for them here later. At the moment, getting this thing out on time after getting home from a long day at work has gotten me so pooped I’m not sure I can write another word. Many thanks to anyone who didn’t tl;dr this review — it means a lot to me that you read it.
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@Daniel 42: No, but he claims to be the “biggest” fan. That implies bigger than even Stan Lee.
No, no more Peter Parker for you. Wacker & Slott know better what you, the customer, ought to want.
Just be glad they aren’t in government.
Amazing review of a extremely hard issue, I hope that these events unfold into something tha justifies such a horrible, traumatic and tragical end (?) of my most beloved character. I’ll be looking forward for the Reviews on “superior” with a open mind but a strict judgment
I mourn Peter Parker
So what do I do nowadays if I would like to read more adventures about Peter Parker? Isn’t that what reading Spider-man was all about. Granted, the idea of doc ock in peters body is interesting but surely only for an arc? A whole series? Replacing Peter Parker? Are there really no better ideas? Does anyone really want this more than Peter Parker? Its just too creepy and awkard. I dont want to read it at all. Avenging 15.1 was more than enough.
I also hope that Wacker, Slott can take criticism onboard for once. Slott is not the only fan out there.
I sincerely miss the days of Roger Stern or even the old Bullpen. Now there was a group of consummate pros who knew how to get, keep and build reader interest and goodwill.
37 Big Fan, You now have a warning. Keep it up and you’re banned.
Pretty sure #37 is Steve Wacker, who-coincidentally- has been banned for trolling before. Either way, let’s not feed the trolls.
Big fan, pay attention to the forum rules. I’m not a mod, but I’ll still say it — keep your name-calling to yourself.
@34 Aw, you’re offended … poor baby. Get over it, dweeb! Yea, the bad guy won – IT HAPPENS! This is a big-time-gonads story that Slott put out. Finally, a writer allows a story to run a true course. Those that are attacking Slott are imbeciles — plain and simple!
Anyone know what BD thinks of this issue?
the storytelling is top notch and gets an F.
LOL
Really enjoyed 700. For me it’ll go down as a memorable and defining issue for the character.
I’ll check out Superior as I’ve subscribed to it for a year. But if I don’t like where it’s going I think I’ll jump ship till peter returns.
I’m a long time visitor and this will be my first message I’m offended with the way they treated one of the flag ship marvel characters they made sure this issue came out to coincide with the 50th anniversary and this is how they celebrate? By practically spitting on the character who has carried the series for 700+ issues? I can’t think of another instance in comics where the series ends in such a dour note and the villian wins and the hero is killed. I know other heros have been done in many times over but in those cases those characters died with dignity and as heros in or out of their costumes I apologize for this rant but after reading #700 I knew my spidery days were done for the foreseeable future I can only hope this “superior” spider-man tanks and is canceled 2 issues in and slott becomes the most hated writer in all literature thanks for reading
@ 7 Seriously? Are you sure? You mean, I really don’t have to buy these things (comics)? Are you sure?
I’ve known Pete all of my life. My early memories are of Peter Parker. He taught me a lot growing up. He made me laugh when life was hard, he showed me easy is not always the right way and difficulty was constant but not unbeatable. Marvel’s disrespect of Pete is hand’s down appalling. Kill off Ultimate Pete. I miss him, but 616 Pete is still around. For the sake of publicity, main stream Pete is killed as well???? It lacks class on so many levels. I leave you with a quote from Herman Melville (who I read because of Pete) “I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.” Kind of sums up Peter Parker nicely to me. And for the record, he was always Peter first and Spidey second. It’s comics, I hope I see me friend Pete again….SOONER…rather than later.
I’m fairly certain that he will. This is no longer simply about writing stories and defending them. There is an uncomfortable element of proving that he is right and the rest of us are wrong. Ego is rearing its ugly head and has been for some while. Also, brace yourself for Chameleon/Michelle Gonzales times 100 with Ock and MJ.
On several levels, this ain’t gonna be pretty.
I just hope Slott does not beat us over the head with “I’m Ock in Peter’s body” like the “no more spider-sense” moments.
“Murdering the Scorpion”???
“Rape”???
Sometimes I think you people read different books than the ones I read…
Having said that, I just read the book a few hours ago… still trying to absorb it… but I know that I liked it… and I’m kind of excited to move forward.
And I’m also very happy that I was able to get the Ditko variant… never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever own any Spider-Man art from his creator.
🙂
Well, here I am reacting yet again to a fictional story about a fictional character. I sent a letter, published in ASM 600, expressing my gratitude for simply being entertained by the expansion of character and cleverness of plot I thought that issue contained. Now, 100 issues later, I find my reaction to Marvel Now to be Marvel “No- Thank-You” . As I read ASM 700, I had to wonder if Mr. Slott grew up on the same Abbot and Costello movies I watched as a kid? The transference of one brain for another was growing old in the late 1950s; it’s hard to believe it’s yet-a-again a major plot point in 2012! I found the ASM 700 story to be more of a comedy than a tragedy. When will that pesky golden octobot show up again? How will it plug Peter’s mind into the internet (similar to “Max Headroom”), or perhaps drink oil cocktails with ULTRON in some future comics event? . I guess I should thank Marvel comics for providing me with a “jumping off point”. I’m quite contented to sit here at my ranch waiting for” Marvel Then” to entice me to open my wallet and buy a comic….
There’s a couple of theories I’ve been kicking around that could not only bring Parker back, but also screw Ock over and make him the most dangerous villain that Peter will ever face… but I highly doubt we’ll get anything close to what I had in mind. It’ll probably be another 3 page Deus Ex thing again.
#11: Nick, appreciate the dissenting opinion. I do want to make a clarification based on your reply. I think that execution is only a means to an end. The simplest way to explain that, for me, would simply be to point out that within the story, Octavius’s execution of his plan was quite brilliant. That doesn’t mean that what he did is anything less than despicable.
I disagree about the execution. I didn’t feel anything with this issue but disappointment. I didn’t really feel anger (except for the fact that I spent $8 on it). I didn’t get emotional at all when Spider-man died. It just felt like a stunt. I wasn’t really a fan of the Ultimate universe spiderman, but his death was very touching. The story felt rushed. To do this properly, and convincingly, they needed about twice as many issues IMO. It felt like ” and now Doctor Octopus is a good guy”. I’m perfectly willing to suspend my disbelief for a story that is fun, but this one wasn’t and it just seemed like they threw things out there and expected us to just believe it. I felt ripped off for my $8 on this issue and that they were blatantly soliciting more money from me with Avenging and Superior and I’m not going to go for that.
Eventually another writer will take over and Peter Parker will be back, I just hope they can come up with much better story for the return of Peter Parker than Slott did for the end of him. If they just say “he was peter all along, and he just thought he was ock” I will lose all hope.
Honestly I’m not mad.
Peter didn’t die. Ock copied his brain pattern into Peter’s Head. Ock dies with Peter’s brain pattern, but it was still ock. Peter is still Peter. The effect of the transplant will wear off and we will get our friendly neighboorhood Spider-Man back soon.
It’s like a clone saga redux. Only with a different approach.
@ #3 – About your second sentence: there you have Dan Slott’s basic problem…
This HAS to be the worst comic EVER.
#17 is probably the only comment I read that shares my view on this. I mean, Otto-in-Peter’s body still used the same red-lined though boxes, and the Peter-in-Otto boxes with green-lined. If this was a genuine mind swap, they would have used it differently just to drive the point home that it was a genuine switch. But no, this is basically a personality and memory add-on for both characters. I mean, during the Ock scenes where he’s working with Trapster and the others, he briefly starts talking like Ock normally does. When Ock confronts Scorpion during his attempt to kill Aunt May, he isn’t being Ock-in-Spidey’s body. He’s Spidey-with-Ock-personality.
I’m a religious guy. I believe in the idea of a soul. But even if I didn’t, the reality from a scientific view is Ock didn’t switch with Peter. Ock copied his brain waves on Peter alongside Peter himself, and did the same in reverse.
I’m going to read Superior, because I want to see how this merged Peter does before Peter retakes control. If I’m the only visitor to this site who thinks so, oh well.
I have seen the character survive the backlash from the Clone Saga, JMS’ first story and its mystic interpretation of the origin, becoming an Avenger and even One More Day (which honestly is the worst Spidey story I’ve ever read, and far worse than this). That’s what Spidey does, survive.
And as for the idea that Spidey belongs to us, he does in a broad sense, but he also belongs to his writers and artists. Everyone from Lee, Ditko, Stern, Romita(s), JMS and even Slott. It’s the back and forth between creators and fans that truly create the icon. I’m willing to see how it goes from here.
The tiny word balloon in the bottom left of the regular cover is in French meaning — “The essential thing is not to win or lose but to know the truth”.
18# You’re right. Batman and in my opinion “Batman and Robin”are two of the best books on the stands right now. Rich storytelling, great characterzation and great respect for the history of the characters. Something not seen in Spiderman in quite a few years.
20# I’m perfectly calm, but if you are going to make a general statement in referencing my post, you need to be more specific in your meaning because it comes across a lot differently than what you attempted to say.
Yes, Slott’s been crafting this story for many years. But in the end, it’s a dumb, throw-away “what-if?” story. “What if Otto Octavius was Spider-Man?” My answer is:”Well, that would be DUMB.” Matter-of-fact, i wouldn’t even buy that as a one-shot issue of “What If”, because that idea at it’s core is even weak for a “what if” book! Of COURSE they’ll undo this and Peter will come back. Dress a gimmick up all you want, take 4 years to weave it into Spidey stories, but when all is said and done, IT’S STILL A GIMMICK!! And not even a good one…
My comments are constantly censored! It’s so annoying!
In summation, I agree with #17!
I enjoyed the issue. It’s NOT a big deal.
@#14
It’s a general statement. No one’s blaming you. Calm down.
This issue wins the award for worst issue of Amazing Spider-Man ever! Congratulations, you killed the series, literally. Can’t believe I paid $7.99 for this crap.
Can’t speak for Superman but the bat titles are in a renaissance right now, I suggest you check out just plain. “batman” where they are wrapping up what is arguably the best joker story since death in the family.
Thank you Erik for reviewing Superior in the future as I and many other will NOT be purchasing this disgrace.
I was one of the first to cry “Superior Spidey is going to rape MJ!!” but at the time, Slott couldn’t give me a straight answer. That has changed now as he answered someone in twitter. https://twitter.com/DanSlott/status/283979638986919936
@DanSlott ty 🙂 Did you considered the inappropriateness of Doc Ock being a hero & being intimate at any level w MJ due to lack of consent?
@xombiekitty Good question. The answer to that will be seen in SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #2.
So we’ll see how Slott cleans up his mess. Still, what happened in 700 IS a middle finger to Pete/MJ fans.
Just like I chose not to watch Ultimate Spider-man cartoon because it’s crap, now I won’t purchase Superior. It’s the only option we fans have left.
Much ado about nothing. We have Peter Parker’s body walking around, complete with fingerprints and DNA. We have Peter Parker’s brain in that body complete with ALL of his memories. We got Otto Octavius’s memories also implanted into that brain, along with Otto’s moral compass becoming temporarily dominant . Then we got an out-of-body Peter Parker managing to control the memories in the Peter Parker brain to reestablish the dominance of the Peter Parker moral compass, apparently most of the time. Regardless this is still Peter Parker, albeit a damaged version. And Otto Octavious died with both his memories and Peter Parker’s memories, but with the Peter Parker moral compass in control in that body too.
This new schizophrenic Peter Parker/Spider-Man should make for some interesting story lines. The only real question remaining is: When they revert to the “Amazing Spider-Man” title, will they integrate the “Superior Spider-Man” issues into the numbering scheme ?
It’s a sad day to be a web-head. How/why did Marvel OK this total defecation on Stan Lee’s legacy? I completely agree with you in EVERY way. Before I read the book, I was on the fence as to whether I would pick up the first issue of…can’t bring my self to write it…the next “Spider-Man” title. I now know that without a doubt, I will NEVER give it any credence, time, or money. I’m so glad to find others who feel the same way I do about this issue, and you’ve described my feelings in such an eloquent manner, I’ve got nothing left to say other than, “WORST COMIC EVER”.
That pic of MJ makes her look blind or addled.
10#”Doesn’t matter how bad the book is… and it’s bad, the death threats are uncalled for”
Excuse me but when did I ever say that death threats of any form was acceptable? If you are going to play the heavy hand of righteousness and try to come down on someone, back it up.
Farawell Peter Parker, Farawell Spiderman, I am done. So now PP/Spidey is a character that makes deals with the devil and surrenders… what a hero. Hope DC is doing something decent with Batman or superman
“It’s like they’re being played with. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. How long do we have to endure Otto as Spider-Man, and why aren’t we being let in on it? Why is it that for this to be a dark turning point in Spider-Man’s epic, we have to feel condescended to?”
I’ve been asking myself this very question about OMD for the past few years.
“But get this: Slott thinks he loves Spidey more than we do. He said so. If you don’t believe me, turn to the end of the book and read his blurb in the letters page, where he brazenly types the words, with no apparent qualifiers or indications of hyperbole, “I am the world’s biggest Spider-Man fan.””
What a way to prove it.
“It gives every impression of being little more than the realization of an ancient fantasy for its author, written for his own pleasure at the expense of the fans who gave him his job. It is condescension distilled into fiction.”
“Grade: I wish I could retract the one F I’ve given in the past to make this one seem like it counts more.”
Add a minus sign. This is unreal. You’re the one people expect to be more positive about the books. And this one upset you more than it did Donovan.
Why am I thinking about Joe Quesada right now?
Mostly agree with the review, right until we got up to strange comments re: Slott and his “ownership” or otherwise of Spider-Man. I’m pretty sure when he said he’s “the world’s biggest Spider-Man fan”, he didn’t mean it competitively. His goal here was meant to be reassurance – I know what I’m doing, I love Spidey too, things will ultimately be okay.
Which is yet another veiled hint, in my reckoning, that Slott’s Ock-as-Spidey arc is a pre-set story with a beginning, middle and end, and this is, as you correctly observed, the mid-act point of darkness, where all seems lost and the hero must begin to slowly crawl his way back into the light. That’s exactly what it is, and I imagine we’re going to see that played out over the course of Superior Spider-Man, as Peter slowly reclaims his body, in the form of Ock slowly becoming a better person, until either he basically turns back into Peter Parker, or he voluntarily gives up his control so Peter can come back.
But I don’t suffer from a lack of authorial faith, and as a result, I thought this was a great issue and I’m excited to see where it goes. If what you’re saying is true, and the storytelling was top notch but you can’t bring yourself to like it because you don’t trust Dan Slott to be going somewhere good with it, then the F seems a little much. I’m not saying it should be an A – hell, I wouldn’t necessarily give this issue an A, it has flaws – but I think it’s hard to say such a review really represents the comic itself.
Or maybe this really is how it goes. Regardless of the level of competence on display in this comic (which we seem to both agree is pretty high), ultimately your review is that you’ll love it or hate it based on whether you trust Dan Slott to carry off his uber-arc. I’m not sure what this means for a normal comic-buying chap who doesn’t read online interviews or care what Slott says on Twitter – I guess he’d probably like it.
@#8
Doesn’t matter how bad the book is… and it’s bad, the death threats are uncalled for.
“It’s like they’re being played with. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. How long do we have to endure Otto as Spider-Man, and why aren’t we being let in on it?”
Lemme answer with a question. How long has it been since they said OMD wouldn’t last?
“But get this: Slott thinks he loves Spidey more than we do. He said so. If you don’t believe me, turn to the end of the book and read his blurb in the letters page, where he brazenly types the words, with no apparent qualifiers or indications of hyperbole, “I am the world’s biggest Spider-Man fan.””
Yeah. I can tell by how thoroughly you just pissed away his legacy…
“It gives every impression of being little more than the realization of an ancient fantasy for its author, written for his own pleasure at the expense of the fans who gave him his job. It is condescension distilled into fiction.”
Why a I suddenly thinking of the former EIC?
“Grade: I wish I could retract the one F I’ve given in the past to make this one seem like it counts more.”
Add a minus.
Quite true, that. Wacker’s Twitter feed shows page ofter page of him gleefully trolling away, as he still labors under the belief that, as long as people are “buzzing”, it doesn’t matter how mad they are.
After all, surely they’ll come back and buy! Right, guys?
Uh, guys? Guys? Hey, where did everybody go?
They said that with One More Day and they still did not replace the readers that left. That’s why they try to compensate with variant covers and stuns like this to boost the sales. That and Slott crying about so called Death threats to get people interested.
Slott has bragged he’s planned this for years-and Erik’s conmments about Slott-as-Spidey ring alarmingly true. Wacker has acknowledged that the shadow of Peter will hang over the title for a long, long time and ultimately, he’s prepared to wait out the storm until new fans come in to replace the old ones , until ultimately, Wacker promises nobody will remember Peter Parker-the real Peter-at all.
He even baited a fan who reacted to that comment with dismay on his twitter page.
If they actually are serious about putting a major cultural icon effectively to the torch, they would do well to remember that comics are a luxury, an elective purchase and, therefore, are easy to give up. They are not essential. It’s advertising wisdom that nobody, but nobody crams unwanted, unpopular change down the throats of buyers of a luxury item.
If the change is unpopular enough-as this seems to be -customers will simply stop buying, as was the case with Clone Saga and New Coke.
Cons: Peter Parker surrenders his body and his life to a criminal mastermind, murderer and attempted rapist. He dies alone and afraid. Readers are meant to find it touching and exciting that the hero we idolized as children and grew up devoted to has been beaten, spit on, and died alone with no fanfare or final triumph. This is darkness for its own sake; it has no deeper meaning, it does nothing to enhance Peter Parker’s tale.
This is exactly the uncomfortable feeling I had in my stomach when I read the last few pages…. I’m still bothered by it. I’m a longtime Spidey comic book fan who enjoys the cheesiness of the title and loves seeing Peter triumph in the end. It’s corny, but with all that’s wrong in my life/world – Spider-Man comics are a place I always expect Peter to win. After I read this, I am floored. I can’t understand why Marvel would think this is a fitting end to Peter Parker? Like I said, I’m still really bothered by this comic.
You’ve had my nom to be the main reviewer for over 12 hours now Erik, for forward and make it happen!
You’ve had by nom to be the main reviewer for over 12 hours now Erik, for forward and make it happen!
Pardon the typos in the preceding comment. Nothing good ever came of typing too quickly.
Bad. very bad. A sloppy, Deus ex Machina conversion that’s as convincing as a three dollar bill, the expected OOC writing of MJ, the woese-rthan-expected slap in the face to Peter/MJ fans, and a senseless, poorly written, ignominious death of the character of Peter Parker. This issue was pages of whiz bang chases and acton, followed by wasted dialogue from the supporting cast and an end which is , at best, discourous to readers.
Only Jonah’s moment of defiance of Scorpion was worth it, and even them to see him openly cheer otto for murdering Scorpion wrang false, since JJJ has spent 50 years condeming Spidey for doing precisely what he did there: Taking the law into his own hands.
Good God……Get ready for more in-your-face Otto/MJ shenanigans, 100 times what we were subjected to with Chameleon/Michelle Gonzales. Van Lente may yetr make it nto the dictionary as a verb for rape-by-fraud.
This is, indeed, the only story even worse than OMD. Whoever follows Slott will have a hard time salvaging this debacle and winning readers back-if they can be won back. And saly, no matter the what else he’s done or does hereafter, this is what Slott will be remembered for….Arguably one of the five worst stories in the entire fifty year runof ASM.
If Slott, Waid, Wacker, brevoort and Quesada honestly, truly think this is the way to win new readers, then the title is in desperate need of a change at the helm.
For Slott’s sake, I hope it was worth it.
Well said!
I would love for you to continue reviewing Superior too, Erik, if Brad doesn’t mind my saying so.