Trust No One…
Superior Spider-Man Team Up # 10
Goblin Nation Prologue Part 2
Written by Kevin Shinick
Drawn by Marco Checchetto
Colored by Rachelle Rosenberg
Edited by Ellie Pyle
Senior Editor Stephen Wacker
Plot
Continued from last issue, SpOck, Daredevil, and Punisher fight off the corrupted Spider-Patrol (who, SpOck believes, are imposters) . Despite a huge lack of trust, the 3 heroes win when SpOck floods the chamber that they were fighting in (SpOck is very reluctant to do this because of all the tech in the room). SpOck learns afterwards that the Spider-Patrol that attacked him was part of the Green Goblin’s gang.
My Thoughts
I liked this issue a lot more than the first one. I’m going to hit up what I thought were the main points.
First of all, the interaction between SpOck, Daredevil, and Punisher was spot-on. It actually does make sense that SpOck doesn’t trust Daredevil and Punisher. As Doc Ock, he never trusted any of the villains he worked with. As SpOck, he’s done the exact thing. This is another example (a good one) of how SpOck is quickly digging his own grave. When the crap hits the fan with Goblin Nation, will SpOck have any heroes to help him, especially considering how he’s spent the last year alienating practically every hero in the Marvel Universe?
Second, SpOck spent a lot of time this issue worrying about the equipment he has stashed in Spider-Island. While it didn’t impact his decision to flood the chamber, he was still borderline obsessed over it. I’m not sure if this is good characterization or not. While Dr. Octopus was selfish and arrogant, would he care more about personal property than about victory? Either way, I did like how Ock’s plan was to flood the chamber. It seems like a vintage “supervillain” move.
GRADE: B+
I thought this was a better issue than the last one. The jokes didn’t feel as forced and the plot was good. I’m not convinced this was a necessary part of the Goblin Nation story because I don’t think it’ll have an impact on the story as a whole (although I did like how SpOck referenced it in Superior Spider-Man #27). I did think that SpOck’s “NOOOOO” when he saw the fake Spider-Patrolman’s Goblin tattoo was lame, but that was it.
Until next time!
John
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After reading a recent TPB of SSM-TU, I like Christos Gage’s and Christopher Yost’s work on Spider-Man so much better than anything Dan Slott has done. Their characterizations are much more rounded and subtle. They both use irony to good effect. They are the only ones who seem to remember that Otto was trying to better himself, which is the twist that drives this series.
I hope that this trend of alienaiting the other heroes comes back to bite Peter after his return. I really have never been sold on Spidey being so chummy and widely accepted by all the Marvel heroes, despite Bendis’ best efforts to convince me that he belongs on the Avengers. (Because of story reasons. Not, yaknow, sales or anything like that) Frankly, I felt like Spider-Man started to spiral down into the gutter of OMD as a direct result of getting so involved with the Avengers. JMS and the other writers were at the mercy of whatever the Avengers office’s direction was doing at the time and Spider-Man hasn’t felt the same since. So, if we get a return to the loner-Spidey as a result of the Superior-Saga (new shot-game suggestion for the admins on the podcast:every time “superior” is mentioned), I’ll be happy.
I like how this ties in with Goblin Nation as GG was setting Spider-Man for the fall.
Agree with #1….Thing is…this whole superior saga took too long….SpOck is at its best when the writers make him the tragic hero…getting ready for Peter Parker return!!
I really like the artwork above, especially of the Green Goblin on the cover.
It would be ironic if that the Spider-writers were finally finding a proper “voice” or a groove on how to write SpOck…just in time to show him the door for the return of Peter Parker.