Ock pulls a page from Peter’s playbook and considers hanging up the webs.
Superior Spider-man Team-up #8
Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: Will Sliney
Color Art: Antonio Fabella
Letter: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover: Paolo Rivera.
Spoilers follow after the break
The Plot: So following the Sinister Six debacle last issue Ock is considering giving up being Spidey. He resolves to turn himself into the Avengers and explain everything when on the way to Avengers Tower he runs into Namor getting his clocked clean by invisible Wakandan ninjas, as apparently Wakanda and Atlantis are at war. Ock can see them due to the lenses on his uniform and pulls Namor to safety.
Spidey confides in Namor that he is considering hanging up the webs and Namor replies by laughing at him.
The Ninjas return and this time Ock and Namor win. In the process Ock discovers they are robots and someone is manipulating the two nations against each other. The robots begin to self destruct on top of the bridge where the fight took place. Namor is more than willing to jump in the water and be done with it but Ock stays behind to deactivate them.
Afterwards Namor tells Spidey he liked his new attitude (since Ock took over) and that, combined with his saving the day on the bridge, convinces Ock to keep going as Spidey. He then slugs Namor and tells him to stay out of New York until this war is over.
Critical Thoughts: This was okay. I mean Namor isn’t a favorite of mine but it was interesting to see Ock deal with the same doubts that Peter often did.
I have no idea where this war is taking place since I don’t think Namor or Panther have a solo book now (plus aren’t they teammates in New Avengers?), but I don’t care either. Although I will call it now that clearly Dr. Doom is the one manipulating the war since he has a lot of history with Namor and I’m fairly sure there was some limited series a few years ago where Latveria went to war with Wakanda; plus Ock said he had never seen technology this advanced when he deactivated the robots which is a dead-ringer for Doom.
My biggest quibble with this book is the cover has nothing to do with the story. It’s a nice cover too. But if someone bought this book because they wanted to see Spidey and Namor fight a red kraken they’d be sorely disappointed. I know in this day and age most covers are just generic pin-ups of the hero, but this goes a step further in that the cover is kind of misleading. Just my 2-cents and something that would have annoyed me if I had impulse bought this book based on the cover; which is not a totally unprecedented shopping decision.
One other total aside on the letter page there is a plug for the new New Warriors series. Am I the only one who expects the Scarlet Spider in that series to be Miles Morales? (If this has been revealed already, sorry I don’t read solicits because I hate spoilers). I also admit I don’t read either Scarlet Spider or Ultimate Spider-man but I can’t imagine Kaine joining a group of peppy teen/young adult heroes; whereas everyone expects Miles to crossover to main universe once Galactus finishes eating the Ultimate Universe. Originally I thought Miles would become Spider-Boy just because we have a Spider Woman and Spider Girl so why not; plus he is ridiculously young as I recall. But after looking at the line-up on the letters page it clicked that a team book would be an ideal way to ease Miles in to the main universe and build up some connections for him. Plus you could always have the main universe Kate Bishop transfer from the Young Avengers to the New Warriors down the line as well if you go in that direction.
Grade: C+. This book was an adequate read. It’s not spectacular but it isn’t terrible either.
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They overlap somewhat. Ergo, Otto has some redeeming moments, but the only time he actually realizes he’s colossaly fucked up and should throw in the towel is in SSMTU. Though honestly, it’s not interpretation that annoys me, it’s that SSM barely references Team-Up.
I don’t get it, is Ock villainous, or is Ock ta crack-pot good guy? I see some serious discontinuity between the two series. Slott talks in interviews about ock still trying to be good in his own weird way, but it seems like Yost who actually depicts that.
Are there really people out there who want to see Spidey and Namor fight a kraken?!
This issue featured a way better story than that IMO.
I can’t believe the goof up! Ock can see the Wakandans because of his lenses, but Namor who has a seriously enhanced visual spectrum (he can see perfectly in the depths of the pitch black ocean) can’t? I’ve loved Yost as a writer since his New X-Men/X-23 days, but what was he thinking?!..
Yost’s afterword in the last issue of Scarlet Spider says “See you in two months for the next chapter in Kaine’s journey in New Warriors #1.” So I don’t think it’s going to be Miles.
Wrong on the War. Started in Avengers vs X-Men with Namor (with the Phoenix Force) unleashing massive tidal wave on Wakanda, killing thousands. As a result, Black Panther actively despises Namor, and is only working with him in New Avengers because the planet killing threat in the book he recognizes as a greater threat. However he wasn’t able to stop Wakanda’s ruling council and new leader, Shuri, from launching a missile attack in retaliation against Atlantis, that utterly devastated it. And while Atlantis was recovering from that Thanos’ invasion came (another force attacked Wakanda that was repelled) while Atlantis was nowhere near recovered. Namor, however, lied and said here was an Infinity Stone in Wakanda, leading to a second, even bigger assault on Wakanda. This is Doom’s first hint of taking advantage of the war, but it so far has been 100% between the two countries by theirselves.