Disclaimer: All of the comics reviewed in this column were either provided by the respective creators/companies, or were purchased from Dr. Volts Comics in Salt Lake City.
BIFF! BANG!! POW … WOW!!!
By Jerk-Bot
THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #31 (semi-monthly comic mini-series, full color, Marvel Comics, $3.99) (3 out of 10)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Dan Slott (plot); Christos Gage (script); Giuseppe Camuncoli, Will Sliney, John Dell and Terry Pallot (art); Antonio Fabela and Edward Delgado (colors) and Chris Eliopolis (letters).
Bitter online arguing ensued, even culminating in a series of half-hearted “death threats,” when writer Dan Slott (with the encouragement of editor Steve Wacker) “killed off” Peter Parker in the pages of Marvel’s “Amazing Spider-Man.”
The best-selling “Dying Wish” story line accomplished that not-small feat, when Otto Octavius (aka Doctor Octopus) implanted his own thoughts and memories into the body of Peter Parker, and placed those of our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man into his own dying body. After a valiant effort, which saw Peter use Otto’s former minions and villains as his unwitting allies, Peter apparently “died,” while in the body of his bitter enemy.
And Otto enjoyed new life in a new body, he also assumed the webbed costume, as well as great powers and great responsibilities Peter lived with on a day-by-day basis. Now longer “Amazing,” the character got his own title, “The Superior Spider-Man,” which saw Otto – derisively nicknamed “SpOck” by critics of the move – trying to fight crime in a completely different, more ruthless and cold-hearted manner.
In a year’s-plus worth of story lines, Otto quelled a prison revolt, killed one murderous enemy, tried to stop organized crime, alienated his Avengers teammates and Peter’s loved ones, including Mary Jane Watson, and more. But under his nose, Peter’s greatest enemy, the Green Goblin, amassed an army to take over New York City,
Issue #30 saw Otto finally realizing the errors of his ways, after allowing his girlfriend, fellow scientist Anna Maria Marconi, to be put in harm’s way and after seeing much of the city lying in ruins. So, with help from the Human Computer, he erased his own memories from the body, allowing the semi-dormant Peter to assume control – and hopefully deal with the Goblin and his army in the climactic, “series finale” issue, #31.
THE GOOD.
Well, if nothing else, Slott and company completely cleared the slate for Peter, who’s now free to resume his life with fewer distractions. (Ex-girlfriends Mary Jane and Carlie Cooper are out of the picture, and so is frequent foil J. Jonah Jameson, who’s been disgraced and who resigns from his mayoral office at issue’s end.)
And a few dangling story threads should lead to potential intrigue – such as the introduction of Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099 into the mix (he’s getting a new title, courtesy creator Peter David), and the evil Alchemax corporation.
THE BAD.
Slott was apparently so busy getting ready for the new, Marvel NOW! “Amazing Spider-Man” series and other work that he turned over scripting to journeyman Christos Gage, whose attempts to mimic Slott’s style are unsuccessful.
Also, there’s virtually no suspense here. The battle between Peter and the unmasked Goblin is over pretty quickly, and the seemingly overwhelming Goblin army is conquered in such anticlimactic fashion that it seems like an afterthought, as if even the creators had no more enthusiasm for this story line and these characters.
THE UGLY.
The main story is drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli, an Italian artist whose work can best be described as “fugly.” He pencils the same wide-eyed expression on every character, regardless of which emotion they’re supposedly expressing, and the only thing that distinguishes faces are various hairstyles and similar features.
Worse, his layouts and action sequences are incredibly static, without any dynamic motion. In addition to the comic, pictured above, check out this clunker from the actual issue:
The ugh-awful coda, written by Gage and drawn by Will Sliney, isn’t any better, and only adds pages and inflates the cost of this comics misfire.
IN CONCLUSION.
While the “Superior Spider-Man” series, as a whole, wasn’t really my boat, at least it did something different with the character. However, the dud of a “series finale” seems to show that the story line may have gone on too long for its own good.
(As further evidence, the 500,000-plus pre-orders for the “new” title featuring Peter in the costume would seem to indicate that fans are ready for his return. Now hopefully Slott – who’s remaining with the character/concept – has something fresh to say about/with him.)
Rating: 3 out of 10
Jeff Michael Vice, aka Jerk-bot, can also be read reviewing films for Cinephiled (www.cinephiled.com) be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff), and be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (www.thegeekshowpodcast.com).