News

Latest Podcasting News

The Inferior Spider-Man

supspideyI have already voiced my displeasure of the decision by Marvel to kill Peter Parker and replace him with one of his greatest enemies Otto Octavius. Now that the “Superior” Spider-Man has been in action since January I thought I would share with you why not only does this idea not work, but makes a mockery of the legacy of Peter Parker.

The editors of Marvel promised that the 700th issue would be the most controversial issue in Spider-Man’s history. There is a difference between being controversial and doing a story just to drive sales. I have been a Spider-Man fan since I first read the back of a card that described the death of Gwen Stacy, and if you ask me I still believe the most controversial issue of Spider-Man are the issues that ran from Amazing #509-514. That one had Gwen Stacy hooking up with Normangwenstacylovescene-456 Osborn, and having genetically enhanced twins, yes that really happened. That was dumb, and even the writer J. Michael Straczynski thought that the story should be retconned when Marvel decided to end the marriage of Peter and Mary Jane. Another story that I had huge problems with. In that story Aunt May is shot. And after Peter tried every avenue to save her he realized it was hopeless. So too did the Marvel Devil, Mephisto. He offered to save May in exchange for the end of the  Parkers’ marriage. Peter agreed and in one magic swoop his marriage was over, Harry Osborn was alive and Peter was happy. The reason I bring these stories up is that it is not the first time Marvel has decided to mess with Spider-Man. I also understand that it is difficult to tell a new story for a character who has been around for 50 years. Also I understand that writers have the right to take risks for the sake of the story they tell. Spidey also is at his best when he is put in situations where he doesn’t seem he can win. Flash forward to Amazing Spider-Man 700 where Spidey is in an almost no win situation where his mind is trapped in the dying body of Dr. Octopus, but Peter can’t save himself from a death in a dying, decaying body of Ock. Doc Ock decides there that he will be a better Spider-Man, a “Superior” Spider-Man. I’m not sure if Dan Slott did not remember a story he wrote just a few months before where Octavius tried to murder millions of people on Earth, and now in the course of two pages he realizes that maybe he should be a good guy, what? And then came the Superior Spider-Man.

Almost every issue starts with Otto (remember his brain is Octavius, his body is Parker’s) declaring that he is the Superior Spider-Man. Just because the character(or the writer) says that he is better doesn’t mean it’s true.Superiorspi It is beaten into your head over and over again that Otto’s intelligence makes him a better Spider-Man. No Otto(aka Dan Slott) just because you think your smarter doesn’t make you Superior. It’s the actions that you do as  a hero that makes you who you are. When Peter allows a burglar to escape custody and learns that his Uncle Ben was killed by the same man, he learns that “With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility”. A horrible way to become a hero but it was his guiding force for all his years as Spidey. What did Otto learn when he became Spider-Man, that “I can steal this mans body, use the good name that this man has EARNED and piss it all away because I believe he hasn’t used his powers to their fullest”. And Slott wastes no time having Otto leave his mark.

In Superior Spider-Man#2 Octo-Peter uses Peter’s memories of his relationship with Mary Jane to try and get her into bed. So this new called “hero” is trying to trick aSuperiorSpiderManmj_1 woman who has feelings for Peter into falling for him again, that is borderline rape. To a fan of Spider-Man that is totally unacceptable, but the horrible stories just keep coming. In Superior Spider-Man #5 the villain Massacre escapes from jail and goes on a murderous rampage. Yes it is horrible and Spidey should bring him to justice. Octavius (I refuse to call him Spider-Man during this part of the story) tracks Massacre down and kicks his ass. During the scuffle Massacre drops his gun. To which Otto picks it up. He points it at Massacre and the villain begs for his life, Otto then does the unthinkable, he shoots a defenseless man right in the head, KILLING the villain. No remorse spideykilljust cold blooded murder. What the hell!? Again it’s ok to challenge a hero, but making him kill, making him arrogant and a total asshole doesn’t make the hero edgy, it makes him just a jerk. This is supposed to be a Superior Spider-Man? I don’t think so.

Not everything is  a failure with Spidey’s relaunch. When you are not being told that Otto is a better Spider-Man and when Otto doesn’t talk some of the stories are pretty good. The threat of a new Green Goblin is fun and so too is Peter’s ex-girlfriend Carlie Cooper investigating Spider-Man because she doesn’t believe that the Superior Spider-Man is really Spider-Man at all. I just hope that Carlie figures it out soon. I don’t know how much longer I can keep reading Spider-Man. I don’t like seeing Spidey like this, he is no fun. Right now the Superior Spider-Man is just a horrible person, and a villain. The editors at Marvel will say that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko always put Parker through the ringer(want proof read the letters in Superior Spider-Man 13 that’s their defense), yes that might be true, but they never killed him and replaced him with a homicidal ego-maniac.

One comment on “The Inferior Spider-Man

Comments are closed.

Scroll to top