Superior Spider-Man #10

I never thought this was a good idea.  Last year in the build-up to the historic Amazing Spider-Man #700, it was heavily hinted that the foundations of the Spidey universe were going to be shaken.  Shaken they were, with one of Spider-Man’s greatest foes assuming control of his life.  While the actual process may not have been the best story-telling in the world, it has resulted in an undeniably interesting direction for the new title, Superior Spider-Man..  

With issue ten, the series has gotten into its groove, and has kicked off the next big story arc.  Here we find Otto Octavius living as Peter Parker without essence of the true Peter Parker lurking around in the back of their shared mind, influencing his decisions.  The result is quite entertaining.  Slott portrays Spider-Ock with a degree of gravitas that always stays just south of overdone.  Everyone knows that the status quo will eventually be restored and the Peter personality restored to power (the popular theory being just in time for Amazing Spider-Man 2 next year.)  The fun part is seeing how the story gets from point A to point B.

Slott is building the tension in a somewhat disturbing manner when you really break it down.  Spider-Ock is shown living the life Peter could have been, winning on all fronts.  At least, this is how he feels.  He approaches his costumed life with an impressive amount of ambition, methodically handling situations and making the reader wonder why the real Peter couldn’t do something similar.  However, things are beginning to seep through the cracks.  Supporting characters who know Peter and Spider-Man are one and the same are noticing inconsistencies.  MJ knows, Carlie Cooper knows, and, my favorite, the beat cops are recognizing a change that they can’t quite put their fingers on.  MJ’s belief that Peter will come to her rescue in the nightclub fire is almost heartbreaking.  After those events it is only a matter of time before she and Carlie realize that something is definitely amiss.

A lot of this is quality work, but there are some issues.  The Goblin King story line is interesting, but feels forced.  There seems to be a common belief among the creators that a truly important Spider-Man story arc should have some aspect of the Goblin legacy involved.  While this is not always the case, sometimes the story does benefit.  This isn’t one of those situations.  This is a new Spider-Man and I would expect a new direction to be taken.  There have been a lot of Goblins running around and it seems to be too much between the returns of Kinglsey and  Osborn to the story.  This is also partly due to my issue with the handling of the Phil Urich character.  I first got into comics way back in the early  to mid 90’s and I have fond memories of the heroic Green Goblin he portrayed.  I do, however, love the idea of him gathering the leftover lackeys from the various big name villains and uniting them against their common enemy.  I just wish it could have been a different character as this figurehead, or even someone new.