Superior Spider-man #3

Superior Spider-man #3

"Everything You Know Is Wrong"

Story: Dan Slott
Art: Ryan Stegman
Colors: Edgar Delgado
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover: Ryan Stegman & Simone Bianchi

Two issues in, and Superior Spider-man looks like it might be a hit.  Will the trend continue in Superior Spider-man #3?  Hit the jump to find out!

Summary: Doctor Octopus continues to enjoy life as Peter Parker/Spider-man, but in this issue he comes face to face with an old friend. Adrian Toomes, AKA The Vulture, is using children with vulture-like flight suits to steal, drawing the attention of the Superior Spider-man. Ock battles it out with his former collaborator while Peter Parker realizes he is able to delve into Otto’s memories. Plus, it appears that Carlie Cooper knows who the Superior Spider-man really is!

The good: This was another solid issue of Spectacular Spider-man. I’ve already raved about Ryan Stegman in my first two reviews so I’m not going to say much about the art other than to mention that once again it is great, and I especially like this cover. Speaking of the cover, one of the nice little touches in this issue is the reference to Batman’s Bat Signal. Mayor Jameson creating a “Spider-signal” that Spider-Ock quickly destroys because it gives away his location was a humorous little scene that I quite enjoyed. Another nice touch to this issue was Peter realizing he can delve into Doctor Octopuses memories. This is an interesting little touch that could l have major ramifications going forward. I also thought Slott did a good job bringing back Adrian Toomes, the original Vulture in this issue. Having Spider-Ock attempt to pay him off was a great inclusion, as it makes perfect sense for Otto to think that way about a “friend” while still managing to uphold his quest to prevent crime. When that idea fell apart I enjoyed the fight scene between Spider-Ock and the Vulture, which resulted in a pretty brutal beat down of the Vulture. I’m also glad Slott decided to stray away from Otto trying to hook up with MJ or any other girls in this issue. It worked fine how he handled it in the first two issues but it was time to give that a rest in this issue and Slott did just that. Finally, I’m glad to see Carlie is not being a complete moron and seems to know with certainty that Otto has taken over Peter’s body. The fact that Peter realizes she knows is an interesting addition to the story as well.

The not so good: As with the first two issues, there is not a whole lot to complain about. One thing that nagged at me a bit was Otto becoming furious with the Vulture for using children as his henchman, as we see that Otto had a rough childhood. This didn’t sit right at first, because this is a man who has quite recently attempted to destroy every living thing on the planet, including children. After thinking about it though, I think perhaps Peter’s influence on Otto might be a part of this and it actually works for me now. Other than that, I do have a bit of a problem with the fact that it appears Carlie is going to be the one who blows the lid on the whole Ock being in Peter’s body thing instead of Mary Jane. I understand Peter straight up told Carlie they had switched bodies in Amazing Spider-man #700, but MJ knows Peter better than anyone and should be in on this too. Otherwise this was another solid issue.

Overall Rating: A- (9/10)