SPOILER ALERT
Superior Spider-Man #3 - Everything You Know is Wrong
Cover -
Pencils - Ryan Stegman
Inks - Edgar Delgado
Letterer - Chris Eliopoulos
Review -
As a quick reminder of the events of Superior Spider-Man so far, Peter's a ghost and is trying to regain control of his body which is inhabited by Doc Ock. Also, Vulture's back. Now that's done, let's get on.
The issue opens with a very familiar object, but not in this multiverse. Jameson has set up the "Spider-Signal" to summon Spidey to the roof of the police station... seems familiar...
However, as Spidey comes in for a landing, he blows the "Spider-Signal"to pieces with a Spider-Bot. Then comes a dig at Batman... risky, but utterly hilarious. Peter (Ock) says "A giant beacon in the sky, announcing to all my enemies where they can find me. Only an idiot would put that into effect..." Harsh to Commissioner Gordon, but rings the truth somewhat. Spidey 1, Batman nil, I think.
Jameson embarrassingly agrees and Spidey provides him with a shielded (not that S.H.I.E.L.D) number to call him on if Jameson needs him.
We then discover Jameson's motive for summoning the web-slinger: it appears a number of bird-like creatures have been committing crimes around New York. Spider-Man says he's already looking into it, and says what a "colossal waste of time" the meeting is.
Pratchett puts Carlie and Spider-Man on the Vulture case as they worked so well together last time, much to Carlie's surprise. Despite this, they both go to the police lab.
In the lab, signs of ghost Peter getting through appear when Ock thinks he hears something after Peter's talking to himself. No one questions this, and Ock/Spidey returns to adjusting his lenses so he can see the magnetic signature Vulture's wing give off. Carlie correctly points out that he could have done this at Horizon, but he just had to push the mayor around.
The new, d**khead Spider-Man abandons Carlie, saying that he can now find the Vulture in no time with his fancy new D&G shades, and will "deal with him once and for all". Carlie, ghost Peter and I all agree that that does not sound good at all.
Whilst swinging through the city, Ock is thinking about putting his "plan" to work. Ghost Peter tries to tell him to go easy on him, as he's an old man and friend to Ock.
Then Ock begins to remember "the early years" of the original Sinister Six, not the new, defeated-when-insulted clan.
It turns out, Peter can see his memories, much like Ock can see his. This memory has dropped Peter in the old hideout, where four of the six are off on a mission, whilst Ock and Vulture stay behind to chat. After flirting a bit by complementing each other's intelligence and designs, they enter first name basis, and agree to work on some more deathtraps together. Cute.
Whilst discussing life after killing Spider-Man, Vulture (Adrian Toomes) confesses that he wants to pull off that "one big score". We never find out what Ock wants, as the memory freezes whilst Ock/Spidey discovers Vulture's nest (see what I did there?). Peter decides to snoop a bit.
The next page shows us some of those midget henchmen Toomes has flying around returning home with bags of loot. Apparently, they do it to keep their flying privileges (don't blame them, flying seems awesome). Not only does Toomes offer them that, they also get "tokens" for the arcade... odd. What would men want with tokens? And why do they get excited when he says they're having pizza for tea?
The Chuck E. Cheese party is crashed, however, when Spidey drops in! Expect butt-kicking, balls-to-the-wall action here!
Nope.
Instead, Ock tries to bribe Vulture with money to stop his crimes. How do people not see this isn't Peter? Obviously not Vulture, as he sends his man-children to "destroy him".
Ock defends himself by punching "Gully" very hard into a wall, causing his helmet to fall off. Then we see the horror. These aren't men. They aren't even midgets... they're children.
Back in Ock's mind, Peter is thrust from the hideout of the Sinister Six to an apartment window... the apartment of Otto Octavius as a boy.
The first interior shot we see of the apartment is of a young Otto being hit by his father for leaving the lights on. This provides some background for why Ock is about to get so angry.
"You made me strike a child" he almost whispers, his face beginning to contort in anger. "WHY?!" he screams. "Why on Earth would you use children?!" Apparently, this is a lot worse than beating teenagers to a pulp like Vulture's last henchmen, but it is still very wrong (obviously).
Ock claims Toomes has become a monster, and goes for the throat. Vulture uses his fancy anti-gravity suit to fly away before Ock gets close to him, but he's not the only guy who can whip across the city in no time; Ock gives up chase, swinging through alleys and on skyscrapers to keep up with Toomes.
After a mid-air battle, Toomes holds Spidey in a headlock, threatening to snap his neck with 80 times the force of gravity. Ock calls in "plan epsilon two", which causes the spider-bot from earlier to supercharge the spider-signal. Luckily, Spidey gets his D&Gs on just before the incredibly bright light blinds Toomes, causing him to lose control over Ock.
They fall towards the police station, with Ock holding Toomes beneath him. Like that myth about jumping off the table and surviving, Spider-Man survives this fall by using Toomes as a table and thrusting him straight into the spider-signal, with glass and electricity flying everywhere.
Unfortunately, Carlie is there to see it, and really questions Spider-Man now. Now Ock's getting worried. He's aware of this mistake, and knows that Carlie could out him. He tries to reason with her, but doesn't get through. Bad news.
Well, what an eventful issue! We had laughs, violence, child abuse and a murder. Well done, Dan!
I really enjoyed this issue. It had crucial back story elements that can help us understand why Ock has his own idea of justice, and also a lesson to all children why you should turn the lights of! The jab at Batman made me laugh when I first read it, and it's the first thing I think of when I think of this issue.
Once again, the art was spot on from Stegman. These reviews will get boring if you keep making them good, guys! Try to make a bad one, will ya?
Rating -
Story - 5/5 - Pushing the story forward at a nice pace, and also really highlighting a new era in Spider-Man!
Artwork - 5/5 - I like Stegman's work, and I will probably never fault it. It's not Michaelangelo, but it doesn't need to be. It's Earthed, knowing that it doesn't need to sell for millions. In my inexperienced opinion, it's what comics need!
Overall - 5/5 - With a compelling story and nice artwork, I look forward to seeing if Ock disposes of Carlie!
No comments:
Post a Comment