Review of the latest Spider-man: Contains spoilers concerning Superior Spider-man #1 and the closing of the long running Amazing Spider-man Series (1963 - 2013):

Five years after we left our hero being forced to retroactively erase his marriage to Mary Jane in a desperate deal with the devil aka Mephisto (One More Day Stroyline), things are about to get even worse for Peter Parker in the final issue of Amazing Spider-Man (ASM - Running since 1963), an issue so controversial that it inspired numerous death threats against the book’s writer Dan Slott. So what could happen to our hero that would make his satanic retroactive divorce look tame in comparison?

Well, all good things must come to an end, or so they say; and it is also the case with Marvel Comics' web-slinging, wise-cracking superhero. Spider-Man is no more. Well, to be more precise, Peter Parker is no more. Bringing in his 50th Anniversary, and after catching a who's who gallery of criminals, Peter is out of the hero game. Happy Birthday, Pete.

In the 700th and final issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, writer Dan Slott's controversial story saw Spider-Man's mind switched with that of his dying arch-foe Dr. Otto Octavius, better known as Doctor Octopus. The two clash mightily in an epic battle, but it's Octavius who wins out and Parker is, at least for now, gone for good, but not before one more act of heroism: The twist is that with his final effort, Peter was able to give all of his memories and morals to his body-stealing enemy.

Reborn as a hero, but still somehow a pompous jerk, Doc Ock vows that he will become a Superior Spider-Man (Over Parker's grave), a turn of phrase that segues neatly into the launch of the newly crowned comic book series, Superior Spider-Man (SS -The irony does not fall lightly), starring Doctor Octopus as Spider-Man. This new reversal of expectations will fundamentally change the relationship between the reader and the hero:

In the traditional Spider-Man stories, Peter suffered from a multitude of issues including acne, job security, family loss, commitment, and was forever on the run from policemen and angry, mustachioed journalists who thought he was a menace, while readers cheered him from the sidelines because they knew he was actually a hero.

“Now all of that is flipped,” says writer Dan Slott. “The people, police, and Avengers see him as a hero. They think they know the whole story. And the readers think he’s an undeserving menace. The readers are now J. Jonah Jameson! That makes this Spider-Man the most meta Spider-Man of them all! If he can win over the audience by becoming a hero in their eyes, that will truly be an astounding feat!”

Looking at the picture outside the frame, Marvel Comics has killed off their flagship comic book title: Amazing Spider-man, their posterboy character: Peter Parker/Spider-man, and kept his costume/mantle to be usurped by a villain whom has a similar origin story to Peter:

“[Doctor Octopus] is the bespectacled nerd caught in a radioactive mishap that made him an analog of an eight-legged creature. Sound familiar?” asked Slott. “When we first met Otto Octavius, he was just like Peter Parker at the start of [his debut in] Amazing Fantasy #15.”

Food for thought, huh?

Despite the operatic high drama of Spider-Man’s “death,” it’s also important to keep the story in perspective. Superhero comics are not a world of permanence, after 50 years of Spider-man, some of his best stories involved sacrifice, disaster, and failure. Real loss in comic books is pretty rare, and many major characters including Captain America, Superman, and Batman have all been "killed" before, only to return some time later; the comic book death has become a genre trope.

With history is an indication to us, It’s interesting and satisfying that in the first issue of Superior Spider-man, the ghostly specter of Peter Parker himself stops Otto/Spidey from murdering a member of the sinister six, preserving open conflict and keeping the story - you guessed it - confusing.

This triggers a whole tail spin of questioning: Who or what is this ghostly being capable of influencing Otto/Spidey’s actions? Is he a hallucination? A mental imprint? And yet, for the reader, he is self-aware and direct. He seems to possess autonomy. Could he potentially take Peter Parker’s body back from Otto? His declaration, “I will find a way back”, leaves open that possibility. More importantly at this point in the story, it appears that he's supplying the “responsibility” to go along with Otto/Spidey’s “great power” and completing the old mantra equation. Would it really be a Spider-Man story without both?

Keeping all of this in mind, I am trying to convince myself the point of these stories where prominent characters die isn’t that they die (they don’t), but that the potential for innovation that these temporary absences offer, can be great.

But with Otto Octavius having been influenced by Parker's life – from Aunt May to Gwen Stacy to Mary Jane - Will this make him a better person? Does he win the ultimate victory at becoming the better hero? Can Spider-man exist without Peter Parker? And most importantly, is this a story I am interested in reading? Are you?

Until next time, true believers. SpideySteve's Sense is tingling, and it may be time to hang up these old webs for good. SpideySteve: No More?

Nice review. Seems quite even-handed.

I'm enjoying this turn as it both shows how Peter is Amazing, while Otto has always been about hubris and failing to be as Superior as he imagines himself.

Pete will certainly be back, but in the meantime I'm very curious to see if Otto must face Norman as well as if Carlie is pivotal in catching people on to the truth of what happened... or if someone does manage to read his mind... or what. There's a lot of built-in tension, and that definitely has a hand in keeping my attention.

Yeah I see a lot of people complain that this comic is just more superhero death hype, but I think they miss the point.

Peter Parker isn't dead and the comic isn't meant to make you think he is. The "death" also wasn't hyped up the way Captain America or even Ultimate Spidey's were. It's just a plot point to give us something different for a year or so.

And yeah, say what you will about how bad you think the plot is, but at least it's something new. I legitimately have no idea how this is going to end up, which is a pretty rare thing for major heroes like Spidey. I don't know if Doc is good, evil, or misguided good. I'm pretty interested.

Has it really been five years since One More Day? I haven't followed comics Spider-man well since that point.

Nice review. I will say a mind-swapped Spider-man as a replacement is a better turn than the clone saga (or what the clone saga turned into). As long as it's handled better than the Clone Saga, all will be well. You can't possibly get much worse than Clone Saga.

But if Slott's plan is to make the readers see Otto as a hero, what's the point then of indicating so strongly that Peter is likely to come back?

This seems like a severely convoluted way to return Spider-Man to the previous status quo of being shunned and misunderstood by the public, with JJJ at the helm of persecuting him, and him not being the team player that he's become over the last 5+ years. A return to being the "small-town" hero, not getting involved too much with the big boys (Avengers, FF). Personally, I thought it was kind of interesting to see him in an Avengers book on a regular basis.

I just don't see the point if that is what Slott is trying to do, no matter if it's Otto or Peter under the mask.

Slott has been trying to move the character away from the stagnancy that he's had for about 30 years. He clearly doesn't want Parker to be a photographer with a sick aunt forever. His entire run has been about getting away from that played out scenario.

I doubt Slott would arrange this whole event just to undo everything he set up.

I never liked Spider-man as an Avenger, but of course, I didn't like the Bendis era of Avengers. If the case is returning Spider-man to a non-Avengers status (or even back to reserve member status), I'm all for it.

Walked into "Superior" with no real background or baggage, and dug it sufficiently to keep picking it up. If it starts to suck, I'll stop.