Writers: Dan Slott & Christos Gage
Pencils: Humberto Ramos
Inks: Victor Olazaba
Color: Edgar Delgado
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Review: Art Bee
The time has come to start looking back at some more
recent back issues and, at this time, we are delving into part of the
climactic Superior Spider-Man series that ended. Though I have never
been as strong a Spidey fan as Madman (or for as long), my appreciation
for the web-slinger has always been a part of me. Most of our culture is
familiar (but often misquoted) with the mantra of, “…with great power
there must also come – great responsibility!”
The feature of Doc Ock as Peter Parker/Spider-Man really tickled my antihero pleasure center and I had to jump on this series.
From the start, we find Spider-Man’s mantra is so powerful that the memory has the potential to steer the will of Otto Octavious to a life of good…albeit skewed to that thin line between good and evil.
Throughout the series we find Doc Ock modifying
Peter’s life to suit himself, such as getting his doctorate and setting
up a lab and army of minions. Many people start noticing changes in
Peter Parker.
Starting
with, “Darkest Hours”, several people around Parker have figured out he
is not himself and one person in particular, Officer Charlie Cooper,
has pinpointed that Doc Ock has taken Peter’s place. The four issues of this story arc see a lot of characters and themes overlap in a cornucopia of action and suspense.
Issue #22 sets up the arc by setting up a trifecta of plot points.
First, it sets Agent Venom (Flash Thompson) and the Superior Spider-Man (Doc Ock) on a collision course.
Second,
the newly-founded Parker Industries has begun working on some
interesting technology that will come into play later in the storyline
and the company begins testing the division of Spider-Man and Peter
Parker identities.
Third, we see the turmoil of the brewing Goblin Nation war overshadowing everything through the arc and will soon erupt.
“Darkest Hours” is also called “Superior Venom” in comic book circle since Doc Ock gains the Venom symbiote in the third part and goes a little bonkers. For those of you familiar with the first joining of Spider-Man and the symbiote, you will recall that Peter Parker got a little mean and egocentric.
Imagine Doc Ock with that symbiote involved.
It
goes a little sideways and the Avengers have to get involved in the
fourth installment, which happens to be a Marvel double-sized issue
(which breaks down to a comic and a half with all of the bullshit ads).
“Darkest
Hours” is my favorite arc of the Superior Spider-Man series. By the end
of this story the stage is set for the return of the actual Peter
Parker, the Goblin Nation War, and the ground work for the Spider-Verse
mega event (pull the party popper string).
Meanwhile we get to see the force of the Venom symbiote with the power of a mental giant like Otto Octavious behind
the wheel. This makes the fourth issue very ripe with content, minus
stupid junk ads that seem to be inserted every other page.
The story telling throughout the series is “Superior”.
Slott has outdone himself throughout the series and, with the help of Gage, this arc is the culmination of exceptional content.
My
only reservation in saying this is on the first page of issue #22;
there are two blatant grammatical errors the editor should have caught
before going to print.
I especially like how the writers have allowed the story to flow naturally but I
am not so pleased with is the artwork. The artist seems to lack the
ability to draw human anatomy well and many body features are distorted.
For instance, at several points Spider-Man’s neck looks elongated and off centered. Feet and legs seem to be an issue as well.
On the other hand the colors look beautiful and vibrant. There is not a single page on which this is not true.
Pulling
these issues out for a re-read has been a wonderful experience. I had
almost forgotten about these, but when I saw the first of the Superior
Spider-Man series, “Superior Venom” jumped right to the forefront of my
mind.
If
you don’t want to collect the entire series, gather at least these four
issues. They will be worth your purchase for covers alone.
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