Superior Spider-Man 31

Superior Spider-Man 31
Slott (s) and Gage (w) and Camuncoli (p) and Dell and Pallot (i) and Fabela (c) and Eliopolous (l)

Peter Parker is back and he's ready to start setting things right. Carlie explains a little of what's happened to him at Parker Labs and he sets off, gaining the trust of Spider-Man 2099 on the way and helping where he can as he moves towards the Green Goblin and Anna Maria. The two spiders fight their way to the Alchemax building and "rescue" Liz Allan and son Normie, as well as Tiberius Stone (all of whom are still, you know, pretty evil, but they pretend they're not). As 2099 leads them out, Peter heads for the roof where Goblin has Anna Maria strapped to a pumpkin bomb. Goblin quickly realizes it's Peter, not Doc Ock, and begins to flee. Peter follows and unmasks him, revealing that it is Norman Osborn but with a completely different face, one that will be less recognizable. Peter's mini-spiderbots flood Norman's face and inject him with the goblin cure just as Anna Maria frees herself from her bonds and flings herself from the roof. Spider-Man catches her and Goblin and brings them back down to the ground, where Goblin still manages to escape with the help of Liz Allan. Goblin is devoid of his strength and stamina but he's also cured of his madness; the next time he goes after Spider-Man, it'll be at full mind power. Spider-Man meets with Anna Maria and learns that she's totally in love with the Peter she knew and he realizes that not everyone gets to win.

Story
This is it, the big finale of the 31 issue SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN. It's a strong issue, one that wraps up GOBLIN NATION nicely and one that ensures that the right people know Spider-Man is back to being Spider-Man. There are still plenty of hints at new possible stories and a bonus mini-issue at the end (written by Gage with art from Will Sliney and Edgar Delgado) shows where some of the people in his life might end up now (MJ is out of his life but still in the city, Carlie's leaving New York, Jonah Jameson has resigned). It's a story people knew was coming but no one anticipated a 30-issue run and it wraps up neatly here, setting Peter Parker up for a totally fresh start in just two weeks with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1. 5/5

Character
Peter Parker is back from the kind-of dead so that's really the big character change to look at. He's instantly back to quipping and helping out non-lethally, returning immediately to "no one dies" mentality. The idea that his personality is so pervasive, that it's so intimately known to everyone, plays a role here as people begin instantly to trust him again, even despite everything that's happened. It's a nice moment when he quips at Goblin and Goblin instantly realizes it's Peter and not Doc Ock and it's a testament to the strength of Peter Parker. There are some things that feel maybe like they're being set right a little too quickly if only because we're expecting him to have a hard road back to being a hero, but it all works here and it's nice to see. 5/5

Writing
Spider-Man books still have a bit of a tendency to over-explain and this issue is no different. Typically I'd have issues with that but somehow Spider-Man feels grandfathered in to over-explanation (I don't always feel this way with Spider-Man but I'm feeling good that Peter's back). Still, I'm not sure I needed shots of what seems like everyone he knows going "well geez, at least he seems to be back to normal!" You can leave some things for us to find out. Also there's a bit too much 2099 talk here and UGH do I hate 2099 talk. Nervous about when the new SPIDER-MAN 2099 series kicks off because I'll have to put that hatred aside. Anyway, certainly on par with SPIDER-MAN writing, maybe a hair better. 4/5

Art
I often confuse (on name alone) Giuseppe Camuncoli with Marco Checchetto, which is totally unfair and often hurts how much I like the art in a book. I tend to be lukewarm on Camuncoli's stuff and I really like Checchetto's. In this issue though, Camuncoli shines. The art is easy to follow, even considering how much ground Spider-Man is covering, how many fights he's entering into, and how many characters look similar to one another. With Peter Parker's return, he has to come face-to-face with a slew of people and Camuncoli does them all justice. Solid work. 5/5

Miscellaneous
What more is there to say? Peter Parker is back.

Total score: 5/5




Sorry guys, got a bit of a busy day today so I'll be back later to review the other books I have scheduled for today but for now, this is just a single-issue review. Figured if any book deserved to have a light shined on it this week, it'd be this one. The blog kicked off with a single-issue review of the death of Peter Parker, seems fitting to dedicate a single-issue review to his rebirth.