Superior Spider-Man 30, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 11

Superior Spider-Man 30
Slott and Gage (w) and Camuncoli, Dell, and Pallot (a) and Fabela (c)

Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 are locked in combat with the new wave of Spider-Slayers when Goblin reveals to Spidey that he has Anna Maria and that he'll have to leave 2099 to fight a battle he can't possibly win by himself if he wants to save-oh, he left? Okay, cool, he's going after Anna Maria, leaving 2099 by himself. Spidey doesn't know where to go but he's intercepted by Menace as she flies by, taunting about their new captive. He follows her underground while, inside of Doc Ock's mind, Peter Parker continues to see Doc's memories. He gets to the point of Ock's memories where he manages to swap consciousnesses with Peter and, just as Peter's whole life flashed before his eyes then, it flashes before the ethereal Peter's eyes now. Suddenly, instead of losing himself to Ock's personality, he's regained all of his memories, all of the Spider-Man times and the Peter Parker times and all of his entire history. Fully charged by this, Peter jumps into Otto's mind again just in time to find that he's wavering about saving Amy Chen, the girl Otto saved alongside Cardiac and another captive the Goblins have taken, worrying that he'll injure himself and there will be no one left to save Anna Maria. Peter leaps into action, taking over the body and forcing Otto to swing in and save the girl. Peter, his presence again known to Otto, yells at his enemy and tells him that now isn't the time for plotting and planning, it's the time to act. Otto admits his weakness and the two leave, discussing what's happening. Otto reveals that he has overcompensated and has deemed himself superior only because he didn't really believes himself to be, whereas Peter always played down his intelligence and abilities because he was never so arrogant. Otto concedes that Peter truly is the superior one and rushes back to Parker Industries. He goes into his lab and enters the mindscape, deleting all traces of Otto's villainous history and even of his recent history, making sure to wipe the slate clean and leaving only the consciousness of Peter behind. Back in control at last, Peter dons his original costume and prepares to once more face off against Green Goblin.

This is the major turning point for the series, no question. Finally the moment we've all waited over a year for has come and we're rewarded by Peter taking control in his ever impressive way. The planner is replaced by the man of action in a time where action is most necessary and Otto's seemingly final act in the body he took such measures to steal is to learn a real lesson about heroism FINALLY. It's a huge moment and, while this is clearly the A-story, it's not the only thing happening. The Avengers continue to fight their fights (all the while reminding us their current feelings on Spider-Man and so on), Spider-Man 2099 continues his fight against the Slayers and Alchemax (all the while reminding us he's from the future), and the city is turning on J. Jonah Jameson thanks, in part, to Alchemax revealing that he commissioned and signed off on the Slayers despite Liz Allan's warnings that he shouldn't. On top of that, Liz is hiding something to do with this whole goblin mess and that will likely come to a head as we reach the conclusion of this storyline. Lots still to come here. Worth picking this book up for the reappearance of the triumphant Peter Parker and the special reprint of BLACK WIDOW 1 that comes tied to the book.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 11
Shinick (w) and Checchetto, Frenz, and Buscema (a) and Rosenberg (c)

In the middle of Goblin Nation, we take a quick look at a former relationship between Otto and Norman Osborn as Otto reminisces on a time when the two teamed up after (one of) the death(s) of Norman Osborn. They managed to put aside their differences and got along amicably enough as they built up plans to destroy Spider-Man, building up a friendship in the process. Of course, Norman's a bit crazy for Otto's liking and the craziness rears its head on more than one occasion, finally coming to a head when, after a heartfelt talk about their friendships in the past, Norman tracks down and hospitalizes a woman to whom Otto was once engaged, hoping that the pain in Otto's soul makes him realize what Norman is trying to accomplish with Spider-Man.

I'm not a big fan of this issue simply because I don't really buy it. Sure I can see a tentative team-up between Goblin and Doc Ock happening but I don't believe that either truly would form any sort of bond. Also, there's a sense between both this and SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN right now that they want Goblin built into the Joker of this universe (there were even chases in SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN this week that reminded me a little of the famous Batman story THE KILLING JOKE) and I have some amount of trouble believing this if only because we've seen enough of Osborn's backstory that it's hard to draw those comparisons. We've seen him be human and simply cold without any sort of craziness to him and then, on occasion, we've seen that craziness come back up. This one feels very all or nothing and, in truth, is more all than nothing. I have some trouble buying the conceit of this book and, on top of it, I don't love the writing as a whole. Maybe I just don't care and there's more to be talking about in the middle of Goblin Nation.

Superior Spider-Man 12, Morbius the Living Vampire 6

Superior Spider-Man 12
Slott and Gage (w) and Camuncoli, Dell, and Pallot (a) and Fabela (c)

Spider-Man has taken the necessary precautions to keep both Alistair Smythe from escaping and his potential hostages (those there to oversee his execution) from being undefended. His spider-bots surround the civilians and create a forcefield around them, giving only enough time and warning for J. Jonah Jameson to break free before the forcefield closes on them. He decides to go after Smythe himself, to ensure that justice is served. He meets with Spider-Man, who reprimands him for breaking out but Jameson waves him off. Jameson gives Spidey explicit permission to do whatever it takes to make sure that Smythe doesn't escape then sets him on his way. Of course, Smythe isn't alone now, as he's enhanced Boomerang, Scorpion, and Vulture to aid him in his fight. The three split up, with Scorpion tracking Jameson, Vulture going after the hostages, and Boomerang keeping Spidey busy. Before long, though, Spidey tires of Boomerang and causes his bomberangs (a thing Boomerang has) to explode in his own face, quite possibly killing him. Meanwhile, Smythe has determined that Spidey's defenses are all linked to the generators and has decided to shut those off to give himself the upper hand. Of course, this just plays into Spidey's hands, who has his defenses backed up several times through and whose leading Smythe to the generators simply served to help Spidey locate the criminal. The generators going down did knock out non-Spidey stuff in the prison, though, meaning that Lizard, the only remaining prisoner, has escaped his cell. Smythe still feels confident he'll win the day as Spidey will have to choose to save either Jameson from Scorpion or the people from Vulture. Spider-Man refuses, instead announcing that he's only going to go after Smythe.

Another solid, action-packed issue as we get a sense of what's important to Doc Ock in these scenarios. Is he letting Scorpion and Vulture go because he firmly believes that his defenses will hold against them or that Jameson would rather let Scorpion kill him than be saved by Spider-Man at the expense of Smythe finding a way out? Or is he dedicated to the job Jameson has given him and will follow it through to the end, even if it means losing a handful of lives in the process? My guess, considering Doc's ego, is the former but he also has a score to settle with Smythe and the consent and direction of Jameson to go after Smythe at all costs. Doc Ock is very much an "at all costs" kind of guy where Peter was far more a "I have to help people and I'll be mad if the villain gets away but it's not the worst thing that could have happened, I guess" kind of guy. All these little differences are worth noting as we keep pressing forward. Still a very compelling series.

Morbius the Living Vampire 6
Keatinge (w) and De Landro (a) and Fabela (c)

A quick note at the start here: Marvel has officially decided to cancel Morbius the Living Vampire after issue nine. So we'll have this and a few more to try to win me over and prove that was a bad decision instead of me thinking it was a weird decision to start this book in the first place. On to the review. Morbius is now moving his way through Brownsville and trying to shut down as much crime as he can, with the sometimes help of new "sidekick" Becky. It's not long, though, before Spider-Man tracks him down and brings him to New York again to meet with Morbius' friend and former employer Max Modell of Horizon Laboratories. Max informs Morbius that he thinks they can work together to try to recreate the formula that would have taken the vampirism out of Morbius but he needs something from Max first. Someone broke into his old lab and possibly stolen something. His team hasn't had time to catalogue everything in there so he wants Morbius to take a look around and see what he can find. Spider-Man and Max go with him to the old storage area and a mysterious super-powered woman crashes through the wall, controlling some of Spider-Man's spider-bots as she comes. The spider-bots send Spider-Man spiraling as they set off his spider sense something fierce and she easily dispatches him. She threatens Max and Morbius comes to his aid, only to be similarly put down. She throws out a whole lot of villain banter then leaves, bringing her results to the Rose. It seems the Rose is in the market for an Ultimate Nullifier and it's possible she's brought him what he needs to get it.

This tends to be a formula at Marvel, and for seemingly good reason. If a book isn't doing well and there's any excuse to bring in a major character, bring him/her in. Actually, mostly just him, there are very few hers that Marvel views as having that kind of weight. The biggest appearances come from Spider-Man and Wolverine (speaking of, I hope that Scarlet Spider is selling well). In this case, it's Spider-Man, of course, who comes to join Morbius in his doomed book. On the plus side, Spidey seems integral to the plot and not just a piece of the scenery. Okay, he's a little bit that here but he seems to at least have enough of a reason to be involved in the story. We'll have to see as we move on. The story has enough going for it to keep it interesting but, and maybe this is just me, I have some trouble seeing Morbius as a compelling crime fighter or as a snarky superhero, both of which they're trying to force him into. It's still not totally fitting right.

Superior Spider-Man 11, Iron Man 11

Superior Spider-Man 11
Slott and Gage (w) and Camuncoli and Dell (a) and Delgado (c)

Spider-Man has been asked by Mayor Jameson to attend the execution of Alistair Smythe, the Spider-Slayer and the man who killed Jameson's wife. Jameson fears that Smythe will attempt a getaway during the execution and recognizes that, despite their checkered past, Spider-Man is the best hope in keeping him contained. Before heading there, Doc Ock has a few encounters that leave him annoyed with Peter's life, the life he's inherited. There's some more talk about how he's the superior Spider-Man and he shouldn't have the same limitations Peter had as removing those limitations have made him a better crime-fighter. When he does finally arrive at the Raft, where only a few prisoners with Jameson shutting the prison down, he sets up a few extra precautions around the place. In the midst of this, though, he also wanders back to his old cell, the cell where Doc Ock could have died had he not switched bodies with Peter. He leaves to attend the execution, where he again finds himself surprised to realize that he's a bit of a changed man (he berates Smythe for pretending he's changed and saved by God because murderers never really change before stopping to realize the irony of that thought). He doesn't have long to ruminate on it though as Smythe does put a plan into effect. First his mini-Slayers (like the Spider-Bots) infiltrate the room, which Spider-Man defeats by using his own bots to take them down. Then, with the mini-Slayers forming new armor around Smythe, he tries to punch through the walls of the execution chamber but Spider-Man has prepared for that as well and the walls don't give. Each vent he tries to escape through presents new challenges in the form of lasers or fire. Finally, he turns on Spider-Man, hoping to kill him to give a chance to escape. He's not alone in this, as his Slayers have also found their way to Spider-Man's most recent badly injured foes Scorpion, Vulture, and Boomerang and have created armor for them as well, healing their injuries (at least for the time being) and strengthening them again. Smythe commands them to come kill Spider-Man and they can all go free.

I don't know yet where this story is going but it's clearly setting up some big ideas. We've already seen Doc Ock annoyed with the life Peter's built for himself but this feels a bit different. He's less annoyed with the limitations on Peter's life and more retrospective on what he had done with his own life. I wouldn't say it's remorse, exactly, but there's definitely a hint of introspection there. It might not hurt, too, that he's attracted to Anna Maria, his tutor for the physics class he needs to get his doctorate ("tutor" is a bit of a misnomer; that's how she was introduced as Doc had missed most of the class, but it's quite clear he doesn't need one), and it could be making him think about other things in life. Just a bit of speculation. I was going to complain about how heavy-handed the issue is in telling us again how he views himself as the superior Spider-Man and justifying himself, but having reached the end of the issue I think it's mostly necessary. It depends where Slott and Gage want to go with this story and where Slott wants to go with the character in general, but you want to really understand his feelings on this thing and it may well turn out that he is trying to justify his takeover of Peter to himself, which is an interesting concept and would leave himself open to repeating it again and again. Solid issue. Good action coming up, no doubt, with some intriguing character development primed and ready to roll.

Iron Man 11
Gillen (w) and Eaglesham (a) and Guru eFX (c)

Wow. I picked this book in my pregame this week more because I felt I hadn't given it enough love so far and less because I was thinking this book was going to be a huge game-changer. When I was looking at the titles this week, I thought to myself "gee, I'm really enjoying Iron Man. I'm not sure where it's going but I like Gillen enough that I'm sure it's going somewhere good and I feel I haven't given it much credit because I keep fawning over all the Avengers titles too much, among other things." So I picked it. Then I read it. I'm apparently GREAT at this. This book was so crazy. In a good way. It redraws almost the entire history of the Marvel Universe without so much as batting an eyelash. Or whatever it is a comic book would do to seem unperturbed. Usually, especially these days, revelations like this can only come as part of a huge event but here, in Iron Man 11, Kieron Gillen has said "wait, who is Tony Stark anyway?" and then EXPERTLY answered it and, after seventy years of Marvel comics, somehow changed the entire universe just a bit. Let's get into it. Tony is still with 451 and still not quite trusting of his story (quick note: if this story ends up being a lie to just manipulate Tony, I'm going to be SO depressed). We learn a bit more of it as 451 explains his diagnosis to Howard and Maria. 451 can save the unborn baby and make sure he lives, but it will come at a cost. They both have to agree to terms on the baby. Not some weird "when he's 12, I get him" or something like that. The problem, 451 says, is that Earth is hurtling towards the nuclear age and mutants and superpowers have started emerging rapidly. Any one of these events would have triggered further investigation from the cosmic powers that be but all three definitely make Earth a bit of a liability. 451 fears that the imperial powers would destroy the Earth in about thirty years, if the Earth isn't prepared. The rate the world is going, it will not be prepared in thirty years without a hand from the outside. 451 can't simply begin to help because his interference will only speed up the imperial powers' decision to attack Earth. Instead, he plans to enhance Tony to be a builder and a genius. The conceit, as would have come naturally, is that Howard was a rich genius so Tony had good genes and a curious mind and all sorts of resources at his disposal to become an even richer, even smarter genius than his father. Instead, according to 451, Tony had that and alien enhancements built right into his DNA that made him more inquisitive and more practical and more intelligent and more dedicated to arming Earth and everything else that makes him Tony. Tony still doesn't believe 451's story but 451 makes a couple good points. Tony, in a world full of geniuses, is the one who isn't focused on peace (like Reed Richards or Hank Pym or T'Challa) and who has the ability to change the entire world in the way he operates (unlike AIM or Doom or HYDRA or anything else). Without Tony's weapons, Earth would never have sustained attacks from the Skrulls and the Krees and everyone else they've come into contact with. Even as Tony is skeptical, he admits that, if he were in 451's shoes, he would have built someone like Tony.

And just like that, the whole Marvel Universe has a new frame around it. I'm not saying that Tony is the new centerpiece of the Marvel Universe (though boy, for an egotist already this is sure to go to his head a bit), just that he's quite probably the most important person to ever live on Earth. Okay, maybe I was saying that? I don't know. Anyway, it's definitely a weighty stance but it's one that shakes the 616 to its core without actually upsetting anything. Instead, it shifts everything without needing to recast anything. It just means that everything Tony has done and every attack the Earth has weathered now has a secondary background to it; Tony saved the world because he was born to do it. Brilliant stuff. This issue is pretty remarkable, guys. Great writing and ideas, the art is solid throughout (particularly a scene where Howard and Maria discuss the options with 451 (with great coloring too) and the ensuing ultrasound of Tony and explanation of his enhancements. Very good issue.