Slott (w) and Camuncoli and Dell (a) and Fabella and Delgado (c)
Boy, this comic is going to some dark places, huh? We have the a lot of Batman motifs cropping up here, but going the step Batman decidedly doesn't go. It's also interesting because Spider-Man is typically different than Batman in his motives. Spider-Man has always believed in the responsibility behind using his powers where Batman is more out for vengeance. However, as the Superior Spider-Man gets more and more comfortable in the skin of Peter Parker, he is becoming more merciless and, as a result, seemingly more efficient. There are a number of times in this issue (and in the four before it) where the spectator Peter Parker has been shocked by how right Doc Ock is in his methods. There are, of course, plenty of times he totally disagrees with those same methods, but small actions like calling the cops for back-up and setting up surveillance to assist in the town and finding Massacre's back-up plan before he can fall back on it were all, Peter admits, good choices. There is also a feeling from Dock Ock, when Peter occasionally does force his way through and affects a scenario, that Peter's impulsive actions in the way he heroes about ruin Doc Ock's meticulous plan. It all comes back to the question Slott wants us to ask: is Peter Parker the best Spider-Man?It's a really interesting question. The heart's answer is, as it should be, yes, of course. Spidey has been doing this for fifty years now and he's so unambiguously heroic. He does things because he wants to help. There's seemingly not a bad bone in his body (typically) and he catches bad guys and takes the weight of the world on his shoulders and quips. Of course he's the best. But then we get a glimpse of the cold and calculating Doc Ock as he uses Spider-Man's powers for good and it's hard not to question. Should Spider-Man have killed Massacre, the emotionless serial killer who has already broken out once and slaughtered tens of people? Common superhero etiquette would say no, of course not. That's not his decision to make. But then there's always that question that's associated with so many heroes and that often comes back at Batman: is Batman irresponsible in not killing Joker, who has no chance of turning his life around and who will just do more and more destruction and will always find a way out? It's tough. And it's the line that Spider-Man is going to walk right now. And this question doesn't even get into the morality of the face-recognizing spider-bots patrolling the city nor the morality of Spider-Man threatening a woman to reveal her secrets to the police lest she deal with him. Lot of interesting things coming out of this book and it'll be exciting to see where we end up.
Venom 32
Bunn (w) and Shalvey (a) and Loughridge (c)
If I'm not saying much, it's because not much seemed to happen. I guess in my pre-game picks, I was a little too eager about what was to come in this issue. This issue deals largely in flashes from the past (GET IT, FLASHes. LIKE FLASH) that describe how the symbiotes have been bonded to their various hosts and how Flash really needs to get his under control. It seems like he'll have an encounter with Toxin before he's able to inject himself with the drugs he needs to keep the symbiote contained and obeying him. So I guess NEXT issue is the big one. We'll see how well this series is doing after that one, I suppose. I think I went into this one a little too eagerly, only to be a little disappointed by the lack of forward motion. Oh well. It happens.
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