Unlike artists, superheroes do not achieve the fame they deserve after they are dead. They’re quickly forgotten by some, or more often than not, are reviled because everyone knows they’ll be back eventually. If done correctly, a good story can come from the ashes—the Winter Soldier comes to mind—and the old hero can be tucked away with no harm or foul. It’s been hard to take Spider-Man’s death seriously in Amazing Spider-Man #700 because his ghost still roams around SpOck’s head. What if said ghost is erased completely? Is he finally dead and gone and will this story survive? We’ll find out after we ask the question, is it good?
Superior Spider-Man #9 (Marvel Comics)
The end may be in sight for ghost Peter Parker, because last issue SpOck came to the realization there’s a remnent of Peter still inside his head. He acquired a Doc Ock gadget that allows the user to enter the mind and that can’t be good for Peter. SpOck might be the “Superior” Spider-Man, but that doesn’t mean he’s not ruthless. This issue does a good job showing just how ruthless he can be as we witness Peter Parker die again.
SpOck sure is a nightmare character here.
The entirety of this issue takes place inside the mind of Peter Parker. SpOck uses Peter’s deepest fears against him and Peter uses his allies against SpOck. There’s some interesting identity issues going on in this issue that reveal themselves literally. SpOck first appears as Doc Ock, but over the course of the issue, much like in this series, he turns into Spider-Man and admits this is his new identity. Peter on the other hand is simply fighting for his life, or whatever is left of it.
Who is the dude in the top hat?
The majority of the issue is basically one character shouting at the other what he stands for. It’s not particularly interesting, considering we already know, but the mindscape battle is a cool idea none the less.
Ewwwwww.
Ryan Stegman does a bang up job on art creating a good sense of mood and atmosphere. The final pages are incredibly tragic and even a little bit disturbing. The color palette is a little monotone for my tastes, but I suppose its intention is to bring the mood down. A lot of sickly green is used though and I’m not sure vomit green is what they were going for.
Clone Saga Hot Flashes Incoming!
7.5
- Moody art
- Truly tragic story on display
- Odd color palette.
This series has done a good job keeping the reader on their toes, not letting us root for SpOck, but not letting us hate him either. He’s an anti-hero who’s literally killed off a beloved character and yet we still root for him. This might be because we’ve all expected Peter Parker to come back eventually. Enjoy the ride, but don’t get mad at the death of a hero. Well, this may be the first issue where the death of the hero was punctuated with an exclamation point. Let the fans rise up and acquire pitchforks and torches!
Is It Good?
Good but not great. An emotional issue but the next issue will be needed to understand the implications.
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