The Superior Spider-Man

The Superior Spider-Man is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics that debuted in January 2013 as part of the Marvel NOW! event.^[1] The series was written by Dan Slott with artwork by Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos, and Giuseppe Camuncoli. It features a reformed Otto Octavius who has taken over Peter Parker's body, and, having allowed Peter to die in Octavius' body but being affected by Peter's memories, is determined to be a better Spider-Man than Peter ever was, and a better man than Otto Octavius. The title replaced the long running series The Amazing Spider-Man, after the conclusion of the "Dying Wish" storyline, as the core Spider-Man book. The series ended with issue 31, which determined the fate of Otto Octavius' mind, and was followed by the next volume of The Amazing Spider-Man, in which Peter Parker has regained his body and the Spider-Man mantle.

In May 2014, it was announced that the series would return for two additional issues (32 and 33) that fill a gap left by an earlier storyline, as well as lead into the "Spider-Verse" storyline. They were released in August 2014.^[2]

Publication history

Marvel Comics first teased the announcement of The Superior Spider-Man in September 2012 by releasing an image of the word Superior without the creative team.^[3] A short time before the NYCC 2012 Marvel released a new Superior teaser, this time with the creative team of Dan Slott, Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos and Giuseppe Camuncoli.^[4] A week later a new Spider-Man centric title was announced called The Superior Spider-Man.^[5]

Plot summary

"My Own Worst Enemy" (issues #1–5)

After the death of Peter Parker at the climax of the "Dying Wish" storyline in Amazing Spider-Man #700, Doctor Octopus has implanted his mind into Peter Parker's body, determined to prove himself the "Superior" Spider-Man by being both a better superhero and person than Parker ever could be. Octavius earns public acclaim when he defeats the Sinister Six. Unbeknownst to Otto, he is subconsciously held back by Parker's consciousness which still exists within his body, buried underneath Octavius's own, intent on stopping the villain and reclaiming his life. Peter proves unable to influence Octavius in any more than the slightest of ways. Otto inadvertently causes himself to share Peter's genuine love for Mary Jane Watson, and so pushes her away for her own safety.^[6]

When his old Sinister Six teammate Vulture resurfaces, Octavius attempts to convince his old friend to give up crime. Upon the discovery that Vulture employs children as henchmen Otto brutally takes the Vulture down, blinding him in the process. Vulture's remaining henchmen are taken in by the Green Goblin.^[7] With his merciless reputation growing, Octavius focuses on increased efficiency, developing thousands of "Spider-Bots" that patrol the city for him while returning to college as Parker to complete his doctorate, in turn growing close to his tutor Anna Maria Marconi.^[8] Otto locates escaped killer Massacre, whom he then executes publicly.^[9]

"A Troubled Mind" (issues #6–10)

His decision to execute Massacre sits ill with his teammates in the Avengers and they bring him in for questioning after a brutal beating of pranksters Jester and Screwball.^[10] The Avengers' tests fail to expose Octavius's mind-swap.^[11] Otto uses a brain scanner to treat a young girl's brain injury, then uses the device on himself to discover Parker's presence within his mind.^[12] A mental battle ensues between himself and Parker. Octavius defeats Parker, then seemingly eliminates Peter by erasing Peter's memories.^[13]

Police Captain Yuri Watanabe questions the officers present during the Massacre killing. An autopsy reveals Massacre was unable to fire a gun and was shot point blank, confirming Yuri's suspicions. The Green Goblin hacks the Spider-Bots tech to allow his followers to bypass detection. Former Vulture henchmen torch Mary Jane's nightclub in revenge for an earlier failed attempt. Mary Jane believes Peter will come to rescue her, but is saved by local firemen. Otto becomes closer with Anna Maria Marconi. The Green Goblin declares himself the Goblin "King", as his army grows.^[14]

"No Escape" (issues #11–16)

Spider-Man is asked to supervise the execution of Alistair Smythe. As the execution begins, mini Spider-Slayers allow Smythe to attempt escape. Jameson tells Spider-Man to ensure that Smythe dies by any means necessary. Otto fatally stabs Smythe. Smythe attempts to transfer his mind into Spider-Man, but Otto also planned for this possibility. Later, Spider-Man uses a recording of Jameson's kill-order to blackmail Jameson. Otto then assaults Shadowland, the domain of Kingpin. Kingpin flees. The Green Goblin's soldiers rejoice in the fact their boss now owns over half of New York's organized crime.^[15] Tiberius Stone sabotages the Hobgoblin, ruining him. Spider-Man publicly reveals Phil Urich as Hobgoblin. Phil realizes that he has nowhere to run.^[16] Spider-Man arrives at the Daily Bugle and defeats Urich. Phil Urich is later freed by Menace and brought to Green Goblin.^[17]

"Necessary Evil" (issues #17–21)

In the year 2099, Miguel O'Hara is surprised by the appearance of dinosaurs and World War I biplanes. He tracks the source to Alchemax Tower. They send Spider-Man 2099 back to stop it. In the present, U.S. government agents arrest Max Modell. Horizon's new majority shareholder Liz Allan (Harry Osborn's ex-wife) and owner of "Allan Chemical", announces Tiberius Stone as the new supervisor. Otto prepares to attack Stone, but is stopped by Spider-Man 2099.^[18] Spider-Man 2099 takes Tiberius Stone into custody. Grady crosses the Time Gate to the day of the Alpha Incident, and witnesses Tiberius sabotaging the machine. Grady returns, only to find they are surrounded by explosive time-energy.^[19] Otto tries to access Peter's memories, trying to stop the explosion. Otto's efforts to access Peter's memories causes Peter's consciousness to begin re-emerging. Spider-Man 2099 and Tiberius escape in the nick of time. Tyler Stone destroys his time machine, stranding Spider-Man 2099. The Horizon team, minus Uatu Jackson and Sajani Jaffrey, leave New York. Meanwhile, Carlie discovers that Spider-Man's funds comes from a secret account of Otto Octavius.^[20] Later, Spider-Man heads for a date with Anna Maria Marconi only to bump into the Black Cat. Spider-Man punches her; Felicia swears revenge. Peter/Otto signs the paperwork to start Peter/Otto's new business endeavor. At ESU, Professor Lamaze accuses Peter of plagiarizing Otto Octavius. Angelina Brancale again becomes Stunner.^[21] Stunner attacks Spider-Man as soon as he arrives at the Bugle. Carlie Cooper is kidnapped by Menace. Spider-Man stops a bus from crushing Anna Marie and Lamaze. As Stunner thrashes him, the spider-bots shut down her interface. When she awakes she is shocked to see Doctor Octopus as she once knew him. Otto tells Angelina that he is not dead but has moved on. The next day Lamaze drops his accusations against "Peter". Menace brings Carlie to the Goblin King; now the Goblin King knows the truth about Doctor Octopus' mind occupying Spider-Man's body.^[22]

"Darkest Hours" (issues #22–26)

Flash Thompson (Agent Venom) returns to New York due to his fiancee' Betty Brant informing him the Crime Master has returned. Flash suits up with the symbiote to confront him as Agent Venom. Just as he locates and confronts Crime Master, Otto and his Spiderlings intervene. Crime Master reveals he is actually a common criminal who has masqueraded as Crime Master, having purchased a similar hood from Hobgoblin. He agrees to turn himself in. Otto then turns on Flash, recognizing the symbiote. He attacks Venom, who escapes using a smokescreen. Flash flees to a hospital, before resigning to meet with Peter Parker. He arrives at Parker's apartment, and "Peter" invites him in. He introduces him to Anna Maria, telling her of their friendship, to which Flash admits he use to bully Peter in high school. Otto then asks Flash to come to Parker Industries, so that he may provide him with prosthetic legs, just as he did with Aunt May. Flash agrees to this. After arriving at the company, Otto successfully gives Flash his new legs. However, he shows an ulterior motive by separating the symbiote from Flash, placing it in a containment chamber. However, the symbiote breaks out, and latches on to Otto, transforming him into "Superior Venom". However, the symbiote notices a difference in Peter's mind, and tries to flee back to Flash, but Otto gains control over it and decides to keep it. Although Cardiac attempts to separate them, Superior Venom attacks him. Iron Man arrives to assist Cardiac, and suggests bringing him to the battle-zone so they can reunite Flash with the symbiote. They take Superior Venom to the battle-zone, and the Avengers engage him. However, Superior Venom overpowers them, boasting of his "superiority". However, he is ambushed by Iron Man and Flash wearing an Iron Man armor, attempting to regain the symbiote. Suddenly, Peter's consciousness surfaces and allows them to finally separate Otto from the symbiote, allowing it to re-bond to Flash. When the Avengers confront Spider-Man, Otto lies by saying the symbiote was in control, but the Avengers are in disbelief at his recent actions. Otto, unwilling to admit his faults, childishly argues before leaving. Captain America asks Agent Venom to check the symbiote's memories as to see why Peter has been acting differently, and Flash states that he sees "two different radio stations playing in the same frequency".

Annuals

Two Superior Spider-Man annuals were published during the series' run. The first one was written by Christos Gage and drawn by Javier Rodriguez and Alvaro Lopez.^[23] It involved Spider-Man tracking down Blackout after the latter kidnapped Aunt May.

The second annual was written by Christos Cage and drawn by Javier Rodriguez and focused on Phil Urich's relationship with his uncle, Ben Urich.^[24]

Reception

Initially when it was announced that Marvel were killing off Peter Parker and his body would be taken over by Doctor Octopus, fans of the previous series almost universally criticized the idea. However, as the series progressed, many online critics were won over^[25] by the fresh approach and intelligent writing, as well as great story line and art work. Another thing fans enjoyed was the addition of new characters.

In other media

Television

• In The Big Bang Theory episode "The Deception Verification", Howard Wolowitz complains about this comic. Raj Koothrappali says he is enjoying the storyline because it combines elements of Spider-Man and Freaky Friday.
• In the Ultimate Spider-Man episode "Avenging Spider-Man (Part 1)", Loki body swaps with Spider-Man, much like Dr. Octopus does in The Superior Spider-Man. In the episode, Dr. Octopus says it's a good idea he will take note of.

Video games

• The Superior Spider-Man appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by James Arnold Taylor. He appears as a separate playable character to Peter Parker's Spider-Man and his regular Doctor Octopus form. The Superior Spider-Man can be unlocked by finding it in the hub world of New York City.
• The Superior Spider-Man also appears as an alternate costume for Spider-Man or as a separate character in Marvel Heroes (voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes), The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Marvel Super Hero Squad Online and Marvel Heroes.
• The Superior Spider-Man is a playable character in Spider-Man Unlimited.
• The Superior Spider-Man appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance as a playable lockbox hero.^[26][27]
• The Superior Spider-Man appears in Marvel: Future Fight as Docor Octopus' alternate costume.

Collected editions

Softcover

Hardcover

References