cyclops4president's Superior Spider-Man #14 - A Blind Eye review

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    SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #014: Unleash the ARACHNAUGHTS and the SPIDERLINGS!

    This series has become quite this topic of controversy and this issue has already shown the variety of support and hate for this character and issue. I get my comics fairly quickly, as in, on Wednesdays, but by the time I started writing this issue early on Thursday, there have already been over 5 reviews, of either 4 and 5 star, or 1 and 2 star. This is showing that whatever the creative team of this book is trying to accomplish with the character and the story, they are getting a ton of press about their work.

    People either REALLY love this title, or they HAAAATTTTEEE it. You can see by the reviews, there is no middle ground. That is because Peter Parker and the Amazing Spider-Man has been a fan favorite, or THE fan favorite for so long, that the idea of having OTTO OCTAVIUS in control of Peter's body is overshadowing the real awesome things the creative team is actually doing with this book.

    Why does this issue deserve a 5 STAR rating? Well, hopefully I am going to show you why.

    1. His critical strategic relationships. We saw in last issue (013) that Superior is not above blackmail to get what he wants, even with the most power of politicians. For how many years has J.Jonah Jameson been a thorn in the side of Peter? In two quick issues, Superior has J.J.J. in his preverbal pocket. In this issue (014), SUPERIOR continues to manipulate J.J.J. into being his "accomplice" through his crowd manipulation. In this instance, Superior is really Superior to Amazing.

    2. Organization. AMAZING was always a solo act, when it comes down to it. Sure, AMAZING been part of numerous teams, Avengers, FF, but at the end of the day, he is a solo act. That has been his appeal for so long, his ability to be a hero and juggle all his responsibilities on his own. SUPERIOR has a new theory on this hero business. The bad guys hire minions, why can't the hero?

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    Here we see SUPERIOR leading his team of what I believe he calls "ARACHNAUGHTS" post SHADOWLAND destruction. You can see the rubble in the background. In this issue, the ARACHNAUGHTS were highly professional in aiding SUPERIOR overtake the volume of HAND ninja's and foot soldiers. They also provided crowd protection for the civilians in the surrounding area, keeping everyone calm. What a great idea! I mean, S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the same sort of tactics, why can't a solo hero? SUPERIOR is more adept as a leader of a group as OTTO has been the leader of the SINISTER 6 as well as having his own minions as DR. OC. As AMAZING, we loved Peter's unorganized and somewhat frantic personal and professional style, it was part of his charm, but now we see something SUPERIOR! OTTO has real leadership and organizational structures in place to literally walk into SHADOWLAND, tear it down without any civilian casualties, and dethrone the KINGPIN of crime, all while on a call with the mayor. SUPERIOR wins in this category as well.

    3. Technology. With better organization, comes more free time. Yes, Peter was a very gifted scientist but never really lived up to his true potential in the science world. Otto has always been a superior scientist in his own mind, and now that he has the body and the tools, and the sponsorship from the Mayor, Otto has really stepped up the game on the super-hero technology front as it relates to Spider-Man. With Otto's SUPERIOR organizational skills, and probably a SUPERIOR intellect, and a more professional approach to crime fighting, we have seen new technologies aid Otto like the SPIDERBOTS, now the SPIDERLINGS, and whatever this thing is called...the SPIDERTANK I assume.

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    To think that SHADOWLAND was constructed in such a way,in such an architecture, in Hell's Kitchen, it is like a slap in the face to crime fighters in New York and Hell's Kitchen. Everyone and their brother knew that was the KINGPINS headquarters but no one wanted or could do anything about it....until SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN came along with this here SPIDERTANK, and his ARACHNAUGHTS in tow. With his network spiderbots in place, his own lair on Spider Island, his armory of specialized Spider tanks and vehicles, as well as his newly formed minion army, SUPERIOR is showing himself to real be the Superior hero encompassing the body previously owned by Peter Parker. Oh, did I forget, Superior has also created a special backpack for himself. This device is so "amazing" really.

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    As you can see, it is reminiscent of Dr. Oc's former glorious arms outstretched from his torso. We had to know this was coming. Otto is already comfortable with extra appendages aiding him in his tasks, and now with a spider theme and utilized as a weapon more so than a functional arm, SUPERIOR is now really an 8 legged creature.

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    In this image you see some more of the technological changes he made to his costume. These long finger claws allow him to slash through HAND ninjas like butter, turning them into dust. His backpack arms/legs are being controlled like a skilled expert, also slashing and puncturing opponents. His new suit is so fascinating! As far as functionality goes for the job of being a super hero, SUPERIOR takes the cake when compared to what AMAZING had ever done. Again, SUPERIOR wins.

    This issue and title is so fascinating to me. It is called SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN, and as a SPIDER-MAN fan, I get to witness what AMAZING always could have been but never was. The ultimate downfall to anyone in this situation is EGO. Ultimately, SUPERIOR will fall deeper and deeper down the rabbits hole and the whole hero theme will start to fade away and ultimately his true nature will reveal itself and it will take a team like the AVENGERS to come in and put SUPERIOR down. It really is just a matter of time, but, until we get there, we get to see an AMAZING SPIDER-MAN be truly SUPERIOR in every way.

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