The return of that familiar feel. But is that really a good thing?
Peter Parker the one true Spider-Man, reclaims his body from Otto Octavius aka Doctor Octopus whom had been in possession of his body attempting to became a Superior Spider-Man for nearly a year. Peter must now try to move on and adjust to the changes that occurred while he was gone. This may be his biggest challenge yet. -summary
Well, the people had spoken and they finally had gotten their way. Peter Parker was returned to his body as Spider-Man, thus ending The Superior Spider-Man run and rebooting The Amazing Spider-Man. I remember thinking it would be great to see Parker back, because he is Spider-Man and there's no real denying that. Unfortunately, with the demise of Otto Octavius as Spider-Man something else died as well, and that was true excitement. Otto was just awesome all around as he played by his own rules and made up more as he went along. This TPB collects The Amazing Spider-Man issues 1-6.
Otto as the Superior Spider-Man was the best thing to happen since Spider-Man: The Other and Back in Black. It brought a real freshness to the character that was definitely necessary and for the first time in ages Peter's world actually saw some real progress. I wanted to see where Otto was going to take things because everything looked so promising. Now, everything feels quite familiar; I won't say things are boring now or even totally stale. I was looking forward to seeing how Peter would react to things, and for the most part there is potential. Dan Slott has plenty of ideas since he doesn't completely dwell on this. There's plenty of focus on world building and character development as the character Silk makes her appearance. She definitely adds to the overall development of the Spider-totem and Morlun.
There's more development as Electro returns with a legitimate beef against Spider-Man, and the Black Cat joins him with her own believable grudge. While this does deliver some decent action, plus Silk receives some good focus. This is just more world building taking place with the Black Cat. I'm interested in seeing her growth as a real villain as opposed to a common thief.
This is one of those rare occasions where Humberto Ramos' artwork does not put me off completely, but this probably has more to do with the lively inks. The coloring during the battles with Electro look wonderful, it's bursting with style and I can imagine someone not too familiar with Spider-Man wanting to dig further. The action can be followed quite well, plus the backgrounds really do look alive in a cartoonish way. The style is so lively and can just wake you up. Weak puns aside, I liked the dialog for the most part and I simply love Anna Maria Marconi by this point. She has a way of words that always entertains me and she meshes with Peter just fine.
Overall, I will say that this volume hit things off right for me. Dan Slott ties up loose ends from The Superior Spider-Man and starts things anew from here plus prepares for the future. Therefore this volume accomplishes some things. For those unfamiliar with Morlun I recommend reading The Amazing Spider-Man Ultimate Collection Volume One written by J. Michael Straczynski, and Spider-Man: The Other. This book is definitely worth a read.
Pros: Very solid start and there's potential
Cons: Quite familiar and not all that great at times