Dan Slott's SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN concluded this week and the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker, is back in control of his own body. Needless to say, the big change to the hero's life produced some very mixed opinions as the story unfolded over the months. But now that Otto's time as Superior Spider-Man has allegedly come to a close and Peter is getting his own ongoing series, we wanted to know how you currently feel about the big developments. Are you sad to see Doctor Octopus go or does your excitement over Peter Parker's return outweigh your feelings for the classic foe? Well, it turns out a majority of voters will miss Otto a lot and would like to see him have more time as the not-so-friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
That option won by a good percentage, too. 55% voted for Otto and only 38% sided with Peter's return. Meanwhile, 7% admitted they aren't even reading the run and maybe even wondered why Batman wasn't an option on the poll. We won't lie, the results are pretty surprising. Given how many heated debates always pop up in every review and thread about the run, we expected the voting to be much, much closer. Regardless, it's interesting to see such a strong change in opinion. When AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700 and the first several issues of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN dropped, there were a lot of very negative opinions popping up. Like, a lot. But, as Slott was given time to tell the story he wanted to, it's clear he began to win more and more of you over. Sure, it's almost guaranteed some of you out there are bummed out by this result, but hey, at least you have the original Spider-Man back now, right?
A lot of Viners chimed in for this discussion and there were several pages of solid and amusing posts. It wasn't easy to choose, but we've picked two impressive ones that were made for each character.
Viner Post for Otto is by UltimaStarkiller
"For me, Superior Spider-Man was the first ongoing Spider-Man series that I started following. Even though I've been a fan of comics for most of my young life, I only started buying single issues after the start of the "Marvel NOW!" initiative. I didn't even start reading the book when if first came out, as I started reading the series around the time issue #9 came out. It was only after I had started hearing about the developments in the story and people at my LCS recommending the book to me, that I started reading it. I bought all the single issues up to that point, and I'm happy to say that I don't regret doing so for a second. Being that I had no real emotional ties to the Peter Parker character in the comic book universe, I wasn't really hung up on the fact that Peter died. I had my doubts about the story, sure. I mean, it's a villain being Spider-Man, an idea that could have gone terribly wrong. But I didn't have a love for the Peter character like other long time fans did (and still do), so it was pretty easy to get into it, and the series truly was a lot of fun to read.
I always found the series to be very engaging, to the point that it was hard to wait for the series to release it's newest issue even after going to a bi-weekly schedule. It really is saying something that Otto, for being as despicable as he could be, was never a character I grew to hate or despise or get annoyed with. Even though he did terrible things, I was always able to sympathize with (or at least understand) him because of his (admittedly questionable) motivations. Doing what he believed was "right", the fact that he was successful in his endeavors, made him that much more interesting of a character to read about, especially when it was hard to argue the logic behind his actions (Killing a villain to keep him from hurting or killing others). It was especially interesting to see the story from the perspective of a villain-turned-forcibly-hero, doing what he believed to be the heroic action, seeing him fight crime in a manner that could still be considered villainous, but with twisted heroic intentions. Speaking of which, it was refreshing to see a villain in the hero role for so long, and not have it simply play out as a "What If?" story. Actions had weight to them, and everything he did made it that much more interesting, leaving you wonder what the destination to this journey would be.
If anything, the only reason why I really want to see Peter return as Spidey is to see how he handles the fallout from Otto's actions. I know people have hated the SpOck character (even if they haven't read the story), but this is a case of a story (hopefully) being a means to a new end, and not simply rehashing more stories, and a story that will be beneficial to the Peter character. It's a story that felt important every time I read it, one that even with it's problems (the "characters dumb down" argument. some of the stories missing their potential, ex. "Darkest Hour" ), was always something I looked forward to reading.
I'll miss SpOck, and do wish the story had gone on a little longer to see where the series could've possibly gone next, as I think the story still had a lot more possibilities to explore. For all I know, Dan Slott might blow it and make the series pointless (I don't think he will, but expectations are certainly high). That being said, whatever the fallout may be, this is the story that helped cement my place as a Spider-Man fan and reader, even if it wasn't because of Peter Parker, and one that I know that I'll always look back fondly on."
Viner Post for Peter is by GraniteSoldier
"Eh, I voted no because I am actually happy to see Peter back because of one simple reason: Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Certainly others may replace, for example Miles replacing Peter as Ultimate Spider-Man, but Peter is Spidey. There is no other Spidey.
Now I am torn, and nearly voted yes, for a few reasons. First, I'll admit that leading up to Superior I enjoyed Slott's work on Peter. Heresy, I know, but he's evolved Peter more since Big Time than he really has in the last decade. Second, the premise had promise. We all knew it wasn't permanent. It's like when Jean Paul Valley or Dick Grayson replaced Bruce Wayne. Marvel isn't going to kill of a flagship character, especially when he's slated for another few movies in the coming years. Superior, however, felt rushed. To make it work in the allotted time frame, Slott dumbed down many of the supporting cast, so they "knew something was different" but no one really realized anything was wrong. The Avengers were made fools, Aunt May didn't see anything was different about the boy she raised, etc. Now, I have confidence Slott could have pulled it off better if he had time, but he didn't. He wanted to tell a certain story, and didn't have much time to do it. I wouldn't mind seeing Superior go on a bit longer, or have been slated a longer time frame. I think we could have achieved the same ends with better buildup without character degradation.
But, in the end, I am glad to see Peter come back. I hope we will see some major developments come from this, such as Parker Industries and Miguel being in the present, hopefully we'll see something come of Peter knowing Curt Connors' mind is in the body of the Lizard. If it does nothing but serve as a "soft reset" for Spidey, and bring him back to the "starving genius bachelor" he's always been, then it will have been a waste. I suppose only time will tell."
Love or hate SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN, we want to know what your favorite moment from the volume was! Tell us below and feel free to share an image of it, too. Don't forget, the final issue -- SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #31 -- is currently on sale. See you next Tuesday for an all-new Question of the Week!