The "Superior" Spider-Man my BEHIND!
...I cannot even begin to describe my hatred for this comic. But...I'll attempt to do so all the same.
Daniel Slott was the current writer of Spider-Man for a considerably long time. And I had really enjoyed Spider-Island. Honestly, I had. It ended the Carlie/Peter relationship. It showed Spidey being APPRECIATED by the people of New York. It took Spidey in new directions, gave him his Spidey-Sense back AND reintroduced Kaine! I liked it a lot!
...then this happened. But first, some context. It's time for "Comic Book History You Don't Know About But Need To Know To Understand This"...with apologies to Linkara of AT4W. In the previous Spider-Man stories Doctor Otto Octavious, "Dock Ock", had attempted to destroy the world by frying it with giant satellites under the guise of fighting global warming. Spidey managed to stop him, though Silver Sable died in the process. But Ock had a plan...a backup plan. To take over Spidey's body, evict his mind into HIS dying body and become the new Spider-Man...the new Peter Parker!
And guess what? He got AWAY with it. Peter Parker DIED and the only reason Ock didn't immediately use his powers to kill everyone nearby was Peter laid an enormous guilt-trip via his own transferred memories to force Ock into understanding that with great power must come great responsibility. But unfortunately...Ock took the wrong lesson from that...LESSON!
Let me explain why this doesn't work. For starters, I understand the importance of innovation, of the need to change things up. I understand that the biggest problem people have with comic books is that nothing ever changes, that it's STAGNANT. I too was frustrated such a problem. But the problem is when you take a risk like this...you go too far. And they did. It wasn't just a "villain gets redeemed" story. Oh no. Dan Slott went farther.
Because the "Superior" Spider Man put a bullet in a villain's head. SPIDEY SHOT A GUY. He MUTILATED a couple of villains for making fun of him! MUTILATED him!
The good news was that the ghost of Peter was living in Doc Ock's head and struggling to get his body back. It came to a head in this issue...it almost looked like Peter was gonna win...
But "almost" only counts in horseshoes. Things go south. Peter screams in frustration that Ock has ruined his rep. Nobody trusts the new murderous Spidery anymore! And Ock argues that by sticking to rigid "goody-two-shoes" morality and in "trying to be the friendly neighborhood spider-man", Peter didn't do enough to stop crime.
...screw you, Dan Slott. Because THIS was when I! GOT! PISSED!
Ock accuses Pete of going too easy on crooks like the Vulture. In fact, because he let the Vulture get away, the guy came back using young children as foot soldiers to do crime. Here's the problem.
THAT'S NOT PETER'S FAULT! Being a villain doesn't ABSOLVE you of responsibility for your own cruel actions! That's the VULTURE'S fault! Not PETER'S!
Then he blames Peter for what the villain "Masscare" did. The guy killed 30 people when he got out of prison and Peter coulda stopped it if he'd killed Massacre earlier. AGAIN! IT IS NOT A HERO'S FAULT WHEN A VILLAIN CHOOSES TO DO BAD THINGS! WHY IN THE FLYING HELL DOES NOBODY BRING THIS POINT UP IN COMICS?!
But then we REALLY hit the zenith of cognitive dissonance and mischaracterization. Doc Ock yells at Peter for almost letting a young girl die when Ock was trying to save her with an operation. Peter interfered.
Now would you like to know WHY the girl needed an operation to begin with? I'll tell you. IT HAD TO DO WITH HIM TRYING TO TURN THE WORLD INTO A FLAMING BURNING WRECK! His attempt to light the world on fire directly resulted in her getting hospitalized! It's OCK'S fault she needed an operation in the FIRST bloody place!
But NOOO! Dan Slott felt the need to make PETER PARKER look bad...to make DOC OCK look GOOD. Listen, you JACKASS! How DARE you, the guy who tried to cook the whole world, take the moral high ground! Dan Slott has gone beyond good taste and into the realm of something that is just VILE! This is a morally reprehensible comic.
And maybe you think I'm being unfair. After all, didn't Dan address this very point in an interview and say that Peter isn't the most perfect person? That he's not exactly a saint? That he's the guy from Amazing Fantasy 15 who was gonna use his powers to benefit himself and his family and screw the rest of the world?
...yeeeesss...and that was over 50 years ago. People expect more. They DESERVE more. Pete's not the same selfish, whiny teenager he used to be. He should be PAST that stuff. He's not the kind of person who'd let Flash Thompson get in trouble with Dr. Doom because the guy was picking on him in high school! The most recent example of Pete doing something selfish and only for himself that Dan could give CAME FROM THE 80'S! The 80'S!
I understand wanting to do the Spider-Man books from a new perspective, and wanting to tell a story with a villain as the central focus. This is the wrong way to do it! He made Peter willing to let a LITTLE GIRL DIE to make DOC OCK look like a saint in comparison. Peter. Wouldn't. Do. That. He's not NEARLY as self-absorbed as Slott thinks he is.
And worst of all? Guess what Slott said!? "Do you want a hero who's more heroic...or do you want a hero who gets more heroic things done? Would you rather have the MAN...or the RESULTS?" And judging by what's been written...Dan thinks the ends justify the means.
NO!
NOOOO!
We ALREADY WENT THROUGH THIS WITH SPIDER-MAN! There was a whole period back in the 90's when Pete lost himself in the Spider-Man persona and buried his humanity and called himself "the Spider" and became a more brutal and effective crime-fighter at the expense of his compassion. Those were the days that drove readers away in DROVES!
Let's take this to a different level. Venom. He's an anti-hero. He gets results...but he's kind of a CONTRAST to Peter, who's more heroic, but who doesn't ALWAYS get results. But we're still siding with Peter over Venom because even though Eddie TRIES to do what's right, and might have good REASONS, he's still bonkers! Dan's just repeating a trend that Peter oughta be past! We're all dead tired of kill-the-enemy, gritty grim-dark antihero types who walk the line between vigilante and superhero! That's not the type of person Spider-Man is supposed to BE!
After Spider-Island I had such high hopes for Slott. Pete took on a sidekick whom he tried to teach to be responsible. The city respected and trusted him. Jameson was the mayor! His aunt May got a relationship! Actual change was happening! And for a while, I thought Peter was developing in such a good way. That he was moving past worked-to-death-trends.
As such...I have only one thing to say.
THIS! COMIC! SUCKS!