The Good
What a refreshingly fun issue of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN. However, the majority of Dan Slott written Spider-Man issues are fun, but this one was a bit different. The majority of this issue deals with Peter Parker, who is no longer Peter Parker because Doc Ock mind swiped with him, taking Mary Jane Watson on numerous dates in hopes of getting a little action.
This is a pretty weird issue, but it works so well. Sure, it's mainly about Doc trying to "close the deal," but it's a lot more about Doc adjusting to being inside of Peter, and Peter, who is still there, trapped in the subconscious, is trying to reach through and he's having a tough time dealing with how Ock is handling being Peter Parker.
Peter (Ock) makes some big changes in his personal life and in his Superior Spider-Man life, and more than just trying to bag MJ. Spider-Man starts talking to the press, and actually shakes hands with Jameson It's these little tweaks to the character I really enjoyed, and moreso than anything else, I love the image of the real Peter freaking out because no one is realizing it's not actually him. The whole idea of Ock wanting to be a "Superior" Spider-Man shines through here, quite a few times (at least in Ock's mind), and there's even a moment or two where the real Peter comes around on the idea of Ock starting to become a pretty good Spider-Man.
Carlie still remembers that moment where Doc Ock (with Peter's mind) grabbed her and told her what has happened, and she seems to be coming around. She wants to solve this mystery, and it's going to be one fantastic story line as it develops over the next few issues. How can she solve this mystery though? I'm very excited to see where the next few issues take us.
Ryan Stegman's art is a perfect fit for this issue. It's kind of a goofy issue, and Stegman really highlights that feeling through some goofy looking faces (mainly on Peter). He shows action and movement extremely well, and I loved how he drew Spidey web-slinging here. The splash page with MJ on Superior Spidey's back with Peter, in his SM costume, in the background is beautiful. One of the coolest splash pages of the week.
I LOVED the cover to this issue. It is my favorite, so far, this year. I know we just finished January, but this is a stand-out.
The Bad
I was extremely creeped out by Ock accessing Peter's memories of more intimate times with Mary Jane. It fits the story and is great for the character, but still, a tad creepy.
There's a couple pages, towards the end of the issue, where there was some extra negative space in the page layouts. It looked a bit awkward and was distracting.
The Verdict
Well, SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN is on issue two, and it's still awesome. Regardless of what you think about the whole mind-swap episode, you can't deny this isn't a great book that is a lot of fun to read. If you can deny it, take a vacation from being mad at everything for one day. We all know that, at some point, everything will return to normal, so let's just enjoy this insane ride while it lasts.
The overall story here was a ton of fun, and I loved the majority of the issue revolving around Ock taking MJ out on dates. It's comedic, and well done. The art here is wonderful, even though I had some small problems with layout towards the end of the issue.
Overall, you should go pick up this book, it's ridiculous, and I mean that in the best way possible.