Warning: There will be some spoilers within this review.
The Good
Doc Ock finds the Peter Parker brain pattern anomaly with his scanner and attempts to wipe Peter away for good. Inside Peter's brain, the two battle it out for supremacy.
This is quite the controversial issue, probably just as controversial as AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700 where it's revealed Peter Parker and Doc Ock switched bodies. I will not spoil anything big, but this issue is a huge game changer for the series. On top of that, the decision writer Dan Slott makes in this issue with this character is an awesome way to go.
In the epic battle between Peter and Ock, I thought for sure I'd be cheering for Peter. He's Spider-Man, right? How could you not want to cheer for the good guy? Dan Slott has this magical ability to slowly make you root for the bad guy. There's this amazing turning point where Doc Ock realizes is not Dr Octopus, he's Superior Spider-Man now, and he has this conversation with Peter where he, in a weird way, proves that even though he's killing people, he's actually a superior version of Spider-Man. It comes to this stunning conclusion where I really feel for Peter and all he's gone through, but as the reader, I find myself siding with Doc Ock. I'm blown away with how Slott's writing changes my perception of Peter and Ock all in one issue.
Taking a breather from the craziness, for a moment, Ryan Stegman's cover here is amazing. Not only is it a great representation of the story within the issue, but I love how Spidey's brain is also the title of the book. What a cool concept.
Another quick thing I loved about this issue was seeing Doc Ock, in Peter's mind, in his old green costume with his terrible bowlcut again. I haven't been a fan of any of the redesigns of this character, so seeing this, for one last time, made the Spider-Fan in me happy.
Back to Ryan Stegman... His work is top notch. This is an insane issue. There's a ton of stuff going on, and art-wise, Stegman nailed it. There's so much going on here, and so much action taking place, and Stgman puts together a very clear-cut style that's easy to read and brilliant at telling the story within the book. By far, my favorite page here happens towards the end when a beaten Doc Ock realized who he truly is. It's three, pretty simple panels that flow so well, and I loved the use of the negative space and how Ock's face blends into it.
The Bad
My only real problem with the issue was that the back and forth battle, in the first half really didn't grab me. I didn't like the scenes with Peter and Ock saying to each other "I've got these guys backing me up!" It was a tad cheesy. However, it really picks up the pace and becomes really awesome around page 13.
The Verdict
I know there's going to be people freaking out because I'm not freaking out. Frankly, I'm sick of stagnant story lines. It's nice to see someone doing something risky. Tons of people freaked out during #700 and vowed never to read Spider-Man again, and then those people, for some reason, picked up SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN, stuck with it, and really ended up enjoying it. It's going to be the same thing here, but there's no reason to fret. Everything, at some point, will most likely all go back to normal, so let's enjoy this crazy ride while we can.
This was an awesome issue. It was better than I expected, after reading issue #8. I had a bit of a problem with the first half of the book coming off as a tad cheesy, but overall, this was such a great issue, and an amazing way to wrap up this first arc of this book. Slott does wonders with these characters and the dialogue here, especially during the final scenes, and Ryan Stegman's art is so pretty, and that cover is so awesome. This is an issue I could easily read multiple times because it's the perfect mixture of crazy and amazing.
Overall, I highly recommend this issue.
141 Comments