Superior Doc Ock
Doc Ock finally gets a new lease on life. In Spider-Man's body, he's keeping up with his science and he's able to enjoy the perks of being everybody's favorite superhero. Having Peter Parker's memories has sparked an interest in Mary Jane. With Doc Ock living in Peter's body, will Mary Jane figure out what's really going on?
The Good
Ryan Stegman's really put his signature on this "new" Spider-Man. He's fierce, vicious and malevolent. Doc Ock Spidey has amazing panel presence because he's clearly a force of nature under Stegman's pencils. Dan Slott also shows off his great writing in this issue. He clearly shows why Doc Ock is the "Superior" Spider-Man with his innovation in a lot of his new-built technologies. Plus, he's really got the right dialogue and voices for Doc Ock and Mary Jane. It's great to see a writer who clearly understands the characters he's writing. In fact, Doc Ock's point of view stays true to his villainous past. His dialogue and internal monologue are elevated in language and it's consistent with how he's been characterized for the last few years. Dan Slott also shows where the relationship between Spider-Man and Mary Jane are going. Thankfully, he handles it in a logical and respectable manner. Kudos to you, Mr. Slott.
The Bad
Last issue, we found out that Peter Parker's still around. I don't know if he's a ghost now but this was the biggest misstep of the book. The era of the Amazing Spider-Man ended when Peter died in Doc Ock's body and it should have stayed that way. I understand that in the world of comics, no one really stays dead, but the appeal to Superior Spider-Man was and is Doc Ock trying things out as a superhero. The inclusion of Peter in the series so far is really unfortunate. This issue especially, I felt that it was so out of place and annoying.
Verdict - 3 out of 5
This new title's off to a good start. An artist like Ryan Stegman is a great choice to introduce the eerie tone in this book considering how Doctor Octopus is the new Spider-Man. Stegman showcases this new Spidey with so much energy he could probably jump off the page. The controversy between this Spidey and Mary Jane will hopefully be put to rest as Slott masterfully handles that concern. The only let down was Peter Parker's appearance in this book. He's littered all over this comic and I feel that this would have read better if he wasn't included. Nonetheless, I'm excited to see how things pan out for not-so-friendly neighbourhood Doc Ock.
