It is hard to believe, but I think Dan Slott is actually
getting better with this Superior Spider-Man thing. The moral dilemmas are
getting more permanent and the stark contrast between Otto-Spidey and Peter
Parker are really showing off the best of both characters. Otto is going to
start doing serious, permanent damage to Spider-Man’s reputation as a hero. But
that’s not all. Ol’ Otto always enjoyed chowing down, and he’s now eating mass
quantities while possessing a slim spider-tuned body. Peter might come back to
a middle aged body squeezed into the spandex!
Otto’s totally different approach to life is refreshing too.
The costume is the same, but the somewhat laid back approach to super-heroing
is so different, it is weird! This is clearly a different guy in the suit! Otto
puts equal focus on personal development as the hero business, and he is
quickly removing the need to stay on patrol. Sure, he’s blurring the line about
too much power vs. keeping an eye on his city, but there is no doubting he’s a
lot more efficient than Peter Parker. This set-up of a watchful, overlord
Spider-Man would make him a good city-level villain should Slott and Marvel go
in that direction.
I’m deliberately avoiding talking about the showdown with
Massacre. Slott does an absolutely fantastic job showing how Otto’s arrival on
the scene differs from Peter’s. The reader can see what Otto is doing, but
Peter is frantic when he thinks Otto isn’t taking the situation seriously. And
then the old moral dilemma about rehabilitation. Why let a known murderer go
free when you know he will kill again? I can’t be sure what Otto-Spidey
actually does here, but either way, I don’t think it is going to be good for
Spidey or Peter’s reputation.
I continue to appreciate Giuseppe Camuncoli’s bulked-up
Spider-Man. Giving Otto that extra heft makes him seem even more like a new
character. I like the new Empire State tutor, but I’m not sure Camuncoli has
quite mastered drawing a little person yet. She looks a bit too child-like, but
her clothes and facial expressions do a good job showing her true age.
Good
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