#comicproblems

[dammitrussellwhy]

I wanna get through posting a whole short story before i can share any of this short story....but i wanna shaaaaare #makingcomics #comicproblems #artistproblems #artistsoninstagram #comicartist #webcomic #webcomics #comicbooks #comics

[sugarfiendgfx]

Can you guess what going on in this thumbnail? .... because I can't :/ #comicproblems

[themysteriousmaskedman-blog]

The Problem with a Superior Spider-Man

Quick FYI: this isn't a review or analysis. It's me discussing a comic book series and speculating on future stories. You can definitely see my opinion in this, but if you want a detailed review of The Superior Spider-Man comic series I'm afraid this isn't the post for you.

For those that don't follow comic books at the current time: Peter Parker is not who you think he is. In events leading up to The Amazing Spider-Man #700, there was an ongoing battle with Dr. Octopus and Spidey. Doc Ock actually switched minds with Peter, and left Peter in the frail and fragile body of his former enemy. Peter actually died in Otto's body, leaving Ock an opportunity to be a hero on his own terms, hiding as one of the most famous heroes around.

I was not against TASM700. I was not against the story arc that led to it. As a comic fan, I did not complain when the story happened. I was eager for change. A major problem with Spidey is that writers constantly want to hit a reset button on Peter because Marvel has a fear of marrying continuity. Peter's character has grown drastically since his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15, and occasionally we would see something that would try to bring Peter back to those Ditko/Lee roots. I liked the idea of a shift in focus. If I did have a problem with TASM700, it was the treatment of Peter's death, especially considering how much people have bonded to the character over the decades. Still, I was excited about the directions it could take. This post is about the upcoming story arc, and where the best possible places to take this story are. This is speculation, but I hope even in speculation we can see the problems that have plagued this current series and the possibilities for a bright future of Spider-man.

In the issues following ASM700, "Spock" (a term used to describe this character) has provided hilarious comic relief and some tense moments where he could have his cover blown, to his credit. Many characters seem to love him, and he has been more effective in certain aspects of crime fighting. Peter has actually survived in some way, and has been a little ghost conscience in the back of Spock's mind. Spock hasn't listened to it as much as he should however, and he has done many things some would consider villainous.

Spock has killed criminals, used excessive force (Peter holds back, in almost every fight) on criminals that had no capacity to be a threat, is holding certain criminals in a personal prison for mysterious purposes, and has abused Peter's social life and career for his own enjoyment. In a preview for an upcoming issue, he even seems to have acquired henchmen. In this case, the term "Superior" is surely meant to be ironic. Otto doesn't even try to pretend to be Peter. He still talks like a super villain, and that's honestly the best part of the comic. That little payoff isn't worth the long and controversial setup that has been going on.

The other problem seems to be that Spock has no real direction for development. If this was a typical redemption tale, that would be a fine  and expected character arc. The dilemma is that there already is a Spider-Man villain redeeming himself for his sins by being Spidey, and his name is Kaine and he's going as the Scarlet Spider. Retreading is not bad, but I don't think they'd be willing to have two of the same arcs going on at once.

Because of Spock's methods, I am led to believe we're still supposed to dislike him. At least dislike him more than Peter, who has had decades of stories for us to relate to. He's done heroic things, sure, but there's no plausible scenario where Otto would be the person people would want to win. We've barely known Otto as a hero, he hasn't had enough time for the audience to like him.

I'm pretty sure this upcoming issue, which will deal with Spock trying to remove Peter completely from his mind, will not result in Spock completely conquering Peter. I don't think Peter will go away. I see two main possibilities:

Peter is removed and put into a computer or something. Peter finds a way out and we have another Spider-man.

Otto completely removes Peter. The Jackal (who has shown up in a previous issue, hinted at being aware of the true identity of Spock) clones Peter and we have another clone saga dilemma. We will probably have another Spider-man in this scenario too.

There are other possibilities, such as Norman Osborn doing something about the situation. I don't think the Avengers will do anything now. The only outside influence that could even recognize the problem at this point is Dr. Strange and I think Marvel is ignoring him right now. Either way, I don't see Peter truly dying. I don't see Otto losing, especially since they've been building this up as a "fans will HATE what happens" event. I see them being separate entities. My problem here is that Spock can't be a hero. If Spock becomes a villain I'll be content with the continuing arcs. Otto and Peter can't share a body, but they certainly can't share New York or Mary Jane. So both of them being heroes of the same scope is probably out of the picture. Either way, I think this entire thing is becoming more trouble than it's worth. They definitely shouldn't just wimp out and jump ship, but  they need to fix the current situation.

For anyone that asks, I don't know who would, the best ongoings right now from the big two are Daredevil and Action Comics. They were better in 2012 with Waid and Morrison them (respectively) writing, but this year still has them as the most promising things on my reading list.

Mysterious Masked Man out.