Amazing Spider-Man, #698

[CBR News]

Dan Slott and Richard Elson present "Amazing Spider-Man" #698 with a game-changing reveal as the series rockets towards its inevitable conclusion.


Full article here.

[StoneGold]

OK, so basically Superior is a storyline? Because obviously this isn't anything resembling a new status quo, no more than when Kraven was pretending to be Spidey for a sec way back when.

[Dog]

OK, so basically Superior is a storyline? Because obviously this isn't anything resembling a new status quo, no more than when Kraven was pretending to be Spidey for a sec way back when.

Was Dark Reign a storyline or a status quo?

[StoneGold]

Was Dark Reign a storyline or a status quo?

Storyline.

Here's the difference -- Doc Ock isn't the new Spider-Man. Doc Ock is doing the Ovoid Mind Switch.


Bucky was the new Captain America. Wally West was the new Flash. Doc Ock is not the new Spider-Man.

[bluebottle]

Doc Ock is not the new Spider-Man.

And apparently neither is Peter Parker...

[Dog]

Storyline.

Here's the difference -- Doc Ock isn't the new Spider-Man. Doc Ock is doing the Ovoid Mind Switch.


Bucky was the new Captain America. Wally West was the new Flash. Doc Ock is not the new Spider-Man.

Well, Bucky was supposed to be Cap for a much shorter time than what we ended up with. It was really popular so Brubaker extended it. So, by your definitions, a storyline became a status quo?

I guess what I'm saying is that trying to discriminate the two ideas seems kind of arbitrary. It'll probably last until the next movie rolls out. Call that whatever you want.

[spardyman]

what struck me as odd was aunt may talking bout "grandchildren". She could be great aunt may, but not grandma may unless.....

[Dr. Chaos]

what struck me as odd was aunt may talking bout "grandchildren". She could be great aunt may, but not grandma may unless.....

She and Peter think of themselves more as mother and son than aunt and nephew.

It's nothing new.

[Mister Mets]

She and Peter think of themselves more as mother and son than aunt and nephew.

It's nothing new.

Yep. She's made comments about it before.

[Zissouace]

OK, so basically Superior is a storyline? Because obviously this isn't anything resembling a new status quo, no more than when Kraven was pretending to be Spidey for a sec way back when.

How is this not a new Status quo?

Peter Parker's body is being driven by one of his deadliest enemies. A man who is every bit the opposite of Peter, who went down the other fork in the path when his accident happened. A man who has a history of brutal abuse at the hands of his father, who's been chastised by his peers, and has spent most of his adult life beaten up by a teenager.

He's kind of damaged goods, and he feels the world owes him something.

For a while now Spider-man, really Peter Parker has been written like a guy who just gets all this bad luck thrown at him. Who isn't in control of his life, he just reacts, and sulks about it.

We're taking Peter, his memories, experience, cast of characters, but they're being refreshed.

It's fantastically interesting.

And when Kraven did it, it only spoke to his madness. It was slightly perverse, and you jsut couldn't take your eyes off of it. but this is different.
This move by Ock speaks to the absolute cruelty and self absorbed nature. That character as Spider-man, learning the main lesson of Spider-man, which is of course Responsibility, that's... well, kind of new.

And it's a hell of alot more interesting that Miguel O'Hara.

[Jason S]

Finally remembered what this was reminding me of. There was an episode of Angel ('Carpe Noctem') where an old dying guy swapped his spirit/soul with Angel with a similar cheating death like idea. The main difference being that Angel got swapped back just in time for the old guy's heart to give out.

Think this is why this is rubbing me the wrong way, in that having the bad guy succeed in his plan is actually really chilling..

[Emissary of Justice]

You really nailed it. I've seen that episode as well a few times. However, this goes so much beyond that. The old man just didn't want to die. Otto is doing this with knowledge of his target and doesn't intend to just create his own path with a new body, but seeks to steal Parker's entire life.

Not fond of this at all.

[ChristianP]

I don't get why people care how long this will last. If Slott writes interesting stories with this new situation for a long time, who cares? We all know it will eventually turn back.

[StrongGuy]

I don't get why people care how long this will last. If Slott writes interesting stories with this new situation for a long time, who cares? We all know it will eventually turn back.

Yup...I'm waiting for Ock's inevitable "being a hero/Peter Parker isn't such a bad thing after all" movement.

[stillanerd]

How is this not a new Status quo?

Peter Parker's body is being driven by one of his deadliest enemies. A man who is every bit the opposite of Peter, who went down the other fork in the path when his accident happened. A man who has a history of brutal abuse at the hands of his father, who's been chastised by his peers, and has spent most of his adult life beaten up by a teenager.

He's kind of damaged goods, and he feels the world owes him something.

For a while now Spider-man, really Peter Parker has been written like a guy who just gets all this bad luck thrown at him. Who isn't in control of his life, he just reacts, and sulks about it.

We're taking Peter, his memories, experience, cast of characters, but they're being refreshed.

It's fantastically interesting.

And when Kraven did it, it only spoke to his madness. It was slightly perverse, and you jsut couldn't take your eyes off of it. but this is different.
This move by Ock speaks to the absolute cruelty and self absorbed nature. That character as Spider-man, learning the main lesson of Spider-man, which is of course Responsibility, that's... well, kind of new.

And it's a hell of alot more interesting that Miguel O'Hara.

The reason why this seems more like storyline rather than a status quo is because at the end of the day, everyone knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Just like everyone knows that Clark Kent is Superman and Bruce Wayne is Batman. At the end of the day, readers are going to wonder "When is Peter Parker going to be Spider-Man again?"

One of the reasons the Clone Saga had the problems that it did was even though it managed to make Ben Reilly "reclaim his identity" as Spider-Man, Marvel couldn't figure out a way to make him "reclaim his identity" as Peter Parker which was far more important. Readers, especially new ones who came in late, had no clue why there was some blond guy named Ben Reilly going around being Spider-Man, leaving the writers having to constantly remind people of what happened during the Clone Saga and that this guy was supposedly the real Peter Parker in a new identity. So if the Superior Spider-Man does indeed turn out to be Doc Ock in Peter's body, people are going to have to be constantly remind readers that, even though this looks like Peter, it's really Doc Ock. In other words, it's not a sustainable status quo.

And let's say Doc Ock, because his accessing Peter's memories, turns over a new leaf and maybe even starts to believe that he is the real Peter Parker. Anyone whose seen Total Recall or the subplot involving Sylar disguised as Nathan Petrelli knows it's only a matter of time before the false identity falls apart like a house of cards. Besides, this is Doctor Octopus we're talking about, a guy who cannot help but announce his presence and plans to the entire world. Sooner or later, it's going to occur to him that, the more he keeps pretending to be Peter Parker and Spider-Man, the more his legacy as Doc Ock will be forgotten. He'd say to himself "Wait a minute! I'm the one who really succeeded. I'm the one who stopped them. I'm the one who made that invention. Not Peter Parker. Not Spider-Man. Me! Doctor Octopus! And yet all I'm really doing is building up Spider-Man's legacy and reputation and making myself a mere footnote! I cannot allow this to happen!"

Sure, it may be a fun ride, but, if they are serious about having Doc Ock pretend to be Spider-Man for the long-term, it also runs the risk of getting really old, really quickly.