Amazing Spider-Man #699 *SPOILERS*

[oldschool]

Slott's really good at leaving his options open in a credible way. Not really sure where this is going, but there's a lot of places it could go...

Totally. And, an idea that struck me last night after re-reading #699 was that it would be cool to somehow see Peter somehow get telepathic control of Ock's tentacles to bring down Spock! Not sure how exactly it would work but it sure would be cool.....

[The Superior Michael Deery]

I love that people are complaining that about the scientific method used to swap bodies and how it doesn't make sense.

It's not real.

[Hypestyle]

I want Otto (in mind and body) to get his proper comeuppance.. no twilight zone ending!

[snicol]

I think Slott is doing a good job of putting a new spin on an old cliche whilst setting up the new 'superior' spider-man in this arc - my guess, based on what I've seen so far is as follows - from the various threads I think others are thinking along similar lines:

This mind swap is not your usual comic book mind swap - Peter's mind (REAL PETER) hasn't been overwritten and replaced, more suppressed along with his memories and a COPY of Ock's consciousness (OCK COPY) has been added to Peter's mind in such a way that it is CURRENTLY dominant. Same for Ock, only with Peter's consciousness copy (PETE COPY) dominant over REAL OCK. This sets up all sorts of tricky get out clauses and story possibilities but also raises some interesting philosophical questions and possibilities. Over time, REAL PETE will try and overcome or at least influence COPY OCK attenuating his actions by preventing him from killing someone for example. Similarly PETE COPY is being influenced by REAL OCK (we see this clearly in 699). My theory is that OCK's BODY will die with PETE COPY still in control, allowing us to 'experience' the death of peter parker from his viewpoint... this death might happen whilst PETE COPY is performing some heroic sacrifice or preventing OCK from being evil in someway. PETE COPY's death will either reactivate REAL PETE or influence OCK COPY into being more heroic. This leads to the Superior Spider-Man being....

COPY OCK in control but being influenced by REAL PETE to be a hero (or at least a selfish anti-hero)

REAL PETE in control but being influenced by COPY OCK giving him a dark or villainous edge...

COPY OCK and REAL PETE vie for control of REAL PETE's body, Jekyll and Hyde style or more Grey Hulk / Banner style but both influencing each other.

So, good 'Peter Parker' dies (and we see it happen / experience his afterlife scene like the previews show), but REAL PETE MIND and BODY are still here for the inevitable return to status quo around 12-18 months time. Superior Spider-Man is NOT 'Peter Parker' but he is really sort of. New merged Peter / Ock goes around the Marvel universe for a year or so interacting with friends and enemies in strange, new ways (the Daredevil team up being one of the first), people start to notice something is wrong but can't quite work out what etc etc then Superior Spider-Man over steps the mark somehow forcing others / REAL PETE to step in and sort it out.

Lots of possible story opportunities, we get a NEW Spider-Man, kill 'Peter Parker' but in such a way everything can be reset to more or less normal without the writer being accused of actually cheating.

The other thing is this is a really terrible thing for Ock to do to Peter, truly cementing him forever as a true arch-nemesis for Spidey in the same way killing Gwen did for the Norman Osborn / Goblin.

Just leaves the question of how do we get OCK back? I don't know, probably a cloned body of REAL PETE or REAL OCK.. this throws the Jackel into the mix too (who not so coincidentally has been popping up in Slott stories for a while too).

[Sirspidermonkey]

Well that's the thing: Doc Ock didn't remove Peter's brain pattern, he used the gold octobot to rewrite them to match his own brain patterns and then rewrote Doc Ock's brain patterns to match that of Peter's. The best analogy I can think of is that Doc Ock did the equivalent of hacking into a PC and rewriting that PC's version of Windows to make it run like the latest version of a Mac OS X.

Thats actually a really good analogy and the best I've heard, much better than"they exchanged brainwaves" whatever the heck that means. I can logistically accept the way you described it much easier even though, I still think such a process would need to happen in the physical sense. What am I getting at exactly?

We never actually saw the octobot tinkering with Otto's brain. so the idea that it was some type of remote / wireless transfer of information is problematic for me. Otherwise I'd say fine, I can buy into it.

[snicol]

Forgot to add... at some point in Superior Spider-Man, COPY OCK or whoever is in control will be forced to lift a really heavy object against all odds, harking back to the classic Dikto panel from the master planner story line :-)

[TheOther]

Thats actually a really good analogy and the best I've heard, much better than"they exchanged brainwaves" whatever the heck that means. I can logistically accept the way you described it much easier even though, I still think such a process would need to happen in the physical sense. What am I getting at exactly?

We never actually saw the octobot tinkering with Otto's brain. so the idea that it was some type of remote / wireless transfer of information is problematic for me. Otherwise I'd say fine, I can buy into it.

But we do see it coming out of the water in #698 and saying "Peter Parker" as Peter in Ock's body is saying it. I believe that is there to imply that the Gold Octobot went to the Raft and placed Peter's brain pattern into Otto.

[ViewtifulJC]

So you just wanted to complain for it being what we all wanted and knew it would be?

No, I'm complaining because it wasn't very good. The best stories can make their exposition thrilling or at least interesting. And the reveal itself with the re-writing of the brains makes less and less sense the more you think about it.

[Mister Mets]

This felt like filler. It helped clear up a few questions we might have had from issue 698 and gave us the setup to the final issue. It did it's job and calmed us down before Dan Slott unleashes...whatever the hell he has planned in issue 700.

I have no idea what will happen next issue but I'm anticipating it and dreading it at the same time. I also noticed that this was a comic version of a "bottle episode" since it primarily took part in the raft.

Filler's probably not the right word for it.

It features several important beats for Amazing 700, and for future issues. Spider-Man learns how the mind-swap occurred. And he escapes prison. He also learns that Connors is stuck in the Lizard's body.

Filler is usually used to describe stories in which nothing of consequence happens, where a reader won't miss anything by not picking up the issues.

[Optimus]

Filler's probably not the right word for it.

It features several important beats for Amazing 700, and for future issues. Spider-Man learns how the mind-swap occurred. And he escapes prison. He also learns that Connors is stuck in the Lizard's body.

Filler is usually used to describe stories in which nothing of consequence happens, where a reader won't miss anything by not picking up the issues.

Exactly. 699.1 is filler. 699 is important exposition and build up to the conclusion. It felt much more important to the story than 698 did.

[CyberHubbs]

Paste Pot Pete is totally gonna become a legitimate threat after #700. This is his moment to shine.

[stillanerd]

Paste Pot Pete is totally gonna become a legitimate threat after #700. This is his moment to shine.

Especially if he's actually the new Superior Spider-Man. After all, notice how he's also a PP (Peter Petruski) just like Peter Parker, is a scientific and technical genius just like Peter Parker, his sticky goo could easily be remade into webbing, and notice how he wears goggles not unlike the Superior Spider-Man's mask? Not saying it's actually going to be him, but even so, you can see some VERY interesting parallels already.

[Spiderman 1]

Paste Pot Pete is totally gonna become a legitimate threat after #700. This is his moment to shine.

He was a threat already during the "Spider-Man" Mackie Era. I remember one of the few great comics from back then when he was almos beaten by PPP and the Shocker. It was when he was stuck with Paul Stacy or something like that.

[stillanerd]

I think Slott is doing a good job of putting a new spin on an old cliche whilst setting up the new 'superior' spider-man in this arc - my guess, based on what I've seen so far is as follows - from the various threads I think others are thinking along similar lines:

This mind swap is not your usual comic book mind swap - Peter's mind (REAL PETER) hasn't been overwritten and replaced, more suppressed along with his memories and a COPY of Ock's consciousness (OCK COPY) has been added to Peter's mind in such a way that it is CURRENTLY dominant. Same for Ock, only with Peter's consciousness copy (PETE COPY) dominant over REAL OCK. This sets up all sorts of tricky get out clauses and story possibilities but also raises some interesting philosophical questions and possibilities. Over time, REAL PETE will try and overcome or at least influence COPY OCK attenuating his actions by preventing him from killing someone for example. Similarly PETE COPY is being influenced by REAL OCK (we see this clearly in 699). My theory is that OCK's BODY will die with PETE COPY still in control, allowing us to 'experience' the death of peter parker from his viewpoint... this death might happen whilst PETE COPY is performing some heroic sacrifice or preventing OCK from being evil in someway. PETE COPY's death will either reactivate REAL PETE or influence OCK COPY into being more heroic. This leads to the Superior Spider-Man being....

COPY OCK in control but being influenced by REAL PETE to be a hero (or at least a selfish anti-hero)

REAL PETE in control but being influenced by COPY OCK giving him a dark or villainous edge...

COPY OCK and REAL PETE vie for control of REAL PETE's body, Jekyll and Hyde style or more Grey Hulk / Banner style but both influencing each other.

So, good 'Peter Parker' dies (and we see it happen / experience his afterlife scene like the previews show), but REAL PETE MIND and BODY are still here for the inevitable return to status quo around 12-18 months time. Superior Spider-Man is NOT 'Peter Parker' but he is really sort of. New merged Peter / Ock goes around the Marvel universe for a year or so interacting with friends and enemies in strange, new ways (the Daredevil team up being one of the first), people start to notice something is wrong but can't quite work out what etc etc then Superior Spider-Man over steps the mark somehow forcing others / REAL PETE to step in and sort it out.

Lots of possible story opportunities, we get a NEW Spider-Man, kill 'Peter Parker' but in such a way everything can be reset to more or less normal without the writer being accused of actually cheating.

The other thing is this is a really terrible thing for Ock to do to Peter, truly cementing him forever as a true arch-nemesis for Spidey in the same way killing Gwen did for the Norman Osborn / Goblin.

Just leaves the question of how do we get OCK back? I don't know, probably a cloned body of REAL PETE or REAL OCK.. this throws the Jackel into the mix too (who not so coincidentally has been popping up in Slott stories for a while too).

Yep. Based on what we currently know at the moment, what you're speculating do appear to be the most likely scenarios at this point. Not to mention the idea of Peter and "Copy Ock" as you call him forced to work together and arguing with each other in the same body does have potential.

[Sirspidermonkey]

But we do see it coming out of the water in #698 and saying "Peter Parker" as Peter in Ock's body is saying it. I believe that is there to imply that the Gold Octobot went to the Raft and placed Peter's brain pattern into Otto.

Then at that point in time you could say that there were 2 Peter Parkers. Which confuses me because it makes me feel like it isn't really Peter but rather just a copy of Peter's brain pattern. How would his conscious know that he went from Body A to body B if he didnt really travel at all? he was just etched in.