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COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews Superior Spider-Man #31

April 18th, 2014 by Irwin Fletcher Comments

Plot by Dan Slott

Script by Christos Gage

Pencils by Giuseppe Camuncoli

Actions Have Consequences (Back-up)

Written by Christos Gage

Art by Will Sliney

Published by Marvel Comics

Amidst death threats, outcries, and general negativity, the moment that Dan Slott has been building towards for months is finally upon us! With Peter Parker back in the driver’s seat, the Superior Spider-Man is no more. The Goblins have taken over the city and things are looking bleaker than ever for Peter and every one he loves. It was in this environment that Otto realized the true depth of his failure. It was also in this environment that he chose to sacrifice himself to save the woman he had grown to love in order to let Peter do what he does best…something amazing.

How could you not love the way this series concluded? Each and every panel packed a huge emotional punch as we saw Otto’s life as Peter being stripped away while the real Peter cleaned up Otto’s mess. There’s one panel when Spidey comes face to face with the Green Goblin; GG calls him Otto and Peter responds with one of his infamous wise-cracks. Norman’s response is absolutely priceless. I think that moment really hammered home the fact that Peter was indeed the Superior Spider-Man all along.

Slott and Gage absolutely knocked this issue out of the park. It’s really amazing to me how seamless the tone of the book changed with the re-introduction of the real Peter as Spider-Man. While this is the conclusion of the Superior Spider-Man, we’re left with more than enough questions to kick start the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man series that Slott is also writing. It takes a truly great writer to endear a villain like Otto to the masses and it speaks volumes to the creative team on this book that not only was Otto endeared (although not always accepted) to us, we all felt a tinge of sadness when he sacrificed himself in the last issue as he came to grips with his failure. It also shows us that even though Peter has always been viewed as sophomoric and immature by his peers, not even the most brilliant and sophisticated of villains can carry the weight that Peter has on his shoulders every single day as Spider-Man. I also really loved the back-up to this issue that served as kind of an epilogue to SSM and a prelude to the upcoming ASM. I couldn’t think of a better way to transition from Otto to Peter than by showing us everything Peter is going to have to deal with due to Otto’s failure; I can’t wait!

Giuseppe Camuncoli and Will Sliney have given us an absolutely gorgeous book. Camuncoli penciled the main story while Sliney did the art for the back-up, they both made this issue beautiful. While Camuncoli gave us panel upon panel of amazing action to look at, Sliney had the harder of the two jobs in my opinion. He did a perfect job in conveying the heavy emotions and weight of the situations that Peter is going to have to deal with in the very near future just from the looks on each character’s face. You would’ve known exactly what was going on in that back-up story even without the dialogue. It was perfect!

What can I say about SSM that hasn’t already been said? Dan Slott faced a ton of criticism and threats of violence by “killing” off Peter Parker, but it was his plan to deliver this classic story all along. I think when it’s all said and done this story will be held up on a pedestal with not only the all-time great Spider-Man stories, but some of the all-time great comic stories involving any character. It was THAT good!

5 out of 5 nerds

 

I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.