Written by: Dan Slott and Christos Gage
Pencils by: Humberto Ramos
Ink by: Victor Olazaba
Color by: Edgar Delgado
Superior Spiderman #22: Darkest Hour is being called the “Spider-Event of the year” and let me tell you, it definitely lives up to the hype. So many awesome characters appear in this issue Crime Master, Agent Venom, Cardiac and more! This is going to be the start of something magical.
My favorite part is that Agent Venom is back! And while he is not the same Venom (but instead Spidey’s #1 fan Flash Thompson) we are used to; he is fully capable of getting his job done. Anyone who is even partially familiar with Amazing Spider-Man knows that these two do not get along and now with Doc Ock playing the role of Spidey and Flash playing Venom it seems like nothing’s really changed (except all of Spidey’s Parker memories are gone and Ock is a bit more ruthless than Parker was on his worst day).
Task Master has returned also, but there is a twist to his character and it’s similar to what happened with the Hobgoblin character in earlier issues (I don’t want to spoil it for ya, so go check them out). His character to me seems to just play the part of a segway into the Spidey/Venom showdown that takes up the last part of the comic. In the next issues of this arc, though, I could see him having a more dominant role.
In a calmer moment Aunt May and Jay Jameson visit Parker Industries (PI) for the first time. They receive a tour and Aunt May makes the comment I remember most from this issue when she notices Anna Maria working around the plant and comments that “Peter has a commitment to diversity”. It will be interesting to see if this comes up again when she meets Anna for the first time outside of her lab coat.
Yuri Watanabe makes a small cameo in this issue to keep the Charlie Cooper storyline alive. It looks like The Wraith will be making a comeback in the future, but only time will tell. What we do know is a lot of people have it out for Peter Parker/Otto Octavius/Superior Spiderman/whatever he wants to be called next (the guy has had more name changes lately than Diddy). Besides Yuri, Charlie and Mary Jane; Mayor Jameson is at his wits end with being “black mailed” by our web slinger and seems to be developing a plan to get his life, and control of his city back.
Things are definitely going to be getting very chaotic for our web slinging hero in the near future; I hope he can come out on top.
Dan Slott is one of my favorite current writers of super heroes. The things he did with Peter Parker in Amazing Spiderman were just that…amazing. And when he made the decision to kill off Parker (if this is news to you then you shouldn’t be reading this review lol) it shocked and even angered a lot of people, but what he has managed to do with Otto taking over the hero position has exceeded my expectations. He gets better and better in his new role in each issue; soon however I think he is going to be faced with things that even he can’t talk himself out of. Slott has it all figured out and even if Otto gets stuck along the way, it will be part of the bigger picture.
Three words can say what I think of the art in this issue: Ramos is back!! Humberto Ramos is my favorite Spiderman artist and I’m so glad he is back working on this arc. With Agent Venom back they really couldn’t have had anyone else do it. Ramos has a way of drawing Venom that is truly unique and to me he is the superior spider artist. I miss him every time he is gone and have a welcome back party in my brain every time he comes back.
This issue truly has something for everyone. There is no reason you shouldn’t be reading it!
4.5 out of 5 nerds
Irwin Fletcher
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.
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