Superior Spider-Man, Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy

This volume collects issues 1-5 of the Marvel Now! relaunch series. Peter Parker is dead. No he is not. His body is alive, but his mind is missing, stolen, and it is inhibited by none other than one of his most relentless foes, Otto Octavius, Dr. Octopus. The dying Otto managed to pull a mind switch with everybody's favorite wall crawler and left poor Parker to perish in the mad scientist's body. This happened in the previous series Amazing Spider-Man which ran an amazing 700 issues. Not only does Otto get Peter's body but he also gets his memories and great desire to do good. With great power and responsibility...er...something....something. This series shows Otto not intent on following his old life of crime and supervillainy but to strive to be a better superior Spider-man! (hence the title of the series). He also plans to be a superior Peter Parker! Look out! As mainly a DC reader, I found this a perfect opportunity to try out a run of Spider-Man, as I have always loved the character despite my lifelong arachnophobia. And wow, what a great jumping on point! I love what Dan Slott is doing here. I am sure that there is plenty of build up and nice plot points that are brought up again by going back and reading up on Slott's run on Amazing Spider-Man, but I feel comfortable starting here and taking the ride and figuring it all out as I go along. J. Jonah Jameson is the Mayor!!! What!!?? Haha As for this actual collection, the first issue starts a tad slow and dull as the new hero shows off to the reader why he is better suited for this than Peter every was. Otto is out to stop a an up and coming Sinister Six that pays no tribute to Otto's days of running with his version of the infamous Spidey gang. He proves to be a great tactician with a very analytical mind. He is also a very vicious Spider-Man in that he is willing to cross the line leading to a very shocking conclusion. The rest of the collection shows Spider-Man/Peter's interactions with his co-workers, girlfriend Mary Jane Watson, her roommate Carla, a really good detective that detects something off about this webslinger, Mayor J.J.J., and other foes and friends. The final two issues deal with this new Spider-Man chasing a serial killing madman called Massacre. This puts all of Otto and Peter's strengths and weakness to the test. The artists of this series are great. Issues 1-3 are done by Ryan Stegman, who has a very spunky expressive style that really gives the book some pop. Issues 4 and 5 are done by Giuseppe Camuncoli who has a similar flare but with a more lean refined style. Great story complemented by great art. This is a wild good time for Spider-Man. I admire the big risk Dan Slott and Marvel are taking here in continuing on with someone as Spider-Man who not only is not Peter Parker, but one of his top villains!!! Yes, it can always be switched but this seems to be a little long term for now and will be explored in interesting ways. Cannot wait for more.

As someone who's been reading Spider-man comics since the 80s I found this to be a fun and fascinating new take on Spidey's life. The artwork is great but it's really the premise and writing that make this baby go. Highly recommended by anyone looking for a novel take on Spiderman, long-time fans especially. MINOR SPOILERS It's a lot of fun seeing Doc Ock take's over Spidey's body and life as an astral Peter Parker can only look on in dismay. Of course with typical Parker luck, Ock quickly manages to improve both Peter and Spidey's life in a number of ways. On the other hand Ock's dark side keeps manifesting itself, but it is somewhat tempered by Peter's memories and (perhaps?) by his ghostly presence. Great use of humor by Slott throughout the book. Also, while its obvious that eventually matters will revert to the status quo, this run seems like it will be fun while it lasts.

Its good, I just wish I knew what I got into before picking this one up. I'm not a huge fan of the premise. SPOILERS: Not really, its in the first page, but just incase. In the first page we see that Otto Octavius is dead but it was actually Peter Parker who died because in on the last issues of the original The Amazing Spiderman series they switched bodies from a device Octavius made and so Octavius was in Peter Parker's body and Parker was in Octavius and he ends up dying in that body. So Octavius is Spiderman and I like it because he is Spiderman but he does things his own way which is actually more efficient then Parkers methods of doing things. He aims to be the 'Superior' Spiderman. But like I said I'm not a huge fan of this premise but its interesting.

It's been a very long time since I've picked up and invested my time into anything Spider-Man ever since the "Brand New Day" reboot of the entire Spider-Man series at marvel about 5-6 yrs ago. I tried getting into the new reboot of that series by reading a few books but I didn't care for it. Then again I mostly stopped reading Marvel (actually comics altogether because it's expensive) altogether because I got tired of the cashing in on big events like Siege which was good & Secret Invasion which I found to be lackluster after 4 issues. I don't know how I found out or who told me that they were writing off Peter Parker as Spider-Man (which is more then likely temporary as with most things in comics) and having him swap bodies with Doc Ock I thought Marvel was crazy. After reading the first 2 issues of Superior Spider-Man I am completely in awe of the direction of the storytelling of this series at some point we know Parker will return as Spider-Man but I found it interesting and hilarious how serious & non-nonchalant he is at being Spider-Man. I just wonder what the fall out will be like once Peter returns as Spider-Man.

This is a must read for anyone who has always liked Spiderman, but never loved him. I appreciate the original Spiderman, and this concept wouldn't work unless the original character was good. However, this takes everything to the next level. Keep in mind, it isn't particularly "realistic" or anything, it has an 'Elseworlds' feel to it for sure. Which is fun in my opinion. In this volume you are introduced to the new Spiderman, with very little explanation... But it doesn't really matter, you just have to accept the concept and roll with it. If you do...you will be rewarded with great story, great characterization, and great art all in one. The story has multiple layers because the character is kind of two-in-one. You'll find yourself rooting for the villain and the hero at the same time...because Superior Spiderman is a bit of both. If you always liked Spiderman, but love Batman...then this is a character you need to meet. Superior Spiderman has several similarities to Batman...in a good way. I have only read this volume and the next one is very high on my priorities list...right along with Batman, Saga, etc.

I was skeptical of Doc Ock controlling Peter's body and continuing the mantel as Spider-man. I didn't really want to like it cause I am a Peter fan (of course)... but this was something A)New, B)Different, and C)Good! Doc is pretty Successful at being Spider-man. Peter's ability's with Doc's utter Ruthlessness! Seriously Spider/Ock (or SpOck) goes to some unimaginable and brutal lengths as Spider-man! Also Ock brings some of his mad scientist-isms to Peter's job at Horizon labs, which isn't a good thing for the real Peter! BTW Peter may no longer be living but he isn't gone! He can see all of the ruthless things SpOck is doing as Peter/Spider-man and he can't do much about it (he was able to help a little). Ghost Peter is a nice touch to the book as it is nice to see what Peter thinks about all the crap Ock is doing with his life both Personal and as Spider-man! Bottom line... Get this! It is different than the normal Spider-man story, but it is also a fresh take!

The start of a unique storyline, where hero and villain switch pathways. Not by choice, of course. The Parker luck wouldn't allow that.

obviously spiderman is awesome. Definitely like how this one ends. The only disappointment with this order is the packaging. It was not protected against the cardboard box. I'm not looking to keep it mint (though that's something to consider with collectors) but am gifting it to a casual reader. I wish it would have come in a plastic slip like other annuals.

Really great for a cheap comic, definitely would recommend (

Not worth its price - high price

Llegó en buenas condiciones y antes de tiempo

Un petit rappel des faits : à la fin de The Amazing Spider-Man, Doc Octopus alors condamné à mourir parvient au dernier moment à introduire son esprit dans le corps de Peter Parker et par conséquent l'esprit de Peter est enfermé dans le corps malade de Doc Oc. C'est ainsi que meurt Peter dans le corps de Doc Oc tandis que celui du docteur survit dans le corps de Peter Parker. Comme vous pouvez le constater, le changement est de taille et c'est surement cela qui provoque autant de division quant à ce Superior Spider-Man (SSM). Pour ma part, je trouve cette nouvelle série réussie. Un vent frais souffle sur l'univers Spider-Man. Certes il est difficile de voir Spider-Man et Parker tout en se disant que c'est maintenant Otto qui est à l'intérieur mais l'expérience est intéressante. Rien à redire sur les dessins qui rendent un très beau visuel ! Côté scénario, la qualité est aussi au rendez-vous. On découvre un Otto qui essaie d'appréhender sa nouvelle vie en tant que Peter/Spidey. Il essaye de trouver la bonne attitude à avoir avec Mary Jane et les autres relations de Peter. Il est partagé entre son côté "méchant" et le sens de la justice qu'il a hérité en prenant possession du corps de Peter. De plus malgré une situation tragique, l'humour reste présent. Notamment par la présence de l'esprit de Peter (le vrai!) qui apparait sous la forme d'un fantôme. Il ne peut être entendu par personne ! Ses nombreuses remarques sur les actions du nouveau Spider/Peter prêtent à sourire. Enfin autre point fort de TSSM, c'est l'intelligence "supérieure" du Docteur Octopus. Sauf qu'ici le doc va mettre toute cette matière grise au profit du travail de Spider-Man. Il met alors au point de nombreuses inventions qui lui permettront de surprendre ses adversaires. Comme lui dit Mary Jane : "C'est intelligent, mais ça ne te ressemble pas !". Et cette finesse ajoutée n'est pas pour me déplaire. En conclusion, la série prend un nouveau virage. Pour combien de temps? Mystère ! Les choses reviendront elles à la normale ou bien assisterons nous à une mort définitive de Peter ? La réponse dans les prochains volumes...

This is a great beginning to a new story about dock-ock becoming spiderman. Well written and you always want some more. This is awesome. I would recommend this to anyone that were tired of reading the same old stories of "good guy spiderman". This is something new...and great (well, for me actually it is)