It feels so good to be back reviewing The Superior Spider-Man. Just when I thought I'd seen the last of Otto Octavius....well I'm lying I knew this issue was coming...but still. A bit of background information about this issue. This is one of the many issues coming out in the next few months that will set up the whole of the Spider-verse. This issue takes place during the events of The Superior Spider-Man issue 019 in which Horizon Labs sort of explodes...Anyway, Otto Octavius is transported off to what we now know was the Year 2099 in the place of Miguel O'Hara, the Spider-Man of 2099. I won't bore you with the exact details of the explosion because hey, you've most likely already read issue 19 and know exactly what happened. So here are a few images showing how issue 032 tells it.
Now we have all heard of the term "Don't step on a Butterfly or you could change History" when it comes to time travel...so Octavius a man of science will surely keep a low profile in the future right...right? Nope. He is very quickly attracted a lot of unwanted attention, it's a good job that Gabriel O'Hara, Miguel's brother showed up to stop Otto from doing some real damage on the future. I really do love how everyone from the future refers to the years around 2014 as "The Heroic Age". It just sounds so awesome! It also hit me recently that when we are all around 80, we can say we lived through the Heroic age of Movies. Because let's be honest, just like the Carry on Films and Espionage films, Superhero movies will not always be as popular as they are now and may not still be in production. So yeah...If I ever live to the year 2099 that'd be even better.
I haven't really missed Otto going all Spider-Jerk on people when it comes to him trying to explain some reason why he doesn't remember certain people, but on the bright side he did do the whole "It's best you don't know because Time Paradox" but I think that was more just to get rid of Gabriel...anyway it is actually quite remarkable to see how easily Otto uses all of the equipment in 2099, yeah sure he is ahead with his own technology...but if he is so far ahead why didn't he utilize it once he had created Parker Industries? I am also loving the fact that we are shown that certain well known companies within the Marvel world are popping up, like Stark Industries.
How can Octavius be so..overpowered? I can't really explain it, I want to say lazy writing but the story that Slott has formed her is actually pretty good and very interesting, but I can't help but feel that something is missing, I'll think of it later. I can't help but think that Octavius is sort of screwing up Miguel's life...I mean he has just robbed a load of potentially illegal equipment from a few big named companies...under the alias of Spider-Man, I really can not see any good come of this...we will probably see the backlash of this is the newly started Spider-Man 2099 comicbook series.
I keep forgetting how much Octavius loved/loves Anna Maria, but I suppose he is after all still human. The time portal that Octavius reminds me of the Stargate's in Stargate haha, also has he designed it to self destruct after he is done using it? because if it get's into the wrong hands (Alchemax) time could be ruined...if that makes sense. Also should Otto really be taking future technology, the hologram, with him to the past? and if he is why haven't we seen it yet in The Amazing Spider-Man relaunch? Octavius' calculations seem to be off and he ends up ion an alternate Earth where there already seems to be a Spider-man.
In this alternate world Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four and became the fifth member...Fantastic Five? I suppose it beats Bombastic Bagman. Now this is the moment I have been waiting for, an obvious glimpse that Spider-Men are being killed. In this scenario it seems that Morlun has killed the Spider-man of that Earth, and the Fantastic Four who most likely got in his way. Morlun must be one hell of a bad-ass to be able to kill all five of them.
Octavius keeps travelling from reality to reality to try and find his way back to the reality we all know...and in each alternate reality he visits he finds dead Spider-Men. This whole scenario sort of reminds me of the finale of the Spider-Man 1994 series in which Madame Web summoned all of the Spider-Men to stop Spider-Carnage...so the realities we have seen are the Fantastic Four one, a Civil War reality, and if I remember correctly a reality where Uncle Ben didn't die and Peter founded Parker Industries much earlier. It now seems that Octavius is on the hunt for Morlun..I really hope he doesn't get more than he bargains for.
I really should know which Spider-Man this is...but I don't but it seems to be a reality where Spider-man, more specifically Peter Parker, or Prabhakar, is of Indian Descent and living in India. But he is being hunted by MORLUN! Yet as always, in the face of danger our lovable hero makes jokes and tries to look at things fro ma funny point of view. What interests me the most about this incarnation of Spider-Man is that he is the first we have seen actually alive and fighting. Also what's up with Morlun's get up? He's like a fancy scuba diver. Does it make him faster or stronger? Or maybe he just likes looking fancy?
Just as Morlun is about to kill yet another Spider-Man, he is stopped in his tracks by The Superior Spider-man, it seems Otto arrived "Just in time". But Octavius wastes no time with chit chat with this Spider-man, he quickly tells him that Morlun is too strong for the two of them to fight. I honestly cannot believe this is happening, but I will say what I always say when things go good for Spidey...doesn't this all seem a bit convenient?
Otto tells Spider-Man India to join him on his Quest to raise an army of Spider-me to fight Morlun. As they disappear through the portal two very interesting things happen. One being that Morlun gives off the impression that there is more than one of him? and the second is that Spider-Man India is NOT the first to be recruited into Otto's quest.
Spider-Man India definitely was not the first! So far Octavius Spider-Army seems to be some sort of Spider-Woman/Girl, possibly an older MayDay Parker, Spider-Man with four arms, Spider-Man Noire, Spider-Boy? and a Scarlet Spider-esque Spider-Man. This must be his Elite team for fighting Morlun, and in the back of this issue there is a nice little origin story in which we see how the Scarlet Spider-Esque Spider-Man came to be...and it is bad ass. Let's just say that it is as if Peter had Octavius' morals when it came to criminals.
Overall View
This was a spectacular start to Spider-verse, if all of the other issues are on par with this if not better I can see myself running out of money quite quickly, because as I have said we have got Edge of Spider-Verse and a few other Spider-Verse related titles coming out over the next few months. This is definitely the biggest Spider-Man story arc to date. It would be interesting to see if Slott plans to challenge Deadpool for the World Record of characters on the front cover of a comicbook. I am incredibly excited to see all of the Spider-verse unfold, and also see how the Peter we know and love reacts to the whole "Morlun is back run for your life, oh and bring your plucky new Girlfriend with you!". Anyway I can't wait for the rest of this series and I hope it will exceed all of my expectations, this issue was definitely a 10/10.
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~SpideyFan ReviewMan