It's been a long and turbulent journey, but, in the end, I'm not really sure how I feel about the "Superior Spider-Man." After thinking about it, I realized that I'm not sure how I feel because I'm not sure that Slott knows how he wants me to feel.
I'm going to go into an obsessive amount of detail here, but, to bottom-line it, I think the main problem with "Superior Spider-Man" is that Slott was never really clear on what motivated Otto. We never really get a definitive sense if Otto is the guy who tried to kill 99.92 percent of the Earth's population or the guy who got angry when the Vulture made him strike a child. Slott tries to stake out a position that they're the same person, but we're never really sure if that bridge is because of Peter's inherited memories or Slott's wishful thinking.
The Original Sin
Spider-Man attracts his fair share of die-hard fans, and, as someone who's read, according to Comic Collector, 27+ years of "Amazing Spider-Man" comics, I clearly fall into that camp. It's hard for me to think of a more divisive plot twist during that time than this one, except the "Clone Saga." For me, the switch felt like a cheap stunt, given the rushed feeling of the last few issues of "Amazing Spider-Man" that set the stage for it. Maybe if Slott had taken more than three issues to tell that story, I would've bought the transfer of Otto's consciousness into Peter's body. It would've felt more organic. Or, Slott could've done a better job of conveying Peter's shock over losing control of his body; as it was, these issues focused almost exclusively on Peter's mad scramble to undo the procedure. This rush to introduce Spider-Otto became "Superior Spider-Man's" original sin, resulting in some readers, like me, never really accepting the premise. Like "A Christmas Carol," nothing wonderful could come from the story that Slott was going to relate if you didn't accept that Peter Parker was dead like a doornail. Most of us -- correctly -- did not. (In fact, Peter himself didn't even "die" until issue #9 of the new series.)
This sense of unease wasn't made any better by the carpet-bombing that Stephen Wacker (and, to a lesser extent, Dan Slott) did to anyone who didn't immediately accept this change as OMG YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING GENIUSES! I mean, it's a clever, if disingenuous, move to paint anyone opposing a BOLD NEW DIRECTION as simply a mindless defender of the status quo. But, claiming yourselves as the sole stewards of Spider-Man is always a dangerous road for creators to go. It's doubly true of editors, given their long history of screwing up everything, as the "Life of Reilly" blog that I have in my links section details through the behind-the-scenes story of the "Clone Saga." Reluctant though I was, after the questionable premise and aggressive attacks, I eventually decided that Wacker and Slott were clearly lying to us and that Peter would return. Although it might mean that nothing would be wonderful, I was at least prepared to grit my teeth and bear it. In my most optimistic moments, I hoped for another "Big Time!"
The Four Laments
Re-reading my reviews, my complaints about this series fell into four categories:
1) Throughout the series, it was difficult to tell where Peter ended and where Otto started. At the start, Ghost Peter made this confusion worse. Otto didn't erase his presence until issue #9; as such, for almost a third of this series, Otto was directly competing with Peter for our attention. In issue #3, Otto is furious at the Vulture for forcing him to strike a child, despite the fact that he was trying to eliminate most of the Earth's population a few issues earlier in the "Ends of the Earth" arc. One could point to Peter's influence for inspiring this change of heart, but it's clear that it's Otto himself -- and his experience as an abused child -- that feels this anger. In issue #8, Slott is even more direct, bringing Otto face-to-face with a girl injured during his aforementioned attempt to burn the Earth. He feels remorse, but, again, it's unclear why he didn't feel such remorse when he originally tried to pull off that plan. Are we supposed to pin this kindness on Peter? It makes more sense than the Vulture example, but it's still unclear. The issue is somewhat mooted after Otto erases Peter's memories, but, on some level, it made the problem even worse: if Otto is no longer haunted (literally) by Peter, why stay a good guy? If I had to tease out an argument, I'd say that Slott is saying that Otto cares more about being superior (as either a hero or a villain) than he does about the actions themselves (heroic or villainous). To Otto, burning down the Earth and making New York safe are one in the same. But, Slott never clearly makes that argument, making you question Otto's motivations for the entire series.
2) Slott relied way too frequently on overly convenient devices to resolve problems. Alistair Smythe's "Slayer-Bots" miraculously create cybernetic implants on the spot to get Boomerang, the Scorpion, and the Vulture into the game in issue #11. In issue #21, Stunner conveniently awakens from her coma, allowing Otto use of her virtual-reality technology to convince Dr. Lamaze (as Otto) that Peter didn't steal his research. More unbelievably, the entire Goblin Nation arc is based on the premise that Otto missed the Goblin King building his army as a result of the Goblin Protocols blinding his lenses to the Goblin Army's presence. In other words, we're supposed to believe that Peter lived in New York City and never noticed, outside his costume, that the Green Goblin and his men were wrecking havoc on the city for a few weeks. Moreover, it's not just technical innovations that created these convenient moments. Max decides to fire Sajani -- but not Grady -- in issue #19 as a result of the destruction of Horizon Labs, despite both of them engaging in activities that he had banned. Slott clearly has Max fire Sajani so that Peter could hire her and she could use her expertise to perfect the cure for the Goblin Serum. Had Max fired both Grady and Sajani, I'd be singing Slott's praises. But, by firing only Sajani without explaining why Grady got to stay, Slott once again sacrifices characterization (of Max as a caring and understanding boss) for expediency.
3) Slott spent most of the time juggling an excessive number of sub-plots. Four of my favorite issues were #17-#18, #25, and #30, where Otto's battles with Miguel, the Avengers, and the Goblin King, respectively, were almost the sole focus of the issues. Similarly, in issue #7, I note with glee that Slott focuses on Spidey's fight with Cardiac and not the three sub-plots that he had on the back burner at that point. Unfortunately, most of the time, it was almost impossible to identify the primary story that Slott was telling. In issue #16, I lament that we're not given a chance to see how Phil responds to his life falling to pieces around him as Otto launches a full-out assault on the Hobgoblin, because Slott is too busy focusing on other sub-plots. The best example of this phenomenon comes from my review of issue #23: "It's not enough that Peter has to deal with Aunt May and her reaction to Anna Maria in this issue or that the Venom symbiote took over Spider-Man. We also have him deciding to 'cure' Flash of the Venom symbiote, Yuri deciding that Peter kidnapped Carlie after a visit to MJ, JJJ, Jr. commissioning Alchemax to build more Spider-Slayers, and the Green Goblin deciding that Carlie must know Spider-Man's identity if she knows that Otto is controlling his mind." 'Nuff said.
4) Slott appropriated main characteristics of other comic-book characters, turning Spider-Man into an amalgam character (and, therefore, diluting the focus of the story on Otto's experience as Spider-Man). At some point, it stopped feeling like "Spider-Man" and more like "Iron Man:" Spider-Island, the Arach-naughts, the Spiderlings, etc. In terms of Peter's estrangement from his supporting-cast members, it actually became "Batman," with Slott having to create an emotional distance between them (as I mention in my review of issue #15) to explain why they didn't realize that they were no longer dealing with Peter. As I said in issue #29, we're supposed to believe that Mary Jane can't figure out that Peter isn't Peter, but Miguel could? Moreover, you could actually say that Otto's more aggressive version of Spider-Man was really Batman-esque. This series provides any number of examples of Otto's brutality, though "Superior Spider-Man" Annual #1 and "Superior Foes of Spider-Man" #11 probably do the best job of showing us the fear that he's inspired in the villains that he faces, similar to Batman.
Trying to find a theme to these four complaints, I would say that Slott was trying to cram 60 issues of stories into 30 issues and didn't have a clear vision of the story that he was telling. Would Otto be redeemed? Would Otto be superior? Would Otto return to villainy? Slott didn't seem to have an answer from the start, taking us on a winding road with no clear map. I've read that he and Wacker never intended Otto-Spidey to last as long as he did, making you wonder which plots Slott just threw at us to stall for time. But, it makes it clear why the series felt so poorly plotted from the start. If Slott and Wacker had really trusted the concept and given themselves the time to develop all these plots and thoughts, I would've enjoyed this series more. Instead, at the end, it feels like a pastiche of situations leaving us with no clear sense of who Otto was.
The Successful Foreshadowing
Retroactively, we do see some hints of where Otto will find himself in issue #31. In "Superior Spider-Man" #6AU, Otto blames his inability to stop Ultron from taking over the Earth on his need to "act" like Peter, finding yet another excuse for why he was struggling to be "superior" to Peter. In the end, Otto ditched the excuses and simply realized that he wasn't superior. Moreover, he feels Peter's impulse to feel bad for Max Modell, but dismisses it; later, he'll tell Peter to dismiss this sentiment -- of feeling bad about his superiority -- so that he could, in fact, be superior. Moreover, in issue #10, it was clear to the reader that an over-confident Otto would be so convinced of his ability to be superior to Peter and defeat the Goblin that he would underestimate "Norman" and get his ass handed him in the early rounds of their battle. Similarly, in issue #14, he essentially reveals his identity to Alistair Smythe before he kills him, showing how overconfident he was, never imaging that he wouldn't be able to deliver the coup de grâce.
Slott also foreshadowed where other characters would be. In issue #12, it's clear that JJJ, Jr.'s fast and loose relationship with the law was going to have consequences down the line. Similarly, it was clear by issue #24 that the main challenge for Peter after his return was that he was going to have to choose between redeeming Peter's reputation or Spider-Man's, but it was going to be hard to do both without revealing his secret identity.
On some level, these moments almost imply that Slott did have a map and I'm just being excessively critical. The problem is that you also have counter-examples that could explain a triumphant Otto crowing over his superiority in this issue. After all, he did successfully take down Shadowland. Maybe he could've successfully been a hybrid Batman/Iron Man; after all he does manage to launch Parker Industries and finish his Ph.D. thesis. Maybe he was a superior Peter Parker; he is dating a brilliant, nice girl who clearly loves him. I think Slott would argue that he was keeping us guessing. But, I know when we're dealing with someone keeping us guessing on purpose (see anything Rick Remender has ever written) and someone keeping us guessing because they don't know the answer. All this contradictory foreshadowing leads me to believe that Slott falls into the latter category.
The Final Assessment
Was it worth it? Sure.
I'm not entirely sure how history is going to remember it. We all seem to be getting nostalgic about the "Clone Saga," and I think even the most die-hard critics of this story would agree that it was better than that mess. Do I think that it's going to be on the same level as Peter failing to save Gwen Stacy or the struggling to identify the Hobgoblin? Probably not. In the end, Slott tried to do too much. He missed the chance to give us an amazing think-piece on heroism, exploring why someone like Otto Octavius would be inspired to change his stripes and become a hero, even after Peter's memories were expunged from his consciousness. Instead, he decided to make Otto's main justification for his heroism the fulfillment of his ego, leaving us a narrow story, despite the 31 issues dedicated to it. I would've preferred to see Otto move past his need to be superior and decide if he really wanted to be a hero. It might've been fun to see Spidey become a bad guy, after Otto decides that he no longer wants to be a hero. Moreover, he only concedes that Peter is superior for the tritest reason ever: love. It still strikes me as more of a move of desperation than one of truth.
I leave this series with a sense that we had so many other places that we could have gone had Slott really kept this core question in focus: what motivates Otto? In the end, my only answer is ego, and it feels unsatisfying. The preceding paragraph is my rejoinder to Wacker's argument that anyone criticizing this series was opposed to new ideas. I actually wanted Slott to go further than he did. But, I will certainly applaud him for being bold. Every time I was ready to drop this series, Slott managed to pull an amazing story from his hat and I hung in there, as other books fell off my pull list. If he had managed to sell it to me, I'd be excited about the upcoming issues dealing with the aftermath of Otto's "possession" of Peter. As it is, I'm just glad that he's home. Onwards and upwards.
No comments:
Post a Comment