Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #12 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is better than the last one; Shinick does a great job of really showing how Otto's grief propelled him not only through this story but also in his war on Spider-Man.  I'm not really sure that I buy that, to be honest; the idea that Otto only wanted to defeat Spider-Man to prove to Norman that science mattered more than soul seems a bit of a ret-conning stretch.  It takes too far the idea that, at the end of the day, Otto was only a misunderstood soul.  But, Shinick is really just playing from Slott's clues in "Superior Spider-Man," and I'll at least concede the idea that defeating Norman was part of Otto's drive to defeat Spider-Man.

The main problem with this arc is that I'm still not sure what the point of Norman and Otto's alliance was.  OK, to defeat Spider-Man, sure.  But, Otto seems to imply here that Norman actually only really cared about defeating Otto.  Was Norman just using the alliance as a pretense to knock Otto off his pedestal, lest he kill Spider-Man first?  I'd totally believe that from Norman, but I'm not actually sure if that's the point that Shinick is trying to make.

For all its promise, I'll say that this series ends with a whimper rather than a bang.  After the rushed Superior Six and Daredevil/Punisher arcs, we've got another two-issue arc that leaves a lot on the table.  In fact, Shinick is forced to include an odd two-page epilogue where Peter talks to the reader and basically says, "Well, I guess we're done with Otto!"  Hopefully Marvel will take some time before relaunching another Spidey team-up series, giving themselves an opportunity to figure out the types of stories that they should be telling in it.

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #11 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Man, this issue is awful.  I had pretty high hopes for it, to be honest.  I expected, at some point, Marvel would add some fuel to "Norman" and Otto's conflict in the present by revealing some sort of past rivalry, and "Superior Spider-Man Team-Up" gave them such a great opportunity to do that.  Moreover, sending Otto to Europe during Norman's self-imposed exile made sense, since the secrecy surrounding that time period obviously gives it that "lost tales" kind of feel (and explains why Peter -- and we, the reader -- wouldn't have been privy to these events).  However, Shinick takes it weird places.

First, I feel like Shinick missed the chance for a pretty great ret-con.  Norman revealed himself to be alive at the end of the Clone Saga, something that he (allegedly) orchestrated.  I had hoped that Shinick was going to reveal that Otto helped Norman control those events, an assault on Peter that would remind us that Otto really was a villain and not simply the misunderstood misfit that Slott seems to want us to believe that he was.  In other words, given Peter developing an appreciation for Otto and his sacrifice at the end of "Superior Spider-Man" #30, it would've been nice to see just how deeply villainous Otto could be by showing him playing a role in the Clone Saga.  But, instead, we get the Octo-Goblin.  I mean, WTF?

Moreover, I'm still not 100% sure why Norman and Otto were waiting to reveal their partnership.  I get that Norman waited until the end of the Clone Sage -- when he had inflicted the maximum damage on Peter -- to reveal himself.  But, if we're not talking about the Clone Saga time period, then why wait?

Also, I get Otto lamenting Norman's crazy, but Shinick seems to forget that Otto himself is also crazy.  One of the side effects of the accident that gave him his powers was to turn him to a life of crime.  He may not be as stark raving mad as the Goblin, but, as Shinick himself shows when Otto automatically attacks the Goblin when he reached for a button on his phone, he's at the very least tightly wound.  All his protestations to the contrary don't really make a lot of sense, since even Otto is aware, on some level, that he's a few cards short of a deck.

But, more than anything else, it's the "Women in Refrigerators" moment that made me just want to throw the book across the room.  Norman and Otto have some sort of odd bro-talk about their ex loves, and Norman decides to prove his point, that the soul matters more than science, by tracking down Otto's ex-fiancée to inflict the same pain on Otto than Norman felt when his wife died.  But, he doesn't only have her car run off the road; he then injects her with a deadly virus.  I mean, I get that we're supposed to buy him as a crazy lunatic, but, Jesus, Shinick doesn't get points for subtlety on this one.

A Note on Miguel:  Miguel appears briefly here, as a hostage of the Spider-Slayers (with Spidey) as seen in "Superior Spider-Man" #30.

* (one of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #10 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, this issue is fun, like the last one, but I'm still left with some questions.

How did the mole get such unfettered access to Spider-Island?  Otto is a pretty paranoid guy, so I feel like it's hard to believe that a regular Spiderling could've managed to change the codes to the level where Otto develops prototypes of his weapons AND sneak in a bunch of Goblin gang members to pose as impostor Spiderlings to challenge Otto.  I mean, sure, it was a brilliant scheme on the Goblin's part, since he not only rattles Otto's confidence by showing him that he could manage such a maneuver but also gets rid of the weapons themselves, all in one fell swoop.  But, again, it's hard to believe that the mole could set up such a scheme.  Shinick doesn't even unmask him, underlining that he was really just a nameless Spiderling.

In another sign that the plot wasn't that clear, I don't think that the Goblin originally wanted Spidey to have to destroy the weapons, though.  I think that the actual plan was for the mole to take out Spidey and steal the equipment.  But, Shinick never really made that clear.  Also, did the Goblin really think that the Spiderlings (even a small army of them) could take out Spidey?

Also, did Spidey really steal the Punisher's glider?  I thought that he said last issue that he didn't steal it.  Wasn't the whole reason that he brought Daredevil and the Punisher to Spider-Island to prove that he didn't have it?  If so, why was it revealed to be in the stash this issue?  Did the mole actually steal it?  If he did, why would he do that and risk getting the Punisher involved?

Also (again), did Otto really not recognize that the Goblin was behind it?  I mean, OK, he doesn't have Peter's memories, but Otto Octavius should probably have recognized the Goblin was involved when the mole tried to go suicide bomber with pumpkin bombs tied around his torso.  It shouldn't have taken the Goblin gang-tattoo on the mole's neck for Otto to get a clue.

Also (again again), when did Daredevil get so cold-blooded?  We get a throw-away comment that he doesn't approve of the Punisher's methods, but he is after all the guy who told Spidey to ditch the weapons -- and drown all the Goblin gang members in the process -- by opening the hatch into the ocean.  Frank mowing down some guys with a machine gun to mop up the fight seems pretty small potatoes.

I actually had fun reading this issue (hence the two stars), but the more that I think about it, the more that it doesn't make sense.  Like the Superior Six arc, it feels like Shinick left a lot on the table, like he was forced to collapse a larger arc into a smaller one.

** (two of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #9 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Shinick launches the first salvo of the Green Goblin's war with Spider-Man in this issue, revealing that the Goblin has not only turned all of Otto's troops against him but also used a mole to steal the various equipment that he's confiscated from criminals since he took over the role of Spider-Man.

I'll admit that it's something of a surprise that the Spider Patrol has turned against Otto, particularly since Shinick makes it seem like the Spider-Patrol has always been on the Goblin's side.  I can't say that I totally buy that, unless Otto used some sort of "Mercenaries 4 Hire" staffing agency that the Goblin secretly ran.  Also, why would the Goblin use the Spider-Patrol against Spidey anyway?  Wouldn't he want to kill him himself?  Is he just assuming that Peter will survive the onslaught?

It also seems a little convenient that Otto discovered the scheme just in time to stop the mole from swiping the equipment and just as he happened to be with Daredevil and the Punisher

That said, it was still an entertaining issue.  Shinick has a great ear for dialogue, and I essentially "heard" the trio's conversations as they happened throughout the issue.  Also, Shinick uses Daredevil wisely; the Goblin tells Phil that he couldn't speak to the mole over their communications system because Daredevil would recognize his voice, making it clear that we're dealing with someone that we all know.  Curioser and curioser.

I will say that I was confused by the reference to Sun Girl waltzing through Spider-Island in issue #6.  I thought Otto invited Sun Girl to Spider-Island to help upgrade her equipment?  This comment makes me feel like issues #6 and #7 somehow were part of a much larger story that got cut (like we're missing issues #6.25, #6.5, and #6.75).  Given how long Yost spent building up the Superior Six story, this comment just reminded me how unfortunate it was that its resolution was such a mess.

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #8 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

After the disappointing Sinister Six arc, with its surprisingly fast resolution and its confusing storytelling, I'm glad to say that Yost is on the ball again.  Using Namor to remind Otto that he is, in fact, superior is inspired.  After all, who better than Namor to remind someone what "superior" means?  With Slott drowning in sub-plots and sub-plots of sub-plots in the main title, Yost continues to be the only one to focus on Otto struggling to do right by his pledge to Peter.  Slott's Otto is completely delusional, truly believing himself the better of Peter in all moments and at all times.  He lacks any emotional complexity; it's why that title has just slid to the point where the only thing that keeps your reading is wondering how much Otto is going to screw up Peter's life before he returns.  On the other hand, Yost's Otto has always allowed himself moments of reflection where he realizes how hard it is not only to be Spider-Man, but to be a hero when your instincts aren't to be.  Namor shares a similar problem (though he wouldn't see it as such) and Yost does a remarkable job in realizing the synergy of putting them together.  Yost's Otto is still a villain trying to be a hero, where Slott's Otto is a villain not even caring about the difference.  It's a shame to see him go, because we're losing a distinct, and potentially redemptive, view of Otto that we've never seen in the main title.  Yost has made it clear that it would be a hard road for Otto to walk, but every time that I think that he's going to stray from it he finds it again.

**** (four of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #7 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'll admit that I have a cold, so I'm not exactly firing on all cylinders here.  But, I found this issue confusing.  First, I was annoyed, because we have yet another example of super-villains having bound the hero but not taking advantage of that moment to reveal the hero's secret identity.  [Sigh.]  But, I got over the disappointment and moved right into confusion.

First, I thought that we were dropped into the story in media res.  However, we weren't, actually.  Maybe we were?  At any rate, we start this issue with everyone acting like Sun Girl theoretically died at the end of last issue.  She didn't, but we apparently were supposed to believe that she did?  I looked at the end of last issue and she's totally alive in the last panel.  So, if she died, it's from some sort of fight that she had with the Sinister Six in this issue.  The problem is that she never has that fight, so we're never really sure how she died.  Moreover, we're never really told how she's alive.  If I'm not mistaken, Sun Girl doesn't have any power of her own; she only has power through her suit.  So, if she somehow exploded or something in using her power (maybe to power the QPE?),  how did she survive?  If she's not made of light, how did she re-constitute herself?  Yost isn't saying.  She just suddenly re-appears in the Bowery and asks the onlookers, "Which way did they go?"  It's all very odd.  (Also, where did the Masters of Evil go?)

Second, we also get the fact that everyone is really mad at Spider-Man.  I mean, I get that the Sinister Six is pissed at him for using mind-control devices.  But, given the laundry list of things that he's publicly done (killing Massacre, mutilating Blackout, etc.), I thought that Sandman's disappointment was a little overblown.  Mind-controlling the Sinister Six seems pretty tame compared to shooting a guy point-blank in the middle of Grand Central Station.  Plus, the last time that we saw Sandman, he was helping Doc Ock take over the world, after all.  It's not like he's stayed on the straight and narrow thanks to Spidey's encouragement.  Then, Sun Girl is all mad at Spidey because...I don't know why.  She asks if everything is all because of him, but I'm not 100 percent sure how she would know that.  She herself seems confused about why the events of this issue happened.  (The more I think about it, the more I am, too.  Electro was going to blow up New York because he was mad at Spidey?  Maybe?)  Despite the fact that she doesn't know what Spidey did to create the situation that threatened New York, she decides that he's not a hero anymore?  It's kind of harsh, right?  You lose faith in your hero just because the villains did?

Ugh, I don't know.  Maybe I should've taken more Sudafed.

* (one of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OMG, does every villain have a daughter looking to either follow in his footsteps or right his wrongs?  The revelation that Sun Girl is Lightmaster's daughter made me roll my eyes, given that we just learned that the Beetle is Tombstone's daughter in "Superior Foes of Spider-Man."  Seriously, couldn't an editor catch that?  Isn't that why we have them?  Also, I still feel like Sun Girl's sudden importance to this series came from nowhere.  Otto reveals that he helped Sun Girl revamp her weaponry, but I barely remember him interacting with her last issue.  Now, she's suddenly his sidekick?

Beyond the Sun Girl issue, I was just as surprised as Otto was by the revelation that Lightmaster somehow assembled a nine-person Masters of Evil roster.  Unfortunately, Yost doesn't tell us how that happened; we only see the Masters decide to turn against Lightmaster when he fails to successfully activate the QPE, distracted by the discovery that his daughter is Sun Girl.  (I'm also not entirely sure what Lightmaster's plan for the QPE was in the first place.)  How much money did Lightmaster have to think that he was going to get to convince all these super-villains to work for him?  It's not like he's previously been portrayed as a criminal mastermind.

I was also confused by the QPE itself.  It somehow de-activates Otto's control over the Superior Six, though Yost doesn't make clear why teleportation in and of itself would do that.

Basically?  This issue sort of sucked.

** (two of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #5 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Miguel's presence in "Superior Spider-Man" and "Superior Spider-Man Team-Up" is making it difficult for me to focus at times.  I've spent so much time chronicling Miguel's story that it's hard to focus on Spidey.  But, thankfully, Miguel is really only a bit player in this issue, so it made it easier to focus just on Otto's shenanigans.  Also, since he's not all that involved, I'm going to go the usual route and just do a normal review.

Despite Miguel's absence, this issue is pretty amazing.  Yost again gives us a much less heroic Otto than the version that Slott delivers in "Superior Spider-Man."  Here, he does it by finally revealing Otto's master plan for the Sinister Six:  using mind-control devices to turn them into his own Avengers, the Superior Six.  It's brilliant, not only because it shows how ethically challenged Otto is, but also because it reminds us of the troubling constraint that Otto finds Spidey's membership in the Avengers to be.

That said, all doesn't exactly go according to plan.  When Otto uses the Wrecking Crew's attack on Alchemax as a test run, he's pushed too far, losing control of the team when Piledriver knocks Electro into Sandman, sending feedback through his control device.  Yost does a great job of using the fight to stress how arrogant Otto is and how often his ego gets him into trouble.  When he narrates the opening of the issue, he dismisses the Wrecking Crew as hardly worth his trouble, clearly never expecting a fight that could jeopardize his master plan.  He manages to hold onto his control by the end, but this outing makes it clear that he's not going to be able to keep up that control, and it spells trouble for him in the future, given how unhappy the Superior Six is with him.

But, Yost works the danger that an eventually freed Superior Six poses on another level, since, after all, they think that they're dealing with a crazed Spider-Man (particularly after he uses the skull of one of the deceased Russian commandos from his Chameleon extraction to encourage them to behave).  When Peter eventually returns, it's unlikely that he's going to be able to convince them that it was really Otto pulling the strings.  These guys already had a mad-on for Peter; now, it's personal.

But, before we get there, we're looking to have an amazing few issues where the Masters of Evil take on the Superior Six.  Otto stole the item that they attacked Alchemax to get, a quantum-particle engine (QPE).  Lightmaster is revealed to be pulling the Wrecking Crew's strings and, upon discovering the Crew's failure, declares the Masters of Evil re-assembled.  Who can't be excited about that?

A Note on Miguel:  Miguel only appears in the background in this issue.  He's at Alchemax when the Crew attacks, and he calls up Lyla who informs him that the QPE is destined to take out "the majority of old New York" in three days' time.  Miguel tries to recover the QPE, but Thunderball gets it first.  Miguel seems to think that New York is saved, but I'm pretty sure that it's not.  But, again, it raises the question of how Miguel's involvement in the past is going to change the future.  Even if he saves New York, he would've also saved it in the existing 2099 timeline.  Something has to happen outside time for the timeline to be changed.  As excited as I am to have Miguel back here, I have to say that these sorts of meta-physical questions are going to get old quick.

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up Special #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The Otto-Spidey of this issue doesn't really sound much like the usual Otto-Spidey.  He's...nicer.  But, I'm down with it since this friendlier (though still prickly) portrayal means that we get the awesome display of "Prof." Spidey teaching the original X-Men how to use their powers.  Hilarity, as one can imagine, ensues.

Costa keeps this issue rooted in science, as the Beast and the Hulk race to find a way to contain Dr. Jude.  We learn that his career studying gamma radiation was sidetracked when the scientific community shunned the field after several of its experts -- notably, the Abomination, Dr. Octopous, and the Hulk -- turned themselves into monsters.  It's Jude's response to that setback where Costa asks us to stretch our ability to suspend disbelief probably a bit beyond reason:  Jude constructed the LMDs of the Abomination and Dr. Octopus in order to cause anyone using a time machine to believe that they had somehow broken the space/time continuum.  He figured that he'd be invited to study the hypothetical machine, given that he's a chronal scientist, and then use his access to travel in time to prevent Bruce Banner from becoming the Hulk.  Oh, he also turned himself into a gamma-powered monster, presumably in case he had to force his way to access said machine.  It's all...a stretch.  When you think about how much energy Jude put into creating the LMDs, studying chronal sciences, and turning himself into a gamma-powered entity, you have to wonder why he didn't just, I don't know, change to study X-rays or something.

That said, I still enjoyed this issue, mostly for Otto-Spidey's interaction with the original X-Men.  In fact, his decision not to screw with the time machine so that he could return to the past and become a good guy was touching, particularly because it shows an Otto craving that sort of affirmation, as we saw in "Superior Spider-Man Team-Up" #4.  He envisions himself a member of the Avengers, not as the Superior Spider-Man, but as Dr. Octopus.  It's a nice coda to the work that Rodi did when it came to Otto's motivations in issue #4.  (Though, in another digression, I'll note that Scott starting off a conversation with Bruce Banner by asking why he hasn't killed himself yet is a bit...abrupt.)

All in all, this issue is probably two stars for the overly convenient action-forcing event and the odd conversation between Bruce and Scott.  But, it would be underselling how much I enjoyed the issue and this arc, so it's getting a three.

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #4 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I've written this review twice.  In the first review, I expressed confusion over Rodi's portrayal of Otto-Spidey. To me, he felt more like the Otto-Spidey that Slott delivered in the first few months of "Superior Spider-Man," still motivated to be a hero.  However, in those issues, he was motivated by Peter's consciousness and history.  Since Otto eradicated both from his mind, I've struggled to understand why he's been doing what he's doing as a superhero.  However, Rodi provides an answer.  My "confusion" came from the gap between Slott not caring about Otto's motivations and Rodi providing a clear sense of them.

First, Rodi reminds us that Otto is motivated by the firm belief that he can be the greatest superhero of all time.  Slott also makes that argument, though I've never felt like it was enough to justify Otto not returning to a life of crime.  Slott lately seems to be arguing that Otto interprets "greatest superhero of all time" as "most powerful superhero of all time.  You need look no further than Spidey's assault on Shadowland.  It was all about Otto strutting his stuff and proving to the people of New York that he could take down the Kingpin.  Rodi doesn't dispute that power plays into Otto's motivations, but he focuses more on the competitive nature of the goal.  Rodi has Otto taking umbrage at Luke Cage not only implying that Spectrum should take care of Fulmina, but also that Otto created the problem in the first place.  This motivation rings more true to me.  In Slott's version, it's not hard to see Otto becoming so obsessed with power that he'd slide right into becoming a villain.  Rodi's take seems to put a check on that happening, since you can't "win" the competition if you resume being a super-villain.

However, it's still not enough to convince me that Otto wants to be a superhero.  It's here where Rodi provides a motivation that Slott lost once Otto ditches Peter's conscience and history.  Rodi reminds us that Otto isn't just motivated by competition, but also the approval from the people that he saves.  Slott has only explored this emotional motivation in a limited way, mostly in Otto striking against bullies that remind him of his father.  But, Rodi goes beyond that, showing that the adoration that Spider-Man receives when he does things like fixing the generator at a hospital motivates Otto.  It's a motivation completely lacking in Slott's Octo-Spidey, explaining why his actions feel so emotionally hollow.  It's why I increasingly don't buy Otto as Spidey in "Superior Spider-Man."  But, combining this theme of competition and power with the need for approval, Rodi delivers the most convincing reason why Otto hasn't started robbing banks.  Now, I just have to hope that Slott read this arc.

In the art department, Del Mundo really excels in this issue, showing a fluidity of form that fits both Fulmina and Spidey.

Despite disliking the first issue of this two-parter, I find myself hoping that both Rodi and Del Mundo stay on this title or appear somewhere else in the Spideyverse.

**** (four of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #3 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Rodi does his best here, but I have to say that the connection between this issue and "Infinity" is tenuous at best.  A medieval-studies undergraduate student inexplicably gets transformed into living electricity in the middle of the Mighty Avengers' fight with the invading alien hordes.  OK, sure.  Rodi tries to turn this idea into a meditation on the fact that random stuff continues happening in the Marvel Universe even when invading alien hordes threaten Earth.  It's a valid point, but the problem is that this new villain, Fulmina, isn't really all that threatening.  She decides to destroy electrical devices, it seems, in order to return Earth to a simpler time.  Since it seems pretty clear that she's going to fail in this attempt, I can't say that we go into next issue with all that much suspense.  If this arc was just about Octo-Spidey learning another lesson about his arrogance undermining his plans (this time in assuming that he understood Fulmina's motivations), it would be fine.  Instead, it tries to juggle Fulmina's introduction and the "Infinity" plot, splitting the reader's attention and the issue's focus.  If I picked up this issue just because it was connected to "Infinity," I'd be pissed.

New-ish Comics (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batgirl #23:  Ugh.  My heart dropped at the last page.  I'm not really sure where we go from here.  Barbara killed James, Jr. and Commissioner Gordon killed Ricky.  They're both taking people from each other, but it's even more complicated than that.  Simone leaves us with two questions that will drive the rest of this story.

First, did Commissioner Gordon kill Ricky not in self-defense but because he didn't want Barbara to be with him?  (Gordon had discovered a photo of Ricky and Barbara in Ricky's apartment and, I have to say, I think that it's probably unrealistic that Ricky had such a photo given that they had been on one date.  But, I'm willing to give Simone a pass, since time has to pass quickly in comics; otherwise, a several month relationship would take a decade.)  Gordon seemed to be a little bit more disturbed by shooting Ricky than a cop with his experience would otherwise be.  Plus, Ricky wasn't exactly aiming at him; the gun was pointed to the ground.

Second, does Gordon's badge really give him the authority to kill a suspect not directly threatening him, whereas Batgirl isn't allowed to save someone's life from a murderer if it means killing the murder?  After all, Barbara killed James, Jr. to save her mother.  Even McKenna raises the possibility that she might not have had a choice in the matter.

Simone's making it clear that Gordon's blinded by his emotions to these questions and it makes you wonder if we're really heading to a confrontation where he discovers Barbara's identity.  It seems like that confrontation would be the only thing to make him confront the answers to those questions, though I imagine everything'll go to Hell in a hand basket from there.

Batman and Robin #23:  My love-hate relationship with Tomasi goes back several years at this point and, on some level, I feel bad dropping a book that produced two issues that I consider candidates for "Issue of the Year" this year.  But, I've felt like these five issues depicting Bruce's grief over Damian's loss have been a real low for this series, an unorganized tour of some of Bruce's worst traits.  They contributed little to my understanding of the character or his emotions, despite the fact that they were clearly intended to do just that.  Moreover, this contemplation of Damian's loss made the title feel increasingly marginalized from the Bat-family continuity, with Damian already having faded to a distant memory in "Batman" and "Detective Comics" (after having been barely mentioned in "Batgirl" and "Nightwing").  It seems a good time to make my break, particularly since I'm not really sure how Tomasi's going to keep going when half the duo that gave its name to this title is no longer with us.  So, thanks, Tomasi, for some really spectacular issues that got to the heart of Bruce Wayne in a way that few other authors have managed to accomplish. 

Batman #23:  You know, I'm not really sure why Snyder decided that he had to change the nature of Bruce deciding to become Batman.  But, if he was going to do it, he could've at least had it make sense.  I don't really understand what happens here.  The gem that Bruce opens seems to magically transform a room of the Manor into a cave.  Is Bruce seeing things because of his concussion(s)?  If so, Snyder probably needed to make that a bit more clear.  Otherwise, we're left to believe that Thomas willed him a gem that magically transforms rooms into caves.  I'm guessing that's not the case.  That said, I did appreciate the idea that Joker was inspired by Bruce's parents' death, since it made him realize how random and violent the world was.  It fits, particularly in keeping with the theme that Batman and Joker are flip-sides of the same coin, both children of Gotham who learned the opposite (though violent) lessons from the Waynes' death:  Bruce tries to force some order onto Gotham, Joker embraces the chaos that clearly rules Gotham.  I can't say that "Year Zero" is setting my world on fire, but I think it would be getting closer if Snyder spent more time providing original insights like the one just mentioned and not focusing on changing the details of the established story to leave his mark. 

Nightwing #23:  OK, color me intrigued.  Zucco seems to know who the Prankster is and that knowledge leads him to believe that things are going to get even worse for Chicago.  It definitely deepens the mystery, making you wonder what exactly Mayor Cole did to the Prankster to make "him" hate Cole so much that "he" wants to take down the city.  I have to say, I'm excited to see how it all comes to a head.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #2:  Man, I forgot how beautiful Checchetto's work is.  Truthfully, the various "Scarlet Spider" pencilers rarely depict Kaine as a brawnier version of Peter; if you didn't know he was Peter's clone, I don't think that you'd read an issue of "Scarlet Spider" and think, "Hey, he looks a lot like Peter Parker."  But, Checchetto manages to achieve that "brawnier version of Peter" effect here.  Moreover, he does an amazing job with conveying emotions through facial expressions, such as Kaine's look of confused pain as "Peter" unexpectedly attacks him in his apartment.  With twice the handsome and twice the feeling, this issue is really all about Checchetto.

I say that, because Yost is surprisingly a little thin on the plot.  It's unclear why Kaine comes to visit Peter.  We're left to assume that it's to see what's gotten into him, but Yost doesn't actually make that point.  (I recall from one of the Spider-Man titles a flash of Kaine watching coverage of the newly aggressive Spider-Man, but nothing more than that.)  We also don't know how Jackal knows that Kaine's in town, why he decided to attack the Spider-Men when he did, or why he's re-activated the Stacy clones.  Has he been tracking Kaine and waiting to bring the Stacy clones on him and Peter for when they're together?  We never really discover the plan here.

But, perhaps most importantly, this Otto is more reckless than he's been, even lately.  He forgets completely that he's not Otto when he's seized with the need for revenge against the man that killed him.  It's only seeing Kaine's face and hearing his voice that remind him that he's Peter now.  We're left to wonder if his behavior is going to lead Kaine to realize that he's not dealing with Peter, adding to the choir of voices (Carlie, MJ, etc.) who suspect something is amiss.  But, we have to wait for confirmation of that next issue.  It's entirely possible that Kaine will just leave disappointed in his frayed (if not ruined) relationship with Peter, something too sad to contemplate.

Scarlet Spider #20:  As opposed to "Nightwing," color me concerned.  This title is at its best when it serves as a meditation on a man seeking redemption.  It's why the most poignant part of this issue is the last page, when Kaine reels not only from Peter's unexplained loss of faith in him but also from the return of his degenerative disorder.  It seems to be proof to him that he can't escape his past, throwing into doubt the progress that he's made so far.  The good news is that this title generally uses Kaine's supporting cast to help remind him of that progress and to stay on the path to redemption.  Yost seems to be setting up a story that'll give them a real run for their money.

However, this title is at its worst when it wallows too much in the details of that past.  Using the return of the degenerative disorder is one thing, particularly since it's essentially a visual gimmick that underlines how Kaine views himself.  Bringing back the Jackal, Carrion, the Gwen Stacy clone, and "Spidercide 2.0," all at the same time?  It's just too much.  (I'm not even going to mention the whole Other/"I've already got a monster living in my head" debacle.)  Kaine has done nothing but mediate on his past for this entire title.  Even if you didn't read the "Clone Saga," you know the basic contours of Kaine's past at this point.  We really, really don't need to relive the 1990s for Yost to make the point.  I just don't see how throwing the entire kitchen sink at us, particularly this early in the run, is going to leave us with any interesting insights into Kaine that we already haven't been given not only in this title already but also ad nauseum in the "Clone Saga" itself.  Let him remember who he was to understand where he is now; don't make us relive it all again.  We get it.  We've gotten it for 20 years.

In terms of Spider-Man, this issue is also troubling, because Otto continues to be a total nutjob.  Yost does a good job of reminding us that Otto no longer has Pete's memories, but it's hard to believe that Kaine could leave this encounter with Peter and not be seriously worried about his mental health.  After all, Otto kept screaming about getting revenge for what Kaine did to him.  Since Kaine never really did anything to Peter, he never really once stopped to think, "WTF is Peter talking about?"  I just wonder how long I'm going to be asked to believe that Peter could be this obviously unhinged and NO ONE, other than possibly Carlie, is going to wonder why.  However long it is, I can tell you already that it's been too long.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Although retitled, Yost essentially continues the story that he was telling in “Avenging Spider-Man,” of Otto increasingly isolating himself from the superhero community (a rather wry take on “team-up,” to be honest).  Here, Otto somewhat mends fences with the Avengers, despite pretty much admitting to Cap that he didn’t care whether or not he killed Hyperion in trying to eliminate the Carrion Virus from his body.  Interestingly, I noticed that Otto has really stopped trying to "sound" like Spider-Man.  In the early issues of this series (most notably, "Superior Spider-Man" #6 AU), Otto put some effort into sounding like Peter did when he was Spider-Man, chatty and quippy.  He's abandoned that entirely now, probably the reason that people like the Kingpin (in "Superior Spider-Man" #14) are putting two and two together and realizing that they're dealing with a different Spider-Man.  It's just one more reflection of how Otto is having a harder and harder time of seeing his starting point, particularly now that he's no longer carrying around Peter's memories.  It seems to support the idea that this series is going to show us Otto continuing to be estranged from his former allies as he "teams-up" with them.

We also get a better sense of Spidey’s plans for the Sinister Six, with him seemingly deciding that he wants to form a “superior” team with them (and not the Avengers).  The problem, of course, is that the Sinister Six are unlikely to agree to form an alliance with Spidey, particularly after he’s kept them captive.  It raises the question if Otto is going to reveal his identity to them, like he did to the Spider-Slayer (before killing him).  My theory has lately been that Otto’s over-confidence will be the end of him and revealing his identity to the Sinister Six (and believing that he could control all the repercussions of that) seems to fit the bill for a potentially fatal, arrogance-induced step.  (No longer trying to sound like Spidey falls into this category as well.)  But, Yost doesn’t tip his hand on where he's going with this plot, so we’ll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I’m hoping that we get a better artist on this title than Lopez, who seems to have some trouble drawing faces.  After Ramos’ stunning work this month on “Superior Spider-Man” #14, the lower quality work was definitely notable here, surprising for a #1 launch.  (Sure, it’s essentially a re-launch, but that’s never stopped Marvel from hyping an event in the past.)