Superior Spider-Man #8
Summary: In this issue we see the Avengers take Spidey down long enough to do some tests on him, and much to Peter's dismay, they clear Superior Spider-Man, saying he's not a Skrull. Apparently that's all they searched for, but Doc notices something off with his brain patterns and asks for the scans. Black Widow pulls Spidey aside and says she knows he's probably feeling bad about Silver Sable's death and that's pushed him over the edge, so they bond a bit about how your first kill changes you. She offers Spidey an ear if he needs to talk, and Peter takes advantage of Ock's distraction to write a crude drawing of an Octopus pointing at Spidey, but Widow dismisses it as random scribbles. We also see that Carlie Cooper has brought someone else into the fold to investigate if Spidey is who he claims, but we don't see who it is just yet. From there, Doc Parker decides to head after Cardiac to get his device back, but finds out Cardiac needs it to help cure a girl that was hurt during Ends of the Earth. Ock feels terrible about this and offers to help the girl, doing the surgery himself since only he can understand Dr. Octopus' designs. Doc manages to help cure the girl, causing her to give him her favorite toy, which warms Doc's heart. Back at his lab, he uses the helmet on himself and while being taunted by Peter he let's him know (referring to it as Peter's memories taking a life of their own) that he's aware he's there now, and he plans on removing them once and for all.
Thoughts: I was conflicted about this issue. I enjoyed it, especially the end since it seems like Doc may be around longer than some of us expected after Peter's return in issue one. I also enjoyed the scene with the little girl giving Ock her toy, it was very sweet and helped show that he's not a total heel. Hell, I enjoyed most of this issue but the thing that annoyed me was how stupid the Avengers came off here. Spidey's acting weird so all you do is see if he's a Skrull? You don't bring in Strange or a Telepath or anything to even see if he's a clone or something? They explained it by saying Pym and Stark weren't there, so the rest of the team didn't notice Doc's brain anomaly but it still seemed odd to me. I mean, if you're willing to fight him to make sure he's who he says, giving him the Skrull test only didn't seem like enough.
Score: 7.5/10
Doc Parker: Ready my equipment. I'm going to perform a Parker-Ectomy.
First, I think it's funny that our scores are starting to converge. I liked this issue more and you liked it less. At some point, we'll both be "meh" about its mediocrity!
ReplyDeleteSecond, I totally gave Slott more of a pass about the Avengers acting so weird than I should've. Excellent call on the telepathy bit. I actually gave Slott credit for having the Black Widow talk to Spidey, since at least they didn't just totally let him off the hook for not being a Skrull. But, if they knew enough to suspect the Pupet Master or "a space phantom," shouldn't they have also expected someone with telepathy? Also, in retrospect, didn't "Secret Invasion" prove how adept Skrulls are at imitating their victims? If a Skrull could be Mockingbird for years without anyone -- including her husband -- knowing, then why would they think that weird behavior automatically meant that he was a Skrull?
Third, we think he's going to kill off Ghost-Peter, right? I mean, I'm sort of assuming that. I feel like Carlie is the only thing that keeps from saying it 100%, since Slott essentially sets up a race against the clock here: can Otto "kill" Peter before Carlie gets to him?