The End of My Childhood : Amazing Spider-Man 700/ Superior Spider-Man 1

I’m going to try to get through this without any more (excessive) nerd-gushing or rivers of tears; if I don’t stop soon I may drown. The Amazing Spider-Man, in its 50 years of comic book history, has hosted some of the greatest and worst stories ever told in comic books (same goes for the art). But throughout it all, one thing has remained constant; Peter Parker. Mr. Parker is the heart of Spider-Man, the true source of the power that makes Spidey an idol, a hero, and very loveable, something few other comic book titles can claim. When the man underneath the mask is the true source of power behind a superhero – not the hammer of a god, billions of dollars in gadgets, not cosmic rays or military black ops – a hero has truly become an amazing character (there are more of these puns, and I am not sorry).

            More than anything else, Peter Parker is what made Spidey my favorite superhero of all time. Undeniably, there have been better comic books, speaking from a critical point. The same may go for characters; I am willing to admit there may exist other characters with more complex backstories, less bullshit retconns, supporting casts that have not always functioned as crutches, etc. But, in my opinion, (and I am sure in many others) none of them are better at being heroes. Despite having one of the coolest super powers ever, they do nothing to aid the very human drama of the Parker Luck (in fact, you could say they only make it harder). Peter Parker is constantly (under good writing direction0 suffering in one capacity; be it at the receiving end of a cybernetic tentacle lash, girl troubles, lack of rent, trouble with the Avengers, whatever it may be, Parker has never gotten a break. But he never gives up. Sure, there aren’t many good superheroes who do give up, but it’s Peter Parker’s freaking uncle (who takes the award for best supporting cast member in comic book history easily) who coined the phrase that is driving philosophy behind social responsibility (that the heart of all good superhero stories lie at, really, in one way or another).

“With great power...” Peter Parker coughs, dieing in Doc Ock’s diseased body, “Must come great responsibility.” Dock Ock finishes, after living through all of Pete’s life after Peter manages to establish a brain link via the same technology that Ock used to switch their bodies in the first place.

Peter Parker’s legacy is so powerful that he successfully converts his first supervillain ever (really, look it up) into using Spider-Man’s body for good! Peter Parker’s sense of responsibility, duty, courage and capacity for sacrifice is so strong that Peter’s death is his greatest victory, really – he could never bring himself to kill Doc Ock…And now Peter has him fighting the good fight!

To me, ASM #700 is a well-written love letter to Peter Parker, who for me, Dan Slott, and am sure many other Spidey-lovers out there is the true heart and soul of the character, what makes him so powerful. Slott has managed to distill Spidey’s webbed quintessence, so to speak, and exposed it for all of us to examine. Peter Parker’s death scene is a testament to this; his idea of paradise is not wealth, success, victory over his enemies, power, or any of that, but finding the loved ones he has lost in his endless struggle at peace, and being forgiven and praised. Peter Parker does not truly think of himself, much like readers do, as just Spider-Man; his undeniably a person, flawed and fragile, yet so very strong because of it, rather than in spite of. It is truly heart-warming, and if you can’t at least recognize the sentimental value Slott has touched upon, I think you just don’t understand the heart of Spider-Man.

You see, all of ASM # 700 has reminded us that the amazing Spider-Man we have grown to love over fifty years is truly at his best, his strongest, his most courageous, when he’s most like Peter Parker. This is truly the prototypical Modern Age Comic – a clear display of affection, understanding, and love for the storied legacies these characters have created, yet an eagerness to re-imagine, to humanize, let loose the imagination, and create change (or the illusion of).

And that brings us to Superior Spider-Man # 1. I picked it up alongside ASM #700. I have high hopes for the book. Dan Slott has proven he understands the Webhead as well as any Spidey fan, and it will be interesting to read his reimagining of it. I have no illusions that, some years down the line, marvel will bring Pete back and make lots of money – no good hero stays dead. But for now I believe the Superior Spider-Man presents an interesting direction for Spider-Man stories to explore, a darker Spider-Man willing to push the boundaries of the traditional Spidey morality (literally held back by Peter’s conscience, coexisting in his body alongside Doc Ock’s brain, struggling for control).

The first issue of SSM introduces us to this tone, and does a pretty effective job of it. Stegman’s art is good and, in my opinion, superior to Ramos’ on the last issues of ASM, which became a little less stylized and simply more unproportional towards the end of his run. Slott’s dialogue, as always, is engaging. Spidey-Ock strikes a fine line between the traditional Spidey quips and his snotty, “SCIENCE!” personality. Spidey-Ock also allows Slott to bring in more of the hard science elements that used to be essential to Spidey’s crimefighting (and also explored on Slott’s ASM run). I’m fairly certain Slott wants to use this angle to further explore the issue of the moral lesson at the heart of almost every superhero origin – “I won’t kill, even evil people, because every live is valuable”. Slott teased us with this during the Spider Island event, and it was made abundantly clear in ASM # 700 – until he has absolutely no other option left, Spidey still tries to save Dock Ock’s life, even when brain-switched. Dock Ock’s brutality is effective – even at the end of ASM # 700 we see him knocking Scorpion’s jaw off because, unlike Spidey, he did not hold back with his super strength, unwilling to hurt someone. There is some potential here for some great philosophizing on this time-tested ideal, and in the context of the story – the death of one of the oldest and most beloved super-powered proponents of this morality – is made all the more effective. I

At the moment, I’m still concerned about Spidey-Ock’s relationship with MJ. Sure, I have nothing against Peter Parker and Mary Jane reuniting – I believe their relationship/marriage is not necessarily bad, just another story element that can be utilized effectively by a skilled writer or clumsily mismanaged by a bad one. But MJ doesn’t know Spidey-Ock is not entirely Peter anymore. I like to imagine Peter’s consciousness keeps Spidey-Ock from doing anything, but the implications, frankly, are gross. I hope Slott discusses this more; I’ve seen a few hints in the beginning of SSM that MJ detects something is a little off with Peter. Hopefully this issue will be addressed (and could potentially be an interesting plot point), rather than ignored, as again; the longer it goes silent, the easier it is to think the worst. Not so much a plot hole as it is just a pot hole in the story – uncomfortable to get through and desperately needing to be filled in order to smooth out the overall plot.

Besides that, however, I feel we need to give Slott a chance on SSM before decrying the end of ASM another Clone Saga. Slott’s proven his chops with his heartfelt ending of ASM; give him a few dozen issues to play with the new status quo he’s created and see if he can make any good stories. Reading SSM #1 clearly shows us Slott has much more planned, that he’s barely scratched the surface. If not, we can partake in the time-honored comic fan tradition of flooding the internet, sending death threats via mail of both the physical and digital varieties, and burning down houses.

Keep thinking,

Jordan