Anghus Houvouras reviews The Superior Spider-Man #14…
“It’s SUPERIOR SPIDER-MONTH as the biggest new book of the year brings you its biggest twist yet! The Superior Spider-Man takes down Shadowland. All of it. To the ground.“
Writer Dan Slott has been making every effort to turn the very concept of Spider-Man on it’s ear. He hasn’t just tweaked the status-quo, he has shattered it. Then rebuilt it using glue and a liberal sense of design, the whole thing held together by sheer force of will and Popsicle sticks. And yet, I would still call Slott’s run on Superior Spider-Man to be one of the most entertaining current runs on any mainstream titles.
The last three issues saw the engine idling. The story arc saw Spider-Man facing off against the Spider-Slayer with an achingly drawn out plot with one interesting outcome: Spider-Man has now taken himself a base of operations in the former prison where Doctor Octavius and other super powered criminals had been housed. Spider-Man has taken his crusade against the criminals of New York to ludicrous new levels.
Issue #14 sees Spider-Man seeking out Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin who is holed up in the remnants of Shadowland. Where the Amazing Spider-Man would have opted for a direct one on one confrontation, the Superior Spider-Man brings henchman and a lot of high tech Spider Mechs. It’s interesting to watch the Marvel Universe react to this radical paradigm shift. The Kingpin seems downright mystified as Spider-Man marches his robotic army into his territory. As his empire is burned to the ground around him, Fisk quickly realizes he is no longer dealing with a wise-cracking do-gooder to trade punches with. This is someone crazier, and far less predictable.
‘Crazy’ and ‘far less predictable’ are apt descriptions of Superior Spider-Man, which thankfully gets back to Spidey’s insane declaration of war against the criminals of the city. This mad scientist version of Spider-Man continues to be a crazy What If? inspired romp through the 616. The idea of ‘What If Doctor Octopus became Spider-Man’ is being so wonderfully realized and it’s actually in continuity.
I like the new costumer which seems to combine elements from Alex Ross’ movie mock ups and the Iron Spider costume developed by Tony Stark. It gives the Superior Spider-Man a menacing appearance which matches the escalating madness the character has embraced. I also loved the foreshadowing. The Goblin King has been amassing the henchman of all the criminals Spider-Man has been taking down. Reciprocity is coming and it should be highly entertaining.
While I’m loving Superior Spider-Man, the newly launched Superior Team Up was something of a dud. I’m a big fan of team up books going back to the days when World’s Finest and Marvel Two in One were my favorite titles in the spinner rack. But Superior Team-Up #1 was kind of a let down. The story pitting Spider-Man against the Avengers should have been a home run, but the art lacks gravitas and the heroes fighting heroes trope has been done to death. I’m hoping we get more unique teams ups and interesting pairings. Bringing the Avengers in for the first issue feels like a wonderful sales stunt. It’s a weak first issue and seemed almost uninspired against the other Superior titles like The Superior Foes of Spider-Man.
The Superior Spider-Man #14 is another highly entertaining issue.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the novel My Career Suicide Note, is available from Amazon.
Originally published July 26, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
