COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Superior Spider-Man #21

Writer: Dan Slott
Artist/Cover: Giuseppe Camuncoli

Another ghost from Otto Octavius’s past comes back to haunt him, as the latest issue of Superior Spider-Man pits our, uh, “protagonist” against a Spider-villain we haven’t seen since the 90s.

Angela Brancale, the virtual reality villain known as Stunner, wakes up from a years-long comma when the physical body of her greatest love, Doc Ock, stops functioning. Unfortunately, she has no idea that Ock managed to switch places with his hated foe, Spider-Man, trapping Peter Parker’s mind in his own dying body while he assumes control of the wall-crawler’s. Stunner is now out for blood, believing that Spider-Man was responsible for her lover’s death.

Kudos to Dan Slott for not forgetting about this significant part of Doc Ock’s history. Regardless of your opinion about the current Spider-status quo, you have to admit that Slott knows his Spidey lore, and that he’s adept at laying down clues and plot points that pay out richly in future stories. The ongoing Superior Spider-Man story is indeed a fresh new approach, and while I’m one of the many fans who can’t wait to see Peter Parker return, the wild ride has been interesting enough for me to regularly follow.

Giuseppe Camuncoli continues to deliver the same quality of art we’ve come to expect from him. His somewhat mannish, square-jawed characters aren’t exactly my cup of tea, but he has a talent for absolutely devious facial expressions, and his rendition of Doc Ock in this story brings back memories of the suave, cultured look that Ock tried to adopt in the ’90s.

If there’s one thing that really bothers me about this comic, though, it’s the way it handled a particular subplot introduced in the previous issue. It was conveniently swept under the rug, and it looks like it was addressed a little too cleanly and definitively to have any sort of impact in the future. While I’m in favor of not adding to the already-sizable mountain of things that Peter Parker will have to deal with when he comes back to life, I’m not a fan of how *this* particular problem was resolved rather conveniently and hastily. I’m enjoying the developments in the supporting cast, though, with Anna Maria poised to take on a more important role – or maybe a tragic one – and Carlie doing something nice for (the currently dead) Peter.

Admittedly, there was a lot more fun and action in the story arc with Spider-Man 2099. However, I’m not worried at all about this slight dip in overall impact – we’re getting that long-awaited Venom crossover next issue, and I think things are finally falling into place for Doc Ock’s comeuppance. Let’s just hope Peter won’t have too much of a hard time putting the pieces of his life back together after all of this.

VERDICT: 8/10

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This review was sponsored by Druid’s Keep (third floor, Fort Strip Mall, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig). Join the group on Facebook (here) and pay the shop a visit – it’s an awesome place to hang out and play games.