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Posted July 29, 2013 by Mikael Angelo Francisco in Comics
 
 

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #1

Writer: Christopher Yost
Art: David Lopez (P), Andy Owens (I), Rachelle Rosenberg (C)

Regular Cover: Paolo Rivera

The move to replace the monthly team-up title Avenging Spider-Man with the shiny new Superior Spider-Man Team-Up wasn’t just a simple rebranding, or a scheme to get comics readers to start over with a new issue number 1 (a practice that many say is a favorite among comic book publishers). In the same way that Peter Parker was rather forcibly evicted from his own body by Doctor Octopus in Amazing Spider-Man #700, the now-Superior Spider-Man (Doc Ock pretending to be Spidey) has been put on probation (as of Superior Spider-Man #8) by the Avengers for his erratic and uncharacteristically violent behavior. Taking that into consideration, dropping the Avenging adjective does make a lot of sense.

The premiere issue of Superior Spider-Man Team-Up heavily features the active members of the current Avengers roster. In this issue, Captain America comes to a decision: he’s had enough of Spider-Man’s weird new approach to crimefighting, and it’s time to bring him in. If I were to name my favorite thing about this comic, it’s that it pays due respect to cross-title continuity. Iron Man is in space, the events in Spock’s solo title are explored and referenced, and significant plot threads from Avenging are carried over, serving as the backbone that connects the previous arcs together.

Solid writing from Yost (who has proven time and again that he CAN write a compelling Spider-title) and beautiful art from Lopez make this book a worthwhile purchase. The story grabs you from its opening pages and leads you to wonder if this is, indeed, Spock’s comeuppance. Without spoiling much, the book has definitely retained the feel and tone of Avenging, but stands on its own merits as a completely different title. I’m looking forward to next issue’s confrontation with Scarlet Spider, and as a reader, I feel that Spock’s world just became a lot more interesting, despite the fact that his old friends seem to have left him (or maybe it’s the other way around).

If the ending of this issue is any indication, though, this Spider-Man’s new “friends” can definitely STILL beat up your friends….perhaps, to a more severe degree than the original Spidey’s.

I’ve done my best to not spend a single cent on any comic books featuring Spock…but this book is so good that it might make me lift my self-imposed ban.

VERDICT: 10/10

Visit Comic Odyssey and get your copy of Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #1 now!


Mikael Angelo Francisco