Big things are happening in the latest issue of Superior and one might say a retcon of sorts is taking place. Retcon is a word that makes most comic book fans cringe — but can this issue buck the trend? Hell, is it good?
Superior Spider-Man #25 (Marvel Comics)
Read our thoughts on Superior Spider-Man #24 here.
Last issue Spider-Man was attached to the Venom symbiote in an attempt to rid Flash Thompson of the alien. At the same time Flash is dying, rapidly even, without the symbiote. At the same time the Avengers were called to take care of the actions of Superior Venom as he commits horrible justice on the smallest of crimes. Spider-Man, having never experienced the symbiote before as Doc Ock is in control, has lost control and to make matters worse he’s unaware. He’s lost so much control he’s basically attacked Aunt May and Mary Jane.
Wow that’s scary.
This issue does two things very well, first of which is developing the Green Goblin slash Hobgoblin story. Green Goblin actually reveals who he is, but then again he doesn’t confirm or deny if he’s lying. This storyline has been slowly developing for months, so it’s nice to see major changes and the promise of the story coming to a head next issue. The second is a retcon of sorts, or an excuse really, that Spider-Man makes to reconcile with Mary Jane and the entire family. This is bringing the emotional angle back into play since they’ve been wary of or confused by Peter’s actions for so long.
Hmmm, a reveal or a misdirection?
Oh…there’s also a huge reveal I won’t ruin here, but let’s just say the message boards will be ablaze with all sorts of emotions and reactions to this development. Needless to say it’s moving the plot forward which is good news in my book. Dan Slott is probably going to piss a lot of people off, but honestly that was going to happen anyway. Essentially he brushed a story element introduced early on under the rug and it’s back as if it was never gone. A bit of a cheat in some sense, but considering how the series has read for so many issues nobody should complain. SpOck has been an exciting character to read.
Humberto Ramos does a bang up job once again. He draws Iron Man in a slightly odd stretched out way that doesn’t seem to fit considering it’s a metal suit, but the rest flows nicely. Where he nails it in this issue is the goblin crew. Their faces are haunting and extreme. Expressions that you’d see in a horror film, but also comical at times like a clown. It matches the character design and concept behind it well.
Sick line there by Slott.
Readers new to the series shouldn’t have too much trouble following what’s going on, and in fact it’s a nice place to start since there’s a bit of a retcon going on. That said, new readers won’t understand the gravity of the big twist, of course that’s a given with this series at this point.
Is It Good?
This book has consistently rocked for so long you’d need to head bang to give it justice.
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