Superior Spider-Man has been walking a fine line of anticipation as we await to see how Doc Ock gets back inside Spider-Man’s body. Writer Dan Slott is on record that it won’t be cloning, so what is it? It appears Superior Spider-Man #4 promises a major altercation inside Peter’s mind, which could likely mean a body switch is imminent. Does this issue pay off?
I won’t spoil things, but I will say Slott’s story continues to tease and tease some more. Reading this comic, I pondered the age-old critic question, “Does it bring me joy?” It may not satisfy me in every way, but I still enjoyed it. That’s partly due to Mark Bagley bringing his incredibly detailed and iconic style to the issue, with many familiar villains and heroes popping up. The bigger reason why this issue will bring longtime Superior Spider-Man fans joy is it hammers home a major element of what made the original series great. Doc Ock is great, but Peter Parker is greater.
Much of this issue is set inside Peter’s mind as Doc Ock and Peter fight over who gets to take over Spider-Man’s body. It’s clear they’ll fight fairly and go one-on-one after a cool scene of them bringing armies forward. It’s a bit surprising Doc Ock would ever fight fairly when he had to break through Spider-Man’s defenses to get inside his mind, but here we are.
A battle in the mind!
Credit: Marvel
This leads to a fun sequence of battles, with Spidey getting into different costumes and Doc Ock joining in on the fun. It’s like a retelling of their history but through fight scenes. In this way, Slott and Bagley are honoring the storied past of these two fighting, which feels like a celebration. The cover art, as well as the summary text, gives away a major player in the battle, so it’s no surprise that Peter’s memories are the deciding factor. Slott cleverly ties a few past threads into this battle to conclude count. Slott even admits this conclusion is a bit unearned in the grand scheme of things, seemingly owning up to the thin reason for the results.
Two things make this issue fall flat, though. Supernova continues to be basic and underwritten. She’s super evil one minute and then gets a conscience to shift the story. The two pages devoted to her are pretty pointless and reveal nothing new. The other thing that doesn’t work is that the entire issue occurs in Peter’s mind. There’s a battle, and Doc Ock learns a truth he forgot since coming back to life, but the bigger plot takes a pause for this issue to complete. Yes, this conflict is important, but it’s done in a way where it’s like a dream.
Did we need an entire issue devoted to a fight scene honoring Doc Ock and Spider-Man’s history? Probably not, and while it’s drawn to perfection, it also feels like an unnecessary issue as we wait for Supernova – an underwritten character, to say the least – to be defeated already. Superior Spider-Man #4 honors the past and works as it calls back to key elements but falls flat as a comic that could have brought much more joy.
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