Is It Good? Superior Spider-Man #32 Review

Superior Spider-Man was one of the best books of the last year, so call me crazy to think it’s a great idea to bring it back. Only in this case, the Doc Ock version of Spidey, affectionately named SpOck by fans, is rocketing through dimensions. Hmm…considering how convoluted that can be…is it good?

Superior Spider-Man #32 (Marvel Comics)

Peter Parker was given back the mantle of Spider-Man as the Superior Spider-Man gave his body back to Peter in order to save the love of his life. You’d think that’d be the end of it, but this issue reveals somehow SpOck was rocketed into the future when Spider-Man 2099 was sent to our time way back in Superior Spider-Man #19. Before any answers can come of it this issue rockets into its main premise by having SpOck discover Spider-Men of different dimensions are being assassinated.

For those of you calling foul, there is a footnote on the summary page that makes it clear that this series takes place during Superior Spider-Man #19. That means SpOck still gives up the mantle to Peter and these are just untold stories of his adventure.

Can SpOck make it in the 2099 world?

This issue is written by Christos N. Gage and it’s plotted rather well. We get a brief “explanation” of how SpOck is even alive, a few pages of how he handles the 2099 world (really well in fact) and finally we blast on into what this series will be all about going forward. This is obviously the first of what will be the Spider-Verse storyline and it’s a decent enough intro to that as well. We get a good look at the villain and the motivation to have all the Spider-Men join together. I can’t help but think people will see this is a ripoff or rehashing of the Deadpool Corps, but considering this is bringing together already established Spider-Men from previous comics and video games it still maintains a sense of uniqueness.

It’s important to note that Gage nails SpOck’s character. The dialogue is as if the series never ended and if you’re missing the series this has everything you’d want. The customary ego, high-brow lingo and arrogance is all there. If you were a Superior fan and were worried the series would be different, worry not!

The art is by Giuseppe Camuncoli and it’s great. In fact, it’s more than great. Anyone wishing there was more of SpOck fighting and living in the 2099 universe can’t complain too much because there is one amazing double page spread which you can see part of below. The horizontal panels are exceptionally designed to pack a lot of punch, tell a story of each scene and add a lot of color. He also nails all the alternate Spider-Men we get to see in the issue too. Really great stuff.

These are some exceptional panels.

Is It Good?

This is a really great issue due to it mastering each sequence and propelling the story at a fast clip. The premise is sound too and it’s going to be exciting to see how this story plays out.