Superior Spider-Man #3

[cyberghostface]

Ock!Spidey goes to face off against the Vulture and, remembering how Adrian Toomes once told him that he just wanted to settle down after one big score, offers to pay him off so he can stop with his schemes. Vulture doesn't believe him and instead sends his miniature henchmen after him, one of whom Spidey manages to throw against a wall.



Peter witnesses a flashback of Otto as a child being struck by his father.



Ock decides enough is enough and goes after Vulture with the intent of killing him. Their conflict ends up in the sky where  Spidey manages to reroute all the power via one of his gadgets into the stoplight, blinding Vulture.

Comments

[shadowpsykie]

ugh... again, a little annoyed that it's Carlie that is begining to piece this together and not MJ his soulmate... but i can't say i... hate this.... ugh i dont want to not hate this...

[cyberghostface]

It is annoying but with Carlie at least she witnessed "Ock" telling her about the mind switch. But I do hope that it doesn't end with Carlie saving the day. Ugh.

[shadowpsykie]

yeah i have only JUST started not disliking her....

[cyberghostface]

Yeah she's not as bad when they're not trying to force her down our throats about how perfect she is.

[auggie18]

She was pretty cool in her intro story too. Honestly, she's a good character when she's handled right.

When she's not, however...

[seisachtheia]

I'm still pretty new to comics as a genre, so I don't know for sure, but if this were a tv show or a novel, I wouldn't expect her to save the day as much as I would expect her to get killed off. The first person to figure out trusted person X is actually the villain/murderer/bodyswitched/whatever dies right when they go to sound the alarm, especially if they haven't told anyone about the clues that lead them to that conclusion.

[cyberghostface]

True but there's no way Carlie's going to ever die under the current status quo

[arilou_skiff]

But MJ isn't seeing him doing well, this kind of thing. Carlie has more of a reason to actually be in contact with Spider-man (as opposed to Peter Parker) since they kind of inhabit neighbouring worlds.

[stillanerd]

I have to say this is, bar none, the best issue of Superior Spider-Man yet to date. None of the creepy subplot of Doc Ock trying to take advantage of the female supporting cast in order to get into their pants but instead actual character development based upon his prior criminal past and "friendship" with the Vulture. Not to mention develops with regards to Ghost Peter and Carlie Cooper. If I do have misgivings however, it's these:

While I get that Otto becomes enraged over the idea that the Vulture used little kids for his crimes (which is in keeping with the idea that Adrian Toomes is a modern day Fagin) and that it relates back to when he was abused by his dad as a child, Otto has had no qualms about hurting kids in the past, especially when you consider how his scheme in Ends of the Earth would've potentially killed millions of children. Granted, the idea is that he's seeing the Vulture in a new light now that he's Spider-Man, but it seemed like a slight disconnect IMO.

And now that Carlie knows that "Peter" is really Doc Ock, there's really is no reason for her NOT to tell Mary Jane what's really going on. Except that I fear that she won't because of whatever plot contrivance that comes up. Which, as I said about her in the last issue, would really make her out to be a crappy friend, IMO. But we'll get to that bridge if and when we cross it.

[bardbrain]

I don't think she does yet but it would be interesting if she found out, fell for Otto, and hooked up with him, knowing who he is.

[stillanerd]

And honestly, I have a gut feeling that this is what is actually going to end up happening (even though my gut instincts tend to be wrong). Bascially for Doc Ock, Carlie winds up becoming his "Mary Jane." Certainly would fit with the whole twisted and weird angle Slott says he's trying to strive for with this.

[shadowpsykie]

that.... oh i feel so conflicted about that.... i don't like it. but i DO like it....

[shadowpsykie]

And now that Carlie knows that "Peter" is really Doc Ock, there's really is no reason for her NOT to tell Mary Jane what's really going on. Except that I fear that she won't because of whatever plot contrivance that comes up. Which, as I said about her in the last issue, would really make her out to be a crappy friend, IMO. But we'll get to that bridge if and when we cross it.

i hope she does and it ends up being both of them saving peter/taking down Ock

[q99]

-
While I get that Otto becomes enraged over the idea that the Vulture used little kids for his crimes (which is in keeping with the idea that Adrian Toomes is a modern day Fagin) and that it relates back to when he was abused by his dad as a child, Otto has had no qualms about hurting kids in the past, especially when you consider how his scheme in Ends of the Earth would've potentially killed millions of children. Granted, the idea is that he's seeing the Vulture in a new light now that he's Spider-Man, but it seemed like a slight disconnect IMO.-

Oh, it makes sense to me. Ends of the Earth is *impersonal*. It's a wide-spread affect everyone thing. He can picture just the people who he doesn't care about dying.

This, he's personally seeing kids being sent to fight. Seen one hurt right there. Even before the spider-memories, that's a major difference.

[lucky_gamble]

This is actually pretty good. Carlie doesn't come off as some Mary Sue, instead as a friend who has insight on Parkers true nature. Kudos!

[jaybee3]

I might actually tolerate this story if they end it quickly. I don't really care to see DocOck redeemed or whatever. He stole Peter's body, he let Peter die, he had gross designs on MJ. He's a villain. If Carlie and others can see through that quickly I might actually like what Slott has been doing here. If it drags on however....

[cyberghostface]

Well he was a villain but now he's an antihero. He's at the very least starting to change. It would be boring if SSM was just Ock doing horrible stuff so seeing him become more heroic even if it's twisted is interesting IMO.

And while status quo is god and Ock will likely be back in his old body and as a villain, I think it will be disappointing if everything here is forgotten. I would like to see maybe a small bit of Pete's psyche and sense of heroism embedded into him even if he becomes Ock again.

[gunny]

Am I so jaded that I read this and automatically think "Oh, here's another opportunity to put Carlie and Spider (not Peter) back together. And leave MJ as a dim witted idiot who can't figure out why her soul mate is behaving and speaking like a TOTALLY DIFFERENT PERSON."?

[nefrekeptah]

There's one little bit I like when Peter's witnessing Ock's memories of his father, and Peter wonders if he can jump in to stop it.

He knows that what he's seeing isn't real. He knows he's just witnessing a memory of what has already happened. And his first instinct is to still jump in and save young Otto, if he can. That's the Peter I know.

[cypherfdp]

Fucking hell, Peter, just because you're a force ghost doesn't mean you can't shut up.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Okay, so any bets on when Vulture comes back?

Incidentally, were I Doc Ock here, I'd probably have tried to say it was an accident.

[cyberghostface]

He's probably just injured.

[jlroberson]

Why hasn't Toomes ever just tried to patent his tech and make millions and millions of dollars?

Actually, one wonders that with many Marvel supervillains, especially most of Spidey's, who rely often on major gadgetry. In Ock's case, one can almost understand, but Toomes is not crazy. Nor is he something akin to the Joker for whom money is just a means to his next evil plan, not something he cares about. Toomes DEEPLY cares about money. One wants to tap him on the shoulder and say, "Excuse me, idiot; that suit you made? Well..."

I'm not a Spider-fan, so there very well may have once been a story that addresses this, but I'm, unaware of it.

And as a non-Spider-fan, by the way, I have to say this story is playing out pretty well, and doesn't seem at all cheap. (I actually believe that had this been DC, Ock would have raped--or whatever we're calling it in this weird case--MJ by now and then some; whereas in this story they quite decisively disposed of that thread rather quickly, not even really teasing it out much, to Slott's credit)

[arilou_skiff]

Wasn't his backstory that he doesen't own his own tech? (he was scammed by his partner) I believe it was in at least one version.

[dr_archeville]

My headcanon is that the assorted super-tech is so advanced, the only ones who can come close to adequately (and independently) studying it are other super-brains, but they're all too busy committing or stopping assorted villainy (or have their own mental/social issues) to do so. So the super-tech cannot get peer reviewed or patented.

Or it requires exotic components (or emits some harmful byproduct) that make it non-commercially-viable to mass produce. (Wasn't there a story arc once where Toomes's anti-grav harness was giving him cancer?)

Or, like Doc Ock's arms in the Ultimate MU, the tech isn't the real source of the effect, it's some latent superpower on the inventor's/user's part.

[halloweenjack]

This is addressed in Astro City, in the "Tarnished Angel" arc and also with a villain (can't remember the name) who improvises gadgets out of junk. In the former, the minor-league, gimmick-oriented bank robbers always mean to make one big score and then retire, but then they spend it all on upgraded gadgets or they start thinking about how great it would be to have ten million dollars instead of two, and eventually get caught and go back to square one. In the latter, it's a combination of ego and boredom, I think.

[silicondream]

also with a villain (can't remember the name) who improvises gadgets out of junk.

He's called the Junkman, in fact.

[md84]

"Why hasn't Toomes ever just tried to patent his tech and make millions and millions of dollars?"

In Toomes case, while he does value money a lot, he's also a pretty messed up guy, as shown here. His ego probably also demands that he be the sole master of his tech.

It's rare to see supervillains who are solely motivated by profit these days. They all have something to prove, or something they are lashing out against.

[cyberghostface]

Not 100% sure but I think Secret War retconned that a lot of the tech-based villains got their stuff from Latveria.