Superior Spider-Man #4

[cyberghostface]

Wow, this could be awkward.

Later "Peter" attempts to build some sort of spinal device to help May walk. When one of his colleagues calls him Doctor Frankenstein, he corrects him with "Doctor Peter Parker." Which, he actually isn't:



To make matters worse, Massacre has escaped from the asylum. For those who remember, he was the killer during that "No one dies" arc. Jonah calls Spidey out on him saving Massacre and his promise that no one else would be killed.



And finally...



I'll say this much, it's good to see Norman back in his classic costume again.

Comments

[janegray]

One credit short? ONE EFFIN' CREDIT SHORT???

Who the hell goes through the immense effort and economic burden of attending college and giving exams for years, only to give it up when they are only one credit short!?

[stolisomancer]

Sometimes life gets in the way. I know a couple of people who would have degrees if they went back for a semester, but they got sidetracked by careers or families.

Fun trivia fact: Dexter Holland, the lead singer of the Offspring, is about that close to having a ph.D in molecular biology, but he got somewhat sidetracked by being the lead singer in a popular band.

[janegray]

A semester can be 30 credits worth. I can believe that somebody didn't graduate because they missed 30 or 20 creadits, but one credit?

It's like running the marathon, then giving up 50 metres from the finish line.

[stolisomancer]

It happens. Maybe you wouldn't do it in their place, but it happens.

[chieflewal]

Typically individuals who are that close and don't complete are only pursuing a Bachelor's though. Dexter Holland is the 1%.

[filthysize]

IIRC, Slott is confusing two things here.

There was a story where Peter failed to graduate college because he was one credit short, because he forgot to take a PE class, but he then took the class over the summer or something like that and graduated.

Later, during the Stern/Romita era in the 80s, Peter decided to drop out of graduate school to focus more on being Spider-Man, and Aunt May was so angry that she refused to see or talk to him for several issues. I don't believe he was just one credit short, though...

[silicondream]

Yeah, they don't give a shit about credits in grad school. "No thesis" is the more important part--you're not getting your PhD without actually doing something research-wise. (Which Peter, being Peter, could do in five minutes, but if he didn't, well...)

[janegray]

But Peter got published in the American Science Journal, I imagine he actually had to do something research-wise to get published there. So, if all he had to do is present that research as his thesis, the issue goes back to that one single credit.

It just sounds less like an actual problem that RL people have, and more like "oh, that darn Parker Luck! Yuk yuk!"

[silicondream]

A single paper doesn't usually get you a doctorate, though. Even if it's an awesome paper where you nail down quantum gravity or something, you'll still have to expand it into a lengthy dissertation, go through the process of defending it, etc. Sure, Peter's fully capable of doing that and you need some sort of Parker Luck handwaviness to explain why he didn't, but it's significantly more work than getting your department to spot you a single credit.

I'm not saying this scene makes sense; I'm just saying that one of the ways it doesn't make sense is in suggesting that missing a single credit is remotely comparable to not actually writing a thesis.

[gamerguy]

Nah, that paper doesn't mean anything though it might gain you some good will among your dissertation committee if it's in something they know about and like, or earn you someone's undying enmity at being 'uppity' enough to have a paper published.

A doctoral dissertation must be approved by a committee and your sponsor/mentor, then they will tear it apart while you defend it.

[twospirit.blogspot.com]

I'm one class away (the final project/thesis) from an MBA, but my relationship with the school soured because they weren't fulfilling their end of the bargain and I won't go back. So...me? :)

[xammax]

My god..... Norman will be the one to save Peter.

[his_spiffynesss]

And probably will, since the idea of Doctor Spiderpuss beating his archnemesis is probably more than he could take.

[icon_uk]

Have to say, Peter NOT having a PhD seems odd, what with being on the cover of Scientific American and all I thought he'd got one a few years back.

[kevinroc]

It keeps Peter "young!"

[stolisomancer]

He dropped out of graduate school in the '80s. I have the issue where it happened somewhere, but we're talking Stern/John Romita Jr. levels of way-back-in-the-day and I can't remember exactly why. I think it might've been to free up his day to chase the original Hobgoblin.

I remember he went back to school in the '90s under David Michelinie, but that plot never really went anywhere and was quietly dropped by the time JMS came aboard.

[his_spiffynesss]

About time Norman comes back where he blongs.

[stolisomancer]

Wow, does Dan Slott have something against old-time female supporting characters? Debra Whitman might need to start watching her back.

[violetclm.livejournal.com]

Or Sha Shan, for that matter...

[cyberghostface]

Yeah it's a shame when writers kill off supporting characters for a cheap shock. :/ Bendis was particularly bad at it a while back.

[bj_l]

I'm having a total brain fart, because I'm struggling to remember any of Pete's male supporting cast outside of Flash, Robbie, JJJ and Harry. That aren't already dead, I mean.

Spidey has always had a pretty high ratio of male:fermale supporting characters. Right?

Really though the forgetting, and the ratios and... Oh, hell. I'm just going to go do a Spidey reread. It's been a long time old friend.

[arilou_skiff]

Hasn't doctor Kafka already died a couple of times though? I seem to remember somthing like that.

[leoboiko]

I think I'll print that page and keep it on the wall until I finish getting my Ph.D.

[shadowpsykie]

is it just me... or does he looklike Doctor Horrible? didn't he get his P.h.D in HORRIBLENESS?!?!?!

hehehehe

oh god either i am used to slop and this is the best slop we have seen or this is getting better....

[mullon]

Can't he just go to Doctor Strange?

[cyberghostface]

The situation is ambiguous (I.E. if it's an actual spirit or a part of Pete embedded in Ock's mind) but the implication is that he's "stuck" with Ock and unable to go out.

[silverhammerman]

That panel where Ghost!Peter is turning to smoke is a little unclear. I assume it means he's being "dismissed" or something from Ock's psyche for the time being, but it looks more like he's melding with him. It's weird.
Cool to see Gobby back, but Slott's gonna have a hell of a time explaining why exactly Norman would be back to just menacing Spidey. Maybe he knows what's up and he's pulling the old "only one allowed to defeat him" thing or something, but Norman's become a much larger villain over the years and it'll be weird if he goes back without a really good explanation. I'd still really like to see this turn out to be Harry, out to put Peter back in control.

[cyberghostface]

Well even when he was running the world writers made it clear that he was still obsessed with Spider-Man. If anything, I thought it made little sense that he wouldn't be harassing Spider-Man on his own title.

[silverhammerman]

True, but I feel like to have him go back to being antagonistic towards Spidey now wouldn't really fit that well with his more recent characterization as a megalomaniac with a messiah/martyr complex. It could wind up feeling like a step back in terms of character development.

[fredneil.livejournal.com]

Isn't that pretty much how he was always characterized?

[silverhammerman]

Not really, I mean back in the 60's he was pretty much a basic case of evil split personality, we never got any hint that he saw himself as a hero. Compare that to the Osborn miniseries from a couple years back where he was comparing himself to Nelson Mandela and positively gleeful that a cult had sprung up calling him their Anti-Christ. He's been more of a megalomaniac since coming back from the dead, but it's a stark departure from his old school portrayal.

[fredneil.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking of ASM #40, when he's telling Peter about what a great father he had been to Harry.

[silverhammerman]

Well I don't think I've read that specific story, my knowledge of that era is somewhat spotty, but I think there's still a pretty big difference that and his modern characterization. It's one thing to have Norman saying that he's a good dad and quite another him saying that he's some kind of paragon of truth and justice. I think it's a fairly natural evolution from one to the other, but I don't think that it was nearly as big a part of the character back then as it is now.

[crazycomiccult.blogspot.com]

See I feel like this is just the Goblin personality taking full control at this point. Osborn may have this thing where he sees himself as a hero and messes with the Marvel U as a whole but the Goblin is still an insane villain who's obsessed with Spider-Man. It's the fun thing about dealing with someone with split personality: you can vary the amount of control one personality has over the whole and completely change the character to suit the story.

[silverhammerman]

It's also weird that the Goblin looks to be in his classic outfit, when so many other villains have gotten redesigns in recent years. It makes him look so out of place by comparison.

[cyberghostface]

I suppose but I prefer it over the armored movie-tie in look that he was sporting prior to the Thunderbolts/Dark Reign era.

[silverhammerman]

Definitely true. I'd like a revamp more so than a full redesign, just to streamline the look so it fits better with a modern art style. I thought the Spectacularly Spidey animated series did a good job making the Green Goblin look right. The costume just looks kinda baggy and weird here, it doesn't fit in with the rest of the art.

[cyberghostface]

I miss that show. :( Ultimate Spider-Man isn't *bad* but it's not even in SSM's general stratosphere.

[crazycomiccult.blogspot.com]

It looks weird but I do like how you can still "see" Norman Osborn's face through the mask. I kind of get this image of being able to see Osborn, then seeing the Goblin, then seeing both. It's cool to me anyway

[captainbellman]

I...I cared about Ashley Kafka! I thought she was one of those nice supporting-cast characters who was left in the toybox for some better writer to use one day.

God f*cking dammit, is there nothing Slott can't ruin? Or is this part of some insane quest to annihilate any and all contributions made to the Spider-Man continuity by J.M. DeMatteis?

[terrykun]

Ditto. :( Dr Kafka was a great background character.

[captainbellman]

At this point, the only thing that could at all please me about this series is if it ended with an enraged combo team of Werewolf!John Jameson, DK and Vermin beating Spider-Man into a coma. Even as Peter, Spider-Man is better off as a bruised, broken-boned vegetable than being written by Slott.

[blunderbuss]

Oh my god, is Otto!Pete actually making moves on AUNT MAY?! DUDE! I get that you two always had a thing but you're in her nephew's body now! Aaaahhh!

(Though admittedly, it WOULD be neat to see Otto!Pete grieve over the fact that it was getting this new body, with all its power and reputation, makes him completely inable to be with someone he cares about.)

[captainbellman]

Subtle, interesting character interaction? You're looking at the wrong writer, my friend.

[mishalak]

The whole situation is totally skeevy. Normally I would smile when I caught my subconscious ogling the dramatic Spiderman costume pose, but it is Otto!Pete. Not cool!

[stillanerd]

Something occurred to me when I saw the preview for Superior Spider-Man #4 and which, having read the issue, I believe this issue is starting to lay the ground work for. Some of the reactions I've seen about Doc Ock as Spider-Man are saying that he's more efficient and organized than Peter Parker ever was, that he's doing things Peter should have considered doing like his spider-bot surveillance system and what have you. Likewise, the suggestion that because Peter allowed Massacre to live, then Peter is the one responsible for those deaths, including that of Dr. Kafka, and that Doc Ock will then have a more effective solution to making sure Massacre doesn't kill again (and it won't be death because that would be too easy and obvious). The message seems to be that maybe Doc Ock really is a "Superior Spider-Man" than Peter.

To that I say this: you're being played.

Let's not forget this is Doctor Octopus, someone who is well-established as being a megalomaniac and control-freak. His going ballistic over the fact that Peter never got his doctorate should be a reminder of this. Likewise, when he talks about having "eight-thousand eyes" to watch over the people of New York, or that he's going to "end" Massacre once and for all--that's supposed to unnerve you. Let's also not forget that, in spite of how annoying Ghost Peter is, he's the only person who is keeping Otto in check. So what happens if he's not around to do so? Yes, Doc Ock is now playing the role of a "superhero," someone who has adopted Peter's creed of "with great power comes great responsibility." But think on this: while that mantra can be a call to action for civic duty and humanitarianism, it can also be twisted into the slogan for the tyrant and the fascist, someone who can use it as a means to justify oppression in the name of law and order.

And this is where I believe Slott is ultimately taking Doc Ock as Spider-Man, that because he's now adopted Peter's code of personal and civic responsibility, he will ironically become a greater menace.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Heh, I have to admit: I like seeing Doc Ock flip out over that. Be interesting if he goes in and gets it.

As for Goblin, do we know when/how Norman got out of the Raft or wherever they had him?

[chieflewal]

Wait so that definitely is Osborn?