The Superior Octopus strikes.
Dan Slott has written a lot of Spider-Man comics, to put it mildly. And while he's drawn in pretty much every major villain supporting character during the course of his long run, the high point of that saga is and probably always will be Superior Spider-Man. Otto Octavius' brief tenure as Spider-Man made for compelling reading, and it's a story that has continued to unfold now that Otto has cheated his own death and been reborn as the Superior Octopus. So the appeal with Slott's latest Amazing Spider-Man arc is less its status as a Secret Empire tie-in and more the opportunity to see Otto at the forefront of the series once more.
Not that the Secret Empire angle isn't without its charms. Outside of Secret Empire #0, we've seen surprisingly little of the early days of Hydra's uprising and how Earth's heroes responded to that global catastrophe. This issue allows Slott and co-writer Christos Gage to explore the rise of Hydra from Peter Parker's perspective, mixing equal parts witty banter and an increasing sense of desperation as the magnitude of the situation becomes clear.
Even as Hydra rises from the ashes, the writers also continue threads from "The Osborn Identity." All signs point to Peter losing his status as globetrotting business tycoon just in time for a "back to basics" refresh in Marvel Legacy. Slott and Gage strike a nice balance here from casting Peter as his own worst enemy (with the dreaded Parker Luck bringing him down once more) and reinforcing the idea that he's far too selfless to allow the welfare of his company to interfere with the need to save lives. At the same time, it's refreshing to see a certain ambiguity at play with Peter's corporate woes. Once again, the question is raised of whether Peter has a greater responsibility as businessman than he does as costumed hero. Is he actually doing the greatest good for the greatest number by prioritizing Spider-Man above Peter Parker? The hope is that even when Peter inevitably does revert to a more traditional status quo, his fleeting time in the spotlight will have lasting effects.
But again, it's the rivalry between Spidey and Otto that proves the biggest draw. Otto is as lovably jerky as ever, but the reader can at least understand where the character is coming from as he throws his lot in with Hydra and lambasts Peter for derailing the company Otto himself built. And there's some small shred of the better, nobler hero Otto became at the very end of Superior Spider-Man. As much as there's a part of me that wishes the character's story had been allowed to just end there, it's all the more clear how much potential remains with the Peter/Otto dynamic.
In another welcome treat, artist Stuart Immonen stick around for a second story arc. It's all too rare for any Marvel or DC book to feature the same artist two arcs in a row, much less with someone as perpetually in-demand as Immonen. There's no one better to bring this particular conflict to life. Immonen brings a wonderful sense of scale and carnage to Hydra's multi-pronged a attack, while his elegant, refined figure work brings out the best in the many heated conversations in this issue. There's no better testament to Immonen's storytelling abilities than the fact that he's able to bring so much life personality to the dramatic showdown between Spidey and the Superior Octopus, despite the fact that both men are covered from head to toe in spandex.
The Verdict
The Amazing Spider-Man is quickly shaping up to be one of the stronger Secret Empire tie-ins, though this issue's strengths have less to do with Marvel's latest crossover event and more with the ways in which it furthers several of the series' key plot threads. With top-notch art from Stuart Immonen, a nuanced look at the warring sides of Peter Parker's life and the grand return of Otto Octavius, there's plenty for ASM fans to chew on here.
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