Captain Britain part 1

(WARNING: The following post is pretty long. Couchman recommends that before beginning to read, you have yourself a comfortable seat as well as possibly a refreshing drink and a snack.)

Greetings once more, citizens! Today, I'm taking a step away from the adventures of Superior Spider-Man. Instead, I'm reviewing a lesser known hero written by one of the most well known comic writers, Alan Moore. Alan Moore, for those not familiar with the name, is a critically acclaimed graphic novel writer, responsible for such gems as Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and Batman: The Killing Joke. However, today's selection is from before he gained most of his renown.

Captain Britain (alias Brian Braddock) was created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, and was originally envisioned as being the British version of Captain America. He was one of 3 children of an aristocratic family who, after the birth of him and his twin sister, didn't quite have enough money to hobnob anymore. Because of this, Brian never really socialized, since he felt he was too good for people of a lower class. He studied physics in college and worked at a nuclear facility after his parent's death. The facility was attacked one night, and Brian fled in order to find help. He did manage to find help, in the form of Merlin and his daughter, Roma. They offer him the chance to become a hero, and give him a choice between two artifacts; The Amulet of Right, and The Sword of Right. Brian didn't feel he was a warrior, nor that he was up to the task of being a hero, and chose the Amulet. And thus, Captain Britain was born!

This trade collects most of the Jasper's Warp storyline. I say most of because it actually omits the beginning of the arc, which was written by a different author. A good friend of mine loaned this to me, and I was pretty intrigued by it. I'd heard of Captain Britain, but my only real exposure to him before this was from the Marvel: Avenger's Alliance game (which I'm partially ashamed to admit I play). I had of course heard of Alan Moore, but I'd actually never read anything by him, not even Watchmen. His stuff sounds good, but most of his more well known work doesn't seem like my cup of tea. I thought that this would be a good way to get introduced to an interesting sounding character, and a writer whose works people keep telling me to read. 

Now, I’m not going to lie, I had a real hard time getting into this book. It starts of pretty confusing, for anyone who hasn’t read any of Captain Britain prior to this, and has so much happening so quickly, it becomes a tad overwhelming. The trade opens by establishing that Captain Britain is on a parallel Earth, thanks to shenanigans. This Earth (Earth 238) is devoid of superpowered people, due to a villain known as The Fury, a “cybiote.” I have never seen that word used before, but it seems to be analogous to cyborg.

Not that one!

Anyway, The Fury is dispatched to deal with Captain Britain and it begins kicking his ass. Cap attempts to fight back, but well, there’s a reason I said “attempt.” Saturnyne (who I’ll get to later) is unimpressed by The Fury, and tells her minions to kill it. When they have as much effect as Cap, she decides it’s a good time to go see how other universes are doing and flees, along with her minions. The Fury then proceeds to kill Dimples and Jackdaw. I’m not sure who Dimples was (and I don’t think he gets mentioned in the trade again), but Jackdaw was a good friend of Cap’s and he’s understandably enraged by the death. Cap once more attempts to attack The Fury, but only manages to succeed in getting his arm broken. Before The Fury is able to kill Cap, he is rescued by a man in a helicopter shaped like a teapot.

No, I’m not kidding.

The man is Mad Jim Jaspers, a reality-warping mutant who used to be a member of Parliament. It’s revealed that Mad Jim is the one who designed The Fury in order to rid the world of all other superpowered people, leaving him as the only one. Why does he do this? Good question, but before we can find out, Cap gets too freaked out by Mad Jim’s warping of reality, and runs out of the room, forgetting that the room is in fact a helicopter. He lands in a graveyard, showing the graves of various heroes, and finds an open one, the tombstone reading “Captain UK.” Cap begins to call to the heavens, wondering why Merlin sent him here. And then The Fury kills him. Yep, Captain Britain dies in the opening of his own trade. If this were just a single issue of a comic, I’d think that’s the end of it, but nope, I can tell there’s quite a bit more.

In contrast to the pace of the previous issue, this one is almost glacially slow. I’m not going to get too into the details of it, but the gist of what happens is that Merlin and his daughter, Roma, bring Captain Britain back to life while going over his backstory. There’s not a single bit of real action in this issue, and oh dear lord is it wordy. I’m not sure if this is something indicative of Moore’s writing, or just something he felt necessary for this part, but it’s something I’ve noticed with other British writers. It’s not a bad thing, necessarily, but it can make it somewhat difficult to dive into. I will say that while dense, it is well-worded, and I can even see the need for giving all this info. From what I can tell from my research, Captain Britain hadn’t been a huge character up to this point, and excluding the few issues leading up to this, he hadn’t really had his own series in a little while, so people might not know much about him, except that he’s probably patriotic, given his name and costume. But I digress…

Once Cap is alive again, Merlin dumps him off in Darkmoor, a place Cap is familiar with, and incredibly happy to be returned to. He apparently is able to get a change of clothes before getting a cab to take him to his family’s home, Braddock Manor. The Manor was apparently bombed last time Cap was there but seems to be all fixed up, to him at least. The cabbie sees the manor in ruins, but doesn’t comment on it, because Cap blinded him with a fat stack of cash. He goes inside and finds out that the manor was not in fact bombed, but was taken over by an evil computer that caused the death of his parents. He manages to reprogram the computer so that it no longer has a personality, but doesn’t destroy it because of how incredibly advanced it is. It’s able to project a hologram of the destroyed manor so that nobody would think there’s anything suspicious there. Just as Cap is settling down into a comfy chair with a stiff drink, the phone rings, much to Cap’s surprise.

It turns out that it’s Captain Britain’s twin sister, Elisabeth, later known as Psylocke. She tells him that she’s in deep trouble, and needs his help, arranging to meet with him in London. When they meet up, Betsy tells Cap that she’s developed her occasional flashes of precognition into a full gift, and is working with S.T.R.I.K.E, the UK version of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, S.T.R.I.K.E has been infiltrated by the minions of a villain known as Vixen, who has sent an assassin after the psychics S.T.R.I.K.E has on staff, since they’re the only ones who are aware of the infiltration. According to Betsy, there were 10 psychics at the beginning, but now they’re down to 5. And then 3, as the assassin kills 2 more while Betsy’s giving Cap the briefing. The others were nearby, and linked all linked together telepathically, so Betsy and Cap are able to get there quickly enough to save the other 2. Cap confronts the assassin, and discovers that it’s an old acquaintance who goes by the name of Slaymaster. Slaymaster is surprised by Cap’s force-field, but manages to find a weak point in it which he exploits. Slaymaster has used a (supposed) ninja technique that has given his left hand an incredibly sharp edge, and begins attempting to cut Cap into pieces. While Cap does have super strength and durability, Slaymaster is the better fighter, and manages to get Cap on the ropes. Cap is saved by Betsy and one of the other psychics, a telekinetic named Thomas Lennox, who predict Slaymaster’s movements, and then blind him, with the power of COMICS!

Cap then pummels Slaymaster into unconsciousness, just in time for the police to arrive. Unfortunately, another of Cap’s acquaintances is one of them, and he’s not too fond of superheroes. Cap flies off in order to avoid catching up with his ‘”friend” and tells Betsy to meet him back at the manor.

The next issue begins with a group of mercenaries, known as the Special Executive, infiltrating the manor. As the action happens, the caption boxes inform us of the plan as they went over it in their pre-mission meeting, which I thought was nifty. We get a bit of info about the people staying at the manor, which is now Captain Britain, Betsy, Lennox (who we learn is Betsy’s lover), and the third psychic from STRIKE, Alison Double. They incapacitate both Lennox and Betsy, but Alison seems to be sleeping quite deeply and they don’t bother. The mercenaries wake Cap up, informing him that he is their prisoner. He obviously doesn’t take well to this, but instead of just blindly attacking them, he opts to instead grab his suit and flee in order to don it, since it enhances his powers. He takes out one of them quickly before the leader of the mercenaries, Wardog, tries talking him down. He tells Cap that they require his testimony in order to secure their client’s freedom. Cap, asks why they didn’t say so in the first place, but then Wardog tells him their client is Saturnyne. Saturnyne, if you recall, left Captain Britain on the alternate Earth with The Fury, and he’s still quite pissed about that fact. He’s knocked out by one of the mercs, Fascination, and the issue ends with them taking him aboard their ship.

The next issue opens with Captain Britain aboard the Special Executive’s ship, engaged in a brawl with a bunch of little green men who all seem to speak with one voice. He fights for a bit but then just sort of deflates. I actually really love Cap’s reaction to all of this. He’s burned out on utter absurdity, and just doesn’t feel like dealing with it any more. I can’t blame him, I’ve been in situations like that even without getting kidnapped and travelling to parallel worlds. But the weariness and irritation that he shows really makes him seem more human. Wardog tells Cap that Saturnyne is to stand trial for what happened on Earth-238, and that he’s the only one who he can help her. The trial is being held on yet another alternate Earth, and the group is being chaperoned by two alternate Captain Britains, Captain England and Captain Albion. I really like the character designs for these two, they’ve got a unique sort of look, but they look similar enough to Captain Britain that you can tell that they’re based off of him.

Captain Britain is taken to visit Saturnyne before the trial. I should probably explain the deal behind Saturnyne. She held the title of Omniversal Majestrix, which made her in charge of overseeing the multiverse and ensuring order and stability. She had apparently been trying to nudge Earth-238 forward a bit because “it was holding back the development of all the other Earths.” Her position is part of the Dimensional Development Court, and she only had to answer to Merlin. The Court does have some say in things though, since they’re the ones who are putting her on trial for the clusterfuck that has become Earth-238.

Anyway, back to the plot, Captain Britain sees Saturnyne in her sell, bound and on her knees, and his anger diminishes. He’s still mad at her, since he blames her for Jackdaw’s death. He asks why he should help her, and she loses what composure she had. She tells him that he should just leave, that she was foolish to think he’d help her. She says her Avant Guard were barred from testifying, and breaks down into tears, once again shouting at him to leave, and accusing him of taking pleasure in seeing her like this. Cap tells her that he thought he would like it, but no. He tells her that he’ll testify on her behalf, saying that what happened on Earth-238 was not her fault. It’s a really touching moment, seeing Cap’s compassion overcoming his anger with her.

At the trial, we begin to learn that the Avant Guard being barred from testifying is just one of the ways that the deck has been stacked against Saturnyne. The judge of the whole thing is Mandragon, her successor if she loses her position, and I can’t decide if his name is incredibly stupid, or incredibly awesome. Mandragon immediately decides that the universe of Earth-238 is dangerous to the multiverse, and eliminates it. This also conveniently destroys any material evidence that could be used in Saturnyne’s defense, and closes out the issue.

The next issue gives us a view of the assembled audience watching the trial, and I once again have to give props to Alan Davis’s artwork. There are few if any humanoid beings in the audience, with the exception of one of the commentators. Yep, the trial has commentators, which makes me think that on this Earth, high-profile trials are like professional wrestling events. Captain Britain is pissed off about Mandragon destroying an entire universe and tries to object to it, but Captains England and Albion subdue him. Mandragon then says that because of Captain Britain’s conduct, he will not be permitted to speak on Saturnyne’s defense. Saturnyne is immediately sentenced to be broken down into her constituent particles. Captain Britain takes exception with this and begins beating the crap out of the other Captains. It’s at this point that the Special Executive decides to get involved, along with a bunch of giant green robots on behalf of Mandragon. The fight lasts the rest of this issue, and almost the entire next one. There’s not much to say about it really, except that we get another amusing line from Captain Britain while he’s fighting Captain England. 

Cap, Saturnyne, and the Special Executive manage to escape though Mandragon doesn’t seem to care too much, since he got what he wanted and can just nuke whatever universe she ends up in anyway if he feels like it. The group decides to hide out in Braddock Manor, because… I’m going to guess it’s because Cap could use a strong drink, and he likes what he’s got at his place. They arrive at the manor, and Cap is about to go on an angry tirade about all the bullshit that’s been going on, but the doorbell rings. He answers the door and finds Captain UK there, the Earth-238 version of himself who happens to be a woman. She’s been popping up a bit in the previous issues, but I’ll get into that in part 2 of the review. This closes out the first half of the book, and serves as a good stopping point for this part of the review.

Overall, I’m really enjoying it so far. Alan Davis’s artwork is great, especially on Captain Britain himself. Maybe it’s just because I’m an art nerd, but it’s so nice seeing a comic done by a guy who clearly studies the human figure and understands how the millions of pieces of it actually move and look. Everything else is really solid as well, but I really take pleasure in seeing musculature done well enough to actual work in an anatomy book. The colors do an excellent job of setting mood and tone, using deep shadows for more dramatic moments, but they’re not so over-done as to make the reader question what the hell they’re looking at. The writing is also damned good. As I said, getting into it was difficult, but I’m willing to chalk that up to Alan Moore having to take over for Dave Thorpe, whose writing was considered too hard to follow. After the beginning, everything flows nicely, with good pacing and solid dialogue. The dialogue is actually one of my favorite parts, especially Captain Britain’s. Between well written dialogue on him, and excellent artwork, it really makes him shine, which makes sense since it’s his own book and all. Though it’s somewhat surprising how often the star of a work is less interesting than some of the supporting characters.

I’ll be reviewing the second half of the book in 2 weeks. Next week though, I’ll be looking at something other than a comic. And something that’s not Marvel, since I want to look at more than just their properties. What will I be looking at? Check back next week to find out! Same Couch time, same Couch domain!

Superior Spider-Man Issues 3-5

Greetings once again citizens! It is now time to review the continuation of Superior Spider-Man, with issues 3 and 4!

When last we left the Superior Spider-Man, he had just ended things with MJ, and police officer Carlie Cooper had ominously stated she had a mystery to solve. Sadly, she’d have to do it without the rest of the Scooby Gang, since she’s the only one who knows that Peter Parker is not really Peter Parker, but Doctor Octopus in Peter’s body!

The issue opens on… Gotham?

Okay, seriously Jonah? That’s what you’re going with? You’re ripping off the bat signal? That has got to be one of the worst ideas Jonah’s ever had! To which Ock-Spidey agrees, though he doesn’t say it to Jonah’s face. He instead decides to shmooz Jameson, and try to get some support and trust with him. Which while manipulative, does make sense considering how anti-Spider-Man Jameson has been in the past.

Anyhow, Jameson tells Ock-Spidey that the reason he summoned him here is to inform him of the problem of Vulture’s little minions that we saw in the last issue. He’s told to work with Carlie on the case, since they had so much success last time they worked together. Yes, that went well. It ended up with a supervillain’s mind inside of the body of one of New York’s greatest heroes. Clearly the case was a smashing success! But they begin doing some work in the lab, and the ghost of Spider-Mans Past (aka Ghost-Pete) is talking to himself, wondering how Ock is doing a better job at being Spidey than he ever did. And surprisingly, it seems like Ock hears him. But Carlie begins talking and Pete doesn’t test out if Ock can hear him any more. Ock adjusts the lenses in his mask to be able to pick up the trail of the Vulture’s flight mechanism, and is off to deal with him.

They’ve changed artists since the previous issue, with Ryan Stegman as the artist for this one. The artwork is pretty good, but there are a couple of odd spots like in this flashback of Ock with fish lips.

Back to the story, Ock is reminiscing on the first time he met with the Vulture, back when he first founded the Sinister Six. It seems that Ghost-Pete gets sucked along on Ock’s little trip down memory lane, and can get a first hand viewing of Ock’s memories. It seems like Vulture and Ock were at least somewhat close, sharing a love for science and a hatred of Spidey. So it’s not surprising that when Ock-Spidey breaks into the Vulture’s lair, he wants to try and talk things out with him first. Unfortunately, Vulture thinks he’s just making another one of his jokes, and sends his minions at him.

Ock tries to fend off the minions without hurting them too much, but he does land a good hit one one of them, knocking its helmet off and revealing it to be a kid. He has a moment of surprise before we see Ghost-Pete get sucked into another memory of Ock’s, and we learn that Ock’s father was an abusive dick (and a drunk judging from the beer cans and liquor bottle on the table). We also learn that he looks like Kraven.

Back to the present and HOLY CRAP! Ock-Spidey looks like he’s about to lunge at Vulture and try to rip his throat out.

I can understand the sentiment, since he feels like Vulture is the same sort of sick son of a bitch his dad was, but man, talk about mood swings. Ock-Spidey startles Vulture enough that it actually makes him flee in terror. Ock-Spidey is having none of that though and chases after him, only to have his web shooters run out of ammo at the wrong time. Vulture’s got Spidey dead to rights, when Ock-Spidey implements an emergency plan. Vulture just happened to fly over the police headquarters, and the defunct spider-signal suddenly activates, sending out a blinding beam of light right into the Vulture’s eyes, blinding and disorienting him enough for Ock-Spidey to break loose and control their fall enough to send Vulture plummeting straight into the signal.

Carlie happened to be on the roof when this happened, because shut up. She sees the damage done to Vulture, and is even more convinced of her suspicions regarding brain-swapping, in spite of Ock’s attempt to gloss it over as a harsh but necessary villain foiling.

Issue #4 opens with a shot of Ock-Spidey on top of a building, talking about how it’s been a month since he became Peter Parker, and realizing that Pete had no plans for the future and just sort of blundered about in his life, a criticism that I’ve heard from several people regarding the Spider-Man books. Oh, and also he has 8000 Spider-Bots now. We also see Ock-Spidey looking a lot buffer than he did in the previous three issues, which can be chalked up to the new penciler on the book, Giuseppe Camuncoli. Overall, everything seems to be drawn well, and accented with sharp lines by inker John Dell. However, my only real complaint is that Spidey looks too bulky to me. I always picture him being more lithe and nimble looking, like a gymnast, but here he’s got more of body builder look, which just seems off model for Spidey.

We see Ock going over his accomplishments over the past month, and how much better he’s doing than Peter. Ghost-Pete (looking even more ghostly, which I rather like) is incredulous when Ock ignores something that one of the bots alerted him to, saying he has other responsibilities, which Ghost-Pete finds absurd. Until the next page where we see that the other responsibility he was talking about was being there for Aunt May. I understand that saving people is certainly important. However, Peter would frequently abandon his responsibilities to his loved ones in order to fulfill his ones as Spider-Man. Personal responsibilities are important, there are people in our lives who count on us. It feels like Peter never understood that responsibility as well as it seems that Ock does. Even though May isn’t Ock’s aunt, he is trying to assume Peter’s life, including his responsibilities to her in a way he feels that he should.

To that end, he goes back to his lab at Horizon, and begins sciencing. Several hours later, he summons Max Modell to show him what he’s been working on, “a new lightweight exo-limb. With a neuro-interface grafted to the spine and brain, the injured will walk again.” Ock-Pete is very arrogant about all of this, acting like he’s Max Modell’s superior, until Max points out that Peter doesn’t have his doctorate. Ock goes through Peter’s memories and discovers that Max is right, and storms off to go and attempt to rectify the situation.

The scene changes to the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane, where Dr. Ashley Kafka is going to check on a patient known as Massacre. Massacre is a villain who can no longer connect with humans or seemingly feel any emotion, due to a brain injury. Kafka enters Massacre’s room only to find that Massacre has killed the guard and replaced him. Kafka tries reasoning with Massacre, saying that he needs her to get him past the retinal scanners, but he says he only needs part of her.

We come back to Ock-Pete, who’s now on the campus of Empire State University, where he’s re-enrolling. Ghost-Pete is very much against this, because he says it’ll cut into his time as Spider-Man. But, I’m kinda with Ock on this one. Again, Spider-Man and what he does are both very important, but it’s also important for a person to take care of their own life. Getting his doctorate will give him more ability to find a good job to pay the bills (which has been a source of great stress for Peter in the past), and he can also potentially have to devote less time to his day job to earn an equal amount of money, meaning he’ll have more time for being Spider-Man. There’s also the fact that if he –does- get his degree, it will lend legitimacy to any discoveries or inventions of his. But I digress. Ock-Peter is re-enrolling at ESU, and the professor of the class he has to take (who will also be on the board reviewing his thesis) is an old acquaintance of Ock’s, Doctor Lamaze. Ock-Pete immediately ingratiates himself to Lamaze by calling him an old, insulting nickname while mentally groaning that he has to be in this buffoon’s class. After Lamaze storms off in a huff, Ock-Pete gets a call from the mayor on Spider-Man business.

Ock-Spidey arrives at Ravencroft, and is briefed on the situation while Jameson chews him out. Jameson goes on about how there’s been 3 breakouts recently, and how this wouldn’t have happened if Spidey hadn’t saved Massacre. Ock-Spidey makes a vow to Jameson that he’ll take care of Massacre.

Meanwhile, we see Massacre sitting in a fast-food restaurant holding the patrons and employees at gunpoint while he enjoys his meal, except that he’d “kill for a Mocha Cola” since apparently the restaurant is owned by Mocha Cola’s rival, Phizzy Co. Unfortunately, the cashier presses the silent alarm button, and “forces” Massacre to kill everyone except for a woman and her child who he says he needs for hostages.

We cut back to Ock-Spidey, who has gone to a colleague of his at Horizon labs, Uatu Jackson. Wait… the Watcher works at Horizon Labs?

Anyway, Jackson helps Ock-Spidey to install his facial recognition software into the Spider-Bots in order to help find Massacre. Speaking of Massacre, we see him arriving downtown, and letting the woman go now that he’s gotten where he’s going. Where did he need a lift to? No clue! The last page of the comic shows two of the Vulture’s child minions talking to each other and saying they’re not sure what to do before they are spotted by a Spider-Bot. The Spider-Bot is promptly crushed by the Green Goblin, who says that he has a solution to the Spider problem.

Issue #5 begins in the apartment of Miranda Pullman, the CEO of Phizzy Cola Industries. She’s watching the news, and discussing the shooting, complaining about how terrible this is making her company look, when suddenly Massacre appears in the shadows. He starts talking to her about how he’s damaged her company’s image more than their recent ad campaign where they altered old photos to show iconic people drinking Phizzy Cola. He then proposes a thought; what if they had decided to make it seem like history’s greatest monsters liked Mocha Cola?

Those eyes will haunt me. Anyway, he offers to go into downtown and shoot everyone he sees, all while wearing a Mocha Cola shirt, for only $12 million. But before we can see her response, switch over to Ock-Spidey, still with Uatu getting the facial recognition software uploaded. Once it is, his Spider-Bots immediately start recognizing criminals. Uatu voices his concern at one man having such power, but Ock-Spidey just tells him it’s all just a “friendly neighborhood watch.” Except that it’s all just one guy and 8000 tiny robots. But hey, at least Ock’s not going to rest until he finds Massacre.

Or he can get side-tracked…

Something I didn’t mention in the previous issue is that when Ock-Peter went to meet Dr. Lamaze, someone handed him a card reading “A. Marconi: Tutor. Chemistry and Physics.” Of course, Ock feels that he doesn’t need a tutor (which is reasonable), and has gone to the tutor’s apartment to tell them he will not require their services. He knocks, and is greeted by Anna Maria Marconi.

He tries telling her he’ll be fine without her, but she doesn’t just let him dismiss her, and the dinner she made catches his eye. He decides to stay and as they go over Anna Maria’s notes from the last class, he manages to impress her with his intellect and earns himself some dessert. He leaves and goes web-swinging while Ghost-Pete grumbles about how Ock is ruining his girlish figure, and then the patrol app goes off, alerting him that Massacre’s been found.

Ock-Spidey calls the police, letting them know where Massacre is and saying he’ll be there in ten minutes. Ghost-Pete seems dumbfounded that Ock has called the police, like it’s some sort of alien concept, but he’s wondering why Ock says he’ll be there in ten, when he’s only five minutes away. Fortunately, he does have a good reason, one which Peter should have thought of, since the idea is based off of Pete’s memories. Apparently, Massacre has some hostages rigged to a remote detonator elsewhere. He manages to quickly disarm the device, musing about how not so long ago, the lives of a few people meant nothing to him. Immediately afterwards, a woman hugs him thanking him for ensuring she’ll get to see her son again, and he does seem genuinely moved by it.

Back with Massacre though, he’s in the middle of Grand Central Station, and the police have found him. They try to get him to surrender, but he opens fire. People run for the exits, but they’re rigged with explosives, trapping the civilians inside and the rest of the police outside. How he managed to rig all of the doors with explosives without drawing attention is beyond me, though. Are we sure he doesn’t have super powers?

Ock-Spidey, however, has managed to sneak in through the upper windows. He’s planning on using the element of surprise to end the fight quickly, but Massacre turns his sights on a kid, and Ock-Spidey is forced to act to save the kid, which draws Massacre’s attention. Ock berates himself for giving up his advantage, but manages to dodge the incoming bullets and disarm Massacre handily. Massacre goes for his ace-in-the-hole, the detonator for the hostages. Ock-Spidey calmly tells him he’s wasting his time before picking up a gun and shooting him in the shoulder.

Massacre doesn’t seem too phased, what with his inability to feel emotion, and Ock begins to muse about how he’s never killed someone with a gun before. Meanwhile, Ghost-Pete yells at him to not do it. He begins monologuing (some habits are hard to break) about what he should do with Massacre. And, surprisingly, this seems to affect Massacre. He begins to cry, and says that this is the first time he’s felt anything in years. Ghost-Pete pleads with him, saying that this is why you don’t kill people, because there’s always hope for redemption. However, Ock tells him that people don’t change, that Massacre will always be a killer, and executes him.

Now, this isn’t the first time that the subject of what’s going too far with villains has come up in comics. That issue has been touched on many, many times before. This is, however the first time I’ve encountered it in a comic (not shocking, considering how recently I’ve picked up reading comics), and it did affect me. Personally, I agree with Peter, and that nobody is beyond redemption. I do not think that what Ock did was right, even though he did it with the greater good in mind. I was saddened that Ock had made this choice, and also a little surprised, considering his own recent decision to turn over a new leaf. It’s ironic, yet sad.

Though this would be a good place to end the comic, there’s still two pages. We see Miranda Pullman, once again in her apartment. She’s annoyed that Mocha Cola doesn’t seem to be getting blasted, but is pleased that they’re no longer talking about the previous shooting. Suddenly, we see a bunch of Spider-Bots in her apartment, and Ock-Spidey interrupts her broadcast, while shutting off all the lights in her apartment. He informs her he knows of her little deal with Massacre, and menacingly tells her to fess up to the cops, or she’ll have to answer to him.

Overall, I continue to enjoy this series. The plot moves at a somewhat slow pace, but it’s steady and doesn’t feel like it’s dragging. The artwork is good, though there are a few problems here and there. I enjoy the internal struggle that’s going on within Ock. While he does fall back into old habits with how he deals with his foes, there is a sense that he truly does want to change and be a good guy. The uh… technically external struggle between Ock and Spidey gets a lot more time in these issues than it did in the first two, with Peter doing more than just making snarky comments, and instead actually trying to talk to Ock even though he can’t quite be heard. I also like that the Green Goblin has shown up, clearly intent on causing mayhem further down the line, but that’s for another day.

So, what do you all think? Is Ock going too far? Or is he actually a Superior Spider-Man? Couchman wishes to hear your thoughts!

Superior Spider-Man issues #1 and #2

Greetings once more citizens! It is now time for my first review, but first, some backstory.

I don’t think it’s an unreasonable assumption that just about everyone is familiar with Spider-Man. Between fifty years of comics, numerous TV series, and two different film series, his place in the public consciousness is well cemented. I also don’t feel it’s a stretch that people are at least passingly familiar with one of Spidey’s archenemies, Doctor Otto Octavius, better known as Doctor Octopus.

In the events leading up to The Amazing Spider-Man #700, it was revealed that Doc Ock was dying. Being a reasonable man, Ock had his lawyer draw up a will, contacted his loved ones and said his goodbyes, and made peace with his fate.

Nah, just kidding! He decided to go to the ol’ mad scientist playbook, and bring out one of the classics; the mind-swap. But Ock, having an ego that would feel cramped inside of a major league ballpark, decided that not just any body would do for his staggering intellect. No, he not only wanted to cheat death, he wanted to do it while utterly defeating his archnemesis, Spider-Man.

So Ock kidnapped Spidey, and surprisingly, the mind swap went off without a hitch. However, there was an unexpected snag. Part of the plan was that Ock would gain Spidey’s memories, so that he would be able to impersonate him better. He gained the memories, but he also gained perspective. He understood why Spidey did what he did, and he actually felt compelled to continue being Spider-Man, even if it was not what he wanted to do.

However, he was still Otto Octavius, and if he was going to be Spider-Man, he would be a better Spider-Man. A Superior Spider-Man.

The comic opens with a man in shadow in a graveyard. In the next panel, we learn that the grave belongs to Otto Octavius. It seems kinda odd that such a new gravestone is already cracked and leaning heavily, but I guess Ock didn’t really have a will, so they cheaped out on the burial. The narration has “Peter” telling us that he’s saying goodbye to his old life, and that he is fully embracing Peter’s dual-identity. He overhears a police report on his headset, and the scene changes to what the call was about; a super-crime in progress.

The group of villains are stealing a scientific device, and the cops aren’t having much luck stopping them, in spite of the fact that their getaway vehicle is a freaking big wheel. Sure, it’s a highly advanced big wheel, but it’s still a big wheel. It didn’t work out well for General Grievous, and I can’t imagine it’ll work out well for them. Anyway, as they’re leaving, Boomerang proclaims that their group is the new Sinister Six.

Now, the Sinister Six is one of those teams that’s had a lot of different incarnations, but it’s always been made up of members of Spidey’s rogue’s gallery, and it was founded by Doc Ock. Understandably, Ock-Spidey is incredulous that these losers are calling themselves that, as he swings in to presumably take them down, although it looks like he left his right leg back in the graveyard…

The fight begins, with Ock-Spidey keeping up the tradition of bantering during battles, though he seems less witty than Peter, and more dismissive. The Living Brain actually asks one of the immortal questions of robots in fiction, and it’s good to see that Dan Slott’s humor is just fine.

Next page, and Ock-Spidey starts having difficulty with Speed Demon. Super speed can be a tricky power to overcome, but surely with Ock’s intelligence, he should be able to-

Wait, what? He’s leaving!? Oh come on Ock! I thought you were committed to this gig! Fortunately for us, Boomerang realizes that if Spidey runs off, he doesn’t get to be in a comic anymore and throws a boomerang after him. It’s an easy dodge, but when the boomerang turns around, it heads straight for an officer. At this point, it seems Ock-Spidey is remembering what he’s –supposed- to be doing and protects the guy. Boomerang, continuing to be a moron, decides to go and try to slit Ock-Spidey’s throat, and gets cut up himself for his trouble. Finally realizing that their goal’s been accomplished and everyone is waiting on him, he gets in the ridiculous getaway vehicle and the villains flee. The cop thanks Ock-Spidey, and says he and the other cops will do anything they can for him. He decides to call in the favor immediately and asks to have the Living Brain delivered to Horizon Labs.

Horizon Labs is where Peter is working, as some kind of scientist (I’ve actually never been too clear on what field of science Peter studies). And is it just me, or does Pete look an awful lot like Doctor Horrible with how he’s dressed?

Anyway, he’s trying to find out any info he can about the “Sinister” Six from the Living Brain’s files when his boss Max Modell comes in. Modell expresses his concern that Pete has been working with a lot of mad-scientist type stuff, but Ock-Pete just tells him that the work he’s doing is revolutionary and shows him some of his work, which placates Max. He then briefly has an internal angst moment of how his great works will be attributed to Peter Parker instead of Otto Octavius before Mary Jane calls. She’s making sure they’re still on for their date tonight, to which Ock-Pete assures her that they are. And then next page-

Good to know Ock is enjoying his new, younger body…

Normally this kind of panel would bug me, since I don’t read comics to see T&A. I have the internet for that. But I actually think that this panel’s appropriate, since it shows Ock-Pete’s priorities with MJ. They talk for a bit, and MJ seems to pick up on how he’s acting a little off, but doesn’t really bring it up. Ock-Pete apparently injected some nano-tracers into Boomerang when he scratched him earlier, and is listening in on the Sinister Six’s planning session.

We cut to later and the Sinister Six is executing their plan. It seems to go off without a hitch until they turn to leave, and find themselves boxed in by webs. The Six (or five I guess, since Living Brain’s back in Ock-Pete’s lab, man their name just does not fit) try to take out Spidey, but he’s got a counter for all their abilities. He takes out four of them, barely breaking a sweat, and we see that he also called the press, so that they could get footage of him being awesome. He avoids Boomerang’s last feeble attack, and then Boomerang surrenders. However… Ock’s not really used to winning. It’s a new thing for him, and so he doesn’t really act like the hero he’s supposed to be impersonating. He starts violently beating Boomerang, and is about to kill him, when suddenly we see a ghostly hand grab his wrist. It seems the real Pete’s not quite gone from his body yet, and still has at least a little control. In the final panel, we see Real-Pete vowing that he’ll get his body back.

Issue two begins with the press swarming Spidey, thanking him for his work and such, including mayor Jonah Jameson. Ghost-Pete is understandably incredulous that Jameson decides to wait for him to be dead before he tries to make nice with Spider-Man, before cutting to MJ talking to Carlie (a Spidey supporting character I was not familiar with before this series) and saying how she thinks her and Pete are getting back together.

After that we cut to “Lunch with the Watson woman.” Ah, Ock, you charmer, you. While Ock-Pete and MJ say hi, Ghost-Pete continues to be incredulous about how nobody notices the difference and pleading for divine intervention. Well Pete, maybe if you hadn’t made a deal with the devil, divine intervention would be more forthcoming. Anyway, the date gets cut short and Ock decides that being interrupted in the middle of things is a dumb way of finding out about emergencies. Back in his lab, we see that he has created a Spider-bot in order to do patrols of the city for him, and instructs the Living Brain (which he’s turned into a lab assistant) to create another eight hundred.

Later, we see that Ock is trying to have lunch with MJ again, and he explains that he doesn’t need to do patrols anymore. He’s got his bots all along his usual patrol routes and simply by checking an app he created (which he does a “thwip” sound effect for, nice) he can see if there’s anything that requires his attention. Which is actually a really good idea (as both Ghost-Pete and MJ state), since it gives him more time that he can devote to things beyond swinging around hoping to spot a crime in progress. Like dating MJ, as we see in the next couple pages. He gets absolutely nowhere with her for a bit, until he hits on the idea of going web-swinging with her. She says she’d invite him in, but she has Carlie staying with her. Now, I didn’t know this at the time because I hadn’t read the Amazing Spider-Man issues leading up to this series, but Carlie actually knows that it’s not Pete but Ock. She hasn’t told anyone yet though, because all she has is her suspicions and the dying words of Peter in Ock’s body, and doesn’t want anyone to think she’s nuts. I mean, a genius super villain swapping brains with a superhero? In a world with super-advanced technology, shapeshifters, and magic are all semi-common? Inconceivable!

Anyway, back to the comic, Ock gets the boot and bemoans his lack of gettin’ any before he realizes he doesn’t need to have sex with MJ per se. Instead, much to Peter’s revulsion, he decides to relive all of Peter’s memories of the two of them together before getting a real good night’s sleep after some implied wanking.

And man oh man, that must’ve been a damn good wank, because in the morning he’s singing in the shower, walking in a highly exaggerated manner while whistling, flirts with a coworker (poorly) and just in general acts like the sun is shining out of his own ass. Before it can get any sillier, he is interrupted by his patrol app alerting him to a disturbance at MJ’s club and swings into action, with Ghost-Pete swinging after him. I find it funny that he actually swings behind Ock with ghost webs.

Little bird people are causing the disturbance, because as it turns out, MJ’s club used to be the Vulture’s hideout. And she knew this when she bought the place. That uh… that strikes me as incredibly stupid. I mean, honestly, WHY would you buy a supervillain hideout, unless there was a specific reason for it, like you wanted to try and get something they may have hidden in there (which is why the bird guys are there), or if you wanted to spite them. Anyway, the minions get the thing they were sent for, and attempt to drop MJ to her doom, but Ock manages to get there in time to save her. He’s about to get a reward kiss when he tells her no. He realizes that being with MJ is only going to put her in more danger, and so to keep her safe, he has to move on with his life and she does too. The comic ends with MJ and Carlie talking about how MJ needs to move on, and Carlie needs to get back to her job with the police, because there’s at least one mystery she needs to solve.

Personally, I think the first two issues are really solid. It’s an interesting premise, and presented in a plausible way (relative to the universe, of course). The artwork is solid, though there are some instances where Ock-Peter’s face looks a little too exaggerated (particularly while on his date with MJ in the first issue). The writing is also solid, though there were a couple hiccups for me since I wasn’t a regular Spider-Man reader before hand, but even with those I found it fairly easy to get into the book, as well as enjoy it. There’s plenty of story material for several beginning arcs, with Ock trying to adjust to Peter’s life, Peter vowing to regain his body, and Carlie planning on delving into the whole mess. It was solid enough for me to keep reading, and next time, I’ll be going over the next two issues in the series.

So, that’s the first review! What did you think? Any suggestions?