Biggest Risk That Worked:
Superior Spider-Man!
How do you celebrate 700 issues of Amazing Spider-Man? Have your hero’s identity’s stolen by his greatest enemy!
Dan Slott and the Spider-team pulled off one of the greatest shocks of 2012: Otto Octavius had switched bodies with Peter Parker! It was Peter trapped in the dying body of Dr. Octopus for nearly a year. Just when you thought the good guy would prevail – Otto kills Parker but Peter’s mind is trapped inside Octavius (like an Angel on your shoulder but with attitude.)
The mind meld changed Otto and he set out to be a “Superior” Spider-Man. A darker hero vowed to defend his turf.
Amazing Spider-Man was dead.
Superior Spider-Man #1 premiered.
A longtime Spidey fan urged me to reread and post more about the Superior Spider-Man – I’m glad I listened to him. Even though the fan loved Peter Parker he was excited by the twists and turns of the darker new hero under the mask. Part of the fun was the excitement of knowing Parker would eventually escape his mental prison and give Octavius some serious payback. Then Slott shocked us again…but I won’t give it away.
Replacing your hero with his ultimate villain was a bold risk that’s paying off with an injection of exciting storytelling.
By Editor