Comic Info
Comic Name: Amazing Spider-Man (Volume 2)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Dan Slott/J.M. DeMattis/Jen Van Meter
Artist: Richard Elson/Humberto Ramos/Giuseppe Camuncoli/Stephanie Buscema
# of Issues: 3
Release Date: 2013
Amazing Spider-Man (2) #698
Reprints Amazing Spider-Man (2) #698-700 (January 2013-February 2013). Something is up with Peter Parker. He isn’t acting like he normally does, and he seems extremely “with it” when it comes to managing his time. That’s because Peter isn’t Peter anymore, and Doctor Octopus has taken control of his body. With Peter’s mind trapped in Dr. Octopus’s failing body, he must escape prison and try to find a way to switch his brain back before it is too late…and Doc Ock isn’t having it!
Written by Dan Slott, Spider-Man: Dying Wish is the final volume in Slott’s Spider-Man run before the cancellation of the Amazing Spider-Man series (and rebranding as Superior Spider-Man). Following Spider-Man: Danger Zone, the collection features back-up stories by J.M. DeMattis and Jen Van Meter and art by Richard Elson, Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Stephanie Buscema. Amazing Spider-Man #699.1 (February 2013) is not included in the collection but was collected as part of Morbius: The Living Vampire.
I haven’t always loved Slott’s run on Spider-Man, but I’ll give him that he tries new stuff. I was already off the title at this point, but I couldn’t imagine how he pulled it off when I heard about it. Slott does manage to make it work, but there are still some underlying problems.
Amazing Spider-Man (2) #700
The story is as comic-booky as you can get. You have people swapping brains and a villain inhabiting the body of the “hero”. It is some of these weird tonal differences that makes Slott work and hurts him. It feels like he’s a bit all over the place in that sense. Sometimes the drama is played up and sometimes the “fun” of Spider-Man is played up, but it doesn’t seem to make for a completely consistent character. The fun stuff seems to work better than the drama and there are a lot of drama portions in the story.
As a result, the storyline was kind of divisive for fans. I don’t find it divisive as much as gimmicky. You know that Peter Parker will be back and you know that Doctor Octopus as Spider-Man is temporary…it is the nature of comic books. I was surprised by how long the storyline kept going. It also sparked controversy with Peter’s relationship with Mary Jane. With Doctor Octopus in Peter’s body, essentially he’s assaulting Mary Jane even if she doesn’t know it. It is a weird way to start a new series (and add in that Dr. Octopus was going to marry May Parker at one point, and it even gets more disgusting).
Spider-Man: Dying Wish is a real directional change for the comic, but it does feel natural within the context of Slott’s run. I still don’t like much of the supporting cast built for Slott’s run, and I don’t like the direction of many of the classic characters. I will say that I kind of enjoyed Superior Spider-Man when it launched because it was kind of different and it wasn’t “Spider-Man Proper”. Spider-Man: Dying Wish was followed by Superior Spider-Man 1: My Own Worst Enemy.
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