Superior Spider-Man #30 Review: Rebirth!
By Avery Jordan
And just like that…HE’S BACK! The long awaited return of the one and only Peter Parker is now upon us. Personally, I found this issue to be very touching, despite all the madness going on at the moment: the Avengers are scattered all over the place, the police are proving to be ineffective, and the Goblin Army is running rampant through the streets. The bright spot in all of this is that the real slim Spidey has finally returned. It actually brought me to tears (manly tears of joy) when Peter finally regained control of his mind and body (if it makes my crying any better, Peter actually cried for a second as well…so I don’t feel as bad).
The issue starts out with current Spider-Man (still Octavius) fighting alongside Spider-Man 2099 in an intense battle against the Osborn-controlled Spider Slayers. When it was revealed that Anna Maria was being held captive by Osborn and Menace, he quickly abandoned his future friend to rescue her, leaving Spider-Man 2099 to take on the Spider Slayers all alone, which only helped solidify his suspicions of Spider-Man not being who he used to be prior to the Superior era.
Meanwhile, Mayor Jameson is under heavy fire from the media and the citizens of New York while he tries to explain why the Spider Slayers turning against the police and the Avengers and aiding the Goblin Army. While it may not be his fault for the Slayers going “turncoat” on their own, it was his decision to release them into the streets. After attempting to blame Alchemax for the madness, Liz Allan, C.E.O. of Alchemax, quickly confirmed that she and her corporation are not affiliated with the mayor’s ill-advised decision making, and that she had specifically advised against using the Slayers before they were field ready. This would eventually lead people to believe that the mayor’s negligence is the justifiable reason for the escalation of chaos in the city. Later on, away from the eyes of the public and the media, Allan appeared to be hiding a goblin mask, confirming that she is in close dealings with Norman Osborn and his Goblin Army. This will certainly lead to an interesting conclusion of the Goblin Nation story arc.
Dan Slott did an amazing job developing the plot of this Superior story arc. The culmination of events up until this point and the development of Peter Parker even within The Midnscape has been well calculated and suspenseful to say the least. Parker was finally able to separate real from fake while in The Mindscape and finally re-materialized in his spectral form from earlier issues in the Superior arc, and aided Otto in saving a young girl that was about to be murdered by the Green Goblin. After that event, Octavius finally gave up and admitted he was actually inferior to Parker. He relinquished control of Peter’s body and erased all of his own memories, including his own psyche, leading to the finalized death and complete deletion of Otto Octavius, aka Doctor Octopus, and ending the Superior era. R.I.P. Otto Octavius.
Not only is the original Spidey back, complete with old school webshooters, unbelievably sarcastic and snarky quips, and rocking the classic red and blue threads, but he’s more than ready to take on his old nemesis Norman Osborn. The final issue Superior Spider-Man #31 will certainly be one for the ages, and I’m sure writer Dan Slott will have more than enough surprises to throw at Spidey fans. Be ready for an epic finale! All hail the return of The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker!