The Superior Spider-Man, Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy

The Superior Spider-Man, Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy by Dan Slott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

1 - Doctor Octopus, in Spider-Man's body, tackles the Sinister Six in his own way...

When I heard Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man swapped bodies, I groaned a bit. However, it kept getting rave reviews so I gave it a read. It may be too soon to tell but I'm digging it so far. Doc Ock approaches being a super hero from a different point of view, one might say a more intelligent point of view. Why let the Sinister Six live when you can settle their hash permanently?

Fortunately, Peter Parker's personality is still in there and he's acting as Otto's conscience. We'll see how things go but I'm already intrigued with Otto putting the moves on Mary Jane and being an asshole to Peter's co-workers.

2 - Otto/Peter's relationship with M.J. evolves as he incorporates spider-bots into his patrols.

Okay, I'm digging this. I like how Otto treats all the aspects of his life like an equation. The spider-bots were also a nice touch. I'm interested in seeing the series through and see how Peter sorts things out when he inevitably returns.

3 - The Vulture and his flock are committing a series of robberies and Spider-Man is on the case, only this is a very different Spider-Man than the one The Vulture is used to...

Slott gives us a window into the childhood of Doctor Octopus in this one. Also, I love how quickly Otto is changing things. Spider-bots? A good relationship with J. Jonah Jameson? The way he dealt with the Vulture and the motivation behind it were pretty brutal.

4 - Massacre busts out of Ravencroft! Can the Superior Spider-Man stop him before he kills again?

To be continued. Spidey and Massacre don't go head to head just yet. This issue was mostly setup as Otto goes back to school so people will call him Doctor Parker. No shit!

5 - Spidey vs. Massacre is the main event in this one. Also, Otto gets a tutor who's a little person and I think he's having feelings.

Otto crosses the line that Spider-Man never would and seems to be getting praised for it. This certainly ups the ante for future volumes.

Closing Thoughts: I knew Dan Slott had chops going in but he's actually turning what I thought was a cheap stunt into something with lasting consequences. The art was damn good as well. I guess I'm in it for the long haul with Superior Spider-Man. 4 out of 5 stars.

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