The still controversial Superior Spider-Man continues to impress as the new Spidey comes face to face with an old ally from a new perspective…

First things first, this review will assume you’re already familiar with the events of Amazing Spider-Man #700, so if you’re not and you plan on catching up without spoilers I’d stop reading now. If you’ve managed to avoid spoilers so far you probably don’t have access to the internet anyway, so reading this would be an impossibility.

Watching Doc Ock viewing his old way of life through new eyes (and new lenses) is fascinating, and a run-in with the Vulture has a profound effect. We’re learning more about the increasingly three-dimensional Otto as he also learns more about himself, first trying to reason with the Vulture as an old (but unrecognised) friend, then being disgusted with Toomes’ current methods. The more brutal course of action taken by Otto further raises an eyebrow with Carlie Cooper, whose investigation is also a massive point of interest, having been confronted by the “real” Peter Parker before he died. It’s a shame that no-one else in the supporting cast has any major concerns about Peter’s sudden change of attitude (and completely different speech pattern), and that’s the one real negative point worth raising.

Peter’s back-seat presence in Otto’s mind is intriguing and provides some humour, especially when the new Spider-Man deals with J Jonah Jameson more effectively than the old Spider-Man ever could (whilst having a sly sideways dig at Batman’s methods at the same time).

Overall, the Superior Spider-Man remains solidly entertaining, and I hope the fans who angrily dismissed the book after Peter’s “death” will end up giving it a try. As a tale of redemption there’s a lot of potential here, and I for one have faith that writer Dan Slott is going to continue to deliver.