So wait....Doc Ock will take over his body and....become him? What?

Uh....Dubya Tee Eff? I.....no?

Why do I read this as Slott essentially saying "We're going to make Spider-man darker, more edgy, make him morally ambiguous." Then promptly see the comic flatly falling on it's face.

This reminds me of the Spider-Man film script that was kicking around in the 90's for a bit. You know the one.

Superior Spider-Man. Doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

I don't know if anyone here has actually read Slott's work on Spider-Man for the last four years but it has been excellent. His stories have been fun and lighthearted, while remaining big on concept and characters. Under him, Peter Parker has actually been a likable character for the first time in two decades, and as someone who has read ALOT of Spider-Man I find the recent stories to be the best the web-slinger's ever been.

This will just be an interesting long-term story, and then they'll go back to the old ASM numbering. They've done it before, this won't be permanent.

Plus Peter is in Ock's body, so he's not even gone.

I can't believe that anyone who complains about this is currently reading ASM, I have an enormous amount of trust in Slott's work and I'm really looking forward to Superior Spider-Man.

Why even do this? Doc Ock is evil, if he stops being evil it will because he was changed by Parkers memories, not because he is actually no longer evil.
Why would I want to see him as a hero? Isn't that what Spider Man is supposed to be most of the time for readers?

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:
I... what?

This is why I can't get into superhero comics. I just can't. The story sounds ridiculous, like a soap opera that's taken some bad acid,

This does remind me of Passions quite a lot now that you mention it.

Baron_BJ:
I"Spider-Man has been replaced by someone who has tried (and claimed) to be WORSE THAN HITLER, so you should all buy our new book; SPIDER-HITLER!".

I cannot stop laughing.

What... just... what? Also, didn't they already do the "Peter Parker is dead" angle in Ultimate Spider-man?

I honestly have no issues with the idea of a villain reforming... but there's gotta be a better way to do it...

Well, this sounds like it was a good thing I've left comics. C'est la vie.

Waaghpowa:
Me and a friend have been speculating for a while now that Peter Parker will return because the Doctor "Rewrote brain patterns" rather than swapping minds, and as such Peter Parker will eventually resurface.

Well that's a [fingerquotes]justifiable[/fingerquotes] explanation for returning to the status quo. This whole situation still sounds a touch dumb though.

so this whole series can be summed up with this:

what a bunch of crap.

mad825:
The name "Superior Spider-Man" doesn't sit too well on the tongue, there's no rhyming and no flare to the name.

I like the shortened version though. SS man may seem too nazi germany for you, but I for one will love the reactions from the fans!

Fappy:
I'll be surprised if this gimmicky plot line lasts more than 12 issues.

i think it will last longer due the ridiculousness of that concept.

it will be like a bad fanfiction fusion between fight club and spiderman, where doc peterpus (?) will commit crimes and beat himself up in a parking lot into giving up.

full with superpowered self wedgies.

Wow, that's pretty AMAZING hehehehehehehehehe Hopefully the new comic will be SUPERIOR hehehehehehehehehehe to the last. Maybe Peter will stay dead. Probably not though. Btw, the only real reboots in NEW 52 seemed to be the Superman Family and The Flash, they didn't even touch Green Lantern or Batman, well BARELY anyway.

Baron_BJ:
What the fuck. In this day and age that'd be like Marvel yelling out "Hey everyone, Captain America had been murdered and had his soul replaced with Osama Bin Laden's! You should read about Osama's new adventures!", hell, Godwin's law has already been shat on so let's go with what they're actually doing "Spider-Man has been replaced by someone who has tried (and claimed) to be WORSE THAN HITLER, so you should all buy our new book; SPIDER-HITLER!".

They actually did that a couple of years ago, more or less, when the Red Skull entered Captain America's body. It only lasted two issues, though.

But yeah, really dumb.

*EDIT* I predict 18 issues, but I could be wrong.

As bad as I realise this is gonna sound, I'm going with it anyway.

I am a long time comic reader (28 years plus) now and have long ago given up trying to buy the monthly issues of a book like Spiderman because it is draining financially and time-draining. Admittedly I still buy a lot of the collected books and graphic novels but it's much easier to do so. Another reason I don't do it any more is that although I'm ashamed to admit it it has just become too hard for me to keep up with Marvel continuity. Torrents will get you part of the way there but I personally don't like downloading it unless I'm going to buy it. (This is not a comment on the ethics of downloading, just a personal preference.)

So-called "New beginnings" like this one do serve two purposes however. The advertising involved inevitably draws old readers back to check out the new arc, and also begins a partially new continuity in that the reader doesn't necessarily need to know ALL of the details of the current continuities.

Bottom line: While I often see these sorts of things as an amoral cash-grab, they often sort of re-spark my curiosity for the books in question.

Ultimate Spider-Man dying and getting replaced was a downer, this just sounds weird. People already disliked one Spider-Man dying, they had to have seen this coming. I don't read 'em, but still.

OT: Pfft, yeah right. They'll never follow through with this. A few months and Peter Parker will return in some weird, badly explained way.

This has to be tha single most stupid idea i have ever heard.i bet Stan lee had an hearth attack. srly this is 10 times what Alan moore feel with watchmen.

I can imagine the writers and executives listening to a Spider Man version of this song:

If they hadn't done the craptastic "One More Day" Storyline, I might be willing to say "I'll give this one a chance." But since I read "One More Day", my "give this one a chance" card got used up. I'll wait a few years then look back to see if this worked or not. Maybe when they bring it out in the bargain bins at ComicCons or Fan Expo, where I can pick up the entire run for about $10.

rhizhim:
it will be like a bad fanfiction fusion between fight club and spiderman, where doc peterpus (?) will commit crimes and beat himself up in a parking lot into giving up.

full with superpowered self wedgies.

That actually sounds kind of amazing, in an awful sort of way. And I am definitely calling him Doc Peterpus from now on.

Fiz_The_Toaster:

The neighborhood friendly Spidy has been going through some really weird shit, hasn't he?

Just see movie Bob's stuff about him. Sells away his marriage to MJ to the devil, without negative repurcussions. Appearing and disappearing daughter. Impossible to follow continuity.

I have a silver age fan buddy that is going to hit the roof!

Fiz_The_Toaster:

Gorfias:

Fiz_The_Toaster:

The neighborhood friendly Spidy has been going through some really weird shit, hasn't he?

Just see movie Bob's stuff about him. Sells away his marriage to MJ to the devil, without negative repurcussions. Appearing and disappearing daughter. Impossible to follow continuity.

I have a silver age fan buddy that is going to hit the roof!

That's what I mean though!

He's practically one of the few main Marvel characters that goes through the weirdest and dumbest crap.

Poor Spidy can't catch a break. :(

I just wrote all my nerd buddies with a link to this writing, "they just outa have turned his costume black again... or something.

"This will get retconned. This will get retconned to the sun. Twice."

-- My first thoughts upon finishing to read the story

Yeah I dont care. This will most likely be poorly received, they'll retcon or something and bring parker back and we'll be back where we were after a huge mess.

the story itself is interesting, or at least the idea on some level. but it will run its novelty course quickly i would think.

Despite Spidey being my favorite super hero I don't read his comics, or any comic series for that matter and today I'm glad I don't because I would probably be infuriated by this... dumb... assinine idea. Does Marvel not like money? I thought Amazing Spider-Man was already a bad title (really, why have the Amazing there), but SUPERIOR Spider-Man... so not only are they using a stupid idea for their new comic, but they are also using a worse title that manages to shit on one of the most beloved super heroes ever.

Fiz_The_Toaster:

Seriously.

I'm having horrible flashbacks of when Spidy and Wolverine switched bodies, for some reason, and Wolverine was hitting on MJ.

*Shudders*

I got that beat regarding Spidey... how about the time he... naw. Nope. Shudder. That freaks me out too! I'd still love to read it. Wolverine with Spiderman's powers. Interesting.

Yeah, been there, done that, got the stopwatch out. Granted I think this will last longer than some of the shorter term shakeups to the status quo which lasted 2 months, but I'll be shocked if Pete's not back by 2014. We're being trolled by the marketing again, and while it doesn't make this any less stupid, any reader of Marvel for the last 30 years looks at a death and asks "how long do you think this will last?"

Heck, I might be forgiving of this had it been a better villain. Ock's spent a lot of time in a very one dimensional place. He could beat Spidey easily, but has spent too much time on the "I'm crazy so I'll conquer the world" side of villainy for me to see him with any depth. Eddie Brock, Harry Osborne, Norman Osborne, Kaine (reformed now) those might make things interesting. Doc Ock, It's going to be hard to see any new moral view as anything but forced.

Guffe:
hang on guys...
there's a pharse on the tip of my tongue...
oh yeah!!!
COMICS
ARE
WEEEIIIIIRRRRDDDDDDD!!!!

Sums it up pretty well...

That was my thought. This sounds as bad and as idiotic as the Clone Sage. The online comic cliche more stupid than clones is "body switching". This is why I stopped giving them my money monthly.

Meh, Peter will be back. I give him a year or two. Remember, Comic Book characters die and come back all the time.

The artists and story-writers for these things are always desperate to think of ways to bring in new fans, they brainstorm and test countless wacky ideas and lose track of what made the hero popular to begin with, he fights bad guys and saves the day.

This'll be ret-conned in no time, I guarantee. Not that I'll be there to see it, because I don't read comic books.