There was a time where killing off Peter Parker seemed so unbelievable. Much like the Death of Superman, it didn’t seem like a possibility, until it happened. Superior Spider-Man was born from one of these time Peter was presumed dead. The series was a huge hit, and seeing Doctor Octopus take over the role of web-slinger and actually do some good was exciting. But those days ended, and Otto has gone back into a villainous role. However, with this week’s Superior Spider-Man Returns, we may be able to revisit the popular character and his stories for a while. Written by Christos Gage based on a story by Dan Slott, Gage is joined by Mark Bagley, Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos, and Giuseppe Camuncoli on pencils. John Dell, JP Mayer, and Victor Olazaba are on inks, Edgar Delgado is the color artist for all of these artists, and Joe Caramagna is the letterer.
WRITING
Christos Gage has been around the comic book industry for what feels like forever. His work speaks for itself, as he usually does a phenomenal job with whatever project he’s on. Superior Spider-Man Returns #1 mostly takes place during a flashback that Doctor Octopus has. Gage steps right in and delivers a voice that sounds familiar with the Superior Spider-Man. The character is cocky and arrogant, and loves himself more than the people of the city. Gage also gives readers some decent interactions between Superior Spider-Man and his new assistant, Estrella Lopez. Gage makes it clear that the one thing Otto Octavius respects is intelligence, and he sees something in Estrella. Their relationship grows throughout the issue as both characters begin to like one another. Lopez seems like an interesting character that we would like to see more of. She comes off as honest and smart, but she also appears humble. Now of course, knowing Doctor Octopus, he’s going to screw this up somehow. Gage shows us how arrogant of a man Otto Octavius can be in this issue, and how his arrogance usually ends up killing relationships. He’s constantly selfish and vain. This leads to a lot of his problems in his life, and it handicaps him in this story. Gage gives us a cliffhanger that sets up the newest series coming out and should interest all Spider-fans. The new villain that appears seems like a powerhouse and it will be intriguing to see how she is dealt with.
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ART
Mark Bagley, Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos and Giuseppe Camuncoli all takes turns spreading their pencils on the page for this issue. Despite having many artists working on one book, the pencils remain consistent throughout the issue. Bagley and Stegman start us off. The panels of the Superior Spider-Man chasing after Slyde work for a few reasons. We get panels that have Slyde far away while having Superior Spider-Man close. This dynamic gives a close up and a far shot at the same time. Slyde is a speedster, so he’s constantly at a distance, but we get a close up of his face and it’s drawn with no emotion, but we can feel the emotion.
Ramos steps in to handle a fight scene. Ramos does well with these big spider bots as they attack A.I.M. Scale is everything for these panels, and Ramos draws a lot of small A.I.M employees compared to the large robots. The panels look great and show off how much skill Ramos has as an artist.
Camuncoli is able to draw the pages with the villain emerging and gaining powers. These pages are crucial because the look of the character will determine a lot with fans. Camuncoli nails it as the unnamed character looks fierce and displays great power. Blasting through walls and attacking Superior Spider-Man look dangerous. This character has the ability to cause some real damage for the city of New York and the Superior Spider-Man.
The colors are so crucial this issue because Edgar Delgado has to color for several different artists and maintain a consistent tone. For a lot of the work on Superior Spider-Man himself, Delgado uses a lot of shading and dark tones. This is fitting since this version of Spider-Man is darker and not as jovial as Peter Parker. As the villain emerges, Delgado uses an extremely bright white to allow her to shine off of the page. The pages with Doctor Octopus in the present have a lighter tone to them. Delgado makes sure to shade over Otto’s face as he stands beside a big containment device. Pages where Estrella is in the lab are dark and moody. Delgado does an amazing job by handling all these different artists.
The letters are handled by Joe Caramagna. The first thing that Caramagna does that works is his placement of word balloons. These are put out of the way of the action and don’t cover up faces as characters talk. The effects used in action sequences are effective as well. As Superior Spider-Man rips a machine in half, Caramagna places the sound effect “KRANGCH” sprawled on the lower part of the panel. It’s perfect placement and goes right along with the action. Lastly, Caramagna uses emotion as characters yell. When Superior Spider-Man yells for one of his employees to fire at an A.I.M. fighter, he says “FIRE AT WILL.” Caramagna emphasizes this with a black bubble and red letters.
CONCLUSION
Superior Spider-Man Returns #1 is a fun ride back into nostalgia. Christos Gage and company reminds readers why the character was so much fun. His cocky attitude and overall crassness make Superior Spider-Man hilarious and dangerous. The art, colors, and letters shine here as well as they show us how dark the story can be. Superior Spider-Man #1 is available at a comic shop near you!
