Amazing Spider-Man #698
Written by Dan Slott
Art by Richard Elson and Antonio Fabela
The short of it:
There’s a red alert at the Raft, in the Spidey-Rogues Cell Block (yes, there is one, they call it ‘Six”), and that means a battalion of armed guards bust in on Doc Ock in the iron lung, ready to shoot to kill. Ock isn’t much of a threat though, he’s just muttering….Peter Parker.
Meanwhile Spidey is swinging around the city, enjoying the fact that he can enjoy being Spider-Man….which means punching power suit wearing super villains in the face! Only, well, this guy wasn’t even a super villain, just a guy hoping no one would call his bluff before he got away with the money he stole. So he’s in and he’s out, a little stroking of his ego as he prepares for work, reviewing his messages and…well, Peter is a bit more of a narrator of his own life than we’re used to. He’s also a bit more ambitious, seeking to outdo his own inventions….and reclaim the one and only Mary Jane Watson. It’s little moments, like going with MJ to see Aunt May as she working with a physical therapist to adjust to life with the cane, and then having to bail out as he gets an Avengers alert calling him to the Raft.
Doc Ock is asking for Peter Parker, after all. Spidey agrees to talk to him, alone, with no cameras on. He goes in, removes his mask, and identifies himself as Peter Parker…and so does Ock. That’s your hook, the much publicized spoiler for this issue. There’s been a Freaky Friday, with memories attached to the bodies. Doc Ock is Spider-Man, and Spider-Man is Doc Ock…who just flatlined.
What I liked:
- For an issue 698, this book is oddly incredibly accessible. I mean, yes, I read Amazing Spidey and have regularly for the last twenty to twenty-five issues, but I’ve had majorly lapsed Spider-Man fan friends pick this book up and not feel lost. Considering that it’s the beginning of the last arc, and it does draw on previous arcs, and that’s remarkable.
- Aunt May being more concerned with the prospect of getting grandchildren out of Peter and MJ than Peter staying to help out. It’s nice, it’s subtle, and it’s really easy to forget that his Aunt is essentially his mom, and that she’s remarkable with kids. Also, that he has an alternate reality daughter named after her.
- I really dug the art here, despite not really having any clue who Richard Elson is. His art actually looks better than the three panels we have of previous issues in recap. Really, this issue looks great, and I want to see this dude get more mainstream work.
- Without the twist at the end, this would still be a very good issue of Spider-Man. We get to see just how far the character has come over the last few years, between his work life, Aunt May and Jay Jameson, and even the somewhat rekindled MJ relationship. When you consider where Peter was when Dan Slott first came on board, and you see where things are now? Dan has managed to erase a lot of the One More Day stink.
- I absolutely loved that Spidey hit a guy that was bluffing. I’m honestly amazed we don’t see that more often, criminals pretending to be super villains and hoping that actual good guys don’t show up to punch them. In Marvel’s New York there should be actual money in pulling that off.
What I didn’t like:
- When I first heard the spoiler on late Tuesday night, I was not happy. It seemed….well, it seemed lame. Random body hop complete with memories in a questionable timeframe just seems…well, too easy.
- I also don’t like that there doesn’t seem to be anyway this story ends without Ock dead, as he’s really one of the best Spider-Man villains. He’s had some good moments in his current state, but a dead Ock is a wasted villain.
- Pete and MJ finally looking like there’s a chance they might get back together, but it’s Ock so it doesn’t count. Blech.
- They point out a scar on his face that he got in the last arc in one panel, and then it is NEVER SEEN AGAIN.
Final thoughts:
So Morbius is still in jail on the Raft, but he has a new series launching in a few months. How long until he escapes?
I feel like the Octobot saying Pete’s name is going to wind up being the one he uses to get his body back in the end. As opposed to the one that switched him in the first place. Actually, it will probably be both.
So Peter can’t die, and Ock shouldn’t die, so what’s the end game? Does Ock die and then get brought back in a few months or years? I definitely have his last resurrection in single issue form, when the Hand brought him back after Kaine killed him. When’s the last time anyone mentioned that in comics?
Peter’s winking at bimbos face looks like he’s constipated.
I always forget who exactly knows Peter is Spider-Man, it’s just such a random list these days.
So there’s no working GLASS going into Ock’s chamber? We can see through everyone else’s door, but his is cameras only? Strangeness. I mean, dude can control technology, and the only way to look at him is through cameras.
I remain a very happy reader that I abandoned my Spider-Ban and came back last year. Dan Slott has been absolutely killing it on Spider-Man, and I expect nothing to change as we move from the Amazing to the Superior. The man simply gets Spider-Man, he was born to write him awesomely.
Overall: 8/10
