Amazing Spider-Man Ends With Issue #700

[JonB]

Amazing Spider-Man Ends With Issue #700

The fifty year run of Spidey's comic ends today, making room for the Marvel NOW! relaunch of Superior Spider-Man in January.

Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #700.

As part of their Marvel NOW! initiative, Marvel comics has published the final issue of Amazing Spider-Man, featuring the death of Peter Parker - Spider-Man is dead. Issue 700 culminates the story arc that began a hundred issues ago, when it was discovered that longtime spider-man foe Doctor Octopus had a terminal illness. A hundred issues later, Doctor Octopus has stolen Peter Parker's body, leaving Peter in Doc Ock's dying husk, and Doc Ock/Spider-Man defeats Peter in his own body.

It's official, Doc Ock is the new spider-man. He's going to have a new book next year, titled Superior Spider-Man.

"This is Moriarty in the head of Sherlock" said Dan Slott, the writer on Amazing Spider-Man. Slott says the interesting part is what comes now, because Doc Ock is going to realize what Peter Parker has been teaching folks all along - with great power comes great responsibility. Doctor Octopus is going to be getting a new lease on life, and because he's saddled with Peter's memories, he's saddled with Peter's conscience. "It's also what the good part of our first year on [Superior Spider-Man] is about: Doc behaving in a manner he's not accustomed to. We see a more sympathetic side of Doctor Octopus."

The book's ending has opened up a flood of criticism from fans, but Slott remains optimistic. "How do you get more Peter Parker than that? Now the readers think he's a menace. That's exciting. On a meta-level, that is Spider-Man."

Source: USA Today [http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2012/12/25/amazing-spider-man-700th-issue/1746039/]


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[iniudan]

I am so waiting to see Linkara and Bob reaction to that. =p

 

[Aeshi]

Come on, when was the last time a supposedly 'dead' Superhero (or Villain) actually stayed dead?

 

[ritchards]

"So, we need some way for getting more money from fans..."
"Let's get rid of Peter Parker as Spiderman again!"
"Yay! 'Cos that worked so well last time!"

 

[mad825]

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

 

[Atary77]

Is this going to be like when Hal Jordan became Parallax again? Because it sure seems like that's what the fall out from this one is going to be. I mean really? Whatever I give it a few weeks before Peter Parker is somehow resurrected and they have to reboot the whole thing all over again.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

"This is our answer to the age old question as to how we're going to make something worse than One More Day" said Dan Slott, the writer on Amazing Spider-Man.

There will be nothing as worse as One More Day.

Nothing.

OT: ...What?

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

 

[saintdane05]

I am so waiting to see Linkara and Bob reaction to that. =p

Linkara already did. He said that he gives it six months.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Wait what? Sure that whole switching body arc is fine for an story arc but to have a permament effect (well is sound like it will be long) will be hard to chew.

I mean will the kids or other non comicbook fans will accept Doc Ock as the main hero now? Even then I don't think Spidy friends from the Avengers, Fantastic Fours and other will like the idea that his foe is now him unless they are unaware of it. (Boy can Doc Oct keep up the wise crack like Peter did?)

Lastly, how exactly will Doc be any different seeing how he has Peter Parker past memories so he is just living out as him therefore he is not really Doc Ock (personality wise) anymore?

Maybe I just overthinking about this since this is comicbook death I'm talking about where 99% (if the character popular or not) will just end up coming back to life anyway, loosing the sense of any lost to it.

 

[Mike Richards]

I'm calling it now... secret relaunch of the Clone Saga

 

[Guffe]

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

Sums it up pretty well...

 

[Kajin]

Crazy nonsensical tripe like this is why I don't read comics.

 

[Fappy]

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

 

[Space commando 75]

and this is why i stick to judge dredd.

 

[Therumancer]

Uh-huh.

Sorry, I can barely supress a yawn here, this seems like typical comic-book marketing garbage right now. It seems like every couple of years they are "ending" a popular hero, or doing something "contreversial" or whatever to get some attention and sales. The status quo is always eventually restored back to the basics with only minor changes remaining unless your dealing with some spin off universe to begin with.

When it comes to Spider-Man there is a huge fan base of Peter Parker accross multiple generations, combined with a huge merchandising empire, including multiple movie continuities, cartoon shows, and everything else. The status quo will return here eventually, simply because it would be marketing suicide otherwise. At the same time, in the short term they can sell a lot of comic books as nerds buy the issue to see "oh my gawd, this can't be real" even if they hadn't bought the books for a while. At most I'd guess they are going to milk it for 100 issues on a fairly rapid release schedule. What's more the whole "Amazing" title is just one of Spidey's "main universe" title lines, he's one of those characters who is so popular that he's actually headlined multiple cooncurrant series (Spectacular, Web Of.. etc...).

I take this about as seriously as the whole "modernization" angle, which simply lead to the "Ultimate Universe" being put in it's own little secondary continuity. Sort of like Marvel's version of "Wildstorm" (which itself recently died).

Or perhaps more accuratly, like one of the DC "Crisis" events which are actually bigger. DC likes to periodically blow up their entire continuity and promise lasting, practical, changes. Other than some origin reboots (or combinations of popular origin stories where you have a lot of them), plans to do things like limit the speed of The Flash, reing in Superman's Power level, and similar things go the way of the dodo before too long as the characters pretty much turn back into what they were before. It's one of the reasons why I think the new version of "Superman" they have been touting is kind of offensive, missing the point of the character, but I can't get myself too excited about it because I figure he'll be more or less back to normal in a year or so after the "event" ends (tops) since he's endured being written a specific way for so long for a number of very solid reasons.

To be honest, I kind of blame fandom. Marvel is playing "follow the leader" to the crap DC pulled. We turned "The Death Of Superman" and "Knightfall" into these legendary events, which involved legendary sales, and now because we got into it, every single time some penny pincher thinks they need more money, they do incrasingly stupid things. "Doc Ock and Spider Man switching bodies" sounds like it could be a good plot for a couple of issues, but only something a person truely detached from reality would think should entail a major event, or threaten to make permanant.

On some levels I do hope they DO make it permanant, sending perhaps one of the most popular, famous, and profitable super heroes ever into the wastepaper basket of history would serve the industry right.... and honestly we DO need more fat super heroes.

 

[poiuppx]

Happy Peter Parker Is Dead Day, everyone! The never-ending descent of his life into misery and woe, the endless butchery of his character, watching everyone he knows and loves die, turn evil, or both... it's all over! Now we can all sit back, relax, and know Peter Parker has gone to his final reward... an eternity in Hell for making a deal with the devil. Cheers!

 

[Tanis]

This is what's going to happen:

Doc Spider will go through a sort of 'puberty'.
-5 issues

It will be revealed that Peter Spider is actually still INSIDE HIS OWN MIND. Think 'Stargate Gu'old' type of deal.
-10 issues

Over time Peter Spider will start retaking his own body/mind back from Doc Spider.
-10 issues

Doc Spider, having lived with a consensus for the first time in his life, will allow Peter Spider to take control.
-5 issues

After a few issues, and some emo bullshit, Peter Spider will get the help of some random hero/villain to clone Doc Spider into a new (cancer free) body.
-10 issues

The new Doc Oc will now be more like 'The Punisher' in that he's a good guy, with a dark edge.
-10 issues


After all this...
MARVEL REBOOT!
New DC 52 Style!