Dan Slott continues his all-out character assassination of the Spider-Man legacy throughout Necessary Evil, but in spite of our best efforts, we can’t help but be entertained by the sheer audacity of it all.
Otto Octavius is finally losing his grasp on Peter Parker’s life; his temper seems insatiable, and his heroic endeavours are only getting more violent and self-serving. More so than at any other time during Slott’s Superior Spider-Man run, Otto looks like he’s one breakdown away from slapping on some thick framed glasses, grabbing a bowel cut and going old-school supervillain on somebody’s ass.
Whether you’re a fan of Slott’s direction or not, the return of Spider-Man 2099’s very own Miguel O’Hara is a shocking addition, and makes this a must-read for any fans of the alternate universe Spidey. O’Hara, and a little cameo from Black Cat, highlight how far Superior Spider-Man has stumbled from Parker’s ideals, and as entertaining as this almost-elseworlds tale has become, the question remains: what do you want from your Spider-Man stories?
Is it to have the status quo rocked harder than One More Day, or to see your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man trying to balance heroics and his chequebook? If it’s the latter, we’ve got bad news for you: there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
We’d be remiss to highlight the phenomenal work of Ryan Stegman on art, the brief glimpse of the 2099 universe left us wanting more. With O’Hara seemingly sticking around in our timeline, it might be a while before we get a chance to see Stegman return to that world. It’s a shame, but we are happy to wait.
Superior Spider-Man is starting to wear a little thin. It’s without a doubt the most extreme title in Marvel current roster of books, and while Otto began with the best of intentions, his acts as Spider-Man have become a violent assault on everything we held dear about the character, the world and his daily misadventures.
