It's been eight months since Marvel Comics swapped Peter Parker's mind with that of his arch-nemesis Doctor Octopus and it seems that the title has seen its best sales in years.
When Marvel undid Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson courtesy of One More Day, there was quite a bit of buzz, and the old adage "there's no such thing as negative publicity" held true for the first year or so after the new status quo, but soon it became clear that apart from the occasional "event" story line, like 2010's Big Time or 2011's Spider-Island, the title was simply not capable of maintaining its sales levels prior to One More Day. Now, though, that they've replaced Peter Parker with Doc Ock and have not given any indication as to when, or even if Peter will be back, Marvel's got the book selling in the high 80,000s every issue, sustained sales that the book hasn't seen since J. Michael Straczynski left in 2007.
It's a curious thing that a superhero book in which the title character has been replaced by his worst enemy is being more enthusiastically received than when when he was actually in it, but having followed the new status quo for fifteen issues now, I think I finally understand the appeal of it all...enough, I daresay, to hazard a guess as to the appeal of the title right now, as opposed to its lack of appeal coming off the "relaunch" of the then newly-single Peter.
My theory behind the lackluster sales, even years after "One More Day" was because audiences knew for sure that Peter Parker's marriage was never coming back, even though they were lured back by the occasional event, they would eventually go back to the realization that the status quo they desired would stay gone, and would leave the title as soon as the event was done.
By introducing this new development, Slott has basically challenged the readers, and more likely himself, to see how long he can sustain a somewhat anomalous status quo, the way Ed Brubaker was able to keep Captain America out of his own book for two years. And by gum, it seems to be working.
To my mind, there has been no significant spike in the quality of Slott's storytelling; I liked the stuff he did even when Peter Parker was still occupying his own mind and body. Slott hasn't exactly raised his game, and even though some of the artists working with him, like Humberto Ramos and Ryan Stegman, have, I don't think they could have influenced sales this much without something else at work.
The big difference, I think, is that Slott has put the character in a place where the readers know he isn't supposed to be, and basically teases them with the possibility of restoring a status quo that they will accept. Basically, he continues to tease the readers with the possibility that Spider-Man's supporting cast will see past outward appearances and will recognize that Peter is no longer in charge of his own body, and ultimately, with the possibility of Peter's return, but so far, Ock has beaten the odds every time and has stayed in control. It's the tease and frustration, I think, that is the key to the book's success. Basically by tantalizing readers with the promise of bringing back the good guy and then denying them at the last possible minute, Slott manages to string them...us...along month after month. It helps, I think, that he's giving some pretty good stories in the process.
After all, this isn't a case of Doctor Octopus living life exactly as Peter Parker would have, which was basically what the late Ben Reilly did. He is still every inch the murderous egomaniac he was when he took over Peter's body, and therefore Marvel and Slott are making it clear that he's no hero, and that for all of his delusions, he isn't the "superior" Spider-Man he fancies himself to be. Also, Slott seems to strongly suggest that the house Otto Octavius has built for himself is basically a house of cards which will come crashing down on his head quite soon.
The only question, then is when, not if, "good" will triumph and all will be restored to the way it should be. It's my theory that the mere possibility of that happening, perhaps, is what keeps people coming back. Of course, the alternative would be to suppose that readers like their Spidey dark and capable of crippling or murdering people on a regular basis, which is a somewhat sadder prospect I would rather not contemplate.
Personally, I maintain that Ock will stay in charge until it's time to promote the next Spider-Man movie, but with sales as brisk as these, who's to say Marvel won't let him stick around for awhile? It's clear he hasn't quite worn out his welcome just yet.
But then, there's also the possibility that the "ultimate" version of Spider-Man, Miles Morales, who will be moving to the "616" Marvel Universe by the end of the year, could be the one to take Ock out and assume the mantle of Spider-Man. THAT would be a very interesting prospect indeed...
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