Dan Slott w/ Christos Gage (writers)
Humbeto Ramos (penciler)
Victor Olazaba (inker)
Edgar Delgado (colorist)
The cat's pretty much out of the bag now that Otto Octavius' days as the one, true "superior" Spider-Man are numbered. Peter Parker will be donning the tights in April, just in time for Spidey's new movie, and what, for me at least, has been a rather engaging, if protracted "What If?" story is finally coming to an end, for now.
With Superior Spider-Man #25, which marks the end of the four-issue "Darkest Hour" storyline, writer Dan Slott gets to check "interact with the Venom symbiote" off his list of "things for Spidey-Ock to do before Peter comes back." It was actually a pretty interesting story, which, apart from the appearance by Venom and his current host Flash Thompson, also featured Peter starting up his own business, getting more formally involved with Anna Maria Marconi (whom he introduces to Aunt May with somewhat awkward results) and increasing tension between him and several of Peter's supporting cast.
Superior Spider-Man #25 is basically a throwdown between Superior Venom and the Avengers, and I have to say it's just as well that Otto's tenure as the only Spider-Man is winding down because the fact that he was able to give them a hard time kind of strains credulity, even though he had the benefit of the symbiote and his goons to help him out. The outcome of the fight was inevitable, of course, but Slott and co-writer Christos Gage still managed to sneak in a couple of twists to the story, such as the unfortunate fate of the one person who had figured out Otto's secret, Carlie Cooper, and the suggestion that yet again, Otto has been able to throw everyone off his scent again...or so he thinks.
The problem with revealing Peter's return so long before it actually happens, (which was probably done so far in advance to give comic book retailers ample opportunity to stock up on Amazing Spider-Man #1 and all its variants), is that it blunts the narrative impact of most of the things that happen between now and then. There are some story beats clearly intended to wind readers up, like a panel in which Otto, while hugging a relieved Mary Jane, thinks "If I've fooled her, I've fooled everyone" a line which would have been a lot more meaningful if we the readers still didn't know when (or, in the case of the more impressionable readers, if) Peter would be coming back.
In any case, the issue, and the Venom storyline in general, was, like many of the stories over this "experiment" (as Marvel calls it), pretty fun to read. Slott and Gage paced the story pretty well over the four issues especially considering the running subplots that they had to juggle involving the lead-in to the grand finale that will begin with the next issue.
I know Humberto Ramos' art is often the subject of much derision and I can definitely understand why, but for my part I actually like his approach to the book. While his anatomy is rather chaotic I think he tells Slott's stories quite well. Given the choice, I would have preferred to have former Amazing Spider-Man Stefano Caselli on this book, but of the three rotating artists on this book, the other two being Ryan Stegman and Giuseppe Camuncoli, it's Ramos' work that still appeals to me the most. The thing that infuriates me about Ramos is that when he wants to, he CAN draw anatomically sound, pretty dynamic figures, as evidenced by his cover to Amazing Spider-Man #648, which he replicated for Superior Spider-Man #14, as well as some pretty decent swinging/action shots in the comics themselves, like this one. I'm fairly sure I'm not the only person out there defending Ramos' work considering that, as the artist chosen to draw the Amazing relaunch he clearly has a fanbase, but I do agree that his art could be a lot better than it is. The guy's like a latter-day Todd McFarlane (a guy whose often chaotic artwork I also enjoyed in spite of myself).
Slott's pretty much lined up his ducks for the next (and final) Superior Spider-Man storyline, "The Goblin War" and I have to say the buildup for this has been exceptional. Whatever happens to Spider-Ock after this, Marvel can definitely say he went out with a bang and not a whimper.
4/5
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