What did people think? I'm going to give the first couple of issues of Superior Spiderman a go see how it goes but i'm not expecting to like it much. Think it's been a bit of a shit storyline tbh if they were gonna kill peter off i think they should have introduced Miles Morales of the 616 universe

As a lifelong Spiderman fan (and still going strong..), I'm not, however, much of a comic book person, so you can imagine how surprised I was to see the announcement that Doctor Octopus was named as the new Spiderman.

It's certainly raised my curiosity level enough to maybe give it a go, but I also don't think i'm going to like it all that much. I think i'm too much of a traditionalist in that sense.

I have to admit it's been quite cleverly done but still

It can only be considered "cleverly done" once it's been explained how Doc Ock did it, unless I missed that bit... still playing catch up.

PP will be back, somehow... My money is on his spirit being stronger than Oc's and eventually defeating him in his old body. Or Mephisto gets involved again.

Blatantly obvious, though. Unless folks just think PP has taken to calling MJ "woman" because it's cool or some other such nonsense...

I would have preferred it if Norman Osborn was the one doing all this instead of Octopus, just seems more fitting to me. I don't understand the furore it's caused...anyone that knows comics knows this won't last. Just like Jean paul valley and Dick grayson being Batman or the multitude of other characters that have done similar.

Didn't the TV show heroes do something like it with Sylar and Nathan doing a mind swap thingy? can't remember? maybe that is the route it's going.

This was a very bold move, but I think it worked. The genius moment in Slott's story (for me) was when Peter realised that his most powerful weapon was actually all the guilt and tragedy he'd experienced in his life as Spider-Man. By flooding Ock's mind with that - effectively re-writing Ock's personality - he once again turned defeat into victory.

I've put my full review up here for those that are interested: http://theweekendwednesday.com/2012/...pider-man-700/

I'm not going to read it, but I am impressed and amazed at the publicity they've managed to get from this move.
Only someone who has a very limited experience of American super-hero comics would ever think this was in any way a permanent thing.

I give it 8 months, at the outside.

TBH i quite like the change in story line and am looking forward to seeing what SS delivers. There is no way this is going to be a permanent change but given the hype they are going to have to stick with it for at least a year.

I read Spider-Man as a kid but skipped super hero comics for the entirety of my 20s and 30s but picked up the Miles Morales version when it came out (think it's been great so far). So then I got back into Amazing Spider-Man these past few months and aside from JJJ not much has really changed. He's got a career now but it's still largely the same villains he's been fighting that I remember from the 70s. Still hanging around with that floozy MJ.

I'm prepared to see how the Superior Spider-Man works out but on a purely sentimental level it seems like a tragedy that such a long run should be curtailed in what is little more than a marketing stunt. They've re-launched the movie franchise to largely positive reviews (I loved it, personally) so there's just no way I can see that this will last for long. Outside of the comics everything Spider-Man is strongly associated with Peter Parker.

They'll do what Fantastic Four did. It ended after a similar milestone (#600), to be replaced by FF. After 11 issues, it split in two. Issue 12 of FF and issue 601 of Fantastic Four were out together. Both series still exist but have gone back to a new #1 for the same reason as Spidey (Marvel NOW). The old numbering will be restored sooner or later.

Miles Morales in the Ultimate universe was a bold move. 'This' isn't a bold move. It's typical comics, just like the death of Superman or the Clone Saga.

And typically, the media has lapped it up as if Peter Parker really is going to be consigned to the dustbin of comics history.

Clearly this plot will evolve over the next six months or so until Peter returns as Spider-Man.

@mred2000 It's bold not in terms of it being a death (which of course is no big deal in comics) but in the manner of the death. Unlike the others mentioned, this was not a typically heroic death - in fact no one but Ock knows that Peter even died. From the perspective of his friends and fellow heroes, Spidey is still quite alive - the only person who died was Doc Ock.

But it's not all that bold at all. It's amazingly similar to when Cassandra Nova 'died' in Grant Morrison's run on X-Men. (Prof. X was trapped in her body, she in his. Her body died with Prof X in it and she then continued her craziness in his body. No-one knew...)

Yeah but Cassandra Nova/Prof X were genetically two sides of the same coin anyway - having them switch places didn't feel that out of the ordinary. Not to mention that having your mind jumping between various bodies is fairly routine activity for mutant psychics.

But for something like this to happen to Spider-Man - that's way out of the comfort zone for what we're used to seeing with this character.

Ultimate Spider-Man - there was a story which involved PP swapping bodies with Logan for a few issues. It also happened with Spider-Girl in whatever universe she lives in and I'm sure, somewhere, similar has already happened with PP in the 616.

It's comics! How can anything be out of someone's comfort zone?!?

Indeed. In the DC universe (with which I'm much more familiar), five members of the JLA had their bodies switched with the Secret Society Of Supervillains waaay back in 1979. The repercussions lead to events that were a central part of 'Identity Crisis' in 2004.

Here's something that just occurred to me:

Spiderman 400 came out in 1995 after 34 years of the comic. Now, 17 years later - we've hit 700.

Did they start releasing ASM twice a month?

3 times a month at one point, started with the Brand New Day storyline. 3 times a month with 3 different creative teams instead of 3 or 4 different Spider-Man titles.
I think it's now down to twice a month (which it was for a period in the late 80s/early 90s, too)

I've not read this yet, so with withhold judgement, but my initial thought was; Doc Ock doesn't know how to make web fluid (Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can (except spin webs)). I suppose they'll have a work around - Ock has access to Parker's memories - which raises another question; how much more of Parker is also left in there? And the obvious answer; all of him, hence the inevitable resurrection.

Yeah, but that was all goofy, disposable nonsense happening in the sidelines - not core flagship title stuff!

You're coming across as more of a fanboy than even me

Was in a comic book store today in Leeds and got chatting to the fellas behind the till about #700. They reckoned they should have introduced Miles Morales but that it was quite a clever storyline.
I agree with some of the comments though that this is quite obviously just a huge publicity stunt and seemed a wee bit rushed bar that last bit with Pete's emotions and all that merging with Doc Ock. On a side note what do people think of Beast's new look as of All New X-Men #5?

Maybe so, but in my defence I'd consider myself a first and foremost a fanboy for Dan Slott the writer (as opposed to Spider-Man the character)!

Slott could have easily given us the standard 'hero goes down in a blaze of glory fighting his mortal enemies'. We'd have had the 'funeral issue' and then Ben Riley or someone else fill in for 6-8 months.

No different to Batman's crippling by Bane or Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday.

But the psychological re-wiring of Doc Ock's mind into that a hero, inhabiting Spider-Man's body - that still feels like something interesting and new. In my mind, I'm imagining Slott will be able to give us something a bit like the TV series Dexter - a hero who has to constantly hide his true nature from those close to him. It's kind of a double secret-identity now, which will make for some really complex character interactions between this new Spider-man and his friends and team-mates.

A non-Ultimates version of Miles Morales you mean? I really liked the initial Miles Morales storylines but less so now.

Also, not to be a prig but I came into this thread having read Spider-Man 700 well aware there would be spoilers. It'd be nice if we could limit spoilers from other comics that I might pick up in TPB or at least tag them please.