Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 700

Logan J. Fowler weighs in on the final issue of Amazing Spider-Man…

Major spoilers lie ahead. You’ve been warned.



The comic book universe has been on edge since it was announced that after 50 years, the banner title for Marvel Comics’ poster boy Spider-Man would be ending by the start of 2013. The Amazing Spider-Man run would terminate with issue 700 which hits all major comic book retailers today. I was actually privy to a early copy thanks to my well known fandom of the character, and all I can say is this…

I’m satisfied and I’m anticipating good things.

So let me paint the picture very quickly for those we are not in the know; Spider-Man and Doctor Otto Octavious (aka Doc Ock) have switched minds which was a process detailing all the way back to issue 600. In the final few books leading up to 700 the switch was made readily apparent and the situation is worsened by the fact that Ock has hours left to live. The greatest trick the villainous 8 armed character has ever pulled, he know has control of Peter Parker and what’s worse, Spider-Man.

In the not only emotional but wonderfully illustrated (Humberto Ramos, my hats off to you) finale, Peter’s mind trapped in the body of a dying Octavious decides to sacrifice himself with trying to take out the now warped Spider-Man by crashing through a window several stories up from the ground. Peter tries to win back his mind by transferring it to a golden plated octo bot but Ock’s carbonadium plating shields his skull from any transferring of brain juice. In a attempt to kill his nemesis, a trait Peter has never showcased ever, his plan completely backfires and the life of a one Peter Parker flashes before his eyes as his last few minutes alive are ticking by. However, since the mind of Peter has meshed with Doc Ock’s, Ock is now able to see all what Parker has been through, every moment of joy, every moment of doubt, and every single death that Spider-Man has encountered. This last attempt to beat Ock begins to turn in Peter’s favor, and the torch is passed as Peter declares that Ock take up the mantle with the true essence of what it means to be a hero. Otto accepts this fate, stating that he will be the superior Spider-Man. With those words closing the issue, The Amazing Spider-Man exists no further.

Hopefully that description wasn’t utterly confusing for any of you but I tried to keep it simple as possible. With a now dead Peter Parker on his hands author Dan Slott has faced a fury of hate mail and death threats, while Twitter has been abuzz with angry tweets about how he killed off the alter ego of Spider-Man. As a fan of the wallcrawler for the past 14 years, I am not mad about this, but I can understand why people would be. In Slott’s defense the comic book world is forever changing, bringing back heroes from the dead more often than not. Peter Parker will not be gone forever, I assure you. However, this change of character from a humble, self conscious Peter to a wicked, ruthless Ock as Spider-Man is going to set a lot of people off. Yet, Ock has the memories of Peter intact, so his newfound role as the adventurous arachnid will not totally be a bad guy playing a good guy underneath everyone’s noses. He has the ability to use the knowledge of the fallen hero for good, but at the same time, the spin on a new Spidey can be something really exciting to read.

I’m anticipating the change and I’m gung ho about it. Amazing will never be forgotten or not cherished, and Peter’s death was not in vein. He went out like a true hero like we all knew he would, and as the superior Spider-Man takes over, I welcome every bit of storytelling Slott has up his sleeve. 2013 is definitely going to be interesting.