'Superior Spider-Man' SPOILERS: No. 1 Issue & The Dr. Octopus Dynamic, Details Revealed
From the moment it rolled out, "Superior Spider-Man" has build a strong case for being the most controversial thing to occur in comic books since DC made the decision to reboot its brand in 2011.
After a half of a century of Peter Parker as Spider-Man, his antagonist Dr. Octopus will now take over the reigns as the iconic comic superhero.
At the very end of "The Amazing Spider-Man's" 700th issue, Peter Parker and the evil doctor traded bodies in the two enemies' final showdown.
However, the battle resulted in Peter's death within Octopus' body while his memories stay instilled in Ock's mind.
Upon the realization of the late Parker's mission, Dr. Octopus makes the decision to embody the Peter Parker/Spider-Man legacy and become superior, thus beginning a new era for the DC franchise comics.
"This is Moriarty in the head of Sherlock.This is Prince John inside of Robin Hood. This is the greatest villain inside the body of the greatest hero and trying to do good," writer Dan Slott told USA Today in late December.
"This is a guy who was a couple steps away from a bucket list, and now he's got a whole new lease on life. That's really going to change them," he added.
Slott began to hint at the drastic switcheroo in the 600th issue of "Amazing Spider-Man," which revealed that Dr. Octopus only had one year left to live after numerous battles with Spidey.
"We want to do Spider-Man by way of Batman - a little creepier and darker. It's also what the good part of our first year of Superior is about: Doc behaving in a manner he's not accustomed to. We see a more sympathetic side of Doctor Octopus," series editor Stephen Wacker said.
"We couldn't have a Spider-Man who was running around murdering people. And I have no interest in seeing that sort of character win," he added.