I write mainly about movies, television, and then of course I throw in some stuff about theatre and music. One of my other hobbies is collecting comic books. Comic books, and graphic novels are becoming more popular now than they were years ago. People are using graphic novels as way to convey some of the most brilliant tales in unique fashion like "Fables", "The Walking Dead" "Fun Home" "Y the Last Man" and many more. Graphic novels have changed the face of comic books. Publishers are still printing the monthly titles, but people are buying them in long form story arc more and more.
Enough about the changing face of comics/graphic novels that could be a whole article or book on its own. At the moment Marvel has done something unique with one of its signature titles, "The Amazing Spider-Man." There is a villain behind the mask of the super hero. Confused? Well if you are a comic book fan you probably know the story, or you have heard rumblings about what has happened, but here is the basic lowdown.
"After the apparent death of Peter Parker at the climax of the "Dying Wish" storyline in Amazing Spider-Man #700, Otto Octavius has implanted his mind into Peter Parker's body and taken over his life, determined to prove himself the "Superior" Spider-Man by being both a better superhero and better at everyday life than Parker ever was. He strives to woo Parker's old flame Mary Jane Watson, while simultaneously developing new technologies in his job at Horizon Labs that will both earn the company millions, and serve to enhance his crime-fighting as Spider-Man, though he struggles to reconcile his accomplishments with the fact that they will forever be credited to Parker, not Otto Octavius."
In the past numerous main characters have been "killed" DC put together R.I.P. storyline for Batman recently. At the end of this storyline along with the overarching DC story Batman is eventually killed by Darkseid. After this story DC did the "Battle for the Cowl" storyline and Dick Grayson also known as Nightwing , and the original Robin took on the cowl. Obviously one of the key differences between this death, and the many other traditional superhero deaths like Superman, Green Lantern, or any of the other characters is that villains rarely assume the role of their nemesis, and take on their own title.
Amazing Spider-Man was a flag ship for Marvel, and creating a reboot is a risk for the series. When I read about the death/change I thought it was preposterous. After reading issue 700, and getting into Superior Spider-Man, my faith was not restored, but I am intrigued to see where writer Dan Slott takes this story.
Like with all of these stories of hero is far from dead. Well maybe not far from dead, but does not exist the same way. Peter Parker's essence swings along with Doc Oc or well Spider-Man as he attempts to become the superior Spider-Man, and the superior Peter Park. The story is a game changer, and has solid qualities, but I am curious to see how long Marvel will be willing to challenge readers to see a different person in the Spidey suit, and to see if they can keep up with creative ways to write this story. Remember Spidey fans with great power comes great responsibility, and with new plot lines comes great patience.
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