Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 Review

WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL SPOIL THE EVENTS OF THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700!

Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: Paco Medina

I have read this series in the past getting the first 8 issues, but it never fully appealed to me, as with most team up series your never sure of what you're going to get, which leads to an inconsistent series, that has a good issue followed by a poor issue. I have however gotten this issue due to it being a tie-in to the 700th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man.

Plot

This issue sees the aftermath of Amazing Spider-Man 700, with Doctor Octopus as the new Spider-Man, taking over Peter Parker's life.

Review

This was a good issue, and a decent follow-up to what was a shocking finally to the Amazing Spider-Man. I've always liked Christopher Yost work, whether that be on Marvel related animated series, or films, X-Force, or Scarlet Spider, and although I don't plan on getting this series on a permanent basis, it's nice to see the series get a decent writer. Although I liked this issue it was far from perfect, and was slow at times. Due to it telling the events of Doc Ock following ASM 700, and due to nothing exciting happening, the quality of the story drops, and it feels more of a set-up to Superior Spider-Man than a follow-up to ASM 700 at times.

I really enjoyed the art in this issue, and Paco Medina did an outstanding job. The way he drew Doc Ock as Spider-Man was brilliant, and you could easily tell that it wasn't really Peter Parker that was in there, as he sit awful moody, and although he appears to be on the side of good, you can still see the devious look on his face whilst he's thinking. I also liked the semi-collage he did on one page showing Doc Ock through the years, and thought it was brillaintlly done, showing ton's of detail. I also loved the cover by Paolo Manuel Rivera, and liked how it shows past fights between Doc Ock and Spider-Man on Doc Ock's Arms.

Peter's New Attitude

I liked that we get to see how others react to this new version of "Peter" (Doc Ock), and how he calls his co-workers at Horizon Labs things that Peter would never call them. Doc Ock's actions in general are interesting, and are the main thing that makes this issue an enjoyable read. It was also interesting to see that Doc Ock has continued to live Peter's life the way he has, and most interesting of all, him deciding to date Mary Jane. This has been teased in the last few issues of ASM, with him dating, and even kissing MJ, but now that he is fully in control of Peter's body, without anyone left to stop him, it's interesting to see that he's not just abandoned the other parts of Peter's life.

Doc Ock Always Loses

Doc Ock also realises why he always lost to Spider-Man during there fights, and that it wouldn't have mattered how smart he was, that Spider-Man would still win. I also liked the mini flash backs, and how they angered Doc Ock. It's also interesting that Doc Ock noticed during ASM 700 that Spider-Man wasn't using his full power during fights, and this issue has Doc Ock explaining that he will be a better Spider-Man than Peter Parker was.

Superior

Doc Ock also creates a new suit, and to be honest I wasn't that impressed with it, as there wasn't much changed from the original design. I do however think it looks more modern, and loved how the colours in the new suit gave off more shine. It was also nice to see Doc Ock inventing things throughout this issue, as if we're going to have to him as Spider-Man for the foreseeable future, it would be nice to see him use his intellect towards some of Peter's attributes, and although Doc Ock is a brilliant scientist in his own right it will make the transition from Peter to Doc Ock easier to swallow. The main thing that I will be looking forward to seeing now that Doc Ock is Spider-Man, is whether he will cross the line that Peter refused to cross, and whether he will kill when necessary.

Final Verdict

This was a good issue and a brilliant follow-up to Amazing Spider-Man 700. I would would however only recommend this to people who have read Amazing Spider-Man 700, or are already collecting the series, and would recommend as a jumping on point without reading Amazing Spider-Man 700 first.

Rating: 3.5/5