Artist: Marco Checchetto
I got this series for quite a while, but dropped it as I could only afford one Spider-Man series so haven't read many since issue 8. I did however get issue 15.1 due to it having the The Amazing Spider-Man #700 aftermath, but it wasn't good enough for me to keep getting. I have however heard brilliant things about this issue, and with one of my favourite artists Marco Checchetto working on it I had to get it.
Plot
Electro has returned, and he's enlisted the help of A.I.M. to transform him into something capable of killing Thor, with Spider-Man (Doctor Octopus) stuck in the middle.
Review
I was very surprised with this issue, as despite hearing great things about it, I never expected it to be as good as it was. As some of you may know, I've had no love for the Superior Spider-Man series, feeling that making Doc Ock Spider-Man isn't working, but this issue shows that it can. Christopher Yost has done a beyond excellent job on this issue, and he's done a better job on this one issue than Dan Slott has done on the entire Superior Spider-Man series so far. Although I wasn't fond of Yost's work on his opening issue in this series, #15.1, I did think that he had the ability to make something out of this series, as that issue wouldn't have given him much creative opportunity. To be honest I can't fault anything about his writing, as the story was very interesting, exciting, and entertaining, and he wrote all the character's brilliantly, even Doc Ock as Spidey. I'm being a bit unfair there, he did a phenomenal job of writing Doc Ock as Spidey. If I never thought I'd be interested in Dock Ock as Spidey, but Yost wrote him in a way that showed the arrogance, and menace of Doc Ock, as well as showing the partial change in his characteristics, which made him a surprisingly interesting character, something that Slott hasn't done so far in Superior Spider-Man.
I love Marco Checchetto's artwork, and as I said it was the main thing that persuaded me to get this issue (besides the good response), and it didn't disappoint. I was so upset when I heard that he couldn't work on the Punisher: War Zone series, as I loved his art on the main The Punisher series, but I understand how he couldn't, and am glad that he's working on a ongoing series once more. I enjoyed his art on the few pages he drew of The Amazing Spider-Man #699.1, and felt that he'd be brilliant on a Spider-Man related series (even though he's worked on one before), so I wasn't surprised when I noticed his good work on this issue. The detail was phenomenal, and he made every single character look amazing, or in Spider-Man's case superior (pun intended). I seriously think that Checchetto could work on any series and make it look beautiful, but I'm glad that he's on this series, and due to that I may continue getting it. Even the scenery, and backgrounds are amazing, with the characters emotions spot on. The cover for this issue was also phenomenal, and I loved that you got the whole electric feel throughout it, emphasizing Thor, and Electro's roles in the issue. The colours from Rachelle Rosenberg were also brilliant, and really made Checchetto's art stand out.
What a brilliant way top add two big electric based characters than in a team-up series. We already saw Electro and Thor square of during Ends of the Earth, and it's these events that lead to Electro wanting revenge on Thor. The way Yost handled the change in Electro was brilliant, and I loved that it was actually thought out, and not just give him some gizmo that will help him have an advantage over Thor, which you see with other characters often, leading for unimaginative stories. I also liked that Yost included A.I.M. in this as well, as if anyone was going to help Electro make alterations to himself, who better than A.I.M. I was also happy to see that Yost didn't include any leader for A.I.M., like M.O.D.O.K., as that would add to many big names for one, one-shot story.
The way Thor was used during this story was also brilliant, and although he wasn't used quite as much as I'd have hoped for, I'm happy as it was good when he was used, and it might not have been otherwise. You could feel the arrogance, and attitude coming of Thor, as he obviously wasn't worried about Electro, and I loved that he actually told Spider-Man that he was talking too much. The way Thor and Spider-Man interacted was brilliant besides that, and I loved that Doc Ock considered Thor an arrogant fool, and actually considered himself Superior to Thor. It was also nice to see Thor in a pub, and I found it interesting that he noticed a change in Spider-Man's personality, even if he didn't question it much.
The fight between Electro and Thor was also brilliant, and written superbly, as well as being drawn expertly. I wasn't originally going to talk about this as I felt that it may be a spoiler saying that there's a fight, but with the story being Electro wanting revenge on Thor, it'd be stupid if there wasn't one. Anyway without spoilers the fight was amazing, and I liked that Spider-Man got involved. To be honest if it wasn't for the brilliant background work in the fight it probably wouldn't have been as good, but Yost did a fabulous job of it, and like the rest of the book it was well thought out.
Final Verdict
This was an amazing issue, and much more Superior to any of the Superior Spider-Man issues, and I'd be very happy if Yost ever took over writing that series, although I don't see that happening. I'd recommend this issue to anyone, and if you're disappointed in Superior Spider-Man then you defiantly want to give this issue a try, even if you don't continue getting the series.
