Peter Parker Returns!

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Technically he never went anywhere. His mind was just swapped out and. . . I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning.
 
Last December Marvel published the 700th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. Sure, it’s been double, and even triple, shipped but The Amazing Spider-Man still reached the momentous milestone with the devilish writer, Dan Slott. Who is Dan Slott, and why is he one of the most devious writers in Spider-Man’s history? If you’re a fan of Doctor Who and Sherlock, then you’re familiar with Steven Moffat. Moffat likes to give his viewers everything in the world, then swiftly rip it all away. It usually leads to intense feels, and a ton of fan outcry. Well, Dan Slott is like that. He’s the guy that gave Peter Parker, and his fans, the greatest time in his life. He had an awesome job, great apartment, and it finally looked like he and Mary Jane Watson were going to get back together.
 

 
All of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere but certainly not, Doctor Otto Octavius, aka Doctor Octopus, steps in to ruin the day. Back in issue 600, written by none other than the dastardly Dan Slott, Doctor Otto Octavius was diagnosed with a terminal illness leaving him with only 1 year to live. This makes Spider-Man’s greatest enemy even more dangerous than ever before. Over the next 3 years, which is about 1 year in Marvel time, Doc Ock faced the webhead quite a few times. Each time Doc Ock gained a new piece of the puzzle to help him get the ultimate upper hand on Spider-Man. In ASM 698 it was revealed that Doc Ock had swapped his consciousness with Spider-Man. In issue 700, Doc Ock’s final year came to an end and he died, with the consciousness of Peter Parker inside his brain. This event left Doctor Octopus in control of Peter Parker and Spider-Man, with nothing in his way to do everything he ever wanted. Except he also had all of Peter Parkers memories, and as a result, the whole “Great Power, Great Responsibility” mantra looming over him. Doc Ock swore to uphold the legacy of Spider-Man but in a way that would far exceed the methods of Peter Parker. He would become the Superior Spider-Man.
 

 
Superior Spider-Man kicked off the events of Marvel Now! in 2013 for Spider-Man. Instead of the happy, goody goody, Spider-Man we’ve been used to, we were subjected to the crotchety, and miserable methods of Doctor Octopus. Spidey-Ock spent the next year perfectly destroying everything Peter Parker had worked for in his life all the while bringing Spider-Man one maniacal laugh away from becoming the world’s greatest villain. Peter Parker and Spider-Man had nearly brutally beaten two lower class thugs to death, actually killed someone, blackmailed Mayor Jameson into giving him full control of the Raft, hired goons, built giant mechanical spiders, captured the Sinister Six and enslaved their minds to force them to fight as his super team, covered all of New York in Spider-Bots that report all crime to him and others in a very Big Brother kind of style, and started a new relationship NOT with Mary Jane Watson! As for the good things Ock did for Pete – he got his Doctorate Degree, and started his own company. It’s been an interesting, if not somewhat frustrating ride.
 

 
Unfortunately none of this outrageous behaviour has triggered the suspicions of any of Peter Parker, or Spider-Man’s, friends and family. Aunt May just thinks Pete is finally doing well for himself. The Avengers were skeptical, but a quick brain scan showed no issues since Ock managed to keep Peter’s brain waves. Carlie Cooper has been fairly suspicious, and with the help of the Spectre, has been investigating Spidey Ock and is pretty close to figuring it out. Worst of all, Mary Jane Watson had not noticed a thing. Not even when he shouted and call her “woman” did she even think that something was off. On the plus, every issue has been interesting. Ock’s mind works different than Pete’s, so seeing how he tackles the enemy threats has been exciting and fun. I’ve gotten used to grabbing new issues and wondering how angry Spider-Ock’s going to be this time. I’m not at the point that I prefer Spidey-Ock over classic Peter Parker, but I do wish we had more time to see where things would go from here.
 

 
This weekend Marvel announced the return of Peter Parker and The Amazing Spider-Man. Starting April of 2014, The Amazing Spider-Man relaunches with an All New #1 with none other than Peter Parker himself as the title role. Of course Dan Slott will fill the role of writer for the return of Peter Parker, he’s also bringing artist Humberto Ramos along for the ride as well. While we know the when, we do not know how. Expect some exciting twists and turns coming to us in the next, and possibly final, arc of Superior Spider-Man, Goblin Nation.
 
Dan Slott won’t reveal any details, but he is of course leaving us with a small tease. Dan Slott says Peter Parker will return “In a strange and terrifying way. And… possibly… at a very great cost. Remember, nothing is ever easy for Peter Parker. It’s one of the reasons he’s a true hero.”
 
I’m sure there’s going to be a crazy twist tied into this event, and I really look forward to seeing what comes next. Part of me wishes The Superior Spider-Man would stick around for a little longer. Regardless of the change, at the hands of Dan Slott Spider-Man will never have it easy.
 
How do you feel about the return of Peter Parker? Do you wish Superior would stick around longer? Let us know in the comments below!
 

Eric is not a boss. You can Email Eric or follow Eric on Twitter @EricSweeten or Facebook

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