Superior Spider-man Team Up #9 Review

by @WednesdayComix on Feb 5, 2014

The Punisher and Daredevil have their suspicions about your not-so-friendly Superior Spider-Man. Their questions won't stop them from confronting him about his war on crime and strange behavior.

The Good

I haven't been reading "Superior Spider-Man." In recent months, I've chosen to stay abreast of Dr. Octopus' turn as Spider-Man by reading its companion: "Superior Spider-Man Team-Up." I've enjoyed every bit of it. Issue no. 9 has Spidey joined by the Punisher and Daredevil. As printed at the end of the issue, the events take place between Issue no's 26 and 27 of "The Superior Spider-Man;" which so happens to tie into the Spidey event: "Goblin Nation." Punisher and Daredevil have tracked down Spider-Man to confront him about their suspicions of him and his out-of-character antics. As readers well know by now, it has been the mind of Otto Octavius residing in the body of Peter Parker. It seems as though Octavius' time and war on crime as the Superior Spider-Man may be running out as friends, family, colleagues and the Avengers (even villains) also wrestle with Parker's strange behavior. From his crime and punishment tactics and pomp to the Spider-Bots (a metaphor for Big Brother and government spying) and foot soldiers, Spider-Man has a lot to answer for. Meanwhile, something big is brewing in the city. Daredevil and Punisher mean to get to the bottom of it, which leads them to Spider-Man who leads them to his base of operations: Spider-Island. It is in Spider-Man's lair that the trio discover a more sinister plot thickening. An agent of his Spider-Patrol has gone rogue and means to put the Superior Spider-Man out of commission.

I really enjoyed reading this issue. I'd wanted Spider-Man, Daredevil and the Punisher to team-up again ever since their last one in the pages of "Daredevil." In my opinion, Kevin Shinick's writing was witty and captured most of the absurdity of Otto's super-ego and monologues. The dialogue between the three heroes was funny. Marco Checchetto's art and Rachelle Rosenberg's colors complimented each other very well. I especially liked the deep reds of Spidey's and Daredevil's costumes set against the low light and muted colors of the background panels. The Green Goblin's appearance as the mastermind behind the break-in was great. The fact that the Goblin realized that Daredevil would recognize his voice if he gave orders to the rogue agent was also good writing on Shinick's part. And it all led to a climax that Spidey never saw coming.

The Not So Good

There was a printing error in my copy of this issue that blotted out the word box on page two. Issue no. 9 actually arrived a week earlier than "The Superior Spider-Man" no. 26. Though it stood alone very well on its own, I would have liked to have read it after reading Issue no. 26. How will Shinick tie-in help connect the dots for readers the the main Spider-Man book (Dan Slott)? So far it has been fun to read Team-Up by itself. However, will "Superior Spider-Man Team-Up" be phased out once "Goblin Nation" is over and the real Peter Parker dons the mask as "The Amazing Spider-Man" come April?

The Bottom Line

I like Spider-Man teaming up with Daredevil and the Punisher and would love to see more of it. Beautiful art. Good writing. "Team-Up" is a great companion, but really can hold its own. I'm looking forward to Issue no. 10. I give Issue no. 9 four stars out of five.

4.0 / 5

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