Even Octavius can get quite the surprise.
Creative Staff:
Story: Dan Slott
Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli, John Dell
What They Say:
Stunner is back and wants revenge for the only man she ever loved – Otto Octavius! How will she avenge him? By killing the Superior Spider-Man!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
One of the fun things that I’ve found with this series is that there are interesting elements from Octavius’ past that comes into play. While we’ve had the usual Parker related bits, and the surprising ones like the 2099 connection, we’ve also see Octavius deal with former associates and some of those that have screwed him in the past, allowing him a kind of sweet revenge in a way that none of them could imagine. While he’s done that, he has mostly attempted to move forward, hence his ditching of MJ and getting things really well done with Anna Marie since there’s a very different dynamic in their relationship there than with most of the other women in Peter’s life.
This issue deals more with some of the things from Octavius past coming to haunt him in a different way as Angelina, having awoken from her coma, has managed to recover enough to check herself out of the hospital and get to her special gear that allows her to control Stunner. With her and Octavius being involved in some form before, she’s intent on revenge for Octavius death and we get her storming through the Daily Bugle to get it, which of course is when Betty Brandt has returned to her job, making things all familiar and normal for her to be sure. For Octavius, it doesn’t take long to get called in to deal with this, but it tugs at him in a different way because he did have feelings for her. To make matters worse, he’s just been handed a big setback by Lamaze over his thesis and he’s steaming, so he can’t even let loose on Stunner because he knows the truth about her.
Admittedly, it’s convenient with a capital C in how she’s involved in events here because her gear allows Octavius to later deal with this thesis issue in a way that’s certainly creepy and reminds you that as much as Octavius has changed, he’s still definitely a bad guy. His fight against Stunner does go a few rounds and she manages to threaten people he cares about, which complicates it, but we do see that he really does deal with Stunner and Angelina in a rather smart way. In a way, I’m glad things are dealt with when it comes to Lamaze, but Octavius really goes overboard with it and that leaves me feeling really unsettled by the whole thing, since he paints Parker into a difficult corner to get out of later and really binds the two together in a way that will undoubtedly cause trouble.
In Summary:
Though the bulk of the issue does deal with Stunner and the college thesis aspect, we get a couple of pages with Carli, who has come to an understanding about what happened to Peter and pays her respects to where Octavius’ body was buried. It’s twisted in its own way but well played, especially since she makes the “startling discovery” there and ends up kidnapped before it can be dealt with, putting her into the Green Goblin’s hands. The main story is a solid one here though as we get some good stuff overall for Octavius to grapple with as well as what Angelina is trying to do through Stunner. It may be one of the less memorable books in the run, but it’s also one that shows more of the cracks in what Octavius is doing.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: November 13th, 2013
MSRP: $2.99
