The Rise and Fall of Superior Spider-Man 

The fear green goblin displayed when he heard Spider-Man crack a joke is such an iconic panel to me. Realizing that Peter is back and that he is so fucked.

This gotta be the most anticipated comicbook video sequel of 2022 hands down

My biggest issue with Superior Spider-man was how Peter’s life was completely screwed up after he got his body back. And the fact that literally nobody else figured out something was going on with him is ridiculous. They all just assumed he chose to become an arrogant jerk who talks like Octavius. I know the Avengers ran some tests (and still missed the fact Otto was in control), but they seriously couldn’t have called a telepath to take a quick look. And then there’s everyone else in Peter’s life not even questioning the sudden personality shift and just going along with it

My biggest issue with this arc is that not a single soul in the Marvel universe knew something was off.

My only problem with Superior Spider-Man is that every supporting character suffered from Plot Induced Stupidity. Like you said, Mary Jane somehow couldn't figure out that the love of her life was suddenly acting like a massive jackass to everyone. I still love this story tho.

I think that Mephisto needs to get a life. Stalking and manipulating people into forgetting things and not having a kid is not a life.

I love how Mephisto has just become the ultimate herald of the writers rolling back spider-man's character development for no reason

I love this sort of "Walk a mile in their shoes" kind of character development. Force a character to realize just how and why a certain person behaves by shoving them in their body and they can learn a lot.

Alex, if you're a huge fan of Superior Spider-Man, I highly recommend reading Superior Four, which focuses on Otto teaming up with various versions of himself, and he goes through a journey where he learns to move on from being Spider-Man, but also a villain, and decides to try helping others as Otto Octavius, for me it's basically an epilogue to last Superior Spider-Man run

Man, superior Spider-Man was a really good comic run. I love how Otto grew major respect for Peter after taking over his body. You get to see the subtle character growth that Otto has and it also makes you think if Otto is the better Spider-Man. The moment where Peter makes Otto hesitate during the girl’s surgery makes you second guess peters moral. The end where Otto even gives up his body to stop Norman shows the immense amount of character development that he went through in this run.

God damn, the idea that a MARVEL writer would, in good conscience, recreate the circumstances of one of the most despised moments in comic history only makes sense with the theory Alex provided. It’s insane.

I can't wait until we switch brains and I become the Superior Lennen.

I absolutely adore the original Superior Spider-Man run. It was the first comic run I ever fully collected. Gonna be honest: I knew that Otto ended up coming back eventually but had no idea they One More Day'd him.... That really really sucks :'(

Spider-Man’s original comic was the first comic book I ever read. I’m loving how your videos are introducing me to these modern Spidey storylines

The Superior run was one of my favorites. My only problem with it was that I disliked Marvel killing off Otto, then bringing him back as a villain like if none of this mattered.

you gotta love that when true spidey cracks a joke at goblin, he immediately knows who he's actually facing

i'm fucking crying this is the first time I'm hearing about otto making a deal with Mephisto. I could only imagine reading the comic day one and realize THEY'RE FUCKING DOING IT AGAIN.

- Oh shit, we wrote ourselves into an amazing situation. - I know a guy that can fix it - Wait no ... *Calls Mephisto*

Superior Spiderman is one of my FAVORITE Spiderman stories, EVER; tied with Kraven's Last Hunt. It was such a nice take on Spidey, and it is incredibly amusing to see how Octo's ego and distorted notion of heroism plays through the series. Even during his "Superior Octopus" phase he was still a very interesting character. A real shame the writers had to undo everything he did just for a cheap "Return of Doctor Octopus".

16:36 this is one of my favorite comicbook moments of all time, just the joke, reaction and realization with the "It's you." is so good.

You’ve done this storyline a huge justice; I never get tired hearing about this arc. Not only the metamorphosis Doc Ock goes through but also the lasting changes that occur in Peter Parker’s life and relationships. Great work as always Alex

I returned to reading the comics when Peter was back in control, and I kinda enjoyed how he went around to mend his broken relationships with The Avengers, Black Cat, Mary Jane and his other super hero friends. I think was an enjoyable experience, if I could say myself, see how of a peacemaker Peter Parker is, and how his humanity drew people back to him.

Two things I hated about the initial run of Superior. #1. The Green Goblin didn't turn out to be little Normie Osborn in some kind of adult exosuit or something. I thought that's where Slott was headed, what with Otto's soft spot for children continuously being established. And then his final baddie is a child- the dramatic irony! But nope, it's Norman AGAIN, with some weird backwards twist that he just had a different face under his mask. #2. Peter wasn't more passionately ticked off about the whole thing and gave Otto a pass after he encountered him again. I feel like the Peter I grew up reading would have lunged for Otto the second he saw him again in Spider-Verse, then grudgingly been talked down and forced to work with him. But nope, he's so damned meek about the whole thing and even praises and forgives Otto eventually. This was an aspect of Peter (his temper) that Slott never really understood or got right.

Every time comics gives me something to love, they remind me that we can't keep nice things.

Favorite alternate Spiderman, such an interesting development for Spiderman and Otto. I think it would've been so great if they followed through with Otto staying Spiderman with Peter being completely dead. It was enough that he already implanted his memories into Otto that nearly combined the two.

I love this arc so much, i appreciate it taking a new approach as a character study of Otto and Peter individually.

This Saga along with the Sam Rami films and Spectacular Spiderman made me truly love Otto as a character. If put in the right situation, he really is capable of change

It might be ironic, but Superior Spiderman was what got me into spiderman. It might have been because I was a stupid teen and thought this run was cool because of the blood and violence, but I also remembering crying at issue no. 30, when Otto begged Peter to save Anna Maria. And this was also what got me into spider verse. God I have so much nostalgia for this run.

Good stuff bro. I'm really glad you talked about the fact that Marvel completely erased all that character development that Otto had. Spencer tried to restore as much of that as possible, but as usual, Spider-Man editorial stepped and decided, "no, no I don't think I will."

I’ve never read a single issue of superior Spider-Man and even I’m upset at that ending. Great video as always.

You've summed up my love and thoughts on this series, and my frustrations with Otto's growth being undone. Far better than how I could've worded it. I wish Superior Spider-Man would get another chance, whether it be through a comic set in an alternate universe, or a video game adaptation. I don't want Superior Spider-Man to be remembered as 'that time where dock ock took over Spidey's body for a brief period of time' that gets barley referenced, I want it to be remembered as Otto's redemption arc, and for him to become as much a beloved anti-hero as Eddie Brock. If enough people show support for him, maybe Superior Spider-Man might return, and get the respect it needs. Or, perhaps with No Way Home's success, we'll see Otto continue his redemption arc, even without being a Spider-Man.

This reminds me a lot of the Azreal Arc. They both use the most popular character of the publishers, they both have the main hero get sidelined for a more brutal replacement complete with a new more advanced and deadly suit, they both end with the replacement realizing they aren’t cut out for the role. I mean they even both somehow spawned a short lived solo series of their respective “replacement” characters. They both definitely have their own qualities. The Azreal arc is a critique on the hyper-violent heroes of the 90s and why replacing batman or changing him to be more alike them is a terrible idea. The superior Spider-Man arc is more so a character study of doc oc.

the original superior spiderman run has a special place in my heart cause i read it when i was new to comics and had to wait for my mom to finish work after school before going home. it really did move me and made me love spiderman so much more and thats why hearing what happened in the follow up run is so bitter. marvel and dc really struggle with character development.

I know it’s a bit rough around the edges at times but it’s still one of my favorite comic runs of all time. The premise is just so great, and the twists and events are genuinely shocking upon a first read. Great read.

10:35 I keep coming back forbthis part, it's hilarious

I like how some of the stuff Doc Ock did in Spidey's body right from the start not tipping off his friends that something was wrong caused so much fan backlash that the arcs afterwards were later "revealed" to be his friends totally faking it and that they knew something was wrong like with Black Cat revealing she'd known that couldn't have been the real Peter and her actions (like trying to get him killed and sluting around with crime bosses to do it) was actually her getting the support she needed to try and help him. It was done very clumsily, but at least showed that the writers realized they'd seriously fucked up with the Superior Spider-Man somehow fooling Peter's friends despite A) many imposters, clones, etc. having attacked him before and B) him clearly not behaving remotely like Peter or event talking like him.

They could’ve easily let this version of Otto live on and just have a clone or something resume his villany

Thank goodness! I've been missing some good Alex Lennen content.

Man, I really liked the first Superior Spider-Man run. After reading the second volume where he goes back to full-on Doc Ock, that was honestly a big part in my decision to just stop reading new comics. I've never seen any genre or medium more hell-bent on being as stagnant as possible.

“The rise, the fall, and the trip down the stairs”

Superior Spiderman, Hell yeah.

it's always a good day when Alex uploads and we really appreciate your work man. I also really enjoyed "Superior Spider-Man" preferably vol 2 from 2019.

Holy crap the premise of getting Freaky Friday'd, dying in the other person's body, only to wake up years later after the other person has been joyriding around in your body for decades and has completely changed your life is terrifying.

This run is so underrated. Probably my favorite Spider-man moment of all time is when Peter is finally back in control and runs into Green Goblin, hits him with a quip and Norman, who could tell that it wasn't really Peter before, makes a face like the Wicked Witch and just screams "It's You!"

This was one of my first spider man arcs getting into the comics for the first time. loved the costume and the story

I loved the Superior Spider-Man. Otto's fall in the original run was done great. He was getting the comeuppance he deserved, but as readers, we had seen how much he had grown. His sacrifice was tragic because we knew he wasn't the same psychopath as before. His return was done poorly, and his second fall was done even worse. The idea that the status quo is god really hurt, since Otto had really changed as a character. It reminds me of Marvel's utter horror of letting someone other than Eddie be Venom

This is my favorite Spide-Man comic. Slott gets WAY too much hate

Otto flipped the Batman saying. He was either gonna die a villain but he loved long enough to see himself become a hero

Everytime you post I pray it's over an hour long because I love your discussions. Doesn't make this video any worse. I just always want more!

God if I'm reading a comic book and Mephisto shows up I'm dropping it immediately. I will jump out the window before Mephisto can mind wipe my character development.

Ok but printing the hate mail you're getting has gotta be one of the biggest gigachad moves I've seen lol

Surprising that none noticed the extreme change in Peter's character from the closest of his.

This video slapped me way harder then my dad ever did.

I’ve always loved Superior Spider-Man. It was very a creative and interesting way to create an alternate Spider-Man and explore the character of Otto Octavius. I’ve always wanted to see this adapted in media (I know that it was adapted in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2017 but it was so short and I despise that show) like maybe a Spiderverse sequel? Before I forget, I loved your video. I learned things about The Superior Spider-Man I didn’t know before like how he returned but then got the ONE MORE DAY treatment. So sad 😞

This is one of my favorite channels currently. It's so obvious how much you love spiderman and it shows in your work. My opinion on the character has genuinely changed because of you.

I loved this story. Met Dan Slott at a con years ago and I remember talking about the idea with him and it was nice cause he seemed excited to tell this story.

Fun fact - Superior Spider-Man is the favourite Superhero comic of My Hero Academia author Kohei Horikoshi.

Alex I'm drunk as fuck, this is what I need right now

The first volume of superior spider man had two of the best side books written. The first the Superior foes of spider man and the second superior spider man team up which really did a great job of showing off ock as spider man and how his past life and his time as a villian really effected the hero role like chilling through an issue with the also now good guy magneto or having to work the man that had killed him in the past. The book also ended with a much better send off to ock's time on the pages if there ever was a chance for permanence to it

I love the video but if I have to hear the word "lifes" one more time I'm gonna cry.

I love that "Printing their hate mail with no comments" thing, it's genuinely really funny to me. Love that, really does give a "We do not care lol" vibe

Dan Slott looks so much like Doc Ock that I felt like the character himself was laughing at me lol

slott makes all the characters plot devices.

I've never really read many comic books, but this is one of the rare channels that can cover a story in a compelling way while letting someone like me in on all of the small details and nudges that I would otherwise miss. Thanks for making it, and subscribed!

I'm glad you uploaded alex. I've been having a rough week. Me my parents are tested positive for covid so I'm stuck home for awhile, so I'm glad I have your video for a comfort watch.

Mr. Bean vs Superman might be on hold, but this essay is truly amazing and honestly, any alex lennen video is a great one

I feel like the perfect ending to that second run would have been Otto calling in Peter for help, having Peter get slapped around, and then Otto saving Peter and beating alternate Goblin

Earlier this year I re-read/caught up to all the 21st century Amazing Spider-Man comics (starting back from JMS's run). As much as there is stuff in the later Dan Slott era I heavily dislike (Slotts distain and lack of understanding of Peter Parker during the Parker Industries years is ROUGH and part of the reason I had to catch up with the last 5 years), Superior Spider-Man is the greatest addition to Spider-Man cannon, period. Having a character, who was the villain that was the perfect reflection of Peter for almost 50 years, go through the greatest face turn in comics history, is extremely satisfying and well earned. I mean just the balls to not just do a limited series, but REPLACE Amazing with that first Superior run for well over a year was completely unexpected. To go through all those Clone Conspiracy and Secret Empire shenanigans, to then get rid of Superior Spider-Man AGAIN (seemingly for reals this time) is the worst removal of a character from Spider-Man cannon, period. It makes no damn sense, after the end of Big Time and the first Superior run, no new Otto story is ever going to feel interesting ever again. It would be like if right now they reversed the last 10 years of stories with Harley Quinn and made her go back to acting the same as she was in Batman TAS. New characters can easily fill the role of "guy whose early life is similar to the hero, except they had bad parents, and is now a villain with a shared aspect of their motif". But no other character can fill the role of "guy whose early life is similar to the hero, except they had bad parents, and is now a villain with a shared aspect of their motif, was a core member of the hero's Rogues Gallery for 50 years of stories, then over the course of a 2 year story arc, became the most unique take of villain turned hero (in main continuity) in comics history". Every single time I see Otto on page again, no matter how fun it might be (like his inclusion in Devil's Reign), all I will be thinking is "okay, how is THIS going to lead into Superior coming back permanently?". Then when it inevitably doesn't happen, it leaves a impression so negative that I wish they stopped using the character entirely. Ironically the creation and masterful execution of Superior Spider-Man has ultimately ruined Doc Ock as the best Spider-Man villain, making me wait for the day corporate let's writers use the superior version of the character again. (Btw, if the issue is too many regularly used characters with Spider branding, literally just have Otto be a hero version of Superior Octopus. The Spider-Man powers are the least relevant thing about the character at this point. Plus the Spider-Man like suit, but with Ock arms is super neat!)

Awesome video as always. That scene when Green Gobin sees that Peter Parker is back is great.

Great video! Though I want to note that whenever you say "this isn't groundbreaking" I get confused because there's no reason for it to be groundbreaking. The same stories have been told hundreds of times, comics or otherwise, and I think what makes stories like this one special is how well they write them. This storyline forces you to watch Peter Parker die in a battle of wills and has you sit with that for multiple arcs, just so it can hit you with "No, good will CAN and DOES prevail! This is Spider Man we're talking about!" I personally really enjoy when a story is just a powerful version of an idea that's been done, because refinement allows for good ideas to be expanded upon.

"Oh god aunt may!" I was rolling laughing 🤣🤣

My first comic run ever and to this date still one of my favourites! The conclusion to the massacre-storyline is still giving me chills when I think about it

I’ve been waiting for this vid superior Spider-Man is such a cool character

I'm so happy you made a vid highlighting one of the best and underrated Spiderman stories. I always found the concept for Superior Spiderman so fascinating and was hooked. Tho I never knew how it ended... what a pleasant slap to the face ._. Great vid btw 👌👌👌

Narrator: "I hope he gets someone his own age." Also narrator: "Oh god, aunt May!"

The Superior Spider-Man Returns

I love this story so much, can't wait to see your perspective on it.

Keep up the amazing work! Quality over quality! I love it!

Goblin realizing that it’s Peter, not Otto, is one of the best moments

YESSSSS, so good to see you growing dude, always looking forward to the next vid since the beginning!!!

It's been worth the wait! Great video man.

I’m surprised that people initially hated Superior Spider-Man. I loved the idea and the parallel between the two characters are striking. That Mephisto ending was such a cop out though.

It's so annoying whenever comics end up reverting back to a status quo. You'd think that, with the FUCKING MULTIVERSE being such a big theme in comics (especially nowadays), that you could just let a comic run go the way the writers intended from day 1 without any outside forces trying to change them. There's millions of Spider-people in different runs and it's cool when you can explore vastly different concepts, always remembering that the originals will ALWAYS be there when you want to see/read them again. Excellent video dude you got a subscriber out of me!

Bro, super solid content. Better analysis has not been had. I love what your doing. Keep it up. Gonna share the crap out of this.

I'm so excited for the Spiderverse video and the future of your career as a spider-man analyst and historian

Surperior Spider Man is still, to this day, my favorite comic. i used to be super into comics when I was a kid- since hten, i've moved on to become a based weabboo, but when I was actually capable of keeping track of thousands of comic plotlines, i adored Superior Spider-Man. I even went out and bought the whole series in the paperback collection because I adored it so much. I find myself relating to Otto's character arc a lot, and it's still one of my favorite stories in all of fiction. I've never heard of the second run before (probably happened after I dropped comics) but damn, I wish i didn't. Hearing that their excuse was to just... bring back Doc Ock is painful, as Superior Spider-Man is one of, if not my favorite incarnations of Spider-Man, and having him beat the green goblin on his own and coming into his own person instead of being a mimick of spider man would've been great. But alas, actually competent writing is no where to be found in Pedowood. Also, why do all the goblins in the first run of Superior look so fucking weird?

Just wanted to say thanks for your videos, man. I’ve never not enjoyed a single one. I can just put one on, and it’ll brighten up my day. I also love your confidence and how you’re able to do what you want to do. I was literally about to go to bed yesterday (at like midnight), I saw this video was uploaded, and I just went “No sleep for me!” Seriously, though, keep it up. Can’t wait for the Mr. Bean video no matter how long it takes.

Can tell you how many times I checked your channel for this, I absolutely love your videos :D

This truly is when Otto became Spider-Man. Bravo Slatt!

Yes superior Spider-Man is one of my favorite characters ever

I love alex lennen videos constantly waiting for the next. Keep up the great work!

This is pretty much the best way to explain about Superior Spider-Man. A story with mixed bag start later became really amazing. Then later got flushed down into the drain after its great end.

I love the spider-man related videos, even though Ik the stories of these stories I still love revisiting them in your videos keep it up😁

Hey Alex, thank you for another great video, and another great day

Your Spider-Man videos are consistently top notch

Tbh, I adore how Oc keeps calling himself Superior Spider-Man after learning his lesson, to me it kinda feels kinda like while it's still his pride, it's now more a promise to strive after.

Oh boy yeah it's Superiorin' time.

i've been waiting for this one, i already know it's gonna be great!

It’s funny to hear about the initial reaction to Superior and how we’ve come full circle to the point where it’s 2023 and people are more excited for the return of Superior than whatever is happening in the actual issues of ASM. I think it’s due to the distribution and scheduling of comics that we see this visceral reaction when writers try and shake it up. If a story starts slow, fans don’t want to keep buying the book but that disregards most of the actually plotted story. I think in today’s world, with all the various spidey spinoff books coming out, Superior could be a really fun and special run. It may become my main spidey book until marvel editorial lets Peter and MJ get back together…

God, the Spider-man timeline is like someone was able to translate a headache.