THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700

• LAST ISSUE!

Story by Dan Slott, J.M. DeMatteis, & Jen Van Meter
Art by Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Sal Buscema, & Stephanie Buscema
Colors by Edgar Delgado & Antonio Fabela
Letters by Chris Eliopoulos
Cover by M.R. Garcin, Steve Ditko, Marcos Martin, Humberto Ramos, Edgar Delgado, Olivier Coipel, Justin Ponsor, J Scott Campbell, & Joe Quesada

Price: $7.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 12.8%

Reviews

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tomdpimp01/03/13YesRead Review
CaseyJustice01/02/13NoRead Review
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  1. Picked this up at my comic shop last Thursday.The finale of this book was not surprising but this was an overall great comic.Make sure you get Avenging Spider Man #15.1.It picks up right after this issue.

  2. SPOILERS:

    Picked this up last Wednesday. Pretty good read but… That ending. Wow. I was hoping for a twist, or at least a better justification for the Superior Spider-Man. Beaming a conscious into Superior Spidey feels like one heck of a hail marry, rather than a surefire “win”. Sad to see Amazing Spidey go but, let’s be honest, Amazing Spider-Man really hasn’t been that good of a title for almost a decade. It’s time for a major shake up.

    • I couldn’t disagree more with your last point. Ever since we had the Spidey brain-trust, then eventually settling in with Slott, we’ve had some of the best Spider-Man stories in years, IMO.

    • Agreed franchise. Brand New Day and on has been great stuff! Honestly, JMS wasn’t that bad either. He wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty decent.

    • I tried Slott’s stuff for a while and thought he wasn’t that great of a storyteller. It felt like he leaned on gimmicks and didn’t develop stories or characters. This sounds like another trick he hopes overshadows his lack of storytelling. Maybe I’m just too spoiled by the tons of other great creatures out right now.

      Spiderman is a character I really want to read I just can’t spend 8 bucks a month on a writer I don’t like. I wish Marvel Now! would have thrown a top level creator on this book.

    • @franchise: Don’t get me wrong, Amazing Spider-Man has been good but it hasn’t been stellar. In my eyes, it has been completely overshadowed by Ultimate Spider-Man. Heck, when I think of Spider-Man in the 616 universe, I gravitate towards Spider-Man from the Avengers or FF titles, rather than from his own book. He’s supposed to be an amazing character but I just don’t enjoy him on in Amazing. That isn’t to say Slott has been a bad writer but, to me, he just hasn’t cut the mustard.

      Look at this story, we didn’t really get a good justification for why Doc Ock suddenly wants to be a hero or why being such really matters to him. The best Parker could do was beam a conscious into Doc Ock. That shouldn’t radically change a man in the least. I think it would have been far more interesting if we were given the Superior Spider-Villain, rather than the Superior Spider-Hero. I’m sure Doc Ock will be more of an anti-hero than Parker but it just doesn’t feel as real or justified as a villain with Spider-Man’s body. To me that is the superior plot would have been vastly more interesting if Doc Ock eventually truly learned what “With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility” meant over the course of several months worth of comics. Really break the villain down and build him back up to be something much more endearing and special. Instead we’re getting Doc Ock Spider-Anti-Hero for a year to “spice things up” and then Parker coming back in some contrived way.

      It’s a gimmick that doesn’t feel like it will be worth spending 8 bucks a month on… Which is sad because when this whole ordeal started, I was really rooting for something magical to happen that would really put 616 Spider-Man back on top.

  3. I picked up this issue last week as well. I haven’t followed AMS since Brand New Day, but had hoped this would be a good jumping on point. My comic book shop guy recommended getting the previous two issues to get the most out of the story and WOW it was a GREAT story!….with an AWFUL ending (in my opinion). I loved the desperation in the story and the race against time, but I just can’t get on-board with the ending and the new direction. It just seems wrong.

    • I understand your reaction. I’m assuming that the new status quo won’t last as long as the death of Cap, but it doesn’t make for an obvious jumping on point for new or returning Spider-man readers. When the series restarts as Superior it really will be a new character, so I suppose it could appeal to a variety of new readers for various reasons, but I don’t see how the recent change would appeal to someone interested in reading a “classic” Spider-man comic. Considering the editorial aversion to a married Peter because he was too unrelatable to young readers, using this change to trigger a relaunch is baffling. I’m curious to see where it goes, and I’ll keep reading for a while anyway, but after reading Avenging 15.1 I feel like this story idea runs the risk of turning one-note and wearing out its welcome very quickly. Sorry if this entry seems “spoilery” but USAToday and other outlets ran extensive reviews last week, so I assume that anyone who cares already knows what happens.

  4. Fuck this shit. See you after the ret-con.

  5. I had heard about what was going to happen in this book before I picked it up. I am in the camp that is not happy about what they have done to the character, but I also realize that sometime, perhaps when the next Spider-Man movie hits screens, Marvel will bring Peter Parker back. Maybe even sooner, I hope. I can not help be feel like they took a big shit on the character of Spider-Man with this new Inferior Octo-Man. This ain’t Spidey anymore. I sort of wish I did not pay the 8 bucks for this issue, but I could not pass on the event and the shit that this issue has stirred up. Very few books have ever reached 700 issues and this was the direction that was chosen to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic characters in comic book history. I think it was a huge blunder.

  6. Sigh.

    This was a very good issue and an interesting start to a new story. I am now going to leave this comments section and never come back because the sheer volume of righteous indignation and vitriol that will hit this in a wave tonight will just make me sad.

  7. I liked this a lot, even though for some time I’ve had a pretty good idea where this story was going, it was executed very well and I enjoyed it a lot. Normally I’d be a little upset with how it ended, however, Slott has been clear that this is all part of a story he’s been planning for years and this just seems to be the middle part to this story so I think Pete will be back soon. In the meantime I’m looking forward to seeing the stories with the Superior Spider-man and what will hopefully be a great story of Pete reclaiming his life.

  8. I was really upset after finishing this issue. As I reflected more on it, though, I can’t imagine that Slott would have penned this not expecting severe reactions. In which case, I think it was pretty brilliant – *completely* unexpected and I’m willing reserve judgment until I see a few issues of Superior Spider-Man. I’ve enjoyed Slott’s work on ASM, so I trust he knows what he’s doing. My only criticism is that the transformation seemed a bit too quick – I think there needed to be just a little more foreshadowing or setup.

  9. Not to into this Octo-Man thing. But will give it a try. Sorry seeing those panels of Doc Ock in place of Peter Parker in some of the most iconic parts of his life. Just threw me out of this comic/story. I just don’t see Peter happy with leaving Dr. Oct running around in his body. Peter worked to hard to become what he is. Well we shall see what happens with Superior Spider-Man. Sigh….

    • I agree 100,000,000%. I am on for the ride, I was disheartened that Peter was OK with it, what a wimp for giving up but otoh maybe its part of his game. Pete’s still in there, so to speak but he was connected to the Gold Octobot, so I suspect his mind is now part of it, where did the Gold Octobot go?

      By the time Amazing Spider-man comes out, mark my words, in Marvel fashion Pete will be back and it will be Amazing Spider-Man again but the numbering will be 714 or so.

      Someone will notice there is a change, MJ, Tony, I bet Tony/Banner gets word of this and find the Gold octobot and derrives a plan or Banner Invention (since thats his big thing now) to get peter out of the octobot and into his old body!

    • Someone will find out. I just hope Oct does not sleep with MJ. It’s kind of gross to think about.. lol. (Or maybe that’s how she finds out… lmfao) I know Pete will be back. I’m just saying I don’t need a darker Spider-Man. We already have Venom and Scarlet Spider for that. Scarlet Spider is great by the way. I’ll miss my awesome, nice, trustworthy, working hard, loyal, and funny as hell Peter Parker/Spider-man.

    • Mono0521 I almost feel like there ripping off scarlet spider somewhat with Superior. Same artist and the same tagline “All of the Power. None of the responsibility” At least Chris Yost will be on Avenging Spiderman.

    • I felt like the same way. But let Kaine do is thing as a darker Spider-Man. That’s ok with me. Just don’t mess with GOOD down to earth Peter Parker. What’s next? Peter Parker looking all Emo and dancing down the street like some hipster?!

    • Peter Parker starts wearing supreme, skateboarding, sipping cough syrup and listens to oddfuture.

  10. I’m definitely in the “this was a great read but the ending is a bit off” camp. I love Doc Ock, he’s my favourite Spidey villain for sure and I’ll be continuing to read Spidey to see where Slott takes it, because a big fan of Slott’s run, but I’m just not overly into this storyline.

    If Pete had won out and then “retired” as Spidey, I’d probably have enjoyed more.

    Still thought it was a very well written issue though!

  11. The ending and the outcome didn’t do it for me. I’ll pick up the first couple issues of Superior Spider-Man, mostly for Stegman’s art, but I’m pretty sure after that I’m done.

  12. I liked it. The story was big – worthy of an Issue #700.

    There was outrage over Bruce Wayne and Steve Roger’s deaths. Then, acceptance of their successors and stories that followed. I hope Spiderman follows this trend.

    Peter will come back one day.

    My only complaint – the art. The cartoony style was very distracting. It was hard to take the book very seriously when Spiderman’s head was rectangular and MJ….well it sure wasn’t Romita’s MJ.

    • Sorry – *SPOILER* –

    • Steve and Bruce’s successors made since. Brubaker had been building up to this with his amazing Winter Solider arc. Neither successor felt like a gimmick like Superior Spiderman does.

      Spoiler.

      What’s frustrating about this concept is that Parker’s body and memories are merged with Dr. Octopus. There isn’t that feeling that someone else took over, it’s strange. Its a slight variation of a mind control story which in my opinion are only second to power loss as the worst plot points in comics.

  13. Sorry – *SPOILER* –

  14. Can’t wait for Amazing Spider Man 1 to come out in 5 months with with Zeb Wells writing.

  15. What a great story! This was a real tribute to who Peter Parker was. The drama was intense. This is one of those arcs we’ll always remember. They’ll be working this into a movie one day I’m sure. And we all know Parker isn’t gone for good. All the anger towards this plays right into Marvel’s hands- it’s a stroke of marketing genius. I loved the cover gallery at the end too, it brought back a lot of memories. It also made me want to go out and get a lot of the issues I missed, especially the McFarlane run. Thank you Stan Lee for this truly Amazing character!

  16. Whats wrong with this issue is that, The bad guys aren’t supposed to win! I realize this is Slott trying to be edgy and cool but anti-heroes were cool like in the 90’s. this ish was total bullshit.

    I read the amazing spider-man because of all the Heroes out there Peter Parker/Spider-man was a GOOD GUY. It was always nice to read after all of the killing/violence etc etc in most other comics i could aways cound on Spidey to be Spidey.

    I don’t think i could be any more disapointed in Dan Slott. His writing of big time til now was the best spidey writing ever but he shit the bed on this.

    So mad.

  17. Ouch, just…ouch. I hated this.

  18. I loved this. Just enjoy the ride, it’s great fun and solid storytelling. Something completely new and different with Spider-Man, really liking it and it will be fun while it lasts. It’s fun not knowing what to expect, and I’m looking forward to seeing it play out.

  19. Spider man is the one comic that everytime they do something to ‘fix it’ it blows up in Marvel’s face. Not only wasn’t this book good melodrama, but it flies in the face of everything that came before it. Doc Ock is a mass murderer, a true psycho. This isn’t quite as bad as the clone saga, but I can see it is not going to have a pleasent effect on sales. Didn’t Marvel learn from sticking others in the main role, has that ever worked out? How are they going to undo this without it making no sense. Readers stuck with the mess of “One More Day” and it’s equally horrible followup because what came after was good. Are they going to be so willing the next time? I just have this to say again, This has NEVER worked out.

  20. *Spoilers*

    Just read this and really was not a fan of how it ended. I just have this ‘blah’ feeling. I will pick up Superior Spider-Man in trade format to check it out. Otherwise I will wait until Peter Parker is truly back. I just thought it was dumb. It won’t even feel like Spider-Man anymore. They can’t just put anybody in the suit and say it’s Spider-Man and expect people to just say, “Oh, ok. It’s still Spider-Man. Go Spidey!’. Blah. It was different went Bruce Wayne died and Dick Grayson took over. Bruce was actually dead, allegedly. With this people, being Peter Parker’s surrounding cast, will assume that it’s still Peter Parker under there. When it’s really not. If they are gonna kill off Peter Parker at least give him a proper funeral. All this, ‘Is he dead? Is he alive?’ stuff is going to get ridiculous. And imagine trying to explain to a new reader who wants to pick up Superior Spider-Man as a new jumping on point who Spider-Man is? Good luck with that. But my guess is around issue 15-20 one of the Avengers will figure it out or something and put the world back in order. I did enjoy all the anniversary stuff in the issue though. And the backup stories were good. Overall good story, just not a fan of the ending.

    • One more addition to this too. Does anybody else get a Star Trek II: Wrath of Kahn feel to this ending? Before Spock dies he touches McCoys head and says, “Remember.” Then McCoy has all of Spock’s memories? I wonder if they will bring back Peter Parker the same way they brought back Spock.

  21. As a story, I thought that this was well told, though I’m more mixed on it as far as fitting into the larger sweep of Spider-Man . . . Still, now that they’ve done it, I hope that they stay with it for more than a handful of months before bringing Parker back (I’m guessing that his consciousness is embedded in that golden Octbot running around somewhere).

    Interesting that no one has mentioned the back-ups. I liked them. Did anyone else?

  22. #700 was a pretty good story (twists from “Spider-Island” to “Ends of the World”). But Peter Parker is the essence of Spider-man. In the end, I felt let down. I’ve had the title for over a decade and read it through it all. JMS was my fav, but Slott delivered a pretty good storyline on a consistent basis. As a comic fan, overall you always have to evolve a character, storyline, and all. I’ve read the twists w/the “Clone Saga” in the 90s, “The Other”, and even “One More Day”, and I took it for what it was, but the Peter Parker evolved each time in some way. To say “Superior Spider-Man”, for the relaunch makes me shake my head in disgust because it is not. Plain and simple. “Inferior”, yes, but not “Superior” . Imagine a Batman book w/o Bruce Wayne or a Superman book w/o Clark Kent (Ka-el)!!! Yes, I know it’s been tried, and there have been side books that have tried to re-capture that essence of the character, but it is an imitation of the tried and true.

    • Dick Grayson was Batman for quite a while before the New 52 happened. It was really good. The only difference is his supporting cast knew Grayson was Batman because Bruce was ‘dead’. Peter’s supporting cast still thinks he is Peter Parker. That’s really the only thing I didn’t like. The fact that nobody knows Peter is really gone except for Doc Ock.

  23. I’m surprised this doesn’t have more pulls (despite the high price).

  24. This will be my final issue as well.

    Jumped on at Big Time. Been a great run. Need to read a big pile of these.

    I wish them great success. I hope to read the trades of SSM & Avenging next year.

  25. doc ock as peter parker, this is like frankencastle (punisher) all over again, at least we still have ultimate spider-man

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