Just read the issue.
Words cannot describe how much of a "**** you!" this feels like. Words can't even describe. This is a bigger insult to the fans that One More Day was. Yes, I went there and no, I am not taking that back.
This is an insult in so many ways but it is an insult particularly to the fans, to the character of Peter/Spider-Man and his iconic image, to Doc Ock, and to MJ and Peter's relationship with MJ. Reading some of the comments on the internet, I am noticing that there are some people that really like this. It really shocks me that I have to sit down and explain how much of an insult this is due to people not realizing it.
Let's start with the character of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. This is an insult to the character due to the way he is killed. This is the most pathetic death I have ever seen in Marvel comics, at least for a superhero. Captain America's death had more meaning than this. Peter dies in the most pathetic way possible while being trapped in his villain's body and begging his villain to not do anything bad while he is gone. I find that incredibly insulting to Spider-Man, seeing him die in such a pathetic way especially since he is Marvel's top character and is in the top 3 when it comes to most iconic superheroes to ever exist. His death in Ultimate, though still forced, still wasn't anywhere as pathetic as this and at least had some depth and meaning behind it. It's funny how the defense they used when they killed Spider-Man in Ultimate was "Why do you care? He is still alive in Amazing! Go read Amazing if you want to see Peter!" Well, now he is dead in BOTH universes. So what excuse does Marvel have now?
Next is Doc Ock. How the hell does Ock become a good guy at the end just because he saw all of Peter's memories? That makes no sense at all and it's completely out of character for him. Ock is one of the most arrogant Spider-Man villains around, in not then THE most arrogant Spider-Man villain. He is one of the least likely villains to become a good guy just because he saw Spider-Man's memories.
Next is MJ and Peter's relationship with MJ. They hit the bottom of the barrel here. So first they break them up in the most BS way and create the worst Spider-Man story to ever exist (well, at least until now). Then they establish that MJ doesn't want to be with Peter because she is Spider-Man even though she loves him - which makes no sense to begin with because she already learned to accept that years ago so they technically sent her back years in character development. But now all of the sudden, she is going to hook up with Peter and doesn't really give a crap he is Spider-Man. Why? Because he is all "edgy" and "dark" and "cool" now. They really took their relationship and MJ's character to an all-time-low. I honestly don't know how you can insult her character and her relationship with Peter now any more than this.
Then it's the fans. This is an insult to the fans and their intelligence because...well...see everything above. That pretty much sums it up. And now that I'm thinking about it even more while writing this, this is also an insult to Uncle Ben and to the message of WGPCGR. So Uncle Ben tells him that he has done enough and that he should let someone else be Spider-Man now. I don't buy he would ever say that but whatever. However, the person that supposedly takes his place is Ock? Really? And from what we know, he doesn't really seem to know that with great power comes great responsibility. Even though he is somehow strangely a superhero now, he still seems to have his arrogant personality by the end of the issue and we already know Spider-Man will be a lot darker starting with Superior Spider-Man #1 and may possibly even kill people from now on. That does not sound to me like someone who has learned the message of WGPCGR.
Overall, this is an incredible stupid idea and it is insulting in so many ways. Do you guys want to know why Slott even wrote this to begin with? He said in a recent interview that he always thought Doc Ock was just like him because they're both fat and small.
"Doc is kinda like me: He's short and schlubby. This is a guy who now gets to be in the body of Peter Parker. This opens up whole new things."
Read in between the lines and you can realize what he did. He killed off Peter Parker in the most pathetic way possible so that he could get the chance to indirectly write
himself as Spider-Man. This is all a self-insertion fantasy for him.
Also, did editor Stephen Wacker admit that their strategy is to just outlast the fans until they're replaced by people who only know these characters as-is? I've been hearing people say that he said that in some interview. I've been trying to look for it but found nothing so far.
