Something occurred to me when I saw the preview for Superior Spider-Man #4 and which, having read the issue, I believe this issue is starting to lay the ground work for. Some of the reactions I've seen about Doc Ock as Spider-Man are saying that he's more efficient and organized than Peter Parker ever was, that he's doing things Peter should have considered doing like his spider-bot surveillance system and what have you. Likewise, the suggestion that because Peter allowed Massacre to live, then Peter is the one responsible for those deaths, including that of [BLACKOUT]Dr. Kafka[/BLACKOUT], and that Doc Ock will then have a more effective solution to making sure Massacre doesn't kill again (and it won't be death because that would be too easy and obvious). The message seems to be that maybe Doc Ock really is a "Superior Spider-Man" than Peter.
To that I say this: you're being played.
Let's not forget this is Doctor Octopus, someone who is well-established as being a megalomaniac and control-freak. His going ballistic over the fact that [BLACKOUT]Peter never got his doctorate[/BLACKOUT] should be a reminder of this. Likewise, when he talks about having "eight-thousand eyes" to watch over the people of New York, or that he's going to "end" Massacre once and for all--that's supposed to unnerve you. Let's also not forget that, in spite of how annoying Ghost Peter is, he's the only person who is keeping Otto in check. So what happens if he's not around to do so? Yes, Doc Ock is now playing the role of a "superhero," someone who has adopted Peter's creed of "with great power comes great responsibility." But think on this: while that mantra can be a call to action for civic duty and humanitarianism, it can also be twisted into the slogan for the tyrant and the fascist, someone who can use it as a means to justify oppression in the name of law and order.
And this is where I believe Slott is ultimately taking Doc Ock as Spider-Man, that because he's now adopted Peter's code of personal and civic responsibility, he will ironically become a greater menace.
t:
nce it fully dawns on Ock how much crime he can get away with using the powers of Spider-Man, then what?
