Writer: Christos Gage
Art Team: Lan Medina, Cam Smith, Andy Troy, VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 12, 2019

I’ve been a huge fan of the Superior Spider-Man title since its initial incarnation. With this latest volume, headed by Christos Gage, really taking the character on a journey I can get behind. However now the monster known as War of the Realms comes calling, to hijack this title into tie-in status, possibly side tracking our story a bit. So lets jump in here and see what Doc Ock, the Superior Spider-Man, thinks of all this nonsense, as he joins forces with the West Coast Avengers to put an end to all this madness in San Francisco.

I wasn’t thrilled upon going through solicits for the week to find out that one of my favorite books was being pulled into an event series I find to be an utter mess. However, minor spoiler alert here, Christos Gage does a ‘Superior’ job of nailing a tone this issue I find wholly enjoyable, by not taking anything too seriously, while providing a story that continues the themes this series has established thus far. The fact that Lan Medina, Cam Smith, and Andy Troy provide some fantastic art along with the story in this title make this book one of the more enjoyable tie-ins of this way to big for its own good event going on.

As far as our story goes the issue begins with Otto trying to come up with a solution to the infestation of Frost Giants ravaging the city. Otto’s saved the citizens for now, however this is only a temporary solution he needs to solve quickly, and with communication to the outside world cut off for now, his options for help are very limited. This is where we are introduced to the West Coast Avengers, a strange but unique pairing for Otto to team up with, but also where a lot of the charm of this issue comes into play.

The group of characters come together in an entertaining exchange of dialogue, and eventually fight the Frost Giants back, largely thanks to an old weapon of Otto’s that doesn’t thrill Hawkeye. The uneasy alliance really is a highlight of this issue, as Otto interacting with them leads to a lot of scenarios almost mocking the fact this series got pulled into this event, which was a great way to play things, instead of giving people just another beat em up tie in comic book yet again.

In the end the group decides to take the fight to New York where they look to put a stop to this invasion once and for all. The issue concludes with some amazing splash pages, and even the Fantastic Four joining the fray, giving readers more than enough reason to come back for the next issue, and proving once again Superior Spider-Man is a book worthy of a look see, regardless of the circumstances surrounding it at this point in time.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, Superior Spider-Man continues to be a great read, even with it being pulled into the War of the Realms for a temporary tie-in scenario. This issue straddles the line of parody perfectly, mostly due to the team up with the West Coast Avengers team, with Ock’s seriousness meshing well with some of the more ridiculous moments involving Gwenpool and the rest of the cast. Coupled with the art by Medina, Smith, and Troy this has been one of my favorite tie-ins I’ve read in a long time.