A month has passed since Otto Octavius has entered Peter Parker's mind and taken the responsibility as The Superior Spider-Man. Spider-Man is seen with his Spider-Bots patrolling the streets, and Otto realizes that he's taking out four times as many criminals as his predecessor, Peter Parker did. Because of this, he's getting more respect on the streets, and some criminals like the White Rabbit don't even put up a fight, and surrender. After apprehending several common criminals, a Spider-Bot notifies Spider-Man about a fire in progress, so Spider-Man tells the Spider-Bot to reroute the call to the fire department, and the spirit of Peter is not happy with this. The Superior Spider-Man has places to be and feels like he's done far more than his share with crime fighting.
The next scene is at Horizon Labs, and the readers see Otto/Peter working on something with such determination. Once his invention is revealed, Max Modell reveals to Otto/Peter that he never received his doctorate, and Otto is furious about this, because back when he was in his former life, he received his doctorate at the age of sixteen. To rectify this, Otto/Peter re-enrolls at Empire State University.
Meanwhile, at the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane, Dr. Ashley Kafka is being escorted by a security guard, to pay a visit to Marcus Lyman, aka "Massacre." What happens on the following page proves how much of a sociopath Massacre is, but I won't spoil this scene here.
The scene shifts over to Empire State University, and the Dean welcomes Otto/Peter back to campus with high hopes for him. Once the Dean walks Otto/Peter to his classroom, Otto/Peter gets a call from the mayor's office. The Superior Spider-Man has been summoned to Ravencroft Asylum. Mayor Jameson updates Spider-Man about Massacre's break-out at the asylum, and that eight men and women were killed. (The Amazing)Spider-Man saved Marcus Lyman's life, and he promised Jameson that Massacre wouldn't ever escape or kill again. The Superior Spider-Man is NOT happy about this, and goes after Massacre.
The next three pages show Massacre at a diner, and he's holding the place hostage. Massacre set the rules, and one employee broke the rules, so massacre did what he does...he went crazy, and the third page of this scene shows what he's capable of. The last panel of this issue shows the return of one of my all-time favorite villains, the Green Goblin. To be continued next issue!
What a great issue this is. The artwork by Giuseppe Camuncoli is a nice addition to this story, and the "darker" scenes are portrayed very well. You almost feel like you're experiencing this with the characters. If you still haven't given this series a try, this issue is it, hands down. There's the right amount of action and suspense, and you'll be itching to see what happens next, in issue five. I give The Superior Spider-Man #4 four out of five stars, and is available now in print or digital apps for $3.99, and is written by Dan Slott, drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli, and colored by Edgar Delgado.
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