Comic book fans who pick up issue No. 700 of “Amazing Spider-Man,†which arrived in stores on Wednesday, will see what Marvel Comics is promising as the final fight between Spider-Man and his longtime nemesis Doctor Octopus. The end result has the villain taking over the hero's mind, body, costume and mission. Doctor Octopus, who is convinced he can do a better job than Peter Parker's alter ego, begins his adventures as the wall-crawling hero in “Superior Spider-Man,†the first issue of which will be available Jan. 9.
“This is the greatest villain inside the body of the greatest hero and trying to do good,†Dan Slott, the writer of the series, told USA Today.
This is comic books, of course, so we know the real Spider-Man will eventually come back. For further proof, take a look at this roundup of some significant deaths and resurrections. But Marvel has handled this kind of shake-up very well in the past. Captain America's death in 2007 took everyone by surprise and led to two rich years of stories about a world without the sentinel of liberty, until his return in 2009. Here's hoping that Doc Ock has as good a run.
