October 2023 marks 10 years since Otto Octavius took over Peter Parker's body and his life to become the Superior Spider-Man, and Marvel is celebrating with a new one-shot from writer Dan Slot and artist Ryan Stegman, the creative team of the original Superior Spider-Man saga.
Joining Slott and Stegman on the one-shot, titled Superior Spider-Man Returns #1, are artists Mark Bagley, Humberto Ramos, and Giuseppe Camuncoli, all of whom contributed to the classic Superior Spider-Man run from a decade ago.
Here's how Marvel explains what happened in their official announcement: "Determined to prove himself better in every single way, Doc Ock ruthlessly made his way through Spider-Man’s legendary rogues' gallery, shocking fellow heroes with his violent approach to crimefighting before learning harsh lessons about great responsibility."
"Did Doc Ock have his fill of the web-head lifestyle or is ready to trade in his metal arms and be the smartest, strongest super hero in the Marvel Universe once more?" it asks.
The answer to that question has seemingly been building up in the current Amazing Spider-Man run, where Doctor Octopus recently upgraded his arms in a quest to reclaim his lost memories of his time as the Superior Spider-Man.
"The challenge Marvel gave me was: for the tenth anniversary, how can we revisit Superior, without repeating ourselves, and while telling a story that impacts Spider-Man's world today?” writer Dan Slott states.
"Superior Spider-Man Returns is going to take an untold Superior tale, and drag it kicking, screaming, and violently exploding into the present," he explains. "It's going to give you everything you liked about Superior but in new surprising ways. No time travel. No clones. And no way we're telling you how. Read the book!"
"No time travel. No clones," has become something of a mantra for Dan Slott's long history with Spider-Man, where he's often touted those qualifiers to intrigue fans about how Spider-Man might wind up in a certain circumstance - or return from it.
From the sound of things, something that takes place in the past - like an unseen adventure or experiment by Otto Octavius - is likely going to have an impact on the present day Marvel Universe. Assuming Otto gets his memories back, what will that mean for the current supervillain?
We'll find out what it's all about when Superior Spider-Man Returns #1 goes on sale October 11 with a cover by Ryan Stegman, seen above.
Doctor Octopus is one of the best Spider-Man villains of all time.
