Back in 2013, Otto Octavius died in a blaze of villainous glory. Doctor Octopus nearly brought the world to an end in The Amazing Spider-Man‘s “Dying Wish” storyline before succumbing to his terminal illness. As he died, he swapped minds with Peter Parker, who left Doc Ock with the parting shot of implanting his sense of heroism and selflessness into the villain. With that, Ock set out to be a flawed hero in 2013’s The Superior Spider-Man. The series surprised both critics and skeptical fans with high-quality storytelling and a unique take on Otto Octavius’ character. Since then, Peter Parker has returned to the Spider-Man mantle, but now it looks like Otto Octavius is about to do the same.
Christos Gage takes on writing duties, having previously worked with Octavius’ Superior Spider-Man for part of the 2015 Spider-Verse event. Gage is writing Octavius as a man striving to be a heroic spider in his own right, while still retaining the arrogant personality that made him such a unique Spider-Man during the 2013 Superior run. He will be joined by Deadpool artist Mike Hawthorne. Hawthorne has already dipped his toe into this water, having penciled the “after-credits” scene with Otto Octavius in The Amazing Spider-Man #800.
“The Superior Spider-Man is back! But this time he’s not trying to be a superior Peter Parker — he’s trying to be the best possible Otto Octavius. [This] includes protecting San Francisco, teaching at Horizon University in his cover identity as Elliot Tolliver, and, of course, doing everything much better than anyone else can — which is why he’s still the Superior Spider-Man! I had the great pleasure of collaborating with Dan Slott on his incredible Superior Spider-Man run, and I can’t wait for people to see this new chapter in Otto’s journey toward… redemption? Corruption? Triumph? Tragedy? That remains to be seen.”
Gage has written for Marvel for many years, but his profile is arguably at its highest in 2018. He most recently penned the original narrative for the PlayStation 4 blockbuster “Marvel’s Spider-Man” video game, which released on Friday. Gage is currently working with Dan Slott on the upcoming Spider-Geddon event. That limited series sees the Inheritors return and decimate the Marvel Universe, as they hunt for the multiverse’s Spider totems.
The new Superior Spider-Man launches in December, following the Spider-Geddon event.