The mid-1990s was not a golden era for the world of Spider-Man comics. With Peter Parkers clone running around and a plethora of poor editorial decisions diluting the quality of the series, most fans and current creators believe this period is best left forgotten. That did not stop Dan Slott and some of the other creators who tackled the Superior Spider-Man the past 16 months from using some storylines to call back to the 90s in ways that produced some worthwhile reads. In Superior Spider-Man #20, Slott reintroduced Doc Ocks 90s flame, Stunner, a woman of Amazonian proportions with super strength to match. The issue ended up being one of the better self-contained stories in the Superior-run, and fans who remember the original Stunner/Doc Ock stories from 20 years earlier were even treated to some vintage visuals of Otto in his white suit attire. Last summer, a two-part crossover in Superior Spider-Man Team-Up and Scarlet Spider focused on the mid-90s storyline when Peter Parkers demented clone Kaine snapped Doc Ocks neck, murdering him (he was later resurrected). As the Superior Spider-Man, Otto did not forget what Kaine did to him years earlier, leading to a wonderfully tense storyline courtesy of Chris Yost who penned both Team-Up and Scarlet Spider.
Mark is a professional writer living in Brooklyn and is the founder of the Chasing Amazing Blog, which documents his quest to collect every issue of Amazing Spider-Man, and the Superior Spider-Talk podcast. He also pens the "Gimmick or Good?" column at Comics Should Be Good blog.
