Spider-Man's Got A Brand New Suit. Again.

By Bill Sweeney

Because nothing moves an industry ahead like living in the past....

Looking more like he was bitten by a radioactive action figure, Peter Parker has been preparing for a war by creating this bitchin' battle armor. Unveiled today, the suit is part of a upcoming storyline that on paper sounds very familiar...

 Marvel Press Release:
"The next big Spider-Man epic begins in Amazing Spider-Man #682, part one of Ends Of The Earth, by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli! The Sinister Six, led by the vengeful Doctor Octopus, is back and they’re looking for revenge! Can Spider-Man & Earth’s Mightiest save the world before Doc Ock’s explosive endgame is revealed?"

Dock Ock... again?
 Sinister Six... again?
New costume, again. 

Consider for a moment the depth of originality there. It's a triple dip in the rehash pool.

How is this battle is going to be different than all those others? Well, the buzz is that it's gonna be dangerous-dangerous this time because for this one Spidey needs a battle suit. Sooo, one has to assume that Parker was never in real danger before now, because he never felt he needed armor, right? The implication is that this battle will be so big, so monumentally nasty that all those past fights with these villains meant nothing, because this is the one that matters.

"Ok, kids make room for one more..."

But will it really?

Will anyone die? Will anyone at least loose a finger? Will this "Change Our Hero Forever"...again? Do these things ever really change these heroes?

Not usually. In the end, what's more likely is that we'll get some cool shots of this armor slowly coming undone, breaking down, until a battered Spidey remains.

Shoulder pads cracked, mask half torn, he plops on the floor, victorious but bloody.

But we know that Doc and The Superlative Six will be back eventually.

I get it. In general, the logic behind "shaking things up" is understandable. Spidey has been around a long time, his story has to keep moving, new tales need to be told.

But is rehashing ideas, some that were only "meh" to begin with, the best way to do that? Much like the "REBOOT" or the "PREQUEL/ UNTOLD STORY" this is one of those tropes that some people now insist are ingrained into comic book culture. As if that means it's okay to keep repeating ideas. Sure, looks have come and gone, but someone like Batman, and especially Iron Man, is constantly changing because it's usually an evolution of the costume itself inside the story. It doesn't seem as forced because it happens more often with them and the new design hangs around longer that six months.

Tony has more suits than than most women have shoes.

The Arach-Armor itself seems like a fairly cool design and could just as easily work on some other character - which by the end of the story may just happen because that's another tired trope: Comic hero gets new suit or Super-Identity - uses it for a while - then passes it on to some noob.

I like the look (what one can see of it from this promo, anyway) and admit I'm interested in knowing more about it as far it's "tech" applications alluded to in articles at CBR and NEWSARAMA

So what about you? What do you make of this? Tell us in the comments below!