After 50 years of spinning webs and catching a who's who of criminals, Peter Parker is out of the hero game.

But Spider-Man is still slinging from building to building _ reborn, refreshed and revived with a new sense of the maxim that Ben Parker taught his then-fledgling nephew: "With great power comes great responsibility."

Dan Slott, who's been writing Spider-Man adventures for the better part of the last 100 issues for Marvel Entertainment, said the culmination of the story is a new, dramatically different direction for the Steve Ditko and Stan Lee-created hero.

"This is an epic turn," Slott said. "I've been writing Spider-Man for 70-plus issues. Every now and then, you have to shake it up."

In the pages of issue 700, out Wednesday, it's not just shaken up, it's kicked sky high and cracked wide open.

Parker's mind is trapped in the withered, decaying dying body of his nemesis, Doctor Octopus aka Otto Octavius. Where's Doc Ock? Inside Parker's super-powered shell, learning what life is like for the brilliant researcher who happens to count the Avengers and Fantastic Four as friends and family.

The two clash mightily in the pages of issue 700, illustrated by Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba. But it's Octavius who wins out and Parker is, at least for now, gone for good, but not before one more act of heroism.

Editor Stephen Wacker said that while Parker is gone, his life casts a long shadow.

"His life is still important to the book because it affects everything that Doctor Octopus does as Spider-Man. Seeing a supervillain go through this life is the point _ trying to be better than the hero he opposed," Wacker said.

Wacker called it a fitting end to the old series, which sets the stage for a new one _ "The Superior Spider-Man" early next year _ because it brings Peter Parker full circle, from the start of his crime-fighting career to the end.

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