The Good
Puny Parker simply cannot catch one single break. After helping defeat the Inheritors and saving the Web of Fate from the machinations, and wild knifings, of Doc Ock, he’s returned to the proper world, only to be accosted by reptile-based super villainy, though likely not the first one you’d expect, and be confronted with the fact that his company is about to lose out a massive bid to build a super-villain prison to Alchemax. Oh and the Black Cat’s still after him in her much more driven way, and Alchemax is doing a little industrial sabotage, super-villain style. Dan Slott and Christos Gage have their own Spider-Man Team-Up to handle writing this issue, and it goes mostly well. The Iguana’s a great second (or third)-tier villain who seems genuinely put off by Spidey’s rude method of fighting him (while on the phone. Kids these days) and sounding like he as some legitimate, ironic grievances. The second half of the issue also focuses much more on Black Cat and her continuing transformation, helping to cement both the idea of it and the motivation behind it, and that feels like something that was really missing. Clearly she had the right to be angry after being brutalized by Superior Spider-Man, but to take it as far in the other direction as she did felt unearned, and this segment helped bring her reasoning into more solid terms.
Humberto Ramos returns to pencils, bringing his wild, kinetic style back to one of the characters best-suited to it and early on in the issue, this does indeed feel like a homecoming. Spidey’s back fighting a strange, somewhat goofy, foe in all his angular, animate glory and Ramos’ pencils do a great job of blocking and creating the illusion of motion just as Victor Olazaba’s inks do tremendous work and lending weight and impact to the action, helping to create a sense of life and animation. The colors, by Edgar Delgado, flesh that sense of life out, giving the panels verve and setting a more light-hearted tone than what’s been the focus of the past several issues.
The Bad
As great as it feels coming back, it also feels like Spidey, and us by extension, are stuck in a loop. Nothing has changed for his life outside of being Spider-Man since Superior Spider-Man and obviously he’s been through a lot, but since there was no time to adjust to the new status quo, this issue feels like a retread. Beyond that, Parker’s life post Superior felt like there was a lot of room to tell new, interesting stories but Parker Industries is beginning to feel like the Bugle 2.0, complete with shouting boss, platonic ally and even a heated rival within the same industry that will likely become something much, much more dire.
While the visuals look great in action, the parts of the issue that are more staid and subdued actually wind up looking like they’re lacking in detail and falling flat. The art looks rushed, particularly near the issue’s end.
The Verdict
A slight stumble is hardly unexpected after a story as consistently great, epic and even world-shattering as Spider-Verse and while it’s good to see Peter return to his more grounded roots, it’s also beginning to feel rote and in need of some shaking up. This will hopefully be a minor speedbump on the road to re-establishing the status quo and re-establishing the new direction for Spidey to go in.
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