The Good
And so it ends. Spider-Versewas, regardless of what one thought of the subjective quality, a titanic undertaking. One that, against all odds, never felt phoned-in or like it was doing anything halfway, from its incredibly solid, engaging core title to its relevant, fun, though not across-the-board-great, tie-ins, this has felt like an EVENT in the truest sense of the word. Its final issue isn’t without flaw, but it’s still a great ending and for comics, great endings don’t come often. The pieces have all fallen into place, Morlun has all the ingredients to wipe spider totems from all of existence and ensure that the twisted prophecy of the Inheritors'downfall never comes to pass. There’s just one little problem. Well dozens of little problems that make for one helluva hang-up: the totems are here and they aren’t thrilled with this whole “ensure we never exist” outcome. This issue is wall-to-wall action and, shockingly, it works. It REALLY works. It’s thrilling, there are twists and turns, characters shine and everything just feels right. Part of that has been the masterful buildup that Dan Slott has executed over the last several issues, with a lot of help from the tie-ins, and it truly gives this issue a feeling of “it’s all led here and it all comes down to THIS.” Spider-Ham is back on fine form, the various totems who’ve perhaps gotten a little more attention than the others are front-and-center, but there’s very little fat in this issue. Even the spiders that are only in the background feel like they’re contributing to the greater “big fight” feel of the issue. Spider-Gwen shines as well, getting ready for her big debut in her solo series, but perhaps most importantly: the two 616 Peter Parkers finally break out and really show who they are and what they’re made of this issue, for better or for worse.
Whole lotta cooks in this artistic kitchen: we’ve got Giuseppe Camuncoli and Olivier Coipel on pencils and while the transition is an obvious one, this is one time when it actually feels right. Both in terms of the tone of the overall issue and because the series really feels like it belongs to these artists. They’ve both contributed so much to what’s made it great and for them to split the issue might feel a little jarring, but it ultimately works. Of course a huge part of that could be the kinetic, hard-hitting inks of Wade Von Grawbadger, Cam Smith and John Livesay, who help do the impossible and make this issue both readable and able to be followed. There’s a lot of chaos on these pages and the right definition and inks are never more critical. Justin Ponsor, though, needs a healthy chunk of credit too for making the artistic shift as manageable as it is and for bringing out both artists’ strengths: Coipel’s visuals are glowing and hopeful with the triumphant ride of the calvary while Camuncoli’s are the dark realities of combat and even loss.
The Bad
That big ol’ event from a few issues back. You know, that one where you-know-who "came back?" That’s the one. That...again without giving anything away, feels like it doesn’t really pay off like it should. He gets his moment, but it feels like there were any number of totems that moment could have gone to and had it be just as powerful.
The Verdict
A terrific end to an excellent event that’s been better than it has any right to be at JUST about every turn. It’s hard to say how much more or less enjoyment can be derived from the core series with or without the tie-ins, but they definitely can’t hurt, which isn’t to say this issue doesn’t stand as a powerful ending either way. It focuses on the core characters, and while that could feel like a cop-out, it actually means that the anyone not interested in picking up 6 or 7 (or 10 or 11) extra titles is still getting a great, self-contained story. There’s still an epilogue to look forward to, but this was a great ending.
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