Spider-Verse concludes! Can our spidery heroes prevail? And, if so, at what cost?
Your Major Spoilers review of Amazing Spider-Man #14 awaits!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #14
Writer: Dan Slott
Penciler: Giuseppe Camuncoli and Olivier Coipel
Inker: Wade Von Grawbadger, Cam Smith And Livesay
Colorist: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Nick Lowe
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Amazing Spider-Man: Morlun is, as we have repeatedly been told, the most powerful foe Spider-Man has ever faced, even killing him once upon a time, but the revelation that he is merely the youngest son of a whole family of powerful, murderous, dimension-hopping jerks has brought Peter Parker together with dozens of other Spider-types from around the multiverse, from Miguel O’Hara to Miles Morales to Takuya Yamashiro, all of whom have banded together to fight Morlun and his family to avoid their own extinction. Unfortunately, there’s a whole prophecy thing about The Other (aka Kaine, the Scarlet Spider), The Bride (Cindy Moon, the new hero called Silk) and The Scion (Spider-Girl Mayday Parker’s baby brother from the future of the MC2 universe). We’re three strokes of a knife away from the end of all spiders everywhere, folks, and it’s not looking good for our arachnid heroes…
“WE’RE ALL MISFITS!”
The good news for the Spiders comes in the fact that The Inheritors cloning facility has been destroyed, meaning that the infinite supply of bodies they’ve been using to murder (and eat) spider-totems across the dimensions is finally broken, and Kaine’s murder of their leader last issue has created an opening for the Spiders On Infinite Earths. Aaaand then, the whole thing comes crashing down as Kaine is murdered, fulfilling one-third of the prophecy that will end all the totems forever… Dan Slott has crafted a really compelling hunk of story leading into this issue, one that almost makes a reader forget that it kind of has to end in success for the heroes. (Of course, that’s a problem with nearly every comic book tale, so it’s a little late for me to make that argument.) What we get in the issue is a lot of quick moments for the heroes, with one or two-panel turns by Miles Morales, Ultimate Black Widow Jessica Drew and Steampunk Aunt May. Even alternate Uncle Ben Spider-Man gets in a good lick, as does Peter Porker (who gets the MVP award for his actions in this issue), leading to the pivotal moment as the heroes get the upper hand just in time for the last (and most feared) member of the Inheritors family to return from beyond…
“I’M AN *EXCEPTIONAL* IRRITANT!”
The art in this issue isn’t anything super-flashy, but never fails to give us a clear view of what’s happening on the page, which is absolutely key in an issue that features something more than 40 heroes in action together. Also important: Slott uses the giant crossover to examine what it means to be a Spider-Man, positioning a triad of Otto Octavius, regular Peter Parker and future Mayday Parker to make a larger point about Spider-Man’s existence. I did have some difficulty getting fully engaged due to the sheer number of things and characters in the issue, but a surprise cameo made me super-happy, and even a Silk-heavy ending felt natural and worked for me narratively, especially as my least-favorite character in all of the Spider-Verse gets his and/or her comeuppance, and deservedly so. Next issue promises an epilogue that (based on a line or two in the issue) could give us some closure for our massive team of Spiders…
THE BOTTOM LINE: A NICE WRAP-UP ISSUE
In short, it’s a nice wrap-up for the massive crossover, one that gives our central character some solid moments of heroism and celebrates our Spider-Man by throwing all the Spider-Mans in the world in, like playing with all your action figures at once. Amazing Spider-Man #14 is an above-average end to a fun, if bombastic, series, full of fighty-fighty and quick vignettes from all our favorites, earning a better-than-average 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. With any luck, many of these characters are going to get more metaphorical air-time coming out of Spider-Verse, leading to a win/win for all fans of all Spiders…
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