A new Spider-Man is crawling around with a pointed tail, an astral blade, and the ability to teleport! Find out why Kurt Wagner is in a Spidey outfit in Uncanny Spider-Man #1 by Marvel Comics!

UNCANNY SPIDER-MAN #1

Writer: Si Spurrier
Artist: Lee Garbett
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Sarah Brunstad
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 20th, 2023 

Previously in Spider-Man: Kurt Wagner is a mutant with a fiendish appearance and the ability to teleport. Donning the name Nightcrawler, he joined the X-Men and defended mutantkind. However, Kurt left the mutant nation of Krakoa to find his own way. Since he did not attend the Hellfire Gala, he must now try to understand what is happening in the world and where the other mutants are.

Uncanny Spider-Man #1 shows some heroics from Nightcrawler Spider-Man that led to him stopping a thug. Despite that, he is caught by a sentinel but somehow throws off the sensors. Nightcrawler talks to the real Spider-Man and laments his frustration but stops short of telling him the whole truth despite his inner monologue. The next day, he eats a cold pizza and saves a jogger from a would-be mugger. However, the criminal turns out to be Mystique!

Meanwhile, Orchis is working with Vulture to try and find Kurt. Vulture isn’t ready to enact his plans, so he hires a third party to hunt down the friendly neighborhood Nightcrawler, Silver Sable.

When I picked up Uncanny Spider-Man #1, I was incredibly nervous about the interpretation of Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler has dealt with many crises of faith, and I didn’t want to rehash some of those themes. But watching him don a variant of the Spider-Man outfit and participate in street-level heroics was incredibly engaging, and not just for the bad attempt at the classic Spider-Man one-liners. Kurt excels at his inner monologue and humanizes the Hellfire Gala event. As I keep reading more and more stories in the Fall of X run, I find that while I understand the emotions of characters like Shadowkat or Emma Frost, I can’t personally comprehend the desire to murder all of Orchis. I can relate to Kurt trying to find his place in the world, as I feel like I constantly struggle to figure out who I am. While not much happens story-wise, the pages were rich with complex thoughts that worked well for me.

On top of that, this issue has excellent character design and art. Nightcrawler has always been dynamic on the art page, and putting him into a Spider suit only makes him more visually stunning. Great work here by the creative team.

Uncanny Spider-Man #1 plays on my sensibilities. I want to know more about the characters and how they handle difficult situations. I also prefer street-level comics, and while Nightcrawler isn’t a street-level character, watching him exist on a smaller scale is fascinating. With all that in mind, this issue is a 4.5 out of 5 stars, and this is my favorite comic of the Fall of X event so far.

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Uncanny Spider-Man #1

93%

93%

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Uncanny Spider-Man #1 provides a unique insight into the headspace of Nightcrawler in a way that helps the reader interpret the Fall of X event.

• Writing

  10
• Art

  9
• Coloring

  9
• User Ratings (1 Votes)
  8.7