A question from the Living Brain sets off a chain of events that get very… Goblin-y. Your Major Spoilers review of Amazing Spider-Man #50 from Marvel Comics awaits!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #50

Writer: Zeb Wells/Marv Wolfman/Nikesh Shukla/Lee Gatlin/Joe Kelly
Artist: Ed McGuinness and Mark Farmer/Terry and Rachel Dodson/Chriscross/Juan Ferreyra/Lee Gatlin
Colorist: Marcio Menyz with Erick Arciniega/Terry Dodson
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Nick Lowe
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $9.99
Release Date: May 22, 2024

Previously in Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn have found their way home and Norman shows his true color: Green.

But is it truly that simple?

THE LIVING BRAIN HAS A MESSAGE

As our story opens, the strange hybrid being known as The Living Brain manages to break through its firewall to send a message into the world, through the power of analog technology. It’s a puzzling one, and one that chills Peter Parker’s blood: Who is Spider-Man? The answer, it responds, is simple. Peter Parker is not Spider-Man. That’s comforting for Mr. Parker, who immediately takes the initiative and goes to his boss, Norman Osborn with the conundrum. By that point, though, there’s another message, a series of words that Norman is shocked to realize is the spoken code phrase to open his hidden costume locker.

And then, his second, double-secret hidden green costume locker.

By that point, the Green Goblin is free in the world, forcing The Living Brain to become The Walking Brain in order to explain that “Peter Parker is not Spider-Man” isn’t a question at all. It’s a warning.

TRUST IS EARNED

This issue brings back a very unnerving Green Goblin, thanks to the art of Ed McGuinness, and one who has gamed out his battle with Spider-Man to an unnerving level. Of course, he’s not alone, as Peter knows Norman as well as Norman knows Peter, which makes for a couple of satisfying moments in the middle of our story. The ending, though? That comes right out of left field (though it does come with Editor’s Notes telling us where it has been obliquely foreshadowed over the past three years or so). There are a couple of references to the first time Norman Osborn unmasked Peter Parker back in ASM #39, which I appreciate, but the characterization of Peter and Norman takes a swift turn here, making it clear that the point was to fool the readers. Peter’s reveal of why he has been working for his old enemy in the first place feels unmotivated, and the twist ending falls a bit flat. Worse still, the double-page spread designed to drive that plot point home is also not quite on the mark for me as a reader.

BOTTOM LINE: TRYING VERY HARD

This issue also includes a cute little story by Marv Wolfman that delves into the past of The Black Cat, but makes for a serious case of mood whiplash after the intense melodrama of the first story. After that, we have a cute comedy tale, an earnest Spidey story, and an epilogue that manages to end Amazing Spider-Man #50 with a cliffhanger, but once again doesn’t quite get the execution right, rounding out to 3 out of 5 stars overall. The balance of stories presented is good, but their order is absolutely tonally wrong, and the main feature comes across as dour and mired in the minutiae of Wells’ plotting. It wants to be another shocking reveal like the Superior Spider-Man moment, but neither the build-up nor the execution is quite right for me.

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