Writer: Greg Weisman
Penciler: Humberto Ramos
Inker: Victor Olazaba
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; Derrick Chew; Lee Garbett & Yen Nitro; Stephen Segovia
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 22, 2024
Miles is dating Kamala Khan. Peter and Gwen are married with children, but Aunt May and George Stacy are going out on the town. Did the Time Variance Authority transport us to another Earth? And why couldn’t Miles and Peter find Cedric Harrison in the sewers? Let’s grab our lattes, thwip into The Spectacular Spider-Men #3, and find out!
Story
Cedric wanted to earn bucks while having a blast. Turk hungered for his next rush. Kenny and Shelly needed extra cash to rent an apartment for the next semester. Now, Cedric and Shelly explore America in a red convertible. Kenny is back on the football team. Turk makes money hand over fist as a mob boss. The lovers’ European tour continues. An actor achieves popularity and acclaim. And Miles and Peter are living their fondest dreams.
Or are they? Do we dream about what we desire most? Or do we explore paths previously rejected to ensure we made the correct choice? In The Spectacular Spider-Men #3, Peter enjoys domesticity with Gwen. He plays with his children, and his career as Spider-Man is a bad memory. Miles and Kamala take their friendship to the next level. Sorry, Starling. It’s been real.
Peter and Miles’ Spiderific adventures began with their weekly visits to The Coffee Bean at the ESU campus. After Dr Seymour Krepps opened Miles Warren's old laboratory, Miles and Peter fought a Hulk-like version of the Jackal. Miles Warren experimented with cloning. He made clones of Gwen Stacy after she died. And then there was that familiar black, white, and pink form thwipping away from a foiled bank robbery. Why wouldn’t Gwen be on Peter’s mind?
Kamala's death hit Miles Morales hard. Her return to life and help fighting villains like Rabble has reinvigorated him. Miles has started surprising Kamala with hugs when she least expects it. Is Tiana Toomes falling off Miles’ emotional radar? Or is this just one of those unspoken things Miles has to explore before deciding where he belongs?
In The Spectacular Spider-Men #3, past and present tumble into a cauldron of churning dreams. Even if they’re not living their ultimate fantasies, Peter and Miles are happy. They don't want to check out. But why would they ever want to leave?
Beware those steely knives, guys!
Art
Peter and Miles separately face their front doors. Gwen hugs Peter from behind as her father offers Aunt May a bouquet of roses. Miles seems taken aback by the wonder in Kamala’s eyes. Yet in the morgue, Carlie Cooper regards Detective Sebbens and Coroner Jane Foster. Ignoring the skull X-rays on her desk, the Police Forensic Scientist crosses her arms over her chest as she and Jane Foster report their findings.
Miles and Kamala hold hands across the table of a restaurant's outdoor seating area that intrudes into the street. Peter sits with his children as they play, tickles and wrestles with them, and gazes at them while they sleep. Yet, as Miles and Peter enjoy their evenings with the women in their lives in The Spectacular Spider-Men #3, a familiar form lurks in the corner of their eyes. Can you hear the mission bell, guys?
Edgar Delgado lavishes a loaded palette of appealing colors on Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba’s art. Shadows stretch across a shiny tile floor. Background fades in closeups, replaced by a haze of diffused, colored lights. The Eiffel Tower glows yellow as lovers gaze upon the City Of Light. Blue and purple characters stand before a red control bank and gaze up at faces arrayed on a wall of monitors.
Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase letters into white balloons and colored narrative boxes. The appealing font rarely shrinks. Dialogue often grows bold, changes color, or enlarges. Musical notes nestle in fanciful balloons as Peter sings and plays with his children. Red laughter surrounds his head as Peter tickles his son and daughter. Yet screaming fills a panel as sparks fly, turning the air red in The Spectacular Spider-Men #3.
Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
While students go missing at Empire State University, two emotional vampires suck the life of people by fulfilling their cravings in The Spectacular Spider-Men #3. But is this real life or just a fantasy that could detonate every cell in their bodies?
Rating 9.2/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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