Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #3 Review

 

Writer: Stephanie Phillips

Artists: Federica Mancin & Paolo Villanelli

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Mark Brooks, Ryan Stegman, Annie Wu & Skottie Young

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 31, 2024

 

Spider-Man lured Gwen Stacy to a cargo ship at the docks. He fought her and transformed into Kraven before his face went blank. Who is this man of a thousand faces? Let's thwip into Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #3 and see if we can unravel this web of mystery!

 

Story

Chameleon stole her face. Like Joan Jett, Kraven’s half-brother is giving Ghost-Spider a Bad Reputation. Why is Chameleon hurting people in her name? Why is he making everyone think Gwen is a criminal?

 

Gwen Stacy is a woman in chains. While hanging inside the cargo ship, her father appears. He reminds her that force can’t solve every problem. Then something happens she doesn’t understand. A startling metamorphosis occurs. Gwen escapes her chains amid this strange event and fights Chameleon. Now, people see two Ghost-Spiders terrorizing citizens and destroying public property. Could things get any worse for Gwen?

 

In Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #3, Ouroborus’ words haunt Gwen Stacy. He warned her that wearing the suit would bring deadly consequences. The Time Variance Authority agent pulled her out of an apocalypse on Earth-65 and asked her to live as Lisa Rogers. But Gwen refused to stay in her apartment. She blamed the symbiote for her insatiable acts of heroism. Now, while she transforms, so does Chameleon.

 

As Stephanie Phillips reveals Gwen's growing powers, Phillips populates her story with classic Spidey villains like Kraven, Chameleon, and Black Tarantula. She intrigues us with the perils facing Gwen and the multiverse. But at its core, Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #3 is a horror story. Someone stole Gwen’s identity. They are ruining her new life on Earth-616. Wait! Someone caused an apocalypse on Earth-65. As Gwen's powers grow, so do Chameleon’s. Did Gwen unleash chaos in her world? Might she be the instrument of destruction for Earth-616? Could she become a cancer afflicting every planet in the multiverse?

 

 

 

Art

Families enjoying a cheery day in the park are stunned by Gwen’s obnoxious thwips. She frightens a child with a Venomous grin. The Ghost-Spider’s graffiti can’t compare to Miles’ artistry, but she tears up the streets in a car chase through New York City. Yet Gwen hangs by chains in the damaged cargo ship. Fog hovers over the deck as her father appears. Through her ripped mask, she watches him emerge from the darkness. When he fades, light blasts from her mouth. The energy rips through the deck and becomes a cyclone above the ship. Identities lose their meaning as Gwen fights Gwen. Only the powers they unleash distinguish one Ghost-Spider from another.

 

Matt Milla lavishes a loaded palette of vibrant colors on Federica Mancin’s fanciful and action-packed art in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #3. Milla grounds bright blues, greens, oranges, and yellows against beiges, tans, and browns. People glow in the sunlight and grow purple in the shade. Yet white proves most potent as it whirls and crackles from Gwen's black, lavender, pink, and yes, white suit. Purple dominates the evening sky as Paolo Villanelli steeps Federica Mancin’s final scenes in greens, yellows, and oranges.

 

Ariana Maher thwips uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons with long white arrows and rouge words into white narrative boxes outlined with turquoise. The text varies in size as it grows bold and enlarges for intonation, while epic-sized dialogue elevates tense drama and action. Vibrant and energizing sound effects accompany rattling chains and spur on an energy storm while brawling Ghost-Spiders split a taxi in two like the Hulk fighting the Abomination in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #3. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

With power comes responsibility. But Gwen Stacy didn't heed OB's warning. Now, her powers are growing, and her friends are frightened for her. Perhaps they're scared of her. But no one is more terrified than Gwen is in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #3. A bonus multipage installment of a serial about a brawl across the multiverse featuring Deadpool, Wolverine, and excessive facial hair makes this a Can't-Miss issue!

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.