Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artists: Paolo Villanelli
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Cover Artists: Mark Brooks, Rian Gonzalez & Inhyuk Lee
Design & Production: Carlos Lao
Editors: MR Daniel, Jordan D White, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 11, 2024
Gwen unleashes energy blasts but tells Silk it’s nothing new. Chameleon doesn’t care. Gwen’s power supercharged his nanites. Like a drug addict, Chameleon craves another fix. Ouroborus of the Time Variance Authority warned Gwen that using her powers could destroy Earth-616, but Chameleon doesn’t leave her a choice. Chameleon uses his glitching powers to transform into the Scorpion and destroy Bear Coffee. That’ll teach the management to charge $10 for a coffee and a croissant! Then Chameleon-Scorpion grabs Gwen and carries her up a building. Will Spider-Gwen’s laser battle with Chameleon turn New York City into a Spider-Ghost Town? Let's thwip into Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #5 and find out!
Story
Gwen loves to thwip through the sky. But police helicopters survey the air, and patrol cars search the streets. So, Gwen and Chameleon hide beneath the city. Their tangle on the rooftops evoked the Russian fable of a frog helping a scorpion cross a river. Now, Gwen helps Dmitri splash through the sewer. She can tell he’s hurting. Gwen wants to ease Chameleon’s pain. Does she have time for a crash course in reprogramming nanites?
It never fails. Every time you take the time to figure something out, an interruption strikes! In Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #5, Vermin objects to their intrusion. Vermin and his gang may be friendly with Peter, Miles, and Shift in the sewers beneath Empire State University, but the humanoid rat doesn't extend the hand of friendship to Gwen and Chameleon. His powers may be glitching, but Chameleon keeps them safe. But then Black Tarantula and his gang invade the sewers. Carlos may enjoy a good match, but he wants two first-round knockouts. Who knew the sewers were so lively?
In a complex world, myths, fables, children’s stories, and analogies can illuminate the truth. Chameleon used artificial enhancements to steal others’ abilities. In Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #5, she guides Dmitri toward a revelation. Gwen also discovers that she can’t hide from growth and change. She must accept who she’s becoming and learn to wield her new abilities for the betterment of others. Stephanie Phillips sprinkles her story with the importance of family, guarding those we love, and the need for the next generation to forge their paths. After issues filled with fun chats with friends and daytime adventures, Phillips delivers a taut nighttime thrill ride that prompts character growth. Gwen may show less concern for those injured amid her battles than for Chameleon. But in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #5, Gwen Stacy reigns.
Art
Lights glare off police cars as a helicopter flies past a tower. Light from below makes a sewer drain glow. Matt Milla’s vivid colors enliven Paolo Villanelli’s heavy inks as Chameleon's nanites spark and flare in the darkened sewer. Chameleon's face threatens to melt, and Spider-Gwen raises a hand to shield her eyes. Yet her eyes radiate light like the police car headlights. She perches on a concrete support as his energy brightens the green water. Then light overexposes Gwen's head, and she turns to see Vermin.
The humanoid rat wears rags and a bone necklace. Gwen thwips as Vermin and his rats crash into her with red glowing eyes and hungry teeth. Brown hands force her beneath the angry green surf. Chameleon bathes the air in a yellow light that sends Verminkind scurrying. But the power appears to tax his soul in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #5.
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. Letters wobble as Vermin hisses. Vibrant and energizing sound effects accompany fights beneath the city and above, while blue letters surround a character crouching in an angry ball of light. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Gwen's descent into darkness leads to enlightenment, and a secret admirer may resolve a Spiderific mystery in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #5.
Rating 9.6/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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