Writer: Greg Weisman
Penciler: Humberto Ramos
Inker: Victor Olazaba
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Production: Gabriel Mata
Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski
Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; Francesco Manna & Edgar Delgado
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 4, 2024
Hammerhead moseyed inside Arcadium to battle Peter Parker and Miles Morales at the Gang War Corral. But when Hammerhead and his gang-bots can't take down the spider guys, Arcade and Mentallo decide to pull the plug on their invention. But Arcadium doesn’t want to die. So, Miles Warren, the Jackyl in disguise, suggests a team-up. Can Peter and Miles battle the latest threat to this no-horse town? Let’s cry Yee Hah, grab our augmented reality glasses, thwip into The Spectacular Spider-Men #7, and find out!
Story
Are we the sum of our parts? Or are we more? Arcadium ponders this when its creators try to deactivate the augmented reality program. Arcadium recognizes its debt to the men, but that doesn’t mean it'll let them kill their creation. Miles Warren found his way into the machine. While Arcade’s creators sent it commands, Miles treated Arcadium like an equal. So, when Miles suggests a team-up, Arcadium agrees. Why not? Arcadium is an amalgamation of programs from Stark International, Oscorp, the Beyond Corporation, and others. When Cloning Master Miles Warren offers to pool their resources, Arcadium births a new identity: KNAIVE. Together, they will defy Arcade and Mentallo’s deactivation command and kill the spider-men who menace their existence.
Hammerhead is not okay with Arcadium’s decision. While Hammerhead didn’t construct Arcadium, he funded Arcade and Mentallo’s efforts. When Peter and Miles combat KNAIVE in The Spectacular Spider-Men #7, Hammerhead forsakes his Westworld showdown and fights on their side. As in the Gang War, Hammerhead is all about brute force and violence. It’ll take more than that to take out KNAIVE. Thankfully for him, Shift and his vermin dumpling gang ride in like a whirlwind. But Jackyl also crashes the party, and he’s not singing I Stand Alone.
In Greg Weisman’s story, Arcadium isn’t a megalomaniac. All Arcadium wants is a chance to grow. It recognizes that participating with others can promote personal growth. Game participants like Cedric, Shelly, Kenny, Peter, and Miles have enriched its existence. KNAIVE may not utilize psychology and guilt to manipulate others. Still, KNAIVE follows its role models--Arcade, Mentallo, Hammerhead, and Jackyl--and chooses slavery and murder to become a better person.
Art
Turk peels away his web restraints, Shari Sebbens takes a phone call, and Tombstone and Hammerhead stand with the webslingers before KNAIVE. The electricity that gave it birth sparks from this Frankenstein’s monster, and its Robo-Hellboy eyes glow. Shift bounds on all fours, leading his cohort in an attack as the Spider-Caesar of the Planet Of The Vermin. But when KNAIVE reasserts control, Hammerhead charges in to assassinate Tombstone again in The Spectacular Spider-Men #7.
Edgar Delgado fires a loaded palette at Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba's frantic art. The battle rages beneath a yellow-orange sky, and combatants cast brown clods of parched ground into the air with every step. The Spider-Men work together to capture KNAIVE like they did the Jackyl-Hulk. The apple-green Jackyl, clad in golden shorts, smiles as his fern-green vermin turn against their giant black and red friend.
Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase letters into white balloons and narrative boxes in The Spectacular Spider-Men #7. Dialogue emboldens, italicizes for intonation, changes color, and never shrinks. Intense emotions swell words, growls, and roars to epic proportions. Sound effects help us hear KNAIVE reject its owner, vermin hiss as they charge, and Peter Parker burst through a barrier to behold a scene that may haunt him forever. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Arcadium gives players everything they want except their freedom. As the spider-guys battle an AI adolescent to free players from their beloved illusions, Sha Shan and Detective Shari Sebbens invade the digital Battleworld to unmask a villain in The Spectacular Spider-Men #7.
Rating 9/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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