Writers: Dan Slott
Artists: Paco Medina
Colorist: Erick Arciniega
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Paco Medina & Rachelle Rosenberg; Elizabeth Torque; Mark Bagley & GURU-eFX, Michael Cho; Edwin Galmon & Jesus Aburtov; Federico Vicentini & Edgar Delgado
Designer: Adam Del Re
Editors: MR Daniel, Kaeden McGahey, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Ellie Pyle, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: October 23, 2024
Spider-Man surrendered his memories of a non-Spider-Man life with Uncle Ben to restore Bailey Briggs to the Web of Life and Destiny. Now everyone remembers Spider-Boy, including his mother, Tabitha Briggs. After Bailey saves a school bus full of children, his mom allows the 10-year-old to continue his costumed career. But what happens when villains remember their grudges against Bailey? Let's don our suits made from unstable molecules, thwip into Spider-Boy #12, and find out!
Story
When Tabitha takes her son and Christina Xu to a street fair, she discovers that the organizers want to celebrate her son's contributions to society. Like Spider-Man, Tabitha tried to discourage her child from crime-fighting. But she realizes this is Bailey's passion, and Tabitha loves him enough to give up her day with him so Bailey can entertain the crowd as Spider-Boy. If only she loved Boy-Spider, Eli (or Hellifino), and the rest of her adoptive Humanimal friends at Stillwell Farms as much!
Sadly for Bailey and his fans, Daredevil interrupts the Spider-Boy Day festivities. Daredevil abducts Bailey to shield him from Bullseye and his apprentice lurking on a rooftop. Then he whisks Spider-Boy off to find the boy's secret stash and reclaim an artifact Bailey never should have won. Despite Daredevil and Spider-Boy’s expertise in fighting and evading villains, they can’t shake Bullseye and his apprentice. Bullseye wants the artifact that Spider-Boy took from him. Although Bailey doesn't remember her, Bullseye's apprentice is obsessed with him in Spider-Boy #12.
Everyone met Spider-Boy for the first time until Spider-Man's sacrifice restored Bailey to the Web of Life and Destiny. Dan Slott's story flips the script by introducing Bailey to someone new. Or at least Bailey thinks she is someone new. But then, our outlooks are defined by our memories. Tabitha knew Bailey and Boy-Spider shared the same Human DNA but preferred to mother Boy-Spider because she couldn't remember Bailey. As for Bullseye’s apprentice, all of Bailey's good works can't erase something he said or did that hurt Spider-Girl.
Art
The cat recently freed from Tabitha’s DNA walks beside her, Bailey, and Christina in Spider-Boy #12. It glances at a dog that pulls on its leash and barks. Tabitha, Bailey, and Christina’s jaws drop, and their eyes widen when they see people clustered beneath Spider-Boy balloons and a banner. Tabitha touches his head before letting Bailey go. As they watch him leave, Christina hugs Tabitha's waist like Boy-Spider once clung to her. Paco Medina portrays differing reactions to Spider-Boy with Bailey’s new friends at school. Larissa wears a Spider-Boy pin in her hair and lets the ice cream fall out of its cone before handing Bailey a photo and interlocking her fingers. Marco’s smile is more reserved. After finishing his ice cream, Marco slips his hands into his pockets.
Bullseye’s apprentice poses like a dancer before throwing her shuriken. Erick Arciniega covers her in red, suggesting a link with Daredevil and Spider-Boy. The association grows more apparent as Bailey remembers training with Daredevil in Fogwell’s Gym.
Yellows and browns surround the red-clad sparring partners in Spider-Boy #12. Then colors invade the sepia backgrounds as Daredevil and Bullseye face off in a room that evokes Tony Stark’s courtship with Emma Frost. As Bailey watches in shadow, his ten eyes and sharp teeth glow, reminding us of Marco’s unease with New York’s newly remembered hero.
Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase lettering into white and colored dialogue balloons. Words shrink for distant or lowered voices, embolden for intonation, and swell for volume. Giant, colored dialogue conveys Larissa's delight and Spider-Boy's surprise. Sound effects help us hear Bailey mess up his autograph and Spider-Girl unleash her unique webs as Bullseye pauses to play cards. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Like Spider-Man, Daredevil knows that enabling a child to fight crime comes with a cost. Daredevil pays that price with stoic resolve, hoping to protect Bailey from the consequences of an impulsive attack. But with Bullseye and a new spider-villain hungering for a powerful artifact Bailey once stole, The Man Without Fear discovers that Spider-Boy isn’t a responsibility he can shrug off in Spider-Boy #12.
Rating 9.6/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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