Amazing Spider-Man #65 Deaths Review

 

Writer: Derek Landy

Penciler: Kev Walker

Inkers: Kev Walker & Wade Von Grawbadger

Colorist: Mattia Iacono

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove; Carlo Pagulayan & Romulo Fajardo Jr

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: January 15, 2025

 

What does it matter how much you accomplish? Everyone forgets you after you die, and your impact on the world fades. The fifth scion of Cyttorak claims her test is the Inevitability Of Truth. Spider-Man dubs it the Inevitability Of Death. He knows Cyra's visions speak emotional rather than literal truth. Yet Spider-Man grasps defeat from the jaws of victory. He refuses to uphold Doctor Strange's Covenant and fight Cyttorak's three remaining scions.

 

Will Peter Parker let Earth fall? Or can Doctor Strange convince him to preserve the Covenant? Let's take a long look in the mirror, thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #65 Deaths, and find out!

 

Story

Doctor Strange imagined the worst. No matter how much he learned or how hard he practiced, Doctor Strange could never protect Earth from every possible danger. So, the Sorcerer Supreme bargained with Cyttorak. In exchange for more power, Doctor Strange agreed to battle the scions of Cyttorak every January of the Crimson Calendar year. The bargain worked until Doctor Strange died. Now, the responsibility of protecting Earth from Cyttorak's wrath falls to someone else.

 

Doctor Doom doesn't care about non-Latverians enough to protect them. The new Sorcerer Supreme looks for someone willing to put the needs of others above himself. Doctor Doom gives Spider-Man arcane armor to protect him while battling demigods. Doom also gifts Peter the eight Get Out Of Death Free Reeds Of Raggadorr. Yet in Amazing Spider-Man #65 Deaths, Peter Parker says, “I’m done.” Doctor Strange doesn’t understand Peter’s decision. To the former Sorcerer Supreme, life is a game, and Peter has a role to play.

 

In his story, Derek Landy contemplates the tapestry that connects every person in the multiverse. Like all spider heroes, Peter feels that interconnectedness thanks to the Web Of Life And Destiny. Yet Cyra revealed everyone's insignificance. Saving individual lives means nothing in that context.

 

The deaths of beloved individuals like Uncle Ben and Gwen Stacy helped Peter Parker feel a responsibility to protect those he didn’t know. But in Amazing Spider-Man #65 Deaths, Peter no longer knows who he is. Peter cannot suddenly view the world through Doctor Doom or Doctor Strange’s eyes. All Peter can see is that he built his life on a lie.

 

 

 

Art

Kev Walker and Wade Von Grawbadger show Peter shuffling through life. Like a zombie, he moves without purpose and sees without observing. Peter leaves his apartment to purchase a hot dog. Then he stares into space as the ketchup and mustard ooze onto the kitchen table. Peter takes no pleasure in eating. Even the flavor of the food he chose cannot reach the pleasure centers of his brain. Devoid of purpose, Peter hugs a pillow and retracts into a near-fetal position.

 

Mattia Iacono juxtaposes Phil Coulson's cool purplish-black suit with warm browns, tans, and golds in Peter's apartment. Like Vision, Coulson floats through his surroundings. Unlike Peter, he observes. Still, he drifts. Coulson struggles to sit with Peter as an equal, preferring to stand to attention. When Coulson peers into Peter's memories, bright colors explode around him. Like the fireworks on the Fourth Of July, the formative clashes and catastrophes that transformed Peter Parker into Spider-Man surround these lost souls on a battered red couch.  

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black and blue lettering into white dialogue balloons. The dialogue grows bold for inflection and never shrinks. Peter signals his disinterest in life by slamming a door on Doctor Strange, then hurling the door closed before Phil Coulson. Yet the spectral font that fills cloudy dialogue balloons inevitably accompanies Coulson’s Test Of Truth. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Phil Coulson never chose to embrace the dead. Like Peter Parker, he feels lost, drifting through an endless existence. Doctor Strange urges Coulson to convince Peter to uphold the Covenant in Amazing Spider-Man #65 Deaths. As Phil Coulson peers into Peter’s mind, Coulson remembers the events that shaped him and discovers why he has become more than a government agent who collects superhero trading cards.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

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