Saturday, January 18, 2025

Amazing Spider-Man #65 Review


 


Writer: Joe Kelly

Artist: Cafu

Colorist: Frank D’Armata

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove; NetEase (Marvel Rivals); Elizabeth Torque; Luciano Vecchio; Skottie Young

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

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: January 8, 2025

 

Peter Parker may like Phil Coulson. Still, Peter doesn’t want to die to see him. So, Peter goads Callix into attacking him before the scion is ready and wins his bout. Will Spider-Man's contest with Cyra go as smoothly? Let's strap on our arcane armor, thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #65, and find out!

 

Story

Aunt May is pressing Peter to have a life. The woman who raised him wants her nephew to settle on a career, get married, and have children. Aunt May wants to feel like her sacrifices made a difference in Peter’s life. Unfortunately, Aunt May isn't the only one who has expectations of Peter. Randy Robertson is organizing a photography show to boost Peter’s career. Shay Marken wants to make a life with Peter. Black Cat wants her friend’s emotional support. Spider-Boy wants to thwip and quip with him. Yet, Peter fails them because he can’t meet everyone’s expectations.

 

Unlike Cyttorak’s other scions, Cyra shares Peter's resentment over being compelled to fight in these contests. But unlike Black Cat, Cyra finds no joy in what she does. Doctor Strange insists that dying is part of winning battles with the gods. Yet Peter survived his fight with her twin brother. So when Cyra forces Peter to face the Inevitability of Death in Amazing Spider-Man #65, Peter assumes he will not need the Reeds Of Raggadoor again. Nor does it seem as though Cyra will lash out and kill Peter if he wins.

 

Compared with the previous contests, Cyra’s challenge is not physically or intellectually demanding. He cannot rebuff her with strengths like his understanding of physics, his ability to master new skills, or his quipping and thwipping expertise. Instead, Cyra’s "Emo Fanfic" tests Peter's emotions. As Reverend Mother Gaius Mohiam tested Paul Atreides, Cyra judges Peter Parker’s humanity. Just as Paul believed his hand was burning, Peter agonizes over the death of his loved ones.

 

Ironies ripple through Joe Kelly’s story. Cyra asserts that nothing anyone does has any significance. Yet her brother desperately wishes to impress their father. Cyra hates Earth because Humans are an “unserious” species. Still, she finds value in one of Spider-Man's quips. Cyra infers that Humans should work toward a great plan that moves the species forward. But she doesn’t seem interested in accomplishing anything. Perhaps the biggest irony in Spider-Man #65 is that Cyra and Peter wield extraordinary power. Yet Peter sacrifices to help others while Cyra wants a drink and a bath.

 


 

 

Art

Unlike the other scions, Cyra is not haughty. She forges a connection with Spider-Man and shares the pain she inflicts. Cyra may be a god. Still, one of her head-tails lacks an end, and a scar mars her divine countenance. Perhaps an earlier attack on her invincibility shocked Cyra. Like Phil Coulson, she recognizes that her appearances only bring others pain. Overwhelmed by the truth she wields, Cyra urges Spider-Man not to struggle and accept the inevitable.

 

Frank D’Armata lavishes a loaded palette on Cafu’s art in Amazing Spider-Man #65. Amid layouts across pages, cosmic battles are red, silver, yellow, and purplish black. Purple and yellow remind us of the isolating power of disease, while green and yellow often accompany magic. Blue, yellow, red, and black color Peter's most traumatizing vision. Yet Spider-Man's red and silver arms passing through a figure clothed in black and green are heartbreaking.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into dialogue balloons and red-edged narrative boxes. Cyra’s Emo Fanfic inhabits beige boxes. The dialogue grows bold for inflection, enlarges for volume, and rarely shrinks. Sound effects highlight one man's desperation for significance. Yet the blue uppercase dialogue in white dialogue balloons reminds us what makes Peter Parker unique and why Earth needs him to be Spider-Man. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 


 

 

Final Thoughts

Everyone loses in Amazing Spider-Man #65. Yet nearly everyone wins in this fifth battle for the late great planet Earth. Like life itself, Joe Kelly’s story is a matter of perspective. And even a god with everything to live for can embrace despair.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

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

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