Writer: Justina Ireland
Penciler: Andrea Broccardo
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Marcio Menyz
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Patrick Gleason & Richard Isanove; Skottie Young; Cory Smith & Edgar Delgado; Luciano Vecchio
Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: February 19, 2025
Peter Parker may have spent the night with Felicia Hardy, but he’s hardly ready to rekindle their romance. He's seen everyone in the world die. Finally, he can retire from the superhero career sparked by his uncle's death. Someone else can take up Doom's challenge and fight the scions of Cyttorak. If they succeed, Peter can pursue a life like Arcadium showed him. If they fail, well, everyone dies sooner or later.
Doctor Strange and Cyra couldn’t break through Peter’s malaise. Can anyone convince Peter to stop petting Felicia’s cats and don Doctor Doom’s arcane armor again? Let's grab some chew toys for Callix’s crimson hounds, thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #68, and find out!
Story
Why would a scion cry? That’s what Peter wonders when Cyra pulls him through a portal. Peter sees his best friend, almost-girlfriend, Aunt May, and another man on the ground. Instead of hosting the FEAST Community Day, the volunteers exemplify what happens when people don’t help the endangered.
Peter cried when he watched the characters die in Cyra’s sad stories. The corpses remind him that threats will always attack Earth in Amazing Spider-Man #68. Doctor Doom and Doctor Strange are tackling other dangers to the planet. But because Peter believed in the fiction Cyra created, Spider-Man withdrew his protection from the people he loved.
Cradios asked the X-Men to stop annoying him while the scion destroyed their world. Callix welcomes resistance in Amazing Spider-Man #68. Doom's arcane armor and Doctor Strange’s magic spells help Peter level up. But the Blight convinces the godling to shed the "weaknesses" that restrain him. Callix handed Spider-Man an easy victory during his challenge. Not even Juggernaut can stop Callix now. Still, Spider-Man vows to do what he can in Justina Ireland's story.
Everyone struggles in their relationships. Like Callix, Peter has fought to meet others' expectations. The Blight senses the resultant irritation. Perhaps Juggernaut and Spider-Man can disregard this anger. But outrage over an inability to please everyone threatens to sweep across Earth like a pandemic. How much more might we accomplish if we could eighty-six all the people who refuse to be pleased with our efforts on their behalf?
Art
While the X-Men shine like a rainbow, Marcio Menyz clothes Peter in white and gray. Radiant red Cyra brings Peter to Phil Coulson. Attired in black and gray, Coulson stands before the shattered pearlescent windows of the golden-brown FEAST center. Red fabric and silver and green armor transform Peter. The white polygonal eye shields regard Aunt May. Then, the silver mask turns away. Doom's champion clutches his metal-clad fingers into fists in Amazing Spider-Man #68.
Once, Callix's face shone as brightly as Cyra’s. Like a star, the infected scion's face burns white-hot as red and orange energy beams surround him. After Spider-Man drops between the X-Men and Callix, Spider-Man leads the charge of the X-Light Brigade. Smoke rises around Callix and his Rot Dogs amid the Contest Of Champions. Andrea Broccardo and Scott Hanna show the Blight covering Callix as cells, amoebas, or miniature universes. But when Callix converts the Blight into a black shard, he demonstrates the ultimate effects of Soul Rot.
Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The dialogue grows bold and changes color for inflection. As it enlarges for volume and rarely shrinks, barking and snarling rise above the devastation. Energy beams and explosions amplify the growing chaos. But a snap decision could echo across the universe in Amazing Spider-Man #68. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Peter Parker dreams of a life without power or responsibilities. When he awakens, he discovers that reality differs radically from his fantasy. So, Peter makes a list of what he can do. But as the Avengers couldn’t prevent Thanos from pruning the crowded universe, Spider-Man struggles to halt the efficiency drive intended to simplify his complex world in Amazing Spider-Man #68.
Rating 9.7/10
To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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