Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Von Randal
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Cover Artists: Mark Brooks & Kasia Nie
Design & Production: Carlos Lao
Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & C B Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 9, 2025
How do you rectify social inequities? Carlos La Muerto wanted to help the unhoused. So Carlos forced an app onto everyone's phone and pointed a gun at Judge Barbour's head. The Black Tarantula's actions deepened the social divide between the haves and the have-nots, opening the door for Mr Fear to throw New York City into crisis.
Fabian risked his life to save Gwen Stacy from Mr Fear's toxin. But Gwen couldn't save him. When app users condemned the corrupt judge, Fabian threw himself before his father’s gun to save the judge.
Now, King Loki offers Spider-Gwen an opportunity to revive the handsome man she met at Bear Coffee on Earth-616. But first, she must graduate from King Loki’s training program. Can Gwen Stacy trust King Loki? Or is he as scheming and manipulative as all his other selves in the multiverse? Let's thwip into Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #12 and find out!
Story
After introducing her to the war between the Olyrians and the Vyrroks, King Loki brings Gwen to Solara Prime. Unlike New York in Earth-616, no one goes hungry, and everyone has a place to live. But Spider-Gwen discovers the dark side of paradise when she helps children in the park.
Gwen tried to prevent King Loki from capturing the cosmic cube. She never expected the cube to bond with her. Ouroborus from the Time Variance Authority wanted Gwen to keep calm and not carry on fighting crime on Earth-616. Now, King Loki is teaching Gwen to harness the power he wants in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #12. After driving Chameleon’s nanites wild, Gwen understands how necessary this is.
While seeking to master her new abilities, Gwen struggles to change her perspective in Stephanie Phillips's story. She can play the drums with the Mary Janes. Gwen can protect the streets from street villains like purse snatchers and the Bodega Bandit. As she wields Phoenix-level powers, Gwen discovers why Jean Grey is on a "scavenger hunt for redemption." Gods like King Loki have a cosmic view of the universe. Individuals like Gwen and Jean fight to protect the endangered and oppressed. But like Carlos La Muerto, Gwen discovers that addressing social inequities often brings unexpected consequences in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #12.
Art
Matt Milla shows a flashback of King Loki surrounded by red, orange, and purple. King Loki beholds a glowing white cube. The chains hold the cube more effectively than those wielded by the Black Tarantula’s men in the New York underground. And when King Loki reaches for the cube, his features distort in horror. As for Gwen, she is in her element with the Mary Janes on a New York City rooftop. Yellow and lavender capture her emotions and love of music as she keeps time to Mary Jane’s strumming and singing, Glory’s keyboards, and Betty’s bass guitar. Then clouds gather, and lightning tears through the skies like an out-of-control blaster.
Von Randal shows Gwen and King Loki gaze up at the buildings hovering in the green-blue sky above the skyscrapers of Solara Prime. As they walk along a path through a park, King Loki plucks a piece of fruit from a tree. When children clad in tunics approach, Gwen retrieves their ball. She stares through the faceplate of her spacesuit at a design that evokes the moons orbiting this perfect planet. Then, the alien children scatter as guards with blasters surround her. Their suits seem a cross between AIM and the Martians in Mars Attacks.
Ariana Maher thwips uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons with long white arrows and places rouge words in white narrative boxes outlined with turquoise. The text grows bold for intonation and enlarges for raised voices. The sounds of thwipping, blaster fire, and cosmic power enhance Gwen’s descent into Paradise Lost in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #12. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Politicians seek quick fixes to correct societal problems. Policies that benefit the majority often take a toll on those in the minority. While Gwen Stacy wonders if she can trust King Loki to teach her to wield a cosmic cube, her dedication to heroism prevents Gwen from embracing a larger perspective in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #12.
Rating 9.6/10
To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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