Amazing Spider-Man #12 Review

 

Writer: Joe Kelly

Penciler: Ed McGuinness

Inkers: Cliff Rathburn & Ed McGuinness

Colorists: Marcio Menyz & Erick Arciniega

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Ed McGuinness & Marte Gracia; Lee Bermejo (Amazing Visions); Simone Bianchi; Rogê Antônio & Marcelo Maiolo; James Kerigan (Halloween Mask); NetEase Games (Marvel Mystic Mayhem)

Designer: Jay Bowen

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe, & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: September 17, 2025

 

Ben Reilly felt every moment of Cyra’s test thanks to his unspoken clone thing with Peter Parker. So, he impersonates Peter Parker while the genuine article is away. But Ben lacks Peter’s Freaktastic connection to Brian Nehring. And Chasm lacks compassion for the people in Peter’s life.

 

Norman Osborn has come a long way. Driven by Peter’s faith in him, Norman tries to fill his friend’s shoes while he’s gone. But no one likes Norman’s take on Manhattan’s webslinger. And while all that is going on, Roderick Kingsley is fending off Norman’s legal maneuvers and using Queen’s Cola to move weapons in Tombstone’s streets. Will Ben Reilly and Norman Osborn cost Peter Parker his job, his friendships, and his reputation as a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man? Let's thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #12 and see!

 

 

 

Story

We always feel like we know the right thing to do. Hermes Crenshaw thinks he knows what's going on with Spider-Man, but he rushes to judgment without substantiating his claims. J Jonah Jameson generally tries to do what's right. Sadly, his way of doing what's right often means hurting other people. Although he's working for another corporation now, Ben Reilly's still trying to be like Peter Parker. But he knows he's failing and realizes his time at Rand is beyond limited. And that hurts.

 

Of all the people in Joe Kelly’s story, Norman theoretically has the best shot at emulating Peter Parker. He knows the man behind the mask. And unlike Roderick Kingsley, Norman wishes to make amends for his acts as a goblin. But life has forged Norman into a predator who exploits weaknesses and crushes the opposition. That mindset has served him well in building a business empire. No matter how hard Norman wants to be good, his past forged him into a fighter who destroys his rivals. And that hurts.

 

In Amazing Spider-Man #12, New York’s Spider-Society confronts Manhattan's spider-poseur. But instead of attempting an intervention, they adopt Norman's tactics. They try to strongarm the Captain of Industry, who once stole Roderick Kingsley's business empire. And that's going to hurt.  

 

 

 

Art

Ed McGuinness and Cliff Rathburn show Norman swinging into action. He hurtles down pages and careers across two-page layouts. Norman thwips by night and corrals herds of paperwork at Oscorp by day. He slips off brick walls and crashes into cars. Norman hurries from one item on his packed itinerary to the next. And whatever he does, and wherever he goes in his trek toward redemption, Norman frowns.

 

While the paparazzi put Norman’s life under the microscope with their cameras, Brian Nehring tries to peer into Ben Reilly’s soul with his magnifying glass. The Mycoteria clinging to a shard of hovering steel reveal Astrid’s fears, even if it doesn’t justify her goblin-like disdain. But when Brian extends his hand, Ben shrinks from contact, just like Norman Osborn in Amazing Spider-Man #12.

 

 

 

Amid the beige and gray locale, where Tombstone showed Peter the limitations of the legal system, Marcio Menyz and Erick Arciniega's yellow-orange light suggests the sun is setting on Norman's legal maneuvering. A black, white, and red image forms a link with Norman's spider-suit, while a face shaded purple contrasts Norman's strategy with Peter’s when he had to justify his existence. While Norman crouches in a place that has often brought Peter peace, he confronts all the colors that better represent what it means to be a spider-hero.

 

 

 

Joe Caramagna fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase dialogue. Font size shrinks when business giants whisper. Faint lowercase handprinted lettering reveals Norman's thoughts in irregular white rectangles. Sound effects reveal Norman's pain and his willingness to visit it on anyone who threatens to hurt him in Amazing Spider-Man #12. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Pain forged Norman Osborn into an unstoppable empire builder. But when a victim from his past returns to judge his progress in turning his life around, Norman realizes he has a long way to go in justifying Peter Parker’s faith in him in Amazing Spider-Man #12.

 

Rating 9/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.