Writer: Joe Kelly
Penciler: Ed McGuinness
Inkers: Mark Farmer & Cliff Rathburn
Artist: Cafu
Colorists: Alex Sinclair, Marcio Menyz & Frank D’Armata
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Ed McGuinness, Cliff Rathburn & Marcio
Menyz; Skottie Young; Peach Momoko; Frank Miller & Alex Sinclair; Iban
Coello & Jesus Aburtov; Björn Barends; Brent Schoonover & Rachelle
Rosenberg; Netease (Marvel Rivals)
Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C
B Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $5.99
Release Date: March 26, 2025
Callix slew his siblings and Spider-Man. After threatening
to murder his surviving sister unless she joined him, Callix left Cyra with the
corpses to attack their father. Cyra never craved power like Callix. Instead, Cyttorak’s
games made her feel like nothing mattered. Spider-Man's reverence for life
taught Cyra to care about others.
So Cyra makes a pact with the Avatar Of Death. The scion
offers Phil Coulson her immortality and magical power to revive Peter. Will
Cyra’s sacrifice be worth it? And how will Peter Parker’s life change when he
becomes the Unstoppable Spidernaut? Let's slip on our hazmat suits, leap into
Amazing Spider-Man #70, and find out!
Story
The Blight is a force of nature. While Cyttorak sensed its
hunger to devour life, he also felt the vitality of the universe. Cyttorak’s
sensitivity to life and how the Blight yearned to destroy it tore at his heart.
The god walled away this unendurable pain and fear by distancing himself from
life, playing games with his family, and telling himself he didn’t care about
anything or anyone.
When Dr Strange wanted the power of the Crimson Casket, he
discovered the danger of the Blight. He made an offer Cyttorak could not
refuse. Why not make a game of protecting life? All this worked fine until Dr
Doom became Sorcerer Supreme. The Ruler of Latervia (and perhaps the world)
didn't want to protect Earth's Borders and pretend the cosmic danger didn't
exist. Strange's approach managed the menace and saved lives. But it also
kicked the can down the road for future generations to take care of. In Joe Kelly's
story, Doom appoints someone who reveres life and would never make a game out
of protecting it. So what if a few million people die because Spider-Man won't
play by Dr Strange's rules? Doom is building a better future.
In Amazing Spider-Man #70, the Blight festers in anyone who
wonders if life is worth fighting for. It feeds off negative energy, empowering
people to kill those who hurt them. And who can hurt you more than the people
you love? Peter has tried Cyra and Cyttorak’s way of dealing with the Blight.
Now, as the Spidernaut, Peter discovers a more direct way of combatting it. When
his approach works against the symptoms of infection, Peter channels all his
power to tackle the source of the disease.
Art
Spidernaut travels through realms of reality to strike stratospheric
Callix. Peter’s punch hurtles Callix back to Earth as a crimson streak. The
displaced air and explosion shocks Dr Doom more than the former Sorcerer
Supreme. Humming with power, Peter Parker returns to Earth. His first act is to
clasp Juggernaut’s shoulder. Callix, beaten but defiant, rises from the impact
crater to radiate the Blight like a star in Amazing Spider-Man #70.
While the Blight’s infection spreads across him as red eyes
and black appendages, Callix thwips barbed webs reminiscent of how Spider-Girl
emulates Spider-Boy's powers. As the Blight distorts Callix’s appearance, its
massive brown body hangs over New York like a MUTO, turning the sky yellow,
orange, and brown. Infused by Cyra’s crimson magic, Spidernaut no longer wears
Doom’s arcane armor. Instead, Peter wears a Juggy-shaped version of his
familiar red-and-blue.
When Spidernaut conjures a circle of blue and leaves a blue
streak behind, Dr Strange questions his colleague in Amazing Spider-Man #70.
Rather than answer, Doom turns away from the blue Dr Strange. Doom’s gray mask
lightens, along with the yellow and brown sky.
While Alex Sinclair and Marcio Menyz lavish a loaded palette
on Ed McGuinness, Mark Farmer, and Cliff Rathburn’s art, Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase
black and blue lettering into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The
dialogue grows bold for inflection, swells and changes color for volume, and
shrinks for lowered voices. A giant shout emphasizes the power coursing through
Spider-Man, while letters in pink balloons convey agony. Stylized lowercase
letters in yellow boxes infuse a historical perspective on these apocalyptic
events. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Cash Grab: Story
As Spider-Man pursues thieves, one opens a bag and hurls
money from the hoverdisk. When the windfall causes pedestrians' attention to
wander, Spider-Man abandons his pursuit to protect them. Joe Kelly's optimistic
five-page story in Amazing Spider-Man #70 ponders how institutions weather
tragedies that crush individuals.
Cash Grab: Art
Laser beams streak past Spidey as he thwips through a flock
of greenbacks. Soldiers in black wearing Mandalorian helmets stand atop a
hovering metal disk. Spider-Man asks a police officer to grab fluttering
currency as he makes an impression on the patrol car roof. Cafu's art and Frank
D’Armata’s coloring lend a dreamlike quality to Peter's struggle to live a
double life as a superhero with a secret identity and foster friendships, a
family, and a successful upfront career.
Final Thoughts
Adopting a different suit helps Peter Parker identify with one
of his greatest enemies in Amazing Spider-Man #70. Drawing on Dr Strange’s
tutelage, Cyra’s endurance test, and Cyttorak’s crimson magic, Peter's courage
and selflessness inspire others.
Rating 9.6/10
To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
