Amazing Spider-Man #10 Review

 

Writer: Joe Kelly

Artist: Michael Dowling

Colorists: Marte Gracia with Erick Arciniega

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; Dike Ruan; Paulo Siqueira & Rachelle Rosenberg; J Scott Campbell & Sabine Rich

Designer: Jay Bowen

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

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 20, 2025

 

Nikodemu sent Hellgate to learn from Spider-Man. Instead, Hellgate taught Spider-Man a lesson he won’t forget. Peter Parker’s life is a history of one loss after another. His uncle Ben taught him to pull his punches and flee a fight when no one else faces danger. But as the weeks pass after the Columbus Circle Fracas, Tombstone makes hay while the Spider-Man doesn't shine.

 

Shocker builds a team to "protect" the streets and becomes Tombstone’s second-favorite person (after that Hellgate guy). And while chaos reigns in New York City, Peter Parker is digging into mushrooms and self-isolating from family and friends. Why has Peter gotten soft on crime? And why is he pushing away the people who love him? Let's thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #10 and see!

 

Story

After Shay Marken challenged Peter Parker to be more dependable, Spider-Man teamed with Mayor Cage to throw Tombstone in prison. Instead, Tombstone eluded their legal maneuvering to remain the new Kingpin of New York. But he's got a thing about getting Peter Parker into a limousine. Luke Cage and She-Hulk saved Peter's life the last time he accepted an invitation from Tombstone. Yet in Amazing Spider-Man #10, Tombstone seems surprised when Peter hesitates to take another ride on the wild side.

 

As Tombstone consolidates his hold over New York, Peter once again adopts a proactive view. His approach impresses Dr Osmani-Milton, who promotes Peter over the childhood friend who recommended him. Dr O-M is looking for someone to oversee Rand Enterprises when life calls her away. Employees who make inappropriate workplace remarks and wear mushroom hats aren't on her short list.

 

Peter has always lived a double life. But in Amazing Spider-Man #10, Black Cat worries about her sometime-lover. The all-new, all-different Spider-Man may be the talk of the town. But bad things happen when Spider-Man wears black. As she keeps her eyes on Peter Parker, Black Cat also watches for Spider-Man. Tombstone had a message for Peter to relay. But if Peter didn’t want to play courier, Tombstone may find another way to deliver it.

 

 

 

Art

After the death of his parents, Peter Parker found solace by hiding away from the world in Ben and May’s Walk-In closet. The full-length mirrors weren't from Hogwarts, but they provided the same solace as the Mirror of Erised. Clad in his black-and-red suit, Spider-Man goes full-on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, running along the side of a building before somersaulting down to punch out Aftershocks. With his shield, Captain Kintsugi may emulate a great American hero. But yellow rivulets run through his white suit like hellfire through black 'A’ā. Thus, Spider-Man welcomes his wannabee assistant as much as he welcomed Captain America’s help when trying to rescue Mary Jane from Paul Rabin’s world.

 

As Michael Dowling sketches Peter’s new battle with his identity, Marte Gracia and Erick Arciniega paint Amazing Spider-Man #10 in black. Spider-Man haunts the night in black-and-red, while Felicia Hardy unleashes her frustrations in black. She prowls the skyline as Black Cat, watching as Tombstone offers Peter a ride in his black limo. 

 

 

 

While yellow firepower lights up the night, Brian Nehring’s yellow glasses and yellow mushroom tanks promise to light up the lives of the economically challenged. Compared to the danger that lurks in the night, Peter dresses for the day in a tan suit. Standing alongside gray-clad Brian amid the calming colors of the Rand Enterprises labs, Dr Osmani-Milton enters wearing a black suit. As she frowns at Peter and Brian, a figure in a white lab coat lingers and watches in Amazing Spider-Man #10.

 

Peter shares his thoughts in red-edged narrative boxes. Joe Caramagna's black uppercase letters in white balloons grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and shrink for words uttered through sharpened teeth. Enlarged red dialogue communicates shouts, laughter, and pain, while colorful sound effects help us hear disturbing sounds, electrifying energy, breathtaking impacts, and Spider-Man singing “Dem Bones.” Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Peter has endured the soul-stripping pain of loss many times in his life. But Hellgate’s blow knocked him back to his childhood. Remembering how he lost everything gives Peter Parker the strength to move ahead in Amazing Spider-Man #10. But this time, he’s doing it as the Ghost-Spider.

 

Rating: 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Amazing Spider-Man #9 Review

 

Writer: Joe Kelly

Artist: Michael Dowling

Colorist: Marcio Menyz

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; Ema Lupacchino & David Curiel; J Scott Campbell & Sabine Rich; Netho Diaz & Alex Guimarães

Designer: Jay Bowen

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

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 6, 2025

 

Nikodemu promised Hellgate a great teacher. But Hellgate values strength, and he perceives weakness in Spider-Man. It’s not Peter’s fault. His uncle Ben raised him to pull his punches and flee a fight when no one else was in danger. But Peter has a dark side like everyone else. He tried to kill Hellgate with an axe. Then he dropped a building on his prospective pupil. Has Peter taught Hellgate what Nikodemu wanted her warrior to learn? What will Hellgate's lesson cost Spider-Man and the people of New York City? Let's grab a cone from the I Scream van at Columbus Circle, thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #9, and see!

 

Story

Peter Parker’s life is one nonstop juggling act. Every time he strives to get on top of a situation, life hurls him back down. Everyone makes demands on his time, and try as he might, he never satisfies them. Perhaps Peter feels this most with the women in his life. Aunt May befriends a man who badmouths him. Mary Jane chooses a life with Paul Rabin instead of him. Shay Marken insists that they're not a couple and goes on a date with someone else. What's the point in trying hard when people shrug off your best efforts?

 

In Amazing Spider-Man #9, Peter survives his battle with Hellgate. Yet something in him has died. Whether it was Hellgate’s final punch, his broken leg, or just the unending series of disappointments, Peter has retrenched. He hasn’t given up on life as he did after Cyra’s test. Instead, he does what Aunt May requested. Peter settles down and concentrates on his job at Rand Industries. He doesn’t take on additional obligations, such as working with Norman Osborn to put down the Hobgoblin’s burgeoning organization. Nor does he don his red-and-blue suit and protect New Yorkers as Spider-Man.

 

Joe Kelly’s story ponders the delicate dance we walk through life. It also reminds us how integral we are to those around us. In Amazing Spider-Man #9, Peter Parker makes the responsible choice. Peter distances himself from the people that he can never please and doesn’t accept responsibility for another would-be protégé. If New York falls apart in his absence, it’s not his problem. Then Peter watches to see how the people he can never please, like Aunt May, Shay Marken, and Mary Jane, react.

 

 

Art

Guest artist Michael Dowling shows the Shocker taking over the streets of New York City. Peter stands on a street corner, his leg in a brace, and watches the man in quilted armor attack a police truck. Then Peter hobbles off to sit in a subway train, using earbuds to tune out his surroundings. He smiles as he approaches the gleaming modern Rand building and does a choreographed high-five with Brian to end a team briefing.

 

Gold symbolizes Peter’s potential futures in Amazing Spider-Man #9. Brian Nehring’s glasses glow gold as he tries to set Peter up with a blonde coworker. The lenses match the mushrooms growing in Brian’s terrariums. The gold material of the Shocker’s armor also signals the anarchy that could reign in New York’s streets, if Spider-Man continues to play Hider-Man. Like the rivulets of lava that flowed through Hellgate’s dark skin, gold lines flow through Captain Kintsugi’s white suit. Marcio Menyz also uses green to link Peter with some of those in his web of relationships. As he hobbles through his day, Peter’s green slacks link him to a friend on his phone, Mary Jane and Randy’s green jackets, and the soup May cooks in the FEAST center.

 

As block letters locate us in time and space, Peter shares his thoughts in red-edged narrative boxes. Joe Caramagna's black uppercase letters in white balloons grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and shrink for lowered voices. Small gray letters in gray balloons share the colorful future Peter once imagined, while the words of a newscast swell as Peter inserts his earbuds. Red and yellow sound effects help us hear the pain and destruction villains inflict while Peter sits on the sidelines. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While Peter hobbles around on a crutch, his friends worry about him. He seems to have lost his verve. But in Amazing Spider-Man #9, Peter is lying low. He realizes his dream of having it all and living the best life was a lie. So, he settles for what he can do, even if that means he’s quit with quips.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.