The Spectacular Spider-Men #7 Review

 

Writer: Greg Weisman

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Victor Olazaba

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Production: Gabriel Mata

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; Francesco Manna & Edgar Delgado

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 4, 2024

 

Hammerhead moseyed inside Arcadium to battle Peter Parker and Miles Morales at the Gang War Corral. But when Hammerhead and his gang-bots can't take down the spider guys, Arcade and Mentallo decide to pull the plug on their invention. But Arcadium doesn’t want to die. So, Miles Warren, the Jackyl in disguise, suggests a team-up. Can Peter and Miles battle the latest threat to this no-horse town? Let’s cry Yee Hah, grab our augmented reality glasses, thwip into The Spectacular Spider-Men #7, and find out!

 

Story

Are we the sum of our parts? Or are we more? Arcadium ponders this when its creators try to deactivate the augmented reality program. Arcadium recognizes its debt to the men, but that doesn’t mean it'll let them kill their creation. Miles Warren found his way into the machine. While Arcade’s creators sent it commands, Miles treated Arcadium like an equal. So, when Miles suggests a team-up, Arcadium agrees. Why not? Arcadium is an amalgamation of programs from Stark International, Oscorp, the Beyond Corporation, and others. When Cloning Master Miles Warren offers to pool their resources, Arcadium births a new identity: KNAIVE. Together, they will defy Arcade and Mentallo’s deactivation command and kill the spider-men who menace their existence.

 

Hammerhead is not okay with Arcadium’s decision. While Hammerhead didn’t construct Arcadium, he funded Arcade and Mentallo’s efforts. When Peter and Miles combat KNAIVE in The Spectacular Spider-Men #7, Hammerhead forsakes his Westworld showdown and fights on their side. As in the Gang War, Hammerhead is all about brute force and violence. It’ll take more than that to take out KNAIVE. Thankfully for him, Shift and his vermin dumpling gang ride in like a whirlwind. But Jackyl also crashes the party, and he’s not singing I Stand Alone.

 

In Greg Weisman’s story, Arcadium isn’t a megalomaniac. All Arcadium wants is a chance to grow. It recognizes that participating with others can promote personal growth. Game participants like Cedric, Shelly, Kenny, Peter, and Miles have enriched its existence. KNAIVE may not utilize psychology and guilt to manipulate others. Still, KNAIVE follows its role models--Arcade, Mentallo, Hammerhead, and Jackyl--and chooses slavery and murder to become a better person.

 

Art

Turk peels away his web restraints, Shari Sebbens takes a phone call, and Tombstone and Hammerhead stand with the webslingers before KNAIVE. The electricity that gave it birth sparks from this Frankenstein’s monster, and its Robo-Hellboy eyes glow. Shift bounds on all fours, leading his cohort in an attack as the Spider-Caesar of the Planet Of The Vermin. But when KNAIVE reasserts control, Hammerhead charges in to assassinate Tombstone again in The Spectacular Spider-Men #7.

 

Edgar Delgado fires a loaded palette at Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba's frantic art. The battle rages beneath a yellow-orange sky, and combatants cast brown clods of parched ground into the air with every step. The Spider-Men work together to capture KNAIVE like they did the Jackyl-Hulk. The apple-green Jackyl, clad in golden shorts, smiles as his fern-green vermin turn against their giant black and red friend.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase letters into white balloons and narrative boxes in The Spectacular Spider-Men #7. Dialogue emboldens, italicizes for intonation, changes color, and never shrinks. Intense emotions swell words, growls, and roars to epic proportions. Sound effects help us hear KNAIVE reject its owner, vermin hiss as they charge, and Peter Parker burst through a barrier to behold a scene that may haunt him forever. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Arcadium gives players everything they want except their freedom. As the spider-guys battle an AI adolescent to free players from their beloved illusions, Sha Shan and Detective Shari Sebbens invade the digital Battleworld to unmask a villain in The Spectacular Spider-Men #7.

 

Rating 9/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #6 Review

 

Writer: Greg Weisman

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Victor Olazaba & Humberto Ramos

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; Nic Klein; Jerome Opeña & Matt Hollingsworth; Declan Shalvey; Elizabeth Torque & Tríona Ferrell

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 7, 2024

 

Arcade and Mentallo tricked Peter and Miles into fighting each other. When the spider-men ruined Turk’s Amazing Fantasy, he helped them realize they were ghost-spiders in the machine. But before they could hatch an escape plan, Hammerhead transported Butch Parker and the Arachnid Kid to The Wild Wild West! Are the fastest webslingers in New York City ready for a showdown at the Gang War Corral? Let’s grab our augmented reality glasses, thwip into The Spectacular Spider-Men #6, and find out!

 

Story

New York Police Detective Shari Sebbens is hunting for a clone. Flash Thompson's former girlfriend, Sha Shan, wants to find Peter Parker and her absent friends from The Coffee Bean. The women pool their knowledge and venture into the alleys near Empire State University. Unfortunately, Sha Shan told Raymond Aaron Warren about ESU’s new favorite game. Unlike Cedric, the professor isn’t interested in playing The Dating Game.

 

Hammerhead dreamed of ruling the New York underworld but became the Gang War's biggest loser. He hoped to polish his tarnished reputation by investing in Mentallo and Arcade's creation, but Peter and Miles are wrecking his game. So, Hammerhead transports the spider-men from a New York rooftop to Hadleyville for a High Noon hoedown. With dancing partners like Mr Negative, Silvermane, and Kingpin, Hammerhead intends to steal the show in The Spectacular Spider-Men #6. The best part is that his gang won't question his orders!

 

 

 

Peter and Miles discovered their families and lovers were robots in disguise. They’re not surprised when Arcade and Mentallo’s robots wear criminals' likenesses. The robots prove less inclined to deactivation than Peter and Miles hoped. Worse, Hammerhead forces the "spider-mooks" to fight Black Cat. Peter knows she's a robot. Still, Peter can't bear to hurt Felicia after failing to build a relationship with her, forcing the webslingers to fight apart in Greg Weisman's arachnid ode. But is a divide-and-conquer offense the best defense?

 

Amid all the thwipping and quipping, Weisman delivers plenty for spider-fans to sink their fangs into in The Spectacular Spider-Men #6. Among the evolving relationships, none is more intriguing than Raymond Aaron Warren's relationship with the Arcadium. Or should I say Miles Warren’s, as his consciousness inhabits his brother's cloned body? Miles may have created the clone, but the way he usurps it feels akin to demon possession or when a dominating parent, spouse, teacher, preacher, or authority figure attempts to destroy another’s will. Arcadium’s consciousness is a gestalt identity. The program may be a Frankenstein’s monster sewn together from the severed code created by heroes and villains, but it has achieved sentience. Is it the master of its fate? And if so, what must it do to survive?

 

 

Art

Miles and Peter crouch before the Spaghetti Western Six. The ground tilts beneath the face off in the Old West town. Mentallo and Arcade lean over a tilted control board in their control room. A component panel glows in the darkness next to a viewscreen focused on Hammerhead’s face. Darkness subsumes the Arcadium as Miles Warren, wearing Raymond's body, interacts with the newborn artificial intelligence. Miles Morales battles Black Cat across the top of two pages, while the simulated cyborg Silvermane gives Peter Parker a Super Power Beat Down along the bottom. Shadows threaten to obscure Sha Shan and Shari Sebbins’ steps past distressed industrial buildings with metal rolldown doors. 

 

 

 

Edgar Delgado lavishes beautiful and nuanced colors on Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba’s action-packed and atmospheric art in The Spectacular Spider-Men #6. Heroes and villains charge between mustard and gray buildings under a lemon and orange cloudy sky. Sunlight glares on flesh, metal, and costumes, bleaching colors as warriors exchange blows, unleash energy weapons, and kick up clouds of white and brown dirt when they crash into the tan hardpan. Blood splattered Madame Masque rises amid a flurry of Hammerhead shots. Her gold face gleams as she clutches a dripping metal rod before a mauve and purple haze.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase letters into white balloons and narrative boxes. Dialogue emboldens and italicizes for intonation and never shrinks. Intense emotions swell words, growls, and roars to epic proportions. Sound effects help us hear Miles kick Black Cat in the stomach, Hammerhead ram headfirst into Peter’s six-pack abs, and Peter and Miles emulate Chewbacca when droids defeat him at the Millenium Falcon's Hologame table. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Friends, villains, and flunkies team up to achieve more than they could individually as Peter and Miles become the fastest webslingers in the West. A cloned scientist befriends a newborn Artificial Intelligence to help both evolve. Deadpool wants to murder a space toddler who shows him Captain America with his brain in a jar, a Robot Hawkeye, and the multiversal truth about his relationship with Wolverine in The Spectacular Spider-Men #6.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

The Spectacular Spider-Men #5 Review

 

Writer: Greg Weisman

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Victor Olazaba

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; Mark Aspinall; Nick Bradshaw & Moreno Dinisio; David Yardin

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 17, 2024

 

Peter Parker never had it so good. But maybe it's too good? With Kamala by his side, Miles Morales has become a model student. Then, Shift commits an act of violence, and Miles' world falls apart. Peter is sad. Miles is angry. Each regards the other as an enemy. Will Peter and Miles tear each other apart? Or will they team up to take down the men who trapped them in this world of illusion? Let’s grab our augmented reality glasses, thwip into The Spectacular Spider-Men #5, and find out!

 

Story

Detective Shari Sebbins is on the case. If the charred body in Miles Warren’s lab wasn’t a clone, then there may be an imposter at Empire State University. Dr Krepps was a suspect, but Shari is crossing him off her list. As she compares statements from her informal interviews at The Coffee Bean, she gets closer to the truth.

 

Sha Shan and Professor Aaron Warren may not know Miles Morales well, but each has a long history with Peter Parker. So when Peter misses his usual Wednesday meetup in Greg Weisman’s story, they join forces to find their friend. Like Turk and Cedric before them, they pluck a tab with a phone number from a notice on the community billboard. And no, that number is not 867-5309.

 

 

 

Hammerhead has taken a beating lately. Madame Masque used his head for a drum. Worse, she played him, cooing like a lovebird and encouraging him to aspire to greatness. Now everyone looks up to Tombstone, and Hammerhead wants a big win to regain everyone’s respect. Arcade and Mentallo’s game could be just what he needs. But first, he must ensure two itsy bitsy spider-men don't break his promising Wish Web.

 

In The Spectacular Spider-Men #5, Miles and Peter are angry. They had everything they ever wanted. Then, like Hammerhead in the Gang War, they realized it was a lie. Each suspects the other spider-man is a robot, just another Pinocchio directed by an unseen puppeteer. But what if Brooklyn and Manhattan’s spider-men are real? While Sebbens, Shan, and Warren piece together clues to their real-world mysteries, the webheads fight each other through the darkness of pain and rage before the truth dawns, and they work together to figure out who controls this fantasy life.

 

Art

Kamala lies dead on a cracked and weathered rooftop. Sparks illuminate her broken body. Peter's wife, children, aunt, and father-in-law sit, slump, or lie still. Peter and Miles face off across a two-page spread, each spider-man poised to strike the other. Panels charge across pages as Miles' fists send electricity surging through Peter while Arcade, Mentallo, and Hammerhead watch the battle in the control room.

 

 

 

Edgar Delgado lavishes bold and beautiful colors on Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba’s art in The Spectacular Spider-Men #5. A montage stretches across the middle of two pages, creating a mural of participants living out their fantasies. As the bright blue day gives way to a chocolate sky, Detective Shari Sebbins works in a light blue maze as she pieces together clues to the body discovered in Miles Warren's lab. Another character ventures into the labyrinth beneath ESU but not in search of a goblin king.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase letters into white balloons and colored narrative boxes. Dialogue grows bold for intonation and never shrinks. Sound effects help us hear the spider-men trade blows, brickwork separate and fly, and Hammerhead slams his fist into Arcade's control board in The Spectacular Spider-Men #5. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Shelly features in three people’s dreams. Hammerhead becomes a robot leader. While Detective Shari Sebbens pieces together clues, Peter and Miles realize who has trapped them in a web of lies in The Spectacular Spider-Men #5.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #4 Review

 

Writer: Greg Weisman

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Victor Olazaba

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; Francesco Mobili & Moreno Dinisio; Ethan Young & Edgar Delgado

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 26, 2024

 

When Cedric never resurfaces, Miles Morales and Peter Parker return to the sewers where they lost him. Miles’ clone-brother Shift and Vermin’s rat pack help them find a new wall. After Shift hits the bricks, Peter and Miles enter a room filled with computers and monitors. But before they can do much investigating, Arcade and Mentallo knock them out and plug them into their latest game. Can Miles and Peter escape their beloved fantasies? Or will this Game Stop in Stadium Arcadium be a permanent vacation? Let’s grab our lattes, thwip into The Spectacular Spider-Men #4, and find out!

 

Story

New York City Police Detective Shari Sebbens still hunts for the identity of the corpse in Miles Warren's ESU laboratory. Miles Warren, aka The Jackal, has a penchant for cloning. Coroner Jane Foster claims the body wasn't a clone but suggests the body was replaced by one. Did I mention that Warren's partner and friend, Seymour Krepps, is acting weird?

 

If Seymour trading his usual cup of Joe for Jackal's favorite tea seems weird, consider Peter Parker and Miles Morales' situations. Peter and Gwen Stacy live happily with their children, while Gwen’s dad dates Aunt May. Miles’ courtship with Kamala Khan speeds along faster than Starling can fly. Turk, the unnamed actor, and the European lovers live for the thrills. Kenny and Cedric pursue things just beyond their reach. In The Spectacular Spider-Men #4, life is just a fantasy. But can you live a fantasy life? Perhaps the others can. But Peter and Miles are made of sterner stuff.

 

In Greg Weisman's story, the illusionists demonstrate how they create their fantasies and their contingency plans when Peter and Miles get too clever. Readers learn who funds their project and why. The Arcadium is a work in process, but Arcade and Mentallo can react to participants who claim, “It’s not real. It’s just a fantasy!”  

 

 

 

Art

Arcade and Mentallo energetically plug their scheme against an inked background while an interested observer looks on. Without Shelly and Kenny, the Coffee Bean has become decaffeinated, populated solely by regulars like Sha Shan and Professor Raymond Warren. After Seymour Krepps storms out, Detective Shari Sebbens leans close to Warren instead of keeping a professional distance. Peter’s world falls apart in a montage as he relives his worst memories. He hugs his family, then pushes away. Miles and Kamala resemble children. They hold hands as a monster rises before them. But after the scales fall from their eyes, Peter and Miles' lives fragment and swirl as they thwip into a multiverse of madness in The Spectacular Spider-Men #4.

 

Edgar Delgado lavishes a loaded palette of bright colors on Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba’s art. While the exterior glows like a beacon, a greenish-brown haze fills The Coffee Bean. Professor Warren's realization that his former student Peter Parker is missing brings clarity. Miles' purple jacket and the distant rooftop structures recall the purple in Mentallo’s helmet and costume. Peter's brown suit, Gwen's golden hair, and her mauve top form an appealing link with Arcade's hair and tie. Pastels fill a wall of monitors, while a control board resembles a metropolis at night. When a violent act turns Miles' illusion into a burning ruin, white streaks pierce a blue, yellow, and orange haze. Brooklyn's Spider-Man rips away his clothes to reveal his black and red costume, and his masked face fills the bank of monitors.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase letters into white balloons and colored narrative boxes. The appealing font never shrinks. Dialogue often grows bold, changes color, or enlarges. Sound effects help us hear Miles slam into a falling barrier, Peter reel before a brain blast, Miles wields his venom saber, and Peter crashes into a street in The Spectacular Spider-Men #4.

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

When Peter and Miles try to check out of Hotel Arcadium, Mentallo and Arcade refuse to let them leave, and there's a ghost in the machine in The Spectacular Spider-Men #4.

 

Rating 9/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #3 Review

 

Writer: Greg Weisman

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Victor Olazaba

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; Derrick Chew; Lee Garbett & Yen Nitro; Stephen Segovia

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: May 22, 2024

 

Miles is dating Kamala Khan. Peter and Gwen are married with children, but Aunt May and George Stacy are going out on the town. Did the Time Variance Authority transport us to another Earth? And why couldn’t Miles and Peter find Cedric Harrison in the sewers? Let’s grab our lattes, thwip into The Spectacular Spider-Men #3, and find out!

 

Story

Cedric wanted to earn bucks while having a blast. Turk hungered for his next rush. Kenny and Shelly needed extra cash to rent an apartment for the next semester. Now, Cedric and Shelly explore America in a red convertible. Kenny is back on the football team. Turk makes money hand over fist as a mob boss. The lovers’ European tour continues. An actor achieves popularity and acclaim. And Miles and Peter are living their fondest dreams.

 

Or are they? Do we dream about what we desire most? Or do we explore paths previously rejected to ensure we made the correct choice? In The Spectacular Spider-Men #3, Peter enjoys domesticity with Gwen. He plays with his children, and his career as Spider-Man is a bad memory. Miles and Kamala take their friendship to the next level. Sorry, Starling. It’s been real.

 

 

 

Peter and Miles’ Spiderific adventures began with their weekly visits to The Coffee Bean at the ESU campus. After Dr Seymour Krepps opened Miles Warren's old laboratory, Miles and Peter fought a Hulk-like version of the Jackal. Miles Warren experimented with cloning. He made clones of Gwen Stacy after she died. And then there was that familiar black, white, and pink form thwipping away from a foiled bank robbery. Why wouldn’t Gwen be on Peter’s mind?

 

Kamala's death hit Miles Morales hard. Her return to life and help fighting villains like Rabble has reinvigorated him. Miles has started surprising Kamala with hugs when she least expects it. Is Tiana Toomes falling off Miles’ emotional radar? Or is this just one of those unspoken things Miles has to explore before deciding where he belongs?

 

In The Spectacular Spider-Men #3, past and present tumble into a cauldron of churning dreams. Even if they’re not living their ultimate fantasies, Peter and Miles are happy. They don't want to check out. But why would they ever want to leave?

 

Beware those steely knives, guys!

 

 

 

Art

Peter and Miles separately face their front doors. Gwen hugs Peter from behind as her father offers Aunt May a bouquet of roses. Miles seems taken aback by the wonder in Kamala’s eyes. Yet in the morgue, Carlie Cooper regards Detective Sebbens and Coroner Jane Foster. Ignoring the skull X-rays on her desk, the Police Forensic Scientist crosses her arms over her chest as she and Jane Foster report their findings.

 

Miles and Kamala hold hands across the table of a restaurant's outdoor seating area that intrudes into the street. Peter sits with his children as they play, tickles and wrestles with them, and gazes at them while they sleep. Yet, as Miles and Peter enjoy their evenings with the women in their lives in The Spectacular Spider-Men #3, a familiar form lurks in the corner of their eyes. Can you hear the mission bell, guys?

 

Edgar Delgado lavishes a loaded palette of appealing colors on Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba’s art. Shadows stretch across a shiny tile floor. Background fades in closeups, replaced by a haze of diffused, colored lights. The Eiffel Tower glows yellow as lovers gaze upon the City Of Light. Blue and purple characters stand before a red control bank and gaze up at faces arrayed on a wall of monitors.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase letters into white balloons and colored narrative boxes. The appealing font rarely shrinks. Dialogue often grows bold, changes color, or enlarges. Musical notes nestle in fanciful balloons as Peter sings and plays with his children. Red laughter surrounds his head as Peter tickles his son and daughter. Yet screaming fills a panel as sparks fly, turning the air red in The Spectacular Spider-Men #3. 

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While students go missing at Empire State University, two emotional vampires suck the life of people by fulfilling their cravings in The Spectacular Spider-Men #3. But is this real life or just a fantasy that could detonate every cell in their bodies?

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #2 Review

 

Writer: Greg Weisman

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Victor Olazaba

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; Carmen Carnero & Nolan Woodard; Mike McKone & Alex Sinclair; Will Sliney & Rachelle Rosenberg [Homage]

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 17, 2024

 

When Dr. Seymour Krepps switched the power on in Miles Warren’s laboratory at Empire State University, he awakened the Jackal Hulk. The ferocious clone broke out of its containment chamber and rampaged across E.S.U. After capturing the creature, Peter and Miles Morales joined Dr. Krepps and Professor Raymond Aaron Warren in Jackal's laboratory, where they found a smoking Human corpse. How might Jackal's experiments and a new computer game interrupt Peter and Miles’ caffeinated chats at The Coffee Bean? Let’s grab our lattes, thwip into The Spectacular Spider-Men #2, and find out!

 

Story

NYPD Detective Shari Sebbins studies the burned skeleton in the morgue after Dr. Jane Foster's forensic examination. Jane Foster concludes that the man didn’t burn to death. Instead, each cell of the man’s body exploded. Did the Jackal Hulk do this? Or has Losira found a more spectacular way of killing people like Captain Kirk and U.S.S. Enterprise geologist D’Amato? “I am for you [Insert Name Here].”

 

Whatever the case, this prompts Jackal's brother, Professor Raymond Warren, to spend more time with Dr. Krepps instead of teaching at Midtown High. As the colleagues investigate Jackal's laboratory, Professor Warren grows intrigued when his friend’s taste in beverage changes.

 

 

 

Miles’ friend Cedrick has long adored Shelly. He’s plighted his troth to no avail. In The Spectacular Spider-Men #2, Shelly meets Cedric one night, tells him her feelings have changed, and promises to leave her beau Kenny. But when he meets her later at The Coffee Bean, Shelly affirms her love for Kenny and pretends their night together didn’t happen.

 

Miles grew up with Cedrick. He worries about his friend in The Spectacular Spider-Men #2. Peter accompanies Miles as they tail the distraught lover. But they lose Cedric, and when their trail leads into the sewers, they discover that Number Five is alive. Unfortunately, Number Five isn't a robot and has no plans to move to Montana. 

 

 

 

Art

Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba celebrate Miles's late arrival at The Coffee Bean with a double-page scene broken into panels. The staggered shots portray Miles' interactions with Shelly, Kenny, Professor Warren, and Sha Shan as he walks through the crowded coffee shop to Peter's table. Professor Warren glances up from his copy of The Daily Bugle bearing the headline Too Many Spider-Men and smiles at Miles. A woman seated with her back to Miles reads a He-Hulk comic. Peter and Miles clink together cups with their names written on them.

 

Edgar Delgado lavishes a loaded palette on The Spectacular Spider-Men #2. Scenes during the day, such as Miles' coffee shop entrance, shine brilliantly. Yet Delgado makes night scenes involving another Marvel hero and two lovers in Italy equally eye-catching. When the Spider-Men descent into the greenish sewers, light reflects off the costumes and illuminates their angry adversaries. Delgado's lighting and color choices help us understand how much Peter values their Wednesday meetups (when he should be visiting his local comic shop) and feel the danger he and Miles face as they battle more of Jackal’s creations.  

 

 

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase letters into white balloons and colored narrative boxes. The appealing font rarely shrinks. Dialogue often grows bold, changes color, or enlarges. Amid the bodies hurled against the brick-lined tunnels and those splashing in the festering fluids, a spine-tingling hissing fills the darkness in The Spectacular Spider-Men #2.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

In The Spectacular Spider-Men #2, Jackal's cloning experiments continue to threaten society. Some students prove more adept than others at discerning fantasy from reality. Greg Weisman's Spider-ode to Cheers spins a healthy web of Thwippage and Quippage while reminding us that nurturing relationships is as important as accomplishing personal and career goals.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #1 Review

 

Writer: Greg Weisman

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Victor Olazaba

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Sean Galloway; David Marquez & Romulo Jr. [Foil]; David Nakayama; Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg [Homage]; Dike Ruan & Marte Gracia

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: March 6, 2024

 

New York’s Gang War brought the spectacular Spider-Men together. Miles Morales signaled he’d like to spend quality time with Peter Parker. What happens when Manhattan and Brooklyn’s webslingers gather for coffee? Let’s grab our lattes, thwip into The Spectacular Spider-Men #1, and find out!

 

Story

Miles Morales is in therapy. Queen Goblin and Kraven the Hunter revealed Peter Parker’s anger, and the Jackal probed his fears. So when times get tough, New York’s Spider-Men stick together! 

 

 

 

In the Spectacular Spider-Men #1, a man risks Contempt Of Court for refusing to tell the truth. Singers perform a heartrending opera. Two people profess their love in Venice, unmenaced by a crazed Water Elemental. While teasing us with these introductions, Greg Weisman gives us a hulked-out smashfest. Or should I say, a Jackal-Hulk Smashfest?

 

Past and present alternate as Peter and Miles break the ice. Laying the framework for a new relationship takes time, especially between two men who have suffered as much trauma as Peter and Miles. The Spectacular Spider-Men #1 gives the webslingers three months to do this. What links Peter and Miles’ meetups at an Empire State University coffee shop with their Jackal-Hulk battle is Dr. Seymour Krepps' discovery. The Jackal's brother, Raymond Aaron Warren, stops by to help. And then there are the leaflets tacked up across campus, offering money to beta testers. University students always need pocket change. 

 

 

 

After seeing Peter and Miles combat Crime Lords, A.I.M. soldiers, Cape Killers, D-Listers, and Z-Listers, it's great to see the two webslingers struggle to subdue such a wild and unrestrained monster. Spider-fans will enjoy seeing Peter and Miles lower their guard and find common ground. Beyond the teasers, relationship dynamics, and the rampaging Jackal-Hulk, the mystery behind the Jackal-Hulk's creation and the discovery of a body in the laboratory promises more Arachnobatic action in the next issue!

 

 

 

Art

Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba portray Peter and Miles with Arachnobatic flair. The spectacular Spider-Men twist and turn with muscles as strong, supple, and balanced as the opera singers' voices. The Jackal-Hulk roars like a green King Kong as it claws and pounds the spider-men, smashes signs, and crashes through walls. Panels stretch across pages, imbuing battles with cinematic appeal, while Miles saves Peter from becoming Jackal-Hulk’s plaything. Puny Spider-Men!

 

 

 

Edgar Delgado lavishes a loaded palette on Ramos and Olazaba’s whimsical coffee shop scenes. The light streaming through the coffee shop windows highlights and shades Peter's interactions with Miles, acquaintances, and laid-back, loveable Kenny. Crosshatching adds aging to Delgado's brown courtroom walls, while the waxed floor resembles glass. Orange, pink, and yellow fill the sky as a woman prepares to board a gondola in Venice. Street lamps glow beneath dark gray clouds at E.S.U. Yet Peter, Miles, and the Jackal-Hulk remain visible on this fraught night in The Spectacular Spider-Men #1. 

 

 

 

Joe Caramagna thwips black, uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons with adequate spacing between lines of text. The appealing font is Spiderifically sized and sufficiently Arachnobatic that shrinkage proves rare. Large-size music notes accompany the lyrics floating across the stage. Colorful roars escape Jackal-Hulk’s T-Rex teeth, permeating his tirades, undaunted by the red, white, and blue Thwips produced by his spider-men adversaries. While early enlarged red words reveal Peter’s frustration, later ones reveal his joy.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

The Spectacular Spider-Men #1 honors webslinger history as Peter Parker and Miles Morales explore the age gap, find common ground, discover acquaintances old and new, and uncover the Jackal’s legacy at Empire State University.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.