SPIDER-GWEN: THE GHOST-SPIDER #14 – The Forgotten World

Creative Team – Stephanie Phillips(writer). Paolo Villanelli(artist). Matt Milla(color artist). VC’s Ariana Maher(letterer). Mark Brooks(cover artist).

Published by Marvel Comics

Catch up with Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #13 here!

The Story

With the help of Jean Grey in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #13, Gwen was able to find a balance with the Cosmic Cube that’s inside of her. Using that power, Gwen was able to bring King Loki to an abandoned planet that he created. Immediately, he protests being on this planet, and the inhabitants of the abandoned empire make it well known as to why in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #14.

Once Gwen and Loki are on this dystopian planet, they’re greeted rather aggressively by the monsters of Loki’s past, which oddly enough refer to him as “father”. Gwen, bewildered by the monster attack and Loki being the father of the these monsters, has many questions. While Loki is being attacked, the monsters manage to explain their upset enough for Gwen to understand. According to the creatures, Loki created the planet and the monsters on it, just to abandon them and leave them for dead. It turns out, Loki had only created the planet with its sole purpose of bending the knee to him.

While they have only come into contact with monsters that are angry with Loki, that doesn’t mean all of the planet’s creatures harbour those same feelings. Gwen and Loki are greeted by a particularly joyful variant of Loki, who says they’re all a work in progress when dealing with their feelings. King Loki, who is visibly irritated by this Loki variant, reaches his breaking point. He hurls insults at this kind Loki variant, who is confused by his animosity. Loki appears to be right on the edge of violence towards the Loki variant, which means this is a job for Gwen, who is the only one with the powers to take on Loki herself.

The Writing

Learning more about King Loki and his past mistakes certainly wasn’t what I expected out of this Spider-Gwen run, but I really enjoy it. I think Gwen seeing how big Loki’s mistakes are is forming her more into a hero than she was before, as it gives her something to learn from. It also shows her that despite the many layers of Loki, he still isn’t meant to be trusted, especially with how Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #14 ends.

What I love about this run is that Stephanie Phillips always keeps you on the your toes, and she does it again in this comic. While Gwen and Loki are on the abandoned planet, OB from the TVA is on a mission to find Gwen. We’re given no context as to why he’s looking for her, which makes me very excited to see where this goes with OB and Gwen.

All in all, it was another excellent installment of Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider from Stephanie Phillips, that has me anxiously waiting for the next issue.

The Art

Thanks to Paolo Villanelli and Matt Milla artwork of Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #14 is hard-hitting and action-packed. From the first page of the comic, the energy is high when it starts with OB looking for Gwen, and running into these monsters. The tone is immediately set and it continues that excitement throughout the comic, and the artists make you feel every bit of it.

Some of my favorite parts have to do with Gwen and Loki fighting, which was a feast for the eyes. The juxtaposition of the green powersets from Loki to Gwen’s blue Cosmic Cube powers makes for a stunning battle that was a real treat to see.

Overall Grade – 8.7/10

Let me know in the comments below what you thought of Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #14!

This review was written by Megan from the Vigilante Vibes Podcast! If you liked my review, be sure to check out my other reviews! Let me know what you think of Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #14, or tell me what comics you’d recommend me trying out! Find me on my socials, and check out my Marvel podcast, Vigilante Vibes, by clicking here!