Share this
Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! And this week I’m going to be reviewing the latest issue of The Amazing Spider-Man from Zeb Wells & Marvel!
There’s a lot going on with this issue, and that makes sense because this is legacy issue #950! It’s an incredible milestone to achieve and one that deserves a round of applause all the way around for Marvel.
It’s also the start of the final stretch of issues for current writer Zeb Wells, so in a sense he’s in his “endgame” for his run.
For most, it can’t end soon enough. And it’s going to be interesting to see just how he wraps up such a divisive run. The final countdown start here, and is it a good start? Or is it another mark in a long line of missteps? Let’s jump in and find out!
The Amazing Spider-Man #56 by Zeb Wells (writer), John Romita Jr (Penciler), Scott Haanna (Inker), Marcio Menyz (colorist), VC’s Joe Caramanga (letterer) is a welcome return to a normal issue after the previous one. It’s a whopping 64 pages that features 4 stories across those pages. 3 of those stories tie into the story that’s being told across this run, the 4th is just a fun bit of humor.
The first story focuses around Peter checking up on things that came out of the Gangwar storyline, but fell by the wayside during the battle with the Green Goblin. He’s checking on Randy Robertson, who’s still romantically involved with Janice Lincoln by the way, and also trying to cause all sorts of trouble for Tombstone who’s the new Kingpin of New York City and it’s borough’s.
READ LAST ISSUE’S REVIEW
It’s a fast paced story that sees Peter trying to sort out his normal life, but that is quickly interrupted by a visit from Tombstone himself. Tombstone wants to send a message to Spider-Man to draw him out, and Tombstone figures the best way is to murder Peter Parker to do that. The rest of the story plays out like an episode out of one of Dick Wolf’s episodes of Law & Order.
It’s a great ending to this story, and one that has me interested to see where this goes. Tombstone is a powerful individual with the entire NYC criminal world at his disposal. So something tells me he won’t go away into the night.
The second story takes place during the first, and explains just why Peter got into the limousine so willingly with Tombstone. There isn’t a while lot to break down with this story, as it’s ramifications for what comes after it’s conclusion have already played out. Nonetheless it’s interesting to see how resourceful Peter is being in this instance, and not relying on a simple “just trust me” approach.
The third story revolves around Paul, Mary Jane’s husband, following up on some work he’s been tracking down. After a dinner with MJ & Peter, which is as weird as it sounds believe me, he goes out the next day to track down an individual he’s been helping out.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN!
It turns out he knows this person, or at least another version of him. Because Paul knew him from the other dimension he comes from. It’s a slightly bizarre story that plays out that reminds me of something out of say the video game Cyberpunk 2077. The ending of the story is nice though, and shows a side of Paul that I haven’t seen before. I’m not so sure fans are going to care that much about it though, because he is NOT well liked by the fans at this time.
The fourth and final story is a one page story by Lee Gatlin that sees Kraven standing by one of the lions outside the New York Public Library while reading a Where’s Waldo book. Kraven is struggling with his “prey” and Spider-Man shows up to assist him. It’s lighthearted and a fun story to read, and caps off a great issue overall.
My favorite part of this issue was the first two stories. It’s a great start to the story and it’s going to see how it plays out. I’m curious just how large the scope is going to be for the impending battle between Spider-Man & Tombstone. Hopefully it’s a little larger than the “battle” between Peter & Norman vs the Green Goblin, but given it’s Zeb Wells writing it’s honestly a toss up.
FINAL POINT: Overall, this issue is a nice 180 degree turn from the debacle that was the last issue. It’s a great start to the final story in the Zeb Wells run. And while most of the run has been incredibly suspect, this seems to have some promise. Time will tell if the story will be worth remembering, or best forgotten ASAP. But for right now, it’s an incredibly strong issue.
SCORE: 8.0 out of 10
Thanks for checking out my review on Nerd Initiative. For more of my content, check out ODPHpodcast.com, follow me on Twitter, and check out more of my reviews here on Nerd Initiative: https://nerdinitiative.com/author/padawanj/!
