written by Dan Slott
drawn by Jim Cheung (pencils) and John Dell (inks)
colored by Justin Ponsor
It's difficult to review this issue without treading into at least mild spoiler territory, given that, even without a disclosure of the main plot points, there are hints galore as to what it contains. So a spoiler alert is in order.
Peter and Spider-Gwen, who is revealed to have been operating undercover with the Jackal, having kidnapped the Gwen clone, escape from the Jackal and his operatives, who constitute a substantial portion of Spider-Man's formerly dead rogues gallery, but their troubles are far from over. Kaine, who has the actual Gwen clone in his custody, takes her to Horizon Labs for her clone medication, without which her artificial body will deteriorate. A much more serious problem looms if no cure is found for the Gwen clone's condition: apparently everyone who has received the regenerative treatment from New U will now suffer problems similar to that of the clones, and degenerate into zombies, unless a cure is found. However, the Jackal's New U operatives attack Horizon Labs, and in the aftermath Peter confronts the Jackal, intending to end this latest scheme of his. He is shocked by what he ultimately discovers.
I didn't follow all of the mammoth "Clone Saga" of the 1990s, which, in collected edition, takes up several twelve-issue volumes as far as I can tell. One thing I know, however, was that I was extremely disappointed with how it ended. Without giving away too much, it is evident that Dan Slott felt as I did about the ending, and even felt the same way about the conclusion of that story that Judd Winick felt about the "Death of the Family" storyline in which DC Comics killed off Jason Todd, aka Robin II. That's about as far as I'll go to discuss the plot, but to anyone who knows what happened in the 90s Clone Saga, that's far enough. To be honest, this is something I've wanted to see for a long time, and judging by how he plays the long game, I am reasonably confident that Slott has big plans for the development he has just introduced.
Cheung has been consistently good throughout this miniseries, but he really delivers some serious money shots here, including a gorgeous two-page spread and a show-stopper of a splash panel for the issue's big reveal. His Spider-Man is one of the best I've seen in years, and the years I have waited to see his art on the interiors of a Spider-Man book all feel worth it now.
The story does feel a little contrived, and while it may feel that way because not all of the pieces have quite fallen into place, it does irk me that a lot of key events to this miniseries happened in the mother "Amazing Spider-Man" title rather than here. A lot of the writing feels like it was meant to direct the reader at other books, and while that's a good marketing ploy, it doesn't do this book any favors from a storytelling perspective.
Still, the fanboy in me has been transported back to 1996, when I was feeling cheated by Marvel's editorial. Suddenly, the wrong has been righted.
Not only do I intend to see this miniseries through, I am now genuinely interested to see what Marvel has in store after it's done.
8.5/10
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