written by Dan Slott
penciled by Stuart Immonen
inked by Wade Von Grawbadger
colored by Marte Gracia
When Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli relaunched "The Amazing Spider-Man" in 2015 as a sort of "spy epic" to contrast with Miles Morales' more down-to-earth adventures as over in Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli's "Spider-Man," I confess I lost interest in the title after having followed it religiously for over a year, and before that, having followed the controversial "Superior Spider-Man" book in which Doctor Octopus took over Peter Parker's body. I also wasn't a big fan of Camuncoli's art, having endured it on the aforementioned titles, and as a result I stopped collecting the title altogether.
Late last year, though, Slott managed to lure me back with his five-part miniseries The Clone Conspiracy, in part because he revisited a storyline with which, I felt, I had unfinished business, and in part because his collaborator on that story, Jim Cheung, happens to be one of my favorite artists.
Shortly thereafter, back in the regular "Amazing" title, Marvel did a bit of a "refresh" by pairing Slott with the well-loved and extremely talented Stuart Immonen, and by reintroducing an old enemy of Peter's, Norman Osborn, this time without the Green Goblin persona but with an equally ruthless disposition. The results were, well, mixed, at least in my opinion.
In this story, Spider-Man is tracking down Osborn, who is currently working as an arms supplier for the tyrannical monarch of Symkaria. He finds an unexpected ally in the Silver Sable, whom he had previously believed dead, as well as former Avenger Mockingbird, but the odds against him, even with the resources of Parker Industries at his disposal, are ominous. Furthermore, his plan to invade a country and attack a sitting head of state does not sit well with Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D., which also happens to be Parker Industries' biggest client, so there's the question of what the right thing to do under the circumstances is. Of course, Peter being Peter there's only one way for things to go...
Honestly, I wasn't particularly hooked by the "Osborn vs. Parker" showdown, and in fact I found Norman's last major appearance that I had read, the final issue of "Superior Spider-Man" to be distinctly anti-climactic. Also, I didn't quite get where Peter's sudden wave of rage against Osborn came from, but then, I hadn't been reading the regular "Amazing" book for a while. That shouldn't really have mattered, though, considering that this book was billed as a perfect "jumping on" point for new or returning readers. In setting up a big showdown between a hero and his supposed worst enemy, therefore, Slott's script falls short.
That said, the rather contrived rivalry aside I thought it played out well, with a good blend of intense action and the patented Spidey humor, though things might have gotten a little too goofy towards the end. Immonen is an excellent fit for this book and elevated a story that, had it been illustrated by Camuncoli or another artist of similar caliber, would probably not have really popped for me.
It was a reasonably solid first story for a very talented new creative team, and considering that the next issue pits Peter against the all-new and improved Superior Doctor Octopus, it appears they've got quite a bit in store for the web slinger.
7/10
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