The Reason I Stayed, Part II: A Review of The Amazing Spider-Man #54

written by Zeb Wells

penciled by Ed McGuinness

inked by Mark Farmer, Wade Von Grawbadger, Mark Morales and McGuinness

colored by Marcio Menyz

This one's for all the marbles: Peter Parker and Norman Osborn are now locked in a dark room under ground with one of the deadliest foes imaginable, the sum total of Osborn's sins, also known as the Green Goblin. This time, the Goblin's playing for keeps, and he wants a new home: Peter Parker himself.  Norman and Peter fight tooth and nail, but even their combined strength may not be enough, but fortunately Peter still has a trick up his sleeve, and an ally he doesn't even realize could help him save the day: the robot form of the Living Brain, of which only the head remains. Will all this be enough to stop the embodiment of evil itself?

When Nick Spencer ended his mammoth 75-issue run on The Amazing Spider-Man in 2021, one of the arguably most interesting story threads he left open for further development was the removal of Norman Osborn's evil side. Along with ridding the world once and for all of the narrative abomination that was Osborn's sexual tryst with teenage Gwen Stacy, the idea of Osborn heading on the path to redemption was a promising one. To Zeb Wells' credit, as angry as much of his writing has made me over the last two years, this one idea he has actually managed to run with quite effectively. Wells actually got me invested in the idea of benevolent Norman, a man struggling with the pain of his sins and now always wanting to do right by the people he has harmed.

Also, stories like Superior Spider-Man  in which Doctor Octopus took up residence in Peter Parker's body for over a year mean that there are actual stakes here, i.e. it's not exactly a given that Peter would come out on top.  So the stage, in short, has been set for a pretty exciting finale.

Of course, it helps that Ed McGuinness, who has the art chores all to himself this time around, has brought his A-game to this rip-roaring final chapter.  There's something really special about this guy's art: it's such simple linework when one looks at it, and it's evocative of some of the all-time greats like Jack Kirby and John Romita, Sr., but it's just gorgeous to look at with its dynamism and expressiveness. Like I said in a prior review, these are the years in which he establishes himself to be one of the best artists ever to draw Spider-Man, and fortunately, this particular story is certainly worthy of his talent. 

10/10