The Plot To Kill J. Jonah Jameson – Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #3 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Miles Morales, aka the Ultimate Spider-Man, struggles to get free of the symbiote thrust upon him by Carnage. Miles was tasked with killing J. Jonah Jameson, but, fortunately, Miles is a fighter. He is able to use his venom shock to break free of the symbiote while Silver Sable saves Jameson. Now Miles intends to free Happy Dan, the Ravencroft inmate who was also given a symbiote by Carnage. Miles tries to convince Happy Dan that he can be free of Carnage’s control–meanwhile the symbiote previously on Miles finds a new host in Jameson.
Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #3 concludes this spin-off focusing upon the Ultimate Spider-Man. He manages to free himself from Carnage’s control, but the threat posed by Cletus Kasady and the coming of Knull is far from over. Plus, Miles can’t let even a killer like Happy Dan be turned into a slave by Carnage.
This spin-off aims to be more of a personal struggle for Miles Morales, and it does succeed in showing how strong a fighter this Spider-Man is. However, it feels somewhat inconsequential in the grand scheme of Absolute Carnage. J. Jonah Jameson doesn’t seem to have much to do with stopping the threat of Carnage and Knull, and it mostly seems like a way to bring good ole’ JJ into this fairly Spider-centric story. I can respect that, but this spin-off just doesn’t excite as much as the others.
The dialogue is, on the whole, far better than Lethal Protectors, though that one has the advantage of bringing in a swarm of B and C-List characters–which is a quick way to my heart.
Federico Vicentini’s visual work is solid, though. The story may be a little underwhelming, but the artwork is far from it. It provides a sleek, morphing, and shifting visual style that suits a high-energy story like this well, especially with the symbiotes involved. Erick Arciniega gives the book a popping color palette, appropriately focusing on blacks and reds.
Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #3 is a somewhat underwhelming but still fairly fun spin-off to the Absolute Carnage story. We get to see more Miles Morales, which I will never complain about, and we get to see him save JJJ from a pair of murderous symbiotes. It may not have much impact on the grander story (outside of the slight twist at the end), but it is enjoyable. I can still recommend this one. Feel free to pick it up.
Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #3 comes to us from writer Saladin Ahmed, artist Federico Vicentini, color artist Erick Arciniega, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, cover artist Clayton Crain, and variant cover artists Kim Jacinto with Rain Beredo; and David Nakayama.
Final Score: 6.5/10