Review: ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #24 Swerves Into The Unexpected
by Tony Thornley
About a year ago, we discovered Peter Parker had burnt every bridge in his life. In Amazing Spider-Man #24, we finally get to see what happened…
Zeb Wells, John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, Marco Menyz, and Joe Caramagna head back into the past.
Six months ago, Peter Parker knew he had limited time to rescue MJ from the otherdimensional evil that kidnapped them both. That means putting his trust in Norman Osborn when no one else would listen. That means stealing from his friends. That means ruining his relationships. Even with all that, it may not be enough.
I really enjoyed the pacing of this story. Wells gets the sense of urgency across, and it creates dramatic tension throughout the issue. It’s all rooted in who Peter Parker is as a character- Peter is motivated by love, and we can get behind that.
What’s frustrating is how so much of the conflict is driven by the fact that the only person that Peter slowed down enough to trust is the only person that he wouldn’t trust. He could have gone to Reed, Tony or even T’Challa and all of them probably would have helped if he’d just explained himself. Instead he only explains to Norman, and it’s a glaring plot hole. If he could explain to Osborn, why couldn’t he explain to anyone else?
Romita and Hanna do good work throughout the issue. They pace the story briskly, using the layouts to simulate time as Peter bounces around each one, trying his best to get back to MJ. That’s conveyed in how he moves, the looks he makes, all at their hand. Menyz’s colors continue to be a highlight of the book as well, balancing the mundane and the fantastic in a way that keeps Peter grounded while also setting up what’s to come.
Amazing Spider-Man #24 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
It’s not totally perfect, but it does have a lot of satisfying moments. I’m glad we’ll finally have that resolution so the Spider-Man line can move forward without this hanging over its head.