Review: ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #55 Leans Into Spidey’s Strengths
by Tony Thornley
At its heart, Spider-Man is not a superhero story. It’s a story about the ups and downs of one ordinary man’s life as he does his best to do extraordinary things. When a writer remembers that, Amazing Spider-Man really sings.
Zeb Wells, Emilio Laiso, Bryan Valenza, and Joe Caramagna take a minute to slow down before this volume ends.
Peter Parker is late. What else is new? This time though, he’s about to blow it with an incredibly beautiful woman that’s giving him one last chance. Naturally, that means two villains are about to ruin it all for him…
When Wells clicks, he really clicks. Most of this issue takes place over about half an hour, but it’s an incredibly strong character piece. Peter Parker is a perpetual screw up because he usually puts his responsibility over himself. That’s why his relationships work best with those who know who he is. But of course on a first date, Peter can’t unmask.
So Wells does a piece here about power and responsibility without beating us over our heads with that. Peter deserves to be happy, and after he arrives on his date, he doesn’t put his mask on. He takes time to be with his date, and shows her he wants to take a (perfectly normal) leap. It’s sweet, and probably the most realistic one of Peter’s relationships has been handled in ages. We may never see Shay again, but for this one issue, there’s a future laid out for them.
Laiso’s art leans towards the cartoony but here it works. His smooth lines give Peter’s internal battle a lot of room to show on his face, doing as much work as Caramagna’s always strong lettering. The small superhero moments are good, but the issue sings because you see a connection between the two people at the center of it. Meanwhile, Valenza bathes the story in warm tones, making it feel like a nice dinner at a swanky restaurant. It makes the art cozy, setting us up to accept the result.
Amazing Spider-Man #55 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
This is an excellent single issue, with the creative team making us care for a relationship that may only last for a few moments after the issue ends. But dang it, at least for this moment, we’re bought in.