Of Kings And (Spider-)Men — Reviewing ‘Miles Morales: Spider-Man’ #25

Becoming a vampire is like having this itch in the most inconvenient place that just cannot ever be fully scratched. Some give into it, and at least sate it for a period of time. Others, like Miles Morales, fight it and cause the itch to just fester and grow stronger.

It’s time for the not-as-friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to deal with this as Miles Morales: Spider-Man #25 brings in the Black Panther for support. A milestone series issue from Cody Ziglar, Federico Vicentini, Bryan Valenza, and Cory Petit.

Twenty-five issues is quite a feat when it comes to modern day ongoing series at the so-called “Big Two” publishers. A lot of really good books never even come close to reaching that number, often for reasons that are mostly not great indicators of the market and the publishers themselves. Gone are the days when such numbers were just mostly routine, leaving 50 or 75 as the big markers.

Being a Spider-Man book, any of Miles’ ongoing outings have a higher starting point in the race than most titles. That being said, there is a good reason this one continues to chug along. The team is putting their all into things even with curveball changes like having a vampiric Miles Morales tossed into their laps.

Here comes the curveball, Ziglar isn’t fooled, he’s hit it high and deep and right out of the park! Home run!

Sorry, while my team might be out of the playoffs, baseball is always right there on my brain. Anyway, back to the story at hand.

We get a really solid piece here that is plenty of action mixed with great character development work. Essentially, Miles and Black Panther fight so T’Challa can gauge the infection within, leading to a new suit and the start of a second throwdown with the high-flying (and all decked-out) Vulture.

Everything just flows so well here. Visually, Vicentini and Valenza are as on point as ever. Really making sure things are kinetic and sharp, following Spider-Man’s frantic and almost chaotic energy beat-for-beat. I love how Vicentini blends a rougher art style with one that is softer and smoother, creating something very in the middle but fitting for a book that feeds the child within and the adult that most of us have become.

By that I mean it has rough hard edges, as the character deals with very rough (almost adult like) things, but it still is vibrant and fun the whole way through. Our protagonist, and those around him, can struggle with mental health or physical health but still find things to fight for and liven up life with a bit. As most of us can and often have to do on a regular basis.

Valenza’s color palette brings this all to life as well. Lots of darker colors with plenty of black and shadowy tones alongside those that are more vibrant, bright, and loud. It creates a very realistic and tangible setting through which our more bold and splashy fantastical characters can swing, fly, or move in whatever capacity they can. Very fluid and smooth, with a pinch of muddiness (for lack of a better term) that gives it that lived in grittier feeling.

Right there, in the thick of all things, is Petit slinging words around with power and personality. He lets it all flow across the page, bouncing around like the titular hero. Colorful boxes really help hone in on the voices that are doing the narrating (the stiffer older Vulture versus the younger flexible Spider-Man voice, for example), as well as just giving some nice visual spice. That loud “VULTURE!” that Miles shouts is still ringing in my ears.

Miles has been given new suits off and on, just like Peter has. I really like that Ziglar found a reason more than “it’s an anniversary issue, let’s get a new costume that will sell new toys” or such. A vibranium suit that regulates the bioelectric venom within to help keep the vampire urges at bay, that’s some solid stuff.

Also looks pretty kick ass at the same time.

It’s just another way that this series keeps firing on all cylinders and giving many of us Webheads the type of Spidey stuff we’ve been craving. Especially with how messy a lot of Peter’s situation has been for years. Still love ya Pete, but the tie you have with Miles in my brain isn’t as much of a tie these days.

Being an anniversary style issue, having a backup story is a typical thing. It could be anything, a one-off tale or something that leads to more stories down the line. When someone is working on two books, might be a good way to dovetail them together.

That’s what Ziglar does here, as Miles Morales faces off with the all-new, all-deadly Deadpool (and his old “friend” Taskmaster makes an appearance). It’s a great way to get Ellie, Deadpool’s daughter and new mantle holder, out there alongside a big character. Deadpool and Spider-Man go together like peanut butter and an anchovy, but somehow taste better more often than not.

Valenza plays double duty, bringing on a rougher darker color palette to play, with Federico Sabbatini’s rougher artwork. It’s got a real mercenary feeling, as Deadpool goes about a gig and the action between her and Spider-Man feels smooth but also stilted in just the right ways. Details are left off in order to really focus on the duo and their fight, dragging us into the middle with the framing choices.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #25 is now available from Marvel Comics.