The Good
We get another two-part tale of Spider-Totems side-stories from the main group, only this time the stakes are much, much higher as the final battle against the Inheritors is about to kick off. Christos Gage gives us an update on what the outsider Karn has been up to as well as what his role will be in the future of the event. We also get a glance into the lives of one of the stranger Spider-Totems we’ve yet seen and that is saying something. Dave Williams’ pencils do well at making the characters look meaty and powerful and when they’re standing their ground, it looks good. They exude authority (or anti-authority in Spider-Punk’s case) and it makes them look strong, though a large part of that visual language comes from Dexter Vines’ thick, distinct inks and the simplistically colorful palette of Chris Sotomayor that suits the world just fine.
The second story doesn’t actually go to any new dimensions as we check out Mayday Parker and the Spider-Totem of the nuclear wasteland do some filial bonding. Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz are credited with both writing and pencils, and they do a really great job showing May’s growing frustration without devolving into straight-up teen angst. We also get a good look at how different this world’s Spider-Totem is from the one we know from every other universe, and it’s actually interesting to see this take on him. Sal Buscema is credited with “finished” art, which I’m presuming means he did the inking and colors, both of which look fantastic. The colors are bold and sharp, setting a harsh tone for this surprisingly harsh story.
The Bad
The visuals in the first story sometimes work, but whenever actions needs to be portrayed it comes off as overly stiff and, especially, over-written. The pace of the action slows to a crawl as characters exclaim both exposition and their motivations apparently in between single punches, kicks and headbutts. The story feels like it would’ve worked better, and been better for the artists’ strengths, if it had just been a standard conversation rather than a “battle-talk.” Likewise there is little to distinguish many of the characters involved in this story. We get some vaguely anti-authoritarian dialog from Spider-Punk and some selfishness from Spider-Barton, but other than that the characters feel interchangeable. The great thing about the last two issues was that they felt like they wouldn’t have worked as well, or would have been entirely different, if they were other characters.
Similar complaints could be leveled against the second story, as there’s more action that isn’t terribly necessary. It showcases Spider-Girl’s unique talents well enough, but that could’ve been something to save for the actual Inheritor fight and it creates an unnecessary battle against a silly opponent that’s clearly meant to be taken seriously. It feels out of place.
The Verdict
This was a disappointing issue after two very, very strong ones and part of that is for how needlessly chaotic it feels. I understand that there’s a certain expectation of action for mainstream superhero books, and that these only had half as much space to tell their stories as a normal issue, but both stories feel rushed and only one feels truly relevant to the characters while the other feels relevant to the plot, but neither feel relevant to both. The art winds up being uneven as a result and the whole issue suffers for it. There are definitely some cool parts and some redeeming qualities, but compared to the last two issues this one doesn’t deliver. The stories in both are interesting, even worth picking up if you're as into Spider-Verse as I am, but the executions on both leave a lot to be desired.