Writer: Ryan North
Art: Pere Perez, Jordi Tarragona Garcia, Marte Garcia, and VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 20th, 2019

Lets’s swing back into the Spider-Verse and see how Miles and Spider-Zero are doing in their search for Annie May! OR NOT!!

I’ll be completely honest. The cover of this issue really turned me off. Aunt May, aka the Spectacular Spider-Ma’am, has one of the worst costumes I’ve ever seen. At first, I wondered if she was some new version of the “Thinker” and was holding an extra brain in that contraption on her head. I realize it’s a baking hat or something of the like.

So, after a very nice recap page, we’re thrown into our story. Unfortunately, Spider-Zero who we spent the whole first issue learning about, is missing in action. Like for the whole issue. I’m not sure how much sense that makes to spend so much time introducing a character, only to not us the character in the next issue. Especially in a mini-series. But then I realized we have a completely different writer on issue two. So basically the recap page meant pretty much nothing because instead we get Miles thrown into a universe to help out in what is essentially a Aunt May story. Albeit a very good Aunt May story.

As far as the story goes, we’re on a different Earth, but not told which one. Aunt May is Spider-Ma’am and she does “spider-type” things while also protecting Ben and Peter. We get the “great power” speech done but in a different setting. We also get an editors note about something that happened in Spider-Geddon for those, including me, that didn’t read that. Spider-Ma’am, Ben, and Peter talk alternate timelines, universes and the like, but are quickly attacked by their evil doppelgängers from another timeline.

I’m not sure if a mini-series ever tied into an event, but if not, this issue could/should be the first. The evil Aunt May is a symbiote! And believe me when I tell you, this issue is better than some of the Absolute Carnage tie-ins.

Our Miles finally appears and while helping Spider-Ma’am they come up with an ingenious plan to not defeat the doppelgängers, but send them back from where they came from.

Parts of this issue really made me smile. It was a fun, family-oriented ride in the Spider-Verse.

The art is outstanding too. This panel of Miles is one of the best panels I’ve seen of him. Ever.

We end the issue with Miles heading off to who knows where, but also with a really nice cliffhanger that will hopefully set up an upcoming series.

We also get three fan-submitted Spidersonas. They’re very cute and very well done.

Final Thoughts:

If you can get past the fact that Ryan North basically ignores everything Jed MacKay did in issue one, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what basically is Miles lending a hand in an Aunt May one shot. How this issue matters in the Spider-Zero/Annie May story I have absolutely no idea. Hopefully it’ll be explained by the end of the mini-series. I’d give this a much higher score if it was just a one shot.