Writer: Saladin Ahmed
Artist: Michele Bandini, ErikArciniega, and VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 15, 2021

Miles Morales Spider-Man #33 comes right out of this week’s Amazing Spider-Man #81, and I love the synergy going on there (Saladin Ahmed also wrote ASM). I also love that Ahmed doesn’t make Miles’ solo outing feel like an afterthought and set up some big things here.

The story starts with some comic book lawyering that shows that, while a great writer, Ahmed is no lawyer. The point is to show that the Beyond Corporation is on Miles’ ass for copyright infringement and that it’s a bit over his and Ganke’s head, which it does succeed in doing. Unfortunately, it’s also the least exciting part of the overall Beyond story, though it should play out better with Doc Ock on the reverse side of things later.

This issue, for me, is all about Shift. Ahmed tries to make it seem like it’s no big thing, but we haven’t seen much of anything of the hulking clone since the Clone Saga story, and it sucks that the big guy has been slumming it in the sewers! That changes this issue because the tech that Miles and Ben grabbed off of Rhizome in Amazing points directly to the Assessor, and that’s who they head off to stop.

Michele Bandini’s art is so good in this issue, and while a lot of page space is devoted to fight scenes, I don’t mind when they look this good! It’s also a way for Ahmed to throw in a bit of character work for Shift and Miles, which was cool, though nothing that surprising.

The issue ends with a cliffhanger that is a bit over-the-top to show that the bad guy was hanging out a bit closer to home the whole time. Like the Beyond letter at the beginning, though, it serves its purpose and sets up what could be a banger next month. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a massive fan of the Assessor and want him taken care of for good!

There is a cute little Shift story at the end that didn’t affect my score at all but made me smile nonetheless.

We will be talking more in-depth about Wastelanders: Wolverine #1 on this week’s Marvel Podcast, which comes out every Thursday Night. You can search “Weird Science Marvel Comics” on any podcast player to find us!

Final Thoughts:

Miles Morales Spider-Man #33 is a good issue that sets up a big (final?) confrontation between Miles and the Assessor. While an extended fight scene dominates the issue, Michele Bandini’s art and more Shift than we’ve ever gotten makes this worth reading for fans of this book, even if this feels like we just got on the bus to the fireworks factory.

8.0/10