Written by: Dan Slott
Art by: Mark Bagley, John Dell
Colors by: Edgar Delgado
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Mark Bagley, Alejandro Sánchez
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: October 5, 2022
Spider-Man #1 brings an end to the Spider-Verse at the hands (claws?) of Shathra, with a little help from Spider-Man’s friends now under Shathra’s control.
Is It Good?
Spider-Man #1 may or may not be an okay issue, depending on your point of view.
The plot centers around Shathra enacting an Endgame (heh) to destroy the multiverse of Spider-Men/Women/Robots/Things – a Spider-Verse, if you will – by infecting the alternate Spider-Men into slaves who will do her bidding. The first order of business is transport to Earth-616 and capture Peter Parker/ Spider-Man.
In what ways does this issue work? Bagley and Dell’s art is great. There’s plenty of web-slinging action to get your blood pumping, and the cliffhanger ending represents a sizable threat to Spider-Man and Earth-616. The pacing is a bit frantic, but there’s plenty of action and plot movement to hold your attention.
In what ways doesn’t this work?
First, Slott’s Spidey-jokes are awful. Not corny or eye-rolling in a dad joke sort of way. The jokes are “Hey, fellow kids,” out-of-touch, trying-to-be-hip-and-failing terrible. The jokes are bad enough to almost make you lose respect for Peter Parker.
Second, this is a terrible #1 issue. The sequence of events comes off as a direct continuation of the Spider-Verse and ASM titles, so if you’re not up to speed on those other issues, and the characters therein, you’ll be completely lost. In no way, shape, or form is this issue appropriate as a #1.
To answer the question as to whether or not this is a good issue, the accurate answer is “it depends.” If you’re up to speed on the Spider-Verse and the other Spider-Man titles already on the market and don’t care about numbering, this issue is fine. If you’re a new reader who heard of Spider-Man and think a #1 issue is a good jumping-on point, save your money.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces
Spider-Man #1 is a #1 issue in numbering only. Readers are dropped into the Spider-Verse and ASM storylines to bring the Spider-Verse to a close with a multiversal threat. The dialog is solid (except for Spider-Man’s terrible jokes), and the threats have weight, so there’s enough interest to warrant picking up the next issue. However, this is not recommended for new Spidey readers.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 