Amazing Spider-Man #15 Review

Written by: Zeb Wells
Art by: Ed McGuinness
Colors by: Cliff Rathburn
Letters by: Marcio Menyz
Cover art by: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, MarcioMenyz
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: December 14, 2022

Amazing Spider-Man #15 finds Spidey helping the innocent while he searches for answers when Hell (technically, Limbo) is unleashed in NYC.

Is It Good?

Amazing Spider-Man #15 is odd. Not odd as in “Whoa! I didn’t see that coming.” Odd as in “I don’t get what Wells is trying to do.” I’m neither a dummy nor the smartest man in the world, so the reality probably lies somewhere in the middle.

If you read Dark Web #1 (read our review here), Goblin Queen and Chasm unleashed the demonic powers of Limbo on NYC, turning inanimate objects into flesh-eating monsters. Why? Goblin Queen has a revenge plan in mind that is yet to be explained, and Chasm wants to steal his memories back from Peter Parker. How does capturing NYC do any of that? Unknown.

Now, Spidey is confronted by an earlier incarnation of Eddie Brock/Venom, who agreed to work with the Goblin Queen in exchange for help finding his son. What’s Venom’s part in the capture of NYC? Unknown. Venom appears to be solely focused on eating Spidey’s brain.

“Wait a second. If the Goblin Queen sends Venom out to eat Spidey’s brain, how is Chasm supposed to steal his memories back from Peter Parker?” Again, unknown. The majority of this issue is taken up with the fight between Spidey and Venom, with a bizarre sonic attack that sees Spidey saving the day before the Goblin Queen nonchalantly carts Venom away.

Therein lies the problem of trying to get what Wells is trying to do. How does capturing NYC help the Goblin Queen or Chasm? Why send a regressed Venom into NYC to attack and possibly eat Spidey’s when Chasm needs Spidey’s juicy brain to retrieve his lost memories? When Venom loses to Spidey, why does the Goblin Queen act like it’s no big deal? Stranger still, why does this “big” event have a jokey tone permeating the entire issue as if Spidey is just running through a typical web-slinging crisis?

There’s no sense of urgency or stakes. Spider-Man puts his all into the fight with Venom, but the resolution to their fight almost comes off as a cartoon skit. And the entire issue feels small and silly.

How’s the art? McGuinness’s artwork is great in this issue. The action pops with energy, Rathburn’s color application is smooth and nuanced, and the overall look of the book is fantastic.

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

Amazing Spider-Man #15 is an odd tie-in to the Dark Web event with a showdown between Spidey and a regressed Venom. The action scenes are great, but the jokey tone of the book weakens any dramatic impact, and the plot doesn’t make a lick of sense.