Spider-Man #10 Review

Written by: Dan Slott, Christos Gage
Art by: Mark Bagley, John Dell, Andrew Hennessy
Colors by: Edgar Delgado
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Mark Bagley, Edgar Delgado
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: July 5th, 2023

Spider-Man #10 concludes Spidey’s fight against an amped-up Electro and an accidentally amped-up Spidey-Sense that threatens to fry his brain. But saving the day is all in a day’s work for… Spider-Boy???

Is It Good?

File this one under “Speculaor Bait” as the first issue where the recently-introduced Spider-Boy makes his fighting debut alongside Spider-Man. When Spider-Boy made his appearance debut at the end of the “End of the Spider-Verse” arc, the reaction sounded a lot like “Eh. Huh? Okay, I guess.”, but that was enough to spur Marvel into giving the variant more page time in anticipation of a forthcoming solo series. Will this issue win over an army of potential Spider-Boy fans? No, not an army. A crowded elevator, maybe, but not an army.

When last we left Spider-Man, his Spidey-Sense was still on overdrive and getting worse when Electro (with a power boost of his own) arrived to make matters worse. Now, Norman Osborn scrambles to find a cure for Spidey’s overclocked senses, while Spidey struggles to hold back Electro. Suddenly, Spider-Boy leaps into the fray to give Spidey a break and save the day.

As a full introduction to Spider-Boy, this issue does what it needed to do. You get a good luck at Spider-Boy’s powers, how they’re similar or different from Spidey’s, and how the two could work as a tag team in the future. Holistically, Spider-Boy is most similar to a jumping spider – small, lots of hopping, and a mean bite when provoked. Of all the Spider-variants introduced in the last year, Spider-Boy appears to be the most developed in terms of powers and personality.

On the flip side, Spider-Boy’s personality is more grating than a case of shredded Romano cheese at a spaghetti festival. Think of a word more unpleasant than ‘obnoxious’, and you’ve got the right word to describe this kid. He’s rude, condescending, and just unpleasant to be around. It’s hard to imagine any alternate reality where Spider-Man would have this kid as a partner.

Why did Slott choose to use this type of personality? Who knows. Maybe Slott is trying to cash in on the Damian Wayne fan base, or perhaps Slott thought creating a rude punk would be relatable to a younger audience. Whatever the reason, this issue will definitely turn prospective Spider-Boy fans off.

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 #10 brings the brand new character, Spider-Boy, to the forefront while Spider-Man fights with his Spidey-Sense on the fritz. The action is typically good for a Spider-Man comic, the art is fine, and the resolution makes sense, but if you’re only in it to get to know Spider-Boy, you’ll get plenty of insight, both good and bad.