- Written by: Zeb Wells
- Art by: Ed McGuiness, Mark Fowler, Mark Morales, Wade von Grawbadger
- Colors by: Marcio Menyz
- Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
- Cover art by: Ed McGuiness, Mark Farmer, Marcio Menyz (cover A)
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: July 31, 2024
Amazing Spider-Man #54, by Marvel Comics on 7/31/24, brings the Spider-Goblin saga to a close when Norman and Peter are trapped in a three-way fight with the spirit of the Green Goblin.
Is Amazing Spider-Man #54 Good?
Yep, the description sounds goofy. In Amazing Spider-Man #54, the story looks and readers as goofy as the description above sounds. In fairness, Zeb Wells does end the issue on a somewhat wholesome note, but it’s hard not to conclude that Zeb Wells has completely checked out of ASM.
When last we left Spidey in Amazing Spider-Man #53, Kamala Khan, aka M. Marvel, joined forces with J. Jonah Jameson, Dr. Curt Connors, Rek-Rap, and Doug the lab assistant to help free Spider-Man from Norman Osborn’s sins. The issue ended with Green Goblin and Spider-Goblin locked in a sealed room in one-on-one combat while Kraven II prevented Ms. Marvel and her allies from interfering in the battle to the death.
In Amazing Spider-Man #54, Kamala Khan, with the help of Dr. Octopus’s first sentient arm harness, desperately tries to open the door to the sealed room trapping Green Goblin and Spider-Goblin together. Kraven holds J. Jonah and Doug at knifepoint to stop Kamal because he believes the Spider must be worthy of the victory on his own. Nearby, Dr. Connors consoles Rek-Rap who is impaled through the heart by a goblin glider, but it’s okay because Rek-Rap has more than one heart… maybe.
Oy! We’re already off to a bad start, tonally. This should be the finale of a gripping, dramatic fight for survival, and Zeb Wells throws the whole issue off right from the jump by yucking it up with slapstick humor. If there’s one issue that’s sullied the entirety of Zeb Wells’s run (above and beyond the creation of the most hated character in comics – Paul), it’s Wells’s inability to read the room and know when humor should or should not be used.
Inside the sealed room, the fight waffles back and forth when Norman activates a secret switch on the new “soul spear” the extract the Goblin programming from Peter. At first, it works, but what follows is a bizarre game of hot potato as each character rejects and accepts the Goblin programming, sometimes with the use of the spear and sometimes without.
Well, which is it, Zeb Wells? Do you need the spear to pull the Goblin programming out or not? In one panel, Norman pulls the programming out of Peter by stabbing him with the “soul spear,” trapping it in the spear. In another panel, he slashes Peter in the chest, and the goblin programming magically leaps out of Peter and into Norman. In another panel, the goblin programming leaps from Norman to Peter simply by the two characters screaming at each other. It’s one thing to break the rules a creator established after several issues or after handing the title off to another writer. It’s another thing to break whatever rules have been established between successive panels.
The issue ends with the Living Brain crawling over to the discarded “soul spear” and attaching itself to the end with the Winkler Device helmet so that he can do… something… that forces Peter to overcome the Goblin programming with his human goodness, destroying the programming for good. Everyone part ways with smiles, hugs, hope, and a literal “The End” on the final page.
Overall, This finale is a sloppy, tonally inconsistent, goofy way to end the Spider-Goblin saga. Zeb Wells is not even trying to put together a coherent story, and it shows. If you’re a diehard ASM fan, and not possessed by the OCD-ish need to have an unbroken run, save yourself the headache and wait until Joe Kelly takes over this Fall.
How’s the Art? The art is surprisingly good considering the surprising number of inkers Marvel tapped to get this issue across the finish line. Ed McGuiness’s pencils convey plenty of energy and emotion during the heated moments, which is where this issue needs to hit hardest. Therefore, the art is quite good despite the lopsided script.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Final Thoughts
Amazing Spider-Man #54 brings the Spider-Goblin saga to a close with solid art and an ending that feels final. Sadly, the script can’t find a balance between drama and humor, the sci-mystical elements of the fight can’t abide its rules consistently, and the net result reads like a comic that’s a goofy mess.
4.5/10
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