- Written by: Saladin Ahmed, Joe Kelly (backup)
- Art by: Federico Vicentini, Roi Mercado (backup)
- Colors by: Chris Sotomayor (main & backup)
- Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna (main & backup)
- Cover art by: Francesco Mobili (cover A)
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: January 28, 2026
Amazing Spider-Man Annual (2026) #1, by Marvel on 1/28/26, brings a fresh face to the wall-crawler’s world, but stumbles where it matters most.
First Impressions
You finish this comic genuinely invested in Rapid’s journey. The character feels real, grounded, and his struggles resonate in ways that most Marvel fare struggles to achieve. That said, the comic never quite delivers on what it sets up, leaving you with a solid character debut undermined by an antagonist who feels like a bad joke told for twenty pages.
Plot Analysis
Spider-Man takes Rapid up to a rooftop overlooking the city, talking through the weight of superhero life while the younger hero airs genuine concerns. Rapid’s got rent climbing, a kid being bullied at school, a wife working double duty, and a father slowly dying from cancer. His time-slowing powers are failing too, causing headaches that make him question if he’s cut out for this at all. Then Screwball, a pink-haired streamer with a sadistic streak, launches her “Super-Doofus Speedrun” livestream, trapping both heroes in an escalating series of challenges for online entertainment.
The first challenge involves a food truck controlled remotely, careening through the streets with people inside. Rapid and Spider-Man work together to stop it, with Rapid using his powers to freeze time while Spider-Man immobilizes the vehicle. When Screwball targets people with modified window washers that freeze them in place, the heroes have to improvise solutions under pressure. The third challenge is set at a historic theater with incendiary devices on the roof, forcing Rapid to race against time and his own failing powers to prevent a fire while wind threatens to spread the flames.
Then Screwball goes further, detonating charges that cause a subway tunnel to collapse into a massive sinkhole. Spider-Man gets trapped in ice by Screwball’s final trap, leaving Rapid alone to handle civilians falling into the collapsing street. With Spider-Man breaking free and giving an impromptu viral speech about heroism and mutual aid, the civilians actually step in to help Rapid instead of just watching. The comic ends with Rapid exhausted but vindicated, with the online chat actually praising him instead of mocking.
Writing
Ahmed nails the pacing here. The comic moves fast without feeling rushed, each challenge flowing naturally into the next. Dialogue sounds conversational and authentic, especially Rapid’s internal monologue about his real-world pressures. Spider-Man’s mentor voice feels earned, not preachy. The structure works cleanly: setup, challenge, escalation, resolution. One major problem though: there’s no actual confrontation with Screwball and her dialog is painfully contrived as the worst interpretation of a gaming streamer. She’s causing chaos and vanishes from the narrative without facing consequences. The ending feels incomplete because the antagonist isn’t actually stopped; she just disappears from the story. That’s a structural failure, not a pacing issue.
Art
Vicentini’s work excels during action sequences. The food truck scene has kinetic energy, and the sinkhole rescue feels genuinely chaotic and urgent. Color work by Sotomayor enhances the mood effectively, using warm tones during heroic moments and cool tones during danger. Compositions are clean and easy to follow, even during busy panels. The pink energy of Rapid’s powers stands out nicely as a visual identifier. Where the art falters is in making Screwball feel threatening. Her character design is bright and cartoony, which works against any real sense of menace. She reads as a punchline more than a villain, and the art reinforces that problem rather than solving it.
Character Development
Rapid is the standout. His motivation is crystal clear: he’s torn between family obligations and a new calling to heroism. That conflict feels real in a way Marvel rarely achieves. His self-doubt is earned, his growth under pressure is earned, and his character arc – from questioning his role to accepting that showing up matters – lands effectively. Spider-Man works as a mentor but doesn’t get much depth here. Screwball, though, is a mess. Her motivation is that people watch her stream and she enjoys chaos. That’s not character development; that’s a one-note gimmick. She has no arc, no growth, no complication. She’s purely a plot device disguised as a villain.
Originality & Concept Execution
The streamer villain concept is genuinely fresh. Taking internet culture and making it a threat is smart, especially in a Spider-Man context. But the execution is painfully corny. Her dialogue is packed with forced internet-speak, “smash that like button,” “my lovelies,” and constant mugging for the camera. It plays like someone’s parent trying to sound cool to kids. The premise suggests a villain who’s dangerous because she’s charismatic and entertaining, but instead she comes across as annoying and shallow. A real threat here would lean into the manipulation and psychology of streamer culture, not just have her shout catchphrases while pressing buttons.
Positives
The Rapid character work is genuinely excellent. Ahmed creates a hero who feels earned, whose struggle with work and family resonates emotionally, and whose growth feels organic. Vicentini’s action sequences during the three challenges deliver excellent visual storytelling, particularly the sinkhole rescue where chaos and determination collide effectively. The moment where civilians actually step up to help instead of just watching is earned and feels earned. Spider-Man’s speech about mutual aid is the kind of character moment that reminded you why the character matters. That core story of a working-class guy discovering he matters? That’s a genuinely solid story being told here.
Negatives
Screwball is painfully corny as a villain. Her dialogue feels like parody, and not intentional parody. The “super-doofus,” “lovelies,” and constant internet references come across as try-hard rather than threatening or even entertaining. More critically, there’s no actual resolution. Screwball is never confronted, never beaten, never stopped. She just disappears from the narrative while the comic celebrates Rapid’s moral victory. That leaves the story feeling incomplete. You’ve got a great character in Rapid caught in a story that doesn’t actually resolve its central conflict. It’s a bait-and-switch between a character-driven drama and an action story, and neither fully satisfies the other’s demands.
Backup
I’m honestly not sure what’s going on in this backup we join Hobgoblin in the middle of a “sparring match” with a remote-controlled Goblin Slayer. The combatants spar verbally, as well as physically, but the conversation is referencing characters we don’t know, conversations we haven’t seen, and events that happen off-panel, so the net effect is very jarring. Skip it.
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
The Scorecard
Writing Quality (Clarity & Pacing): [2/4]
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): [3/4]
Value (Originality & Entertainment): [1/2]
Final Verdict
Amazing Spider-Man Annual (2026) #1 is a mixed bag that peaks early and never recovers. Rapid is a character worth investing in, and if you care about Spider-Man as a mentor figure, you’ll find moments here that hit. But paying $4.99 for a comic where the villain is a corny internet joke and the main conflict never actually concludes is a tough sell. You’re basically paying for character development and action sequences while the actual story skeleton collapses under the weight of an insufferable antagonist.
6/10
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