Spider-Gwen #19 Review

When you are in debt to Matt Murdock of Earth-65, things are bound to get messy.

Spider-Gwen #19
Writer: Jason Latour
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Publisher: Marvel Comics

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Comixology/Amazon

Observations

• Poor guy can’t catch a break no matter which dimension he’s in.
• To be fair, buying cashews from a street vendor might not be safe depending on if they’re shelled or not.
• HA! The supporting cast of Earth-65 finally figured out the best/most hilarious way of figuring a secret identity (that should have been tried by Earth 616 folks a long time ago).
• If you’re an evil/sociopathic lawyer, then Mr. Stacy is going to make one heck of a bad client.
• Good lord. The Osbournes of this dimension are a terrible family, too.
• At the least Lizards have full, luscious heads of hair, though.
• HO. LEE. CRAP.

The Verdict

The big selling point of this issue/story arc is that it introduces a big new character into Gwen’s universe. To be honest, the reveal wasn’t that great. It wasn’t bad—I think Latour will write the character exceptionally well—but it didn’t make me jump out of my seat or anything.

What DID make me jump out of my seat and squeal at an embarrassingly high frequency was Latour’s brilliant integration of one of the Spider-mythos’ most deadly substances into the Spider-Gwen canon. In addition to the “cool” factor, it also serves as a vital part of the unfolding narrative, forcing Gwen to further compromise herself in service to Murdock while also desperately trying to save her father.

Speaking of Murdock, I can’t believe how demented this version of him is. It’s a good thing Gwen is able to keep things light-hearted once in while, because otherwise his shadow could easily envelop the entire book.

Art-wise, Robbi Rodriguez accompanies his usual kinetic brilliance with some wonderfully grotesque moments. As cool as it was seeing the aforementioned spider-substance, you’ll likely feel terrible for the rat being subjected to it…

…unless you’re the Earth-65 version of Matt Murdock. Then it’s sure to make you smile.

Spider-Gwen #19

Is it good?

A huge part of the Spider Mythos is introduced in what turns out to be a chilling and fantastic story.

Jason Latour goes beyond the "cool" factor of the [REDACTED] to also make its introduction a vital part of the narrative.

Earth-65 Matt Murdock is slowly but surely establishing himself as one of Marvel's best villains.

We all knew Robbi Rodriguez could draw great action sequences, but the guy can do some great gore, as well.

The big character reveal at the end was pretty 'meh.'

9

Great

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Comixology/Amazon