Nick Spencer’s Amazing Spider-Man will go down as the biggest tease in all of comics history. Kindred is a character that was slowly teased, fully revealed as a threat who loves to tease, and now is at a state where he teases in the same way over and over. It’s the kind of bewildering character where his schtick has gone on so long you start to question your own read on him. His reign of teases will likely end with Nick Spencer’s final issue, but this week we’ve got a few more to power through.
This is part 2 of Sinister War — although oddly, Sinister War #2 is also being dubbed part 2 — and opens with Spider-Man getting beaten up by his many iconic villains. Doc Ock gets a hit in, Electro, Sandman, and more. If the main event wasn’t enough, you get more here.
If you’ve been reading Sinister War you probably don’t need four pages of Spider-Man getting beat up some more, but you do need kicking and punching in these things. It establishes the state of Spider-Man so that it can jump into a flashback featuring Norman Osborn. This is largely his issue aside from a bit of table setting with other characters.
It’s tough to say what is or isn’t real anymore in this story involving Kindred, but this issue does offer a new wrinkle to the sordid affair. So far we’ve seen heavy references to Spider-Man: One More Day, and we get more of that here, but something more as well. There’s another angle to everything that could potentially further complicate what Mephisto did to Spider-Man’s life. It’s a turn that could make the franchise-altering storyline that split up MJ and Peter even more complicated. In a good way.
Spider-Man is very outmatched.
Credit: Marvel
That’s just a guess, because Kindred continues to tease readers with the promise of more reveals that are never fulfilled. The final page seems to suggest Kindred will give MJ some new information, but of course, the comic ends before we can get that far. It’s seriously hard to take this story seriously at this point, but it may suggest some final twist that could be interesting. The key word is “could”.
The art by Federico Sabbtini, Ze Carlos, Marcelo Ferreira, and Carlos Gomez is strong. There are major scene changes that allow artists to switch off, making this a smooth read. Speaking from a scheduling perspective, this book looks fantastic given there are three artists and likely a quick turnaround on art. Alex Sinclair’s color art helps weave everything together.
There’s a fantastic montage of Norman’s acts throughout the years to remind readers of the key dramas between Peter and Harry, along with some very creepy Kindred imagery. His face in this issue is more like a stretched-out pumpkin, making him quite creepy. The opening with Spider-Man getting battered by his foes is well done, with slashing panels across the page that help convey the constant barrage of blows that are keeping Spider-Man from protecting himself.
We’re two issues away from Nick Spencer’s final Amazing Spider-Man, and yet this issue doesn’t change the tempo of teasing without many answers. There’s a hint at something that could change how we feel about “One More Day,” but if you’re as exhausted as most are with this mystery you’re likely limping into this finish. Thankfully the book looks good, making each limp a little less painful.
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