In the final issue of Cody Ziglar and Justin Mason’s Spider-Punk, the Spectacular Spider-Band has been captured by Norman Osborn and his flunkies and are about to be executed in front of a gathering crowd. It’s time for these heroes to plug in and fight back harder than ever!
First and foremost, this issue is all about the fun of seeing Spider-Punk and his pals knocking Osborn and his team down a peg or nine. Even when Spider-Punk takes the occasion to explain to Norman why he and his kind will never win, he also acknowledges that these pontifications have to take a backseat to a good old-fashioned thrashing — and he’s not alone in this focus. At one point, Hobie even tries to figure out how his friends got there to save the day so quickly, only for Mattea to tell him not to worry about the logistics. It’s a perfectly cheeky moment that cuts the BS and gets right to the reason for the season: smashing fascists.
And boy, does this issue deliver. Justin Mason brings this fight home in a series of bonkers spreads that hit harder than a mosh pit at a Cancer Bats show. Every punch, kick, and thwip hits hard and nasty, with spit and blood flying about every page. Jim Charalampidis’ intense colors bring the whole thing to vivid life, and every single clash and explosion positively pops off the page. The heroes also get some fun DIY upgrades over the course of the fight, which Mason clearly enjoys illustrating in his ragged, high-octane style. There’s also an over the top action beat here that will make fans of the Marvel’s Spider-Man video games very happy — no spoilers!
I guess if there’s one knock I could say about this story, it’s that there’s never really a moment when I felt the heroes had the odds stacked against them. Aside from the opening couple of pages, it always seemed like Hobie and company had the upper hand throughout much of the story. But even so, isn’t it dope as hell to feel that way for once? There’s just something so satisfying about seeing the Spider-Band taking the fight to the Man and never flinching. It’s also odd that Osborn’s assembled “normal” followers don’t figure more into the story — there was plenty of setup for these people to become a bigger problem, but they kind of stay on the sidelines as the beatdown happens. Still, the growing tension in the crowd does lead to a really fun final image, which made me hopeful for the future of Hobie’s world. There’s a sense of community fostered by these heroes that is nothing short of infectious.
Perhaps best of all, Spider-Punk‘s finale issue sets in motion a few ideas that I could definitely see being explored in a later series. Here’s hoping for many more tours.
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