While Peter Parker is getting hot and heavy in space, Norman Osborn is taking serious blows to keep the Spider-Man mantle alive and well. The crosscutting between stories continues this week in Amazing Spider-Man #18, where a Norman-heavy issue reveals the heavy weight on his shoulders, and a cry for help from Peter’s semi-new friend J. Jonah Jameson. With spider-slayers afoot and tensions at Peter’s work rising, things heat up as a new villain may be getting introduced in this issue.
Amazing Spider-Man #18 is another solid entry from writer Joe Kelly, keeping you invested in the characters while bouncing around and progressing subplots. The main story centers on Norman, who enters Jameson’s home bloody and in need of help. That help requires Jameson to decide if Norman has lost his marbles. By the end of the issue, the two bond a bit over being Peter’s confidant and friend, and a respect for Peter is shared between both.
Meanwhile, the plot thickens as Peter’s coworker, the Spider-Slayers, attack goblin villains, and the mysterious young hero with a shield makes an appearance. The latter story is just a crumb, but that’s about all we’ve gotten from them in the slow-burning subplot. The meatier, action-packed subplot of the slayers is particularly intriguing, with a nice cliffhanger payoff. Captions by Kelly do a good job of introducing us to characters like Queen Goblin, making this new reader-friendly.
Something is really bothering Jameson.
Credit: Marvel Comics
Possibly the most intriguing subplot of them all involves Brian. So far, he’s been pushed aside because Ben Reilly (and Peter before him) has been doing exceptional work to the point that he’s not respected. So far, Kelly has written him realistically, never losing his cool or getting overly angry about Peter stealing the spotlight, yet revealing an undercurrent of annoyance. That annoyance may finally blow up, however, with a particularly explosive development of this issue.
John Romita Jr. put out another great issue, inked by Scott Hanna. There are some great visual choices, like a six-panel grid that helps convey Jameson’s perturbed nature toward Spider-Man, or stretching the impact of Norman being in Jameson’s office across a double-page spread. A panel featuring five of Spider-Man’s Spidey-friends is particularly well done, and generally, the volume and dynamic visuals are punched up well by Marcio Menyz.
Amazing Spider-Man #18 continues Joe Kelly’s steady, character-driven run with an issue that leans heavily into Norman Osborn’s burden and guilt while quietly setting several powder kegs across the board. Between the Spider-Slayers escalation, Brian’s mounting resentment, and the fragile trust forming between Norman and Jameson, this issue works less as a standalone spectacle and more as a crucial piece of a larger, carefully layered story. It’s patient, thoughtful Spider-Man storytelling that rewards readers paying attention.
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