Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Federico Vicente & Federico Sabbatini
Color Artist: Alex Sinclair
Cover Artists: Mark Bailey, John Dell & Brian Reber
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Last time, Peter Parker was joining his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson, for the premier of her new film, only to get caught up in a super-villain brawl. Vulture’s Savage Six attacked and not long after Doctor Octopus arrived with the Sinister Six. Naturally, Peter jumped into action as Spider-Man but was beaten and brought before Kindred, the masterminded behind it all. Amazing Spider-Man #71 shows what the next phase of Kindred’s plan will be.
Review:
So, Kindred has been playing the long game since the beginning of this series, and clearly so has Nick Spencer to plenty of fans’ excitement and frustration. This issue establishes how Sinister War is the culmination of everything Kindred has been planning from the beginning, and now everything is aligning. His big moment is approaching and Kindred is ready to step into the spotlight again.
There’s a lot of narration and exposition in this comic, from both Kindred and one other character, Mysterio. Both of them fill in the reader and MJ on what’s transpiring, but in typical fashion, they dance around the bigger issues. Namely, what really happened to Harry Osborn, how they all got here, and what’s going to happen next.
There is significant development for various subplots involving Norman Osborn, Harry and Carlie, as well as Mysterio and MJ. Some things are finally cleared up or addressed and presented to the readers in an informative manner to explain certain story elements, like Mysterio’s connection to Kindred. However, it’s clear that all of this is happening according to Kindred’s design.
And now it appears that things are finally aligning as his true moment approaches. However, the biggest problem here is that Spider-Man is virtually missing throughout the entire issue except for a handful of pages. After that, he basically disappears while Kindred takes over for this comic book.
For anyone looking for more action with Spider-Man fighting the super-villain teams, you might have to check in with Sinister War #2. That seems to be where all the action’s going to be. This issue is more of an expository comic to set up the confrontation between Spidey and Kindred, while the villain makes his move and puts his plan into action.
Final Thoughts:
Amazing Spider-Man #71 is not the epic action-fest Sinister War #1 was, but it does fulfill its role in the main event. This comic is essentially Kindred’s comic as he narrates throughout the entire issue while it shows things proceeding according to his plan. Pieces are moving into place as the villain’s long con is finally paying off. It even elaborates on the relationship between Mysterio and Kindred a bit more, showing how far Kindred’s manipulations go.