Writers: Nick Spencer & Christos Gage
Artists: Marcelo Ferreira, Mark Bagley, Zé Carlos, Dio Neves, Carlos Gómez, Ivan Fiorelli & Humberto Ramos.
Color Artists: Andrew Crossley, Edgar Delgado & Alex Sinclair.
Cover Artists: Patrick Gleason & Alejandro Sánchez.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
It’s here. The final battle between Spider-Man and Kindred. Evil from Spider-Man’s past has come back to haunt him and those close to him. He’s fought through six teams of super-villains, been pushed to the brink of death, and forced to confront the sins of his past. Now in Amazing Spider-Man #74, it all ends.
Review:
It’s here. The final conclusion to Nick Spencer’s run on Amazing Spider-Man and the end of the overarching Kindred storyline. It is what it is: an ending. This is not the ending I’m sure many Spider-Man fans were hoping for, it will certainly disappoint plenty of people invested in the mystery of Kindred. It answers questions but will definitely leave people disappointed. But there are some highlights in the comic to take away and at the very least, things are looking up for the web-slinger moving forward.
So the story itself picks up where it left off in the previous issue with Spidey finally confronting Kindred. The comic provides a very brutal fight between them and the art and story come together in delivering this fight. The story also manages to tie in all three of the narrative threads that were set up for Norman, Harry and Carlie, and MJ for this issue. Some are done better than others, but it all comes together for this comic.
Like I said before, this comic provides clear answers about Kindred and the whole mystery behind the villain and I know it will both excite and disappoint fans. It also resolves the story between Doctor Strange and Mephisto, but even that is also unsatisfactory in relation to the story. Not to mention, this comic doesn’t deliver the type of ending many of us were hoping for, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for Peter Parker. By the end, it feels like a big weight has finally been lifted from his shoulders and the character can positively move forward in his life.
Overall, it’s a fine emotional send-off for Nick Spencer as he doesn’t do what we all wanted him to obviously deliver in this story arc, but he does manage to leave Spidey in a better spot than he found him in. There’s also a couple of short backup stories that continue to carry this positive momentum for Spider-Man in different ways. The first one was the strongest for me, though it’s questionable if it’s just a nice standalone story or canon. The second one barely excites me until the end and even then I’m left confused. However, I know fans of a certain hero will be more interested in the second backup story.
Spoilers:
Now I won’t spoil the main story too much, but I wanted to briefly touch on how the synopsis for this comic is not entirely accurate. Peter and MJ are the only ones who get any true resolution in this comic. Don’t let the comic synopsis fool you, there are no resolutions for anyone else in this comic but them. Not for Norman, Mysterio, Doctor Octopus, J. Jonah Jameson, Aunt May, or anyone else. Just them.
Final Thoughts:
Amazing Spider-Man #74 brings the story between Spider-Man and Kindred to a close. The fights between them are brutal with the art delivering a visceral experience for Spider-Man. The comic delivers answers about Kindred and ties in the three narrative threads of Norman, Harry & Carlie, and MJ back into the main plot. Now, this is not the ending that many fans were hoping for and will undoubtedly disappoint many, especially the side-story with Doctor Strange and Mephisto. Despite all of that, Nick Spencer does leave Spider-Man in a more positive place than he found him in.