The Geeks Insight

Retrospection of the last noble era of the web-slinger, leaving just as fast as it arrived.

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5, Art By Ryan Ottley

Amazing, Spectacular, Ultimate, Friendly neighbourhood and a flurry of acronyms to described the webbed wonder of Marvel; Spider-Man. Whichever term you know him by, the alter-ego of Peter Parker has experienced turbulence unparalleled over the last 20 years.

Few bursts of glory have been able to shine through the fog, some even finding long-term success. Example being, Volume 5, helmed by Nick Spencer. Vernacular familiarity ran through the veins of Nick Spencer’s time writing Spidey and co. This was a point of refreshing quality.

*Spoilers For Amazing Spider-Man, Volume 5, 6, 7*

Unjust road blocks covered the beat-up path Spencer was ready to voyage down. Editorial meddled and his run was cut short, even with compromises made.

Before Spencer, there was Slott. Shockingly Marvel permitted arguably the biggest status quo shake up ever with 2013’s Superior Spider-Man, written by Dan Slott. Considering this was in a time pre-MCU Spidey, more leeway in the writers hand is unsurprising.

Superior Spider-Man Returns #1, Cover by Ryan Stegman

Dan Slott was incredibly intuitive. Not everything was gold but he was less afraid to take risks, which offered many of the most interesting and influential Spidey tales around.

“No-one dies” (#655-656) is a definitive example. Reeling from tragedy, Pete must face the serial killer “Massacre”, and prevent him from living up to his namesake. in a situation that offers no time for jokes, the encounter is handled swiftly and despite the beratement from J. Jonah Jameson, he upholds his vow of great responsibility. This arc is also the origin of the bulletproof suit, holding black and yellow colours that reflect light and darkness respectively. If wishing to get really philosophical about it, one could say that it represents the death Peter constantly faces, yet still fights for the preservation of life, using it as his strength.

Amazing Spider-Man #656 (2011), Art by Marcos Martin

These stories have a double pronged exploration. One side is of nobility and focus, dedicated towards justice and seeing it through. The other is of an impossible standard that Peter Burdens himself with, something that has riddled him with guilt numerous times. Both sides are interesting, both sides have a place.

Slott ended his 10-year penning of Spider-Man in one of my favourite arcs, “Go Down Swinging”. Though the tenure of Slott was unique, mixed things up and gave Peter some fair progress, there were still loose ends in the wind that needed attention, ones that existed even before his time on the series.

Spencer then took over writing duties in in 2018. Very quickly it was clear that Nick Spencer understood who he was writing. His work didn’t bow to editorial constraints, opting to instead redeem a damaged legacy through purposeful writing.

His greatest battle was in front of him; “One More Day”. The most infamous Spider-Man story of all time.

OMD is a story of deeply flawed character representation. Their marriage is one thing, but Peter or MJ would never sacrifice the life of there child, even if it did keep his aunt May alive. The primary reason being, that is a failure in responsibility. May was effectively Peter’s mother and while he would seemingly do anything to save her, she would nor want him to abandon his own child, or his life for the matter. The fact that these two would sell any unborn child to the devil is nothing short of absurd.

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2, Art by Joe Quesada, 2007

Spencer knows this and his mission presents itself. To undo as much damage as possible. Nicknaming him “Damage Control” may even be warranted. From the opening issue of his run, the evidence of climbing a mountain of Sisyphus’s proportions begins to stack. Spencer’s first call, Peter and MJ together again. Treating this dynamic with a lot of respect, the powerful connection between the two is honoured.

Direct opposition to this comes from Zeb Wells in the run that followed. Spencer created excitement about the relationship and MJ in general, Wells killed it. Not just that, he dragged it through the mud. The desire for the parker clan to be buried screamed across the page.

It is important to consider that despite what came after, Spencer’s tenure did amend damage that would have otherwise been glossed over or doubled down upon. All while being a bright spot to look forward to every fortnight in comics.

Amazing Spider-Man #52 (Vol 5), Spider-Man Vs Kindred, Art by Patrick Gleason

Artistry is the second half of book reception. In fact it can even help salvage poorly written stories to a degree. This is how I look at it:

Great Art, Great Story – Excellent

Great Art, Terrible Story – Tolorable

Terrible Art, Terrible Story – Dreadful

The artwork in Volume 5, was top notch. Heavy hitters such as Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Patrick Gleason (Batman and Robin), Mark Bagley (Ultimate Spider-Man) and Humberto Ramos (Champions) made a heavenly combination.

John Romita Jr took over as primary artist in Zeb Wells run, then again as secondary artist in the current run by Joe Kelly. The problem with that is, the art is disjointed, with some panels being hard to take seriously. There are some stand-out panels and great covers involved, but there is enough dissonance to note the decline from one of the once great Spidey artists. Despite being the son of John Romita Sr, whom offered massive contributions to Marvel in the Silver/Bronze ages, Jr’s latest work offers questions on if an artist can be fatigued from drawing a character to many times.

The difference in art style of the vibrant, lightweight athleticism of Spencer’s run into Wells was noted.

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 6, Peter and Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Art by John Romita Jr

The story quality also dives, exceptions do present themselves however. Judgement day, for example was an issue I found myself immensely fond of. It was packed with heart and Peter had an encounter with the ghost of the past that offered some closure and room to grow.

The Spider-Goblin arc (#32-36) was inventive and took peter down a dark road that allowed his allies to have an objective that incited competency, Also setting up room to make amends in the fallout. Genuinely a really creative arc, a scenario I can safely say I’d never expect to see Parker involved in.

Singularly, issue #55, in which Peter takes Shay Markin out on a date, dealing with the disruptions to the evening without getting in costume, and finally having a win. Capability is regained in Peter’s arsenal and Shay’s communication offers the chance for a healthy relationship. This issue is really special to me. This was at a point where I was pretty fed up with the run, at the point of removing it from my pull list. Zeb Wells must have had that sense, Because he upped his game and It’s the best issue in the whole run.

Three examples that felt like a glass of water in the desert.

The Beyond Plotline that Wells wrote into Volume 5 after Spencer left is great also, but he undoes all this hard work by character assassinating Ben Reilly back into status quo hell.

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5, MJ, Boomerang (Fred Myers) and Peter, Art by Humberto Ramos

While shortcomings did find a way into Spencer’s at times, for the most part the team fired on all cylinders.

Honestly, it worked so well because the characters moved forward. They didn’t linger. Boomerang AKA Fred Myers became a likable crook who shared an apartment with Peter, while tensions where high at first, an admiration was built after cleaning up after himself. They even saved the city together. Randy, Jonah, MJ, Curt Connors and Peter, had all stopped lingering. In a way that made sense for each character. Thus they all became interesting once again.

While Spencer was so close to undoing OMD, he had to settle for the retcon of Sins Past instead, another 00’s Spidey tale of infamy. Independence flowed amongst each step. A strong identity radiated. The Parker luck still felt like a real thing rather than an excuse to sabotage his sense of self and practical skills.

Tombstone in Zeb Wells run moulds this Principal. Essentially the entire 60 issue run has Tombstone as the primary antagonist, with a constant involvement and meddling in events. All for the final issue to have no payoff. As a fan it was disappointing, as a consumer it was wasteful.

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5, #50, Cover by Patrick Gleason

Comparing the two runs, the pivotal culmination of Spencer’s run for me lies in the Last Remains story. This is how you do build up. Then deliver. Ever since the first issue, A Villain named Kindred was teased, slowly haunting Peter. As his approach got closer, the visions and stalking became more intense until the day met. Shaking Spider-Man to his core, only to be revealed as Harry Osborn, the version who died pre-OMD. The 10 issues surrounding this climax are phenomenal. Peter expresses his rage, his sorrow, his failures, his pain and yearning over his friend. MJ is his rock, and she creates a space for him to breathe and heal his wounds. Even while she is dealing with the revelation herself. She knows how much Harry tortured Peter, because he wanted him to fess up to One More Day, but he doesn’t remember, MJ had woven it into the deal with Mephisto all those years ago.

Unfortunately, the road gets bumpy from here. The end of Spencer’s series is a convoluted and overcrowded mess. Harry isn’t Harry, but rather an AI created from a lab involving the two non-Osborn kids of genetic modification, with involvement from Mysterio to create a false conception involving Gwen Stacy. Hence the Sins Past retcon.

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 7, Issue #1, Spider-Man and Rhino, Art by Pepe Larraz

Last Remains and it’s post mortem attachments work as an ending because the pace leading up to it had paved the road, so all that left to do was to walk over it. Sinister War gets messy because this was not the intended end. Spencer was on his way to issue #100 and a wall was hit. interference behind the scenes puts unnatural pressure on the book to conclude an arc that needed more time to breath.

Thus, the age of miserable Peter returns, but without the progress that made those periods endearing. Zeb Wells passed the torch to Joe Kelly, who jaggedly struck gold in his first arc (especially with Pepe Larraz’s godlike art) followed this by throwing it out the window to send Peter to space, for more than 6 months. Earth has welcomed him back, only to be immediately tossed into another grand crossover.

Spencer’s run, even in it’s most ridiculous, prioritised the street-level aspect of the character. An essential element of the audiences connection to his world lies within these moments, but yet, they have all but faded away. Though someday, somehow, this will find it’s way home. After all, it’s a Brand New Day.

Last Remains is more than just a title, it’s a meeting point. The legacy of Spider-Man, coupled with a writer who holds care and passion for the world they are writing, has not been seen quite the same on earth-616 since Spencer’s penmanship. So until the title steps up to reclaim it’s former glory, the last remains shall sit in the omnibus, ready for whoever visits.

Until the Next Story,

– Nick Roberts, 26th March, 2026