Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #12

Background

Jefferson Morales has recently returned to work as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, he has mysteriously vanished, leaving his family concerned.

Story Details

Miles informs Ganke and Fabio of a recent kiss he shared with Spider-Gwen. They express their surprise, and they question Miles about how the event came to transpire. Miles recalls the urgent phone call that he had with his mother regarding his missing father. He remembers how he swung around the city desperate to find his missing family member, but he was unsure of whom to ask or where to turn. Fortunately for him, Maria Hill arrived on the scene and informed him of his father’s status. Jefferson was on a mission for Hill when he was supposedly transported to another dimension. Hill states that the mission was not legitimate, and that is why she must ask Miles to go and help his father. Miles agrees, and he travels to Earth-65.

Once there, Miles encounters the Earth-65 version of the Ringer, who he manages to defeat after a short confrontation. However, before he can resume his search for his father, he is intercepted by Gwen Stacy, aka Spider-Woman.

General Comments

This issue is definitely a “Part 1” kind of story. There is a lot of set-up with very little pay-off, and that causes this book to be a bit difficult to review. It’s just part of a larger story, and it’s not a very substantial part at that. It’s comprised mostly of exposition and recap, which doesn’t provide a whole lot of food for thought.

My main take-away from this issue is that the overall premise is interesting. The idea of Miles going to Earth-65 and teaming up with Spider-Gwen sounds like a lot of fun. If executed well, it could turn out to be a highlight of both of their respective runs. However, there isn’t very much of that in this issue, apart from the first and last pages. Heck, the cover makes this issue seem like a Miles/Gwen centric-story, and while the specific image comes to pass, the implication does not.

The only other thing really worth commenting on is that I don’t really like how this issue is structured. We are hearing and seeing Miles give a recap of this adventure that already happened, instead of experiencing it in real time. I don’t really see the need for that, because I feel like Miles’ narration just distracts from the primary narrative. Whenever I find myself getting immersed in the story, the voice-over pulls me back out. It’s unnecessary in my opinion.

Finally, Pichelli, Carlucci, and Ponsor deliver very high-quality artwork once again.

Overall Rating

I apologize for the short review, but this issue really has very little to it. It’s a set-up issue for a larger arc, and that’s really all that I can say about it.