Amazing Spider-Man #12 Review

The Spider-Verse has been a strange beast thus far. The Inheritors, an almighty family poised to rid the multiverse of the Spider Totems once and for all, a bevy of interesting and exotic locales, and every single Spider-Man, ever. The combination has found success so far, and each issue has been a strong piece of the growing puzzle. The Amazing Spider-Man #12 continues this trend, with plot progression and two surprise character reveals.

For once since this event started, this may be an issue where I say there is too much going on. There are times when it feels a tad compressed, and the twists happen in rapid succession so as to move the story along to its penultimate issue. All of these check ins and side events are integral to plot progression but there is a lot to take in. There’s the aftermath of the fight between Cosmic Spidey and Solus, Silk’s situation, Miles and Web Warrior Pete’s mission, Spider-Man’s 2099’s dissection, and Spider-Woman’s infiltration of the Loomworld. That’s a lot to take in, and though it effectively ties in to all of the side issues to give the entire event a more cohesive feeling, it does take a lot of space and quick perspective switching to keep reader’s updated on what’s going on with everyone.

It also does seem kind of silly that Jennix and the Inheritors had been listening in on Spider-Man and company’s inter-dimensional conversations, because that means they could have taken out any Spidey who left the safe world on a side quest whenever they heard the chatter through the comms. Jennix claims they didn’t act upon it because until the Spiders began to share tactical information that it was amusing, but really, it would’ve made life way easier for the Inheritors if they ambushed them at every turn. Nevertheless, these two elements are the only gripes I have with the issue, so now I’ll move on to the good parts.’

First off, Giuseppe Camuncoli. I must commend this artist again for being able to draw so many characters, so frequently, in so little panels and still have it look clean and detailed. Case in point, one of my favorite panels is all of the Spideys swinging together towards Sims Tower near the end of the issue; just look at how cool that looks even when it lacks finer features, and how much he is able to fit into a slim panel.

Second, is the surprise character reveals. The return of Takuya and Leopardon had the internet abuzz, and actually seeing it in the comic, witnessing the ridiculous scene of Leopardon grappling with Lord Solus is the embodiment of what the Spider-Verse brings to the comic book table. Also, a lot of people we haven’t seen in awhile actually get some more screen time, like Evangelion Spider-Girl as I like to call her. The other surprise reveal (SPOILER ALERT, PROCEED WITH CAUTION!) was something a lot of people expected would happen sooner or later -some even hypothesizing that Old Man Spider-Man would be revealed as such: Uncle Ben as a Spider-Totem. Whether this turns out to be a cool or gimmicky concept remains to be seen.

Amazing Spider-Man #12 was chock full of Spidery goodness, wrapped up in a beautiful package, but perhaps a tad crowded in content. I still recommend it though, unless you’re just jumping into the event now in which case you’ll be quite confused. With two more issues left, the event is looking to be one of the best Marvel has had in years (in my Spider-Biased opinion), so check in again soon to see if the quality continues.

Check out Whatever a Spider Can’s other Spider-Verse comic book recaps and reviews

Amazing Spider-Man #11 Recap and Review
Amazing Spider-Man #10 Recap and Review
Amazing Spider-Man #9 Recap and Review

If you enjoy what you’ve read here at Whatever a Spider Can, we’ve got some exciting news for you — you can be part of the team here too! We’re looking for enthusiastic Spider-Fans to write for us on anything Spider-Man related. just fill in the form you’ll find here and tell us why you want to write for Whatever a Spider Can. We look forward to hearing from you!