In this review of The Amazing Spider-Man #16: Norman is confronted by Tombstone!
The Amazing Spider-Man #16
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist and Main Cover: John Romita Jr
Variant Covers: Lee Bermejo, David Marquez, Marco Forcelloni, Giuseppe Camuncoli
Page Count: 19 pages
Release Date: November 18, 2025
This review contains spoilers
As The Amazing Spider-Man #16 begins, JJJ asks to visit May, and she accepts. Ben decides to wrap things up at Peter’s work and move on after a talk with Janine. Tombstone decides to confront Spider-Man, and Norman continues being the hero despite the pushback.
At Rand Enterprises, Brian finally gets the calculations right, but Ben seems upset by the idea that Peter Parker will get the credit. Maira meets Norman at Central Park and attempts to talk to him about how her son’s condition is not getting better, but he gets pulled away by the need to be Spider-Man.
Aunt May steers the conversation away from the idea of forcing Peter into an intervention, stating that she knows him best. Meanwhile, Norman arrives on the scene as Spider-Man to find Tombstone and Plague RX waiting. Tombstone realizes that the Spider-Man in front of him is not the real one, and Plague RX causes Norman immense pain with a single touch. Norman is able to fight through the pain to defeat Tombstone and escape, and Ben returns to the lab to make unknown changes to the completed project.
Analysis
The Amazing Spider-Man #16 offers an interesting view into the way that characters are handling Peter’s disappearance. However, while there are emotional and contemplative moments throughout the issue, the art doesn’t always match the tone. For example, the panels where Norman and Maira meet up have vulnerable dialogue, but the expressions aren’t very detailed, and there are no interesting angles or creative panel layouts. There is a panel early on that pays homage to Amazing Fantasy #15, and that was fun to see.
Character-wise, Ben appears to be planning something. We don’t know what, but I’m hoping for an in-depth look into his actions later. Meanwhile, Aunt May and Norman both have moments in this issue that effectively highlight their characters. Aunt May taking over the discussion about having an intervention for Peter, acknowledging that she knows him best and will do what he needs, was a standout moment that also shed light on why she has been so calm about Peter’s sudden distance.
Norman, acknowledging that he prefers to do the heroics behind a mask, learning about the necessity of leaving to be Spider-Man, even when it’s inconvenient, and calling on the pain of his childhood to help push through Plague RX’s powers to escape Tombstone were excellent moments for him. However, Plague RX didn’t do as much as I was expecting, considering he was on the cover. For someone so highlighted, he didn’t even participate in the battle, and his powers didn’t stop Norman. It felt like an odd choice to focus on him and not on Tombstone’s discovery that Norman is not the real Spider-Man.
Final Thoughts
The Amazing Spider-Man #16 highlights strong character moments with Norman and May, but the art sometimes hinders these moments, and the character featured on the cover only makes a brief appearance.
