In this review of Miles Morales: Spider-Man #39, Spider-Man and his friends confront Black Obsidian!
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #39
Writer: Cody Ziglar
Artist: Luigi Zagaria
Main Cover: Frederico Vicentini
Variant Covers: Fanyang, Jeremy Wilson, Lucio Parrillo, Paco Medina
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: October 22, 2025
This Review Contains Spoilers
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #39 begins as Spider-Man, Black Cat, Misty, Inari, and White Cat drop in to take on Black Obsidian. Though he sends his henchmen after them and attempts to hurt Misty, they’re able to dispatch them, and Misty ends up okay. Inari and Spider-Man knock Black Obsidian down and steal his weapons, and, confronted with all of them, Black Obsidian promises to release Inari and White Cat from their debt.
Inari and White Cat leave after Black Obsidian and his men are taken away by the police, and Spider-Man and Black Cat have a tentative reconciliation after her previous attempt to blackmail him. Spider-Man calls Dr. Kwan, realizing that he missed their appointment, and she understands, but has to hang up for her next appointment: Raneem Rashad, also known as the Rabble.
Time passes until after the events of Ultimate Incursion: Spider-Man, and Miles explains to Misty that even though they were only gone from their dimension for a few minutes, he and Billie spent months in the Ultimate dimension, which explains how she’s grown so much and suddenly learned to talk. Miles also reveals to Misty that he’d brought something with them because it was too dangerous to leave there: the origin boxes.
Analysis
Overall, Miles Morales: Spider-Man #39 was a solid issue. The cover was one of my favorites in a long time, Miles highlighted in the foreground with his webs swirling around and bio-electricity illuminating the air around him. He looks like he’s charging in for a fight, which fits the theme of the issue well.
The art in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #39 is well done, too, particularly when it comes to the expressions. There are a lot of characters involved in this action: five heroes, Black Obsidian, and all of his henchmen. There are moments where each hero gets to shine, and the expressions of the people their fighting with or against help to give character to each moment. It highlights the comedy in this issue, of which there is plenty, even amidst all of the action.
It was nice to see a bit more of the aftermath of the city after Gang War. We see that smaller thugs are trying their hand at being the next kingpin, growing their following and hooking people into debt to make them work for them. But we also see that not everyone is made to be that kind of leader. The moment that Black Obsidian sees Spider-Man after him, he runs. He throws one attack in the entire issue, and it’s clear that he’s nowhere near the intimidating figure that Inari and White Cat thought he was.
When it comes to Inari and White Cat, they were fun. Their story was simple, easy to understand, and had a nice ending. It would have been nice to find out more about them. They speak different languages, so how they became friends is a mystery, and we don’t know where their powers come from, but it was a nice introduction to two new characters who will hopefully show up again.
The one downside, and it’s a minor one, is the connection to Ultimate Incursion. The banner on the cover says “Fallout from Ultimate Incursion,” so many readers were likely expecting more of a connection to the Ultimate series, but it’s more of a lead-in to the next arc. They show a little bit about Billie and the changes that happened while she and Miles traveled through dimensions, and we get a brief glimpse of the origin boxes, but there isn’t much there. Certainly not enough to call this an issue that has to do with the “Fallout from Ultimate Incursion.”
It would have been better to feel as though there was more of a wrap-up to the Thick as Thieves arc, give Miles a little space, and then maybe show the characters leading into the first issue of Ultimate Incursion to give a hint as to what’s coming next, instead of feeling as though it was pushed in there at the end.
Final Thoughts
Though Miles Morales: Spider-Man #39 falls below the expectation set by the cover’s banner, claiming that it’s the fallout from Ultimate Incursion, it is more than made up for by doing a good job balancing action, character, and humor to wrap up this arc.
