In this issue of The Spectacular Spider-Men #12: the Electros make their move!
THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MEN #12
Writer: Greg Weisman
Artist: Emilio Laiso
Main Cover: David Baldeón
Variant Cover: Alessandro Cappucio
Page Count: 19 pages
Release Date: February 5, 2025
This review contains spoilers
The Spectacular Spider-Men #12 starts with Doctor Connors pleading with a shadowy figure to help him find his son, while his wife does the same to a mystery person in the sewers. The scene then changes to Juliet, who is still training with The Thing, The Human Torch, Aero, and Wave.
While training with The Thing, she breaks apart a boulder and discovers she can see how all the pieces connect and puts it back together, making The Thing remark that she may be the most powerful being he’s ever encountered.
While training with the Spider-Men, Juliet helps stop Turk Barrett from stealing a woman’s purse. They reinforce their lesson: that it’s not always about saving the world; it’s important to be a friendly neighborhood hero, too. But Juliet thinks it’s a waste to be doing work that any police officer could do instead.
At the Coffee Bean, Juliet shows off her control of her new power. Afraid that the power is going to her head, Peter and Miles set up a talk with Imani Greene, who begins to tell the story of how her near-death and the death of her boyfriend, Starbrand, made her reflect on what it means to be a hero, but they are interrupted by Squirrel Girl.
Later, again at the Coffee Bean, Peter and Miles talk to Sally and Kamala, respectively. Kamala tries to ask Miles what his Arcadium fantasy was, but they are interrupted by Tiana. Peter and Sally talk about heroes but are interrupted by Shay. Later, Juliet is speaking to Anna when they are interrupted by Ricki, Anna’s girlfriend. This results in an argument where it is revealed that Anna missed Rickie’s performance of her monologue to hang out with Juliet. Anna declares that she and Juliet are just friends, and though Juliet says nothing, she is clearly upset.
Before the argument can continue, the lights shut off. Though the emergency lights come on, they are quickly shut off, too. Peter and Miles go out to investigate as the Spider-Men and find the Electros searching for them. They try to take them down with insulated webbing, but they are able to attack them anyway, revealing that they got help from Doctor Connors as they do.
As Juliet suits up to help them, Peter turns the villains’ attention onto him so Miles can use his bio-electricity to attach the original Electro. It only powers him up, however, and he is able to turn the electricity back on Miles. Juliet arrives to attack them in her water form, but they are able to shock her as well, turning her into a puddle. Anna, concerned, runs out to try to help her but gets shocked the minute her foot comes in contact with the puddle and passes out.
As The Spectacular Spider-Men #12 comes to an end, the Electros prepare to finish off the Spider-Men, but the sudden arrival of Doctor Connors stops them as he orders the Lizard to destroy the Electros.
Analysis
The art for The Spectacular Spider-Men #12 was very nice. One of the scenes that caught my attention was the scene where Miles is speaking to Kamala, Peter to Sally, and Juliet to Anna. Miles and Peter’s conversation happens at the same time, earlier in the day. The window behind them is bright and clear, reflecting that their relationships with their significant others are okay. Juliet’s conversation happens later in the evening, and the window behind them is dark and almost ominous. This sets the stage for the argument between Anna and Rickie and the contrast between Juliet and Anna’s relationship.
In that same section, Anna tells Rickie that she and Juliet are just friends. Juliet says nothing in return, but the panel focuses on her as she’s sitting between the two arguing women. You can tell just by her expression that she’s upset about Anna’s declaration. She’s been enjoying their time and maybe even pretending they’re a couple, all without her ever saying a word.
The Spectacular Spider-Men #12 also understands the humor of Spider-Man comics very well. There are small, funny moments peppered throughout each serious one. It never feels like it leans too far into the silliness, but it still made me smile.
As far as the plot goes, however, The Spectacular Spider-Men #12 feels like we’re in stasis. The reveal of Elementary’s new power was cool, but it didn’t feel as though we needed several panels of another training arc to get there. No one teaches her how to put the rock back together. She could have figured it out on her own in a battle or accidentally as a civilian at the coffee bean—something more interesting than a repeat of training we’ve already seen.
I enjoyed the conversation about what it means to be a hero. It feels like every superhero has to learn this lesson, and Juliet is next. But, it felt like the moment we were getting somewhere with the lesson, it gets cut off by Squirrel Girl, which confused me. She admitted that she was listening in. So, she interrupted the emotional story on purpose?
I also wish they’d do more showing and less telling in general when it comes to Juliet. The Thing tells us how powerful Juliet is, and the fairy queen tells us how pure her heart is. We know she’s powerful, the fight with the Electros would not have gone the way it did without her, but it’s hard to verify the purity of her heart when the only time she helps someone in this issue, she’s saying it’s waste because the police could do it. It seems they’re trying to convince the reader how cool she is instead of letting her powers and character speak for themselves.
Even the fight against the Electros and the cliffhanger ending seem overused. The Spider-Men even uses the same technique, the insulated webbing, that didn’t work two issues ago. And, while I’m all for a good cliffhanger and I’m curious about the separation of Doctor Connors and the Lizard, another cliffhanger involving them ultimately felt unnecessary.
Final Thoughts
The art in The Spectacular Spider-Men #12 is well done, and there’s plenty of humor, but the lack of continuity and the way the characters tell more than they show contribute to the feeling that the plot is dragging instead of moving forward.
