In this review of The Spectacular Spider-Men #10, a new hero appears to help the Spider-Men deal with the Electro duo!
THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MEN #10
Writer: Greg Weisman
Art and Main Cover: Emilio Laiso
Variant Cover: Mark Bagley
Page Count: 19 pages
Release Date: December 18, 2024
Summary:
The Spectacular Spider-Men #10 begins as Miles and Peter come to the Coffee Bean to meet up with Kamala and Sally, respectively. Sally admits to Peter that she’s a clone of the original Sally, and though they have an interest in each other, Peter is dedicated to his relationship with Shay, and they decide to remain friends.
Miles tries to talk to Kamala about what he’s feeling, but she assumes he’s weird because she died and came back to life. She admits that a lot of people have been uncomfortable with her talking about it. Miles tells her she can talk to him about anything, but she pulls away after he confirms that he’s still dating Tiana, and the conversation ends.
Miles and Peter approach Juliet afterward, who shows off her control over her new powers before their therapy session. The session gets interrupted by Mia DiMaria, who Doctor Strange sent to evaluate Juliet’s powers. The Spider-Men arrive on the scene just in time to hear Mia explain that Juliet was born with her powers, and the trauma from the Arcadium is what brought them out.
It’s then that the Spider-Men get word that the Electros are fighting each other to figure out who gets to keep the name. Their sights turn to the Spider-Men and they decide whoever takes one down is the winner and gets to call themselves Electro. The Electros take the advantage in the fight, and then Juliet appears and is able to send them running away with their elemental powers. Though she originally said that she didn’t want to be a hero, she wanted to help the Spider-Men like they helped her. It turns out that she enjoys being a hero and calls herself Elementary.
Meanwhile, the Electros go to Doctor Connors to find a way to beat the heroes.
Analysis:
The Spectacular Spider-Men #10 was an issue that I really enjoyed. Normally, stories that jump back and forth between times confuse me, but this one used facts that they’ve spent the past few issues setting up as focuses to make it less confusing. Like the fact that we already know the electros were feuding, so there’s no mystery as to who is attacking and what they’re doing. We know about Juliet’s powers, so there’s no sudden mystery to be uncovered that makes the time change jarring.
It was very clear that this was mostly a setup for whatever is coming next. The stakes weren’t very high, and its ending makes the reader wonder what the Electros could possibly want Dr. Connors for, but it’s a setup that is undeniably fun.
Juliet’s arrival was a great moment in The Spectacular Spider-Men #10. A sudden wedge in the Electros’ plans. I also enjoyed how her stance mirrors Peter’s and Miles’, how she goes from not wanting to be a hero to jumping in because she knows that she’s needed. It’s become more of a trope since the original Spider-Man days, but the reflection of Peter and Miles’ history makes it feel like a good choice.
On the civilian side, the conversations between Peter and Sally and Miles and Kamala head in a good direction. Peter and Sally discuss what’s on their mind and decide where they stand. Miles has more he wants to talk to Kamala about, but it becomes clear that their feelings about her death are a hurdle they need to overcome before they can get to that point.
Peter’s conversation feels like it ends on a positive note, while Miles’ feels unfinished, the way it should be. Peter is older and has more experience, while Miles is younger and still learning. Peter really feels like the mentor in these scenes, and this moment is the kind of positive that I want to see more of in his social life.
When it comes to the artwork, there isn’t too much to speak on. The art in The Spectacular Spider-Men #10 is still good, but it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. The one thing that caught my attention was the two Electros. They are drawn so incredibly similarly, and it’s very clear by how they are placed on the page that it’s intentional. It leads to some fun moments of matching expressions or using the same attack simultaneously, and their similarities make the fact that they’re arguing through the entire fight all the more comedic.
Final Thoughts:
The Spectacular Spider-Men #10 didn’t provide anything exceptional, but it was good at addressing both the hero and the civilian sides of Peter and Miles’ lives in an enjoyable way and has me excited to get to the next part of the story.
