In this review of The Spectacular Spider-Men #8, we get the beginning of a new story arc as we see Peter and Miles get outsmarted by a new hero.
The Spectacular Spider-Men #8
Written by: Greg Weisman
Art: Emilio Laiso and Andrés Genolet
Main Cover by: Humberto Ramos
Variant Covers: Cory Smith
Page Count: 22 pages
Release Date: October 16, 2024
This review contains spoilers
The Spectacular Spider-Men #8 begins by explaining what happened to everyone after the destruction of the Arcadium. Hammerhead and Miles Warren get arrested while Shift and the Vermin clones bring the Jackal clones to the sewers to rehabilitate them. Turk sneaks out Arcade and Mentallo before they can be found by the police, hoping to recreate the Arcadium together, and a Triage Center is set up at the coffee bean for the rest of the victims.
After a short discussion about their experiences, they decide to have group therapy sessions together, using a therapist that Peter got as a recommendation from Silk. There is a brief appearance by Electro, who is angry that another villain is using his name, and then the focus turns back to the victims, who are improving week by week. During one of their sessions, Juliet runs into Anna, who she was dating in her Arcadium dream. When Anna reveals that she doesn’t know who Juliet is, she immediately becomes upset, talking about being invisible before turning into air, shifting into water, and then disappearing into a puddle on the floor.
Analysis:
With this new arc in The Spectacular Spider-Men #8 comes new artists, but it’s clear from the first page that they’re trying to replicate the original art style, so there isn’t a big difference between the two arcs. I think the art for this issue looks great. In an issue like this, where an essential part of the story is the characters’ emotions, the expressions matter. One of the best parts of this issue is the panel of everyone affected by the Arcadium sitting in the Coffee Bean.
There isn’t a single word of dialogue, but you can tell how everyone is feeling by the expressions on their faces and how they carry their bodies. There is also a fun visual gag of the spider-men saving each other’s civilian selves from the Arcadium to keep up appearances. Even the cover seems to be a callback to the first issue. Overall, I’m really enjoying the artwork of this arc so far.
The story this time was good, too. There was minimal action with the focus on the healing of the arcadium’s victims. The conversations they had with each other felt real without adding too much outside information. I was also so focused on the appearance of Electro, thinking that his reappearance would be this arc’s main problem, that Juliet’s sudden disappearance on the last pages caught me completely off guard.
My only real disappointment with The Spectacular Spider-Men #8 is that it was very Peter-centric. It felt like a Peter story that just happened to have Miles Morales in it instead of a story where they’re meant to be a team. They don’t have any one-on-one conversations, Miles doesn’t get back into his suit after the visual gag, and he talks just about as much as everyone else. Other than that, I thought this was an excellent kickoff for this new arc, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Final thoughts:
Though Miles takes a backseat in The Spectacular Spider-Men #8, this is a great setup for the new arc, and I’m excited to see where this story will go!
Editor’s Note: Marvel Comics provided The Comic Book Spot with an advanced copy of The Spectacular Spider-Men #8 for review purposes. You can find this comic and help support us in the process by ordering this issue digitally on Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
