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Most of these characters have been around for a decade if not longer. Araña is like a 25 year old character at this point.
STOP SPIDER-MAN! Spider-Man's gone too far. Now his greatest allies must stop him before it's too late!
Amazing Spider-Man #12 strikes a strong balance between action and character depth, showcasing Norman's struggle to live up to the Spider-Man mantle while hinting at the cracks beneath the surface. With Joe Kelly's writing and Ed McGuinness' art firing on all cylinders, it's a story that feels both big and personal. By the last page, one thing is clear: Norman Osborn as Spider-Man is a powder keg waiting to blow. Read Full Review
The Amazing Spider-Man #12 may showcase a continued struggle with pacing, but is overall still a pure popcorn book full of interesting ideas and simply brilliant superhero art. Norman Osborn is proving quite the interesting replacement for Spider-Man on Earth with some pathos for Ben Reilly sprinkled in. Read Full Review
Amazing Spider-Man #12 is certainly an improvement over the introduction of this new direction for the series. Joe Kelly shows a strong handle of how to write the Spider-Man Family and Ed McGuinness on artwork is a cheat code. Unfortunately, this issue just drove home why splitting up the narrative into three distinct parts is an Achilles heel. On top of that Norman Osborn and Ben Reilly are simply not intriguing long-term co-series leads. There's too much baggage to tell a balanced story every other issue. Hopefully the real Peter Parker's side of this series will do better with its presentation. Read Full Review
Amazing Spider-Man #12 is a disappointment. It fails to live up to the setup of the previous installment, instead opting for a series of meandering conversations and an introduction of a new, seemingly random villain. The plot is thin, the characters are sidelined, and the central conflict is almost completely ignored. Ultimately, it feels like a waste of time, a filler issue that squanders its potential and leaves the reader wondering when the real story will start again. Read Full Review
Between ed mcguinness always beigna. Pleasure and Joe Kelly's voice for Norman, this might be my favorite issue of the run so far.
I can always get behind other people seeing how hard Peter works, but the play here with it being norman and how that effects not only his actions as Spidey but his mental state, is pretty entertaining to read and provides the necessary depth to be a backdrop for the action sequence here.
This culminated in Norman using his experience fighting Spidey to his advantage against the other web warriors which was really fun. And again, mcguiness just brings it every time. That splash page is brilliant and kinetic in the best way. I had a good time with this one
I would say as an overall package, this is a really good and enjoyable comic. Ed's art shines here, I wish he stays on this title for longer. Writing is also really good, I enjoyed all the interactions and especially the voice Kelly has for Norman is really good.
The only part I am disappointed in, is how Ben is handled. There are still so many questions relating to him (how and why being the biggest ones) and I hope that plot will start moving soon. To any direction.
The concept of five hundred different Spider-People (or Wolverines, or Captain Americas…) in the same universe has never worked for me. All the stupid Spider-Kids, in combination with McGuinness‘s cartoony oversized art, make this feel less like a regular issue and more like something you’d find on the back of a cereal box.
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