The reveal that everyone saw coming came and went: Peter’s long-lost cousin, Cormac, turns out to be a supervillain. And not only that, he’s got eeeeevvvviiiiilllll mind magic powers that he used to take Aunt May’s memories of Peter completely away. On average, it’s another Tuesday for the ol’ Parker luck, but for a concept that sounds and has been so wildly soap-operatic up till this point, Amazing Spider-Man #1001 takes the first real steps in actually fleshing out the darker implications of that premise.
Initially, Kelly’s approach and build-up to this storyline certainly felt excessively telegraphed and pulling stops for the sake of shock value, but I’m kind of happy to say that after having gotten over the 1000th issue hump, this story has somewhat picked back up in a meaningful way. If this is the kind of story that Kelly seemed keen on writing from the very beginning, then it’s okay enough to give it a chance to see how things pan out.
His Brother’s Keeper
Issue #1001 picks up after Peter’s first battle with Ravage – his brother Cormac’s alter ego – from the previous issue. Still reeling from everything that happened there and with Aunt May’s memories being taken away, Peter is once again confronted and taunted by his brother. Cormac stresses that removing Peter from May’s memories is a net positive, even as Peter’s rage threatens to boil over, but he holds off on account of civilians being put at risk. Cormac’s manipulations continue onward as he takes Aunt May home and continues to stoke Ric’s – May’s current boyfriend’s – own feelings of displeasure about Peter even deeper.
In the meantime, Peter tries to find support in the few allies around him: MJ gives him some degree of emotional support, Norman offers more cold clarity on how he needs to deal with Ravage (through more…permanent means), and approaching Scarlet Witch – the current Sorceress Supreme – for magical aid proves to be useless as well since she brushes Peter off. In the end, Peter simply confronts Cormac in his own home the same night. Cormac offers Peter a good life for his Aunt in exchange for Peter staying away from her forever. Peter declines, and the issue ends with them getting into some real fisticuffs.
Taking Shortcuts
While his buildup to Cormac being established as this ominous new villain tearing apart the very core of Peter’s personal life has been very abrupt with almost no buildup, Joe Kelly seems to finally be getting his hits in with the character arc now that he’s here and ever present. It’s been a while since Peter was challenged this personally by a foe, and especially from an angle that one could argue is the closest to his heart – his Aunt. Those stakes, and the actions that Ravage has taken so far, certainly feel like a very tense and mounting pressure on the wall crawler in a fairly fresh new way.
Peter’s been written angry before. And when that happens, you know things are about to truly go down in terms of some rabid action. This time though, Kelly divides the mental state accordingly: while Peter himself is frantic and constantly being toyed with by his cousin’s manipulations and wealth, as Spider-Man he’s going on a calculated offensive for the most part. Yes, there are some genuine moments of mind-shattering terror that some of us can relate to at the prospect of losing Aunt May in the way Ravage has set up. More than death, the idea of losing memories – of being lost to his Aunt’s very recollections of him – feels like higher stakes for Peter than ever before. And I think all the feelings that come with that across the spectrum are very well realised in this issue by Kelly. To the point that the reader is just as much invested and raring to go for round two as Peter is.
Cormac himself gets a lot more to chew on here, now that Kelly has done away with bringing him out of the shadows. While the nitty-gritties of his powers and true origins are still really messy and tucked away, the truly existential threat he represents is well established here. Not even Norman Osborn himself has attacked Peter in quite this manner before, and there’s certainly a lot of possibilities for very engaging storytelling that Ravage and his powers open up. To continue the analogy, Ravage himself has shades of personal insecurities and his own weakness is the same as Peter’s – his “love” for Aunt May. Which is what makes Peter such a prime target that he needs to essentially gaslight the world into seeing as the bad guy. Not Spider-Man, but Peter Parker himself needs to be exhumed, as Cormac puts it, from May’s existence. However, while I enjoyed the little bit in this issue of Norman offering Peter counsel as bluntly as possible, I still find it a bit obnoxious on Kelly’s part that Norman, of all people, would ever dare to say that Ravage was a more “disciplined” sociopath than the Green Goblin. There’s honestly a bit of a limit to the kind of glazing you can give your new OC, and this really does slip over that line beyond the point of cheeky, even if it’s just one short mention.
Additionally, there are a few other factors that kind of mar an otherwise stellar issue, which stand out because of how lazy they truly feel. First, I like how Ravage’s own philanthropic connections contrast with the perception people have of Peter, especially from Ric’s perspective (who already has a low opinion of May’s nephew to begin with). Many readers will probably find Ric’s constant contempt for Peter’s antics in May’s life a little tiring, but it’s still important to recognise that he doesn’t have the same context we all do, so it makes sense. That being said, this issue certainly does lay on the hate a bit more thickly, veering Ric into more needlessly hated-as-a-character territory. Additionally, Peter approaching Scarlet Witch for help was a good move as well, considering the potential magical nature of Ravage’s powers. However, what’s utterly baffling for me is her unwillingness to really help, railing off a list of excuses while also stating she needs to adhere to the rules of the Sorcerer Supreme before she can help. This comes off as laughably and painfully convenient since Wanda has honestly given very little concern for any particular “rules” of magic, let alone how she became Sorceress Supreme in the first place by breaking the same rules she now claims she has to adhere to. It’s not only pathetically contrived to the point of “why is this segment even in this book”, but it also undermines Wanda as a character considering she’s also acting as the polar opposite of her own ongoing series.
Amazing Spider-Man #1001 plays its hand fairly well, with the narration continuing to hammer home the gravity of the situation quite effectively. Peter struggling in this new way is already being written expertly enough by Kelly for the most part, but I just wish he wouldn’t take such lazy storytelling shortcuts to get to the really good bits that this arc definitely has in it.
Art That Conveys Anxiety
This particularly frantic issue is once again given the whole gamut of emotional weight by Pepe Larraz and Federico Blee on lines and colors, respectively. When tensions run high and feelings are fraught, few can convey that visually quite like this duo.
Larraz’s linework is as kinetic and powerful as ever, especially in this issue where that energy comes not from straight-up fight sequences, but from the turmoil being conveyed page to page. You really get a sense of Peter’s mind racing to the worst places imaginable through Larra’s anxiety-riddled framing as Peter faces down Cormac’s continued manipulations. He really manages to convey Aunt May’s own confrontation with Peter in the book as something that hits him so much harder than any gut punch could. There’s a ton of human moments in this issue in particular that are given so much magnitude because of how Larraz conveys those interactions through body language and facial features, and it’s a credit to his skills that deserves applause.
Similarly, Blee’s colors also play into the anxiety Peter (and the readers) are experiencing throughout. There are a lot of sequences where Peter confronts Cormac, where they’re only shaded by artificial, ambient lighting or by the natural light of the sun or moon. These come across incredibly vividly thanks to Blee, and perfectly match the characters’ emotional states. When paired with Larraz’s lines, it’s a genuinely fun combination that really elevates the story.
The Board is Set
Amazing Spider-Man #1001 finally starts to move a key bunch of chess pieces on the board, with Peter on the back foot while his cousin has the upper hand. While its far from checkmate, with the next major salvo imminent in their upcoming confrontation, there’s still a lot to see and feel for in this particular issue. We’ve got genuinely existential stakes with Aunt May’s very memories hanging in the balance and a true glimpse of the depths of pettiness this new villain will go to.
That being said, for all the action it sets up, there’s a LOT of conveniences and contrivances that set up some of these key pieces. The destination matters, sure: getting Peter ready to face Ravage head-on. And I’m sure Kelly intends to drag this current predicament out, as he should, to make it compelling. But I can’t help but feel that as much as I’m enjoying good chunks of this journey, the shortcuts that the writing is taking to get there are getting more and more fraught as we go along on this wild new ride.
Final Verdict: Amazing Spider-Man #1001 deepens Peter and Cormac’s grudge to a straight-up blood feud that is interesting enough to hold readers’ attention far beyond what you think the otherwise melodramatic concept would entail.
Final Verdict: Amazing Spider-Man #1001 deepens Peter and Cormac’s grudge to a straight up blood feud that is interesting enough to hold reader’s attention far beyond what you think the otherwise melodramatic concept would entail.