It’s been a few issues into Joe Kelly’s late story arc with the new status quo: Peter Parker having been literally punched into space so that he can go galivanting with the temu Guardians of Galaxy and achieve Super Saiyan Spider Ultra Instant Max – leaving his Spiderly and Parkerly duties in the hands of Norman Osborn and Ben Reilly respectively. Quite a sticky situation to be in, if I might add. And so far, Amazing Spider-Man 2025 has done a decent job of juggling its storyline between Peter’s interstellar antics and the utter Russian roulette that both Ben and Norman are playing with his life back in New York. Issue #16 is another one of the latter, with Norman and Ben entrenching themselves further into their respective roles, much to the continued chagrin of both Peter’s villains and some of his longstanding supporting cast.
However, while the exploration of how “being Spider-Man” continues to be an interesting one, readers can’t help but feel like they’re stuck in a bit of a holding pattern when the current story is on a slow burn like this. That being said, Norman and Ben do get to exercise some pretty profound character moments, even if the art doesn’t fully articulate that all the time.
The Spider. The Man. Does Whatever Parker Can?
Minor Spoilers Ahead: You have been warned.
Amazing Spider-Man #16 continues the overall trajectory of Norman and Ben’s respective mental states. While Norman still tries to somehow contextualize himself as Spider-Man – despite staunch opposition from the rest of the “Spider-Family” – Ben Reilly on the other hand finds himself sleepwalking through Peter’s life. For the most part, the issue deals with these two dueling halves that make up the current whole NYC’s friendly(?) neighborhood Spider-Man, and what it really means embodying Peter Parker’s values for two individuals who, it can be safely said, have had the most fraught history with Peter himself over the years.
Meanwhile, Tombstone – both out of concern and annoyance at Spider-Man’s latest uncharacteristic antics – decides to take a more direct approach towards confronting Norman with just a little help from a new villain who’s got quite the taste for pain. Not to be left aside, J. Jonah Jameson and Aunt May also find themselves in positions where they debate what “Peter’s” current changes are actually implicating as they approach how best to handle the current situation from their own respective perspectives.
An Engaging Character Study That Can Get a Bit Repetitive Sometimes
Joe Kelly ends up writing a surprisingly melancholy episode of Amazing Spider-Man, yet one that is incredibly rich in pathos. And he achieves this through how he sets up all the primary perspective view points in this issue. For the time being, the alternate issues where we get glimpses of the real Peter Parker galivanting around in space are still dragging their feet in terms of any real investment or even genuine intrigue, personally speaking. Which is sad, because the last thing when you hear the words “cosmic Spider-Man adventure” that should be on anyone’s mind is boring. Only time will tell whether this can be addressed for the better in future issues. However, Kelly still excels in writing the more down-to-earth (pun intended) heroics of the neighborhood at large.
First and foremost, we have Norman continuing his quest to uphold Peter’s legacy as Spider-Man. And while there is so much scope for growth with how Norman differs in his approach from say the much beloved Superior Spider-Man of old, his lack of any truly meaningful growth is starting to show (something Doc Ock would be very thrilled to hear, I’m sure). While Norman continues to face new challenges, and he continues to confront them how he thinks Peter would’ve wanted him to, he doesn’t’ really seem to come out very changed. In fact, one could argue that despite the genuinely well written inner monologues and the evolving heroics, Norman has honestly changed very little or very profoundly at all ever since he was turned good. And that is to the book’s detriment, as there is so much rich potential to work with here. There is however, a particularly great and very humanizing scene between Norman and Rand Corp’s CEO, where they both somehow bond over the loss of their respective children – a moment that is so strikingly marked by the fact that this is Norman being contextualized as a regular person alongside another regular person, and not as a meta-human dealing with meta-human problems. More moments like these, that have impact and weight that can be mined by Kelly for genuine forward momentum of Norman’s story should be the norm (heheh, puns again) rather than the rare shining diamonds they are.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have Ben who seems to be facing probably the greatest challenge – greater than even Norman’s – in his own framing of the Spider-Man mantle: the legacy of Peter Parker himself. Joe Kelly just gets Ben’s voice here, and in sharp contrast to Norman the change you feel is pointed and bittersweet. For his entire life, Ben Reilly has been “the clone”: a science project with Peter’s face, his memories, his burden and no real identity of his own. He’s been hero, villain and everything in between. But for the first real time, Ben is confronted with the true magnitude of what it means to Peter Parker. Not Spider-Man, but the MAN behind the Spider. As Ben continues to go through the motions of Peter’s life, there is a surprising feeling of quiet acceptance. Unlike the rage of yesteryear (especially since Ben’s controversial transformation into Chasm), Ben simply…exists now instead of letting his frustrations drive him to pure homicidal madness. He feels hurt that Peter never asked him to take the Spider-Man mantle during his latest disappearance (though its doubtful Peter really had much of a choice in the matter, being literally punched to the other end of the galaxy before he could leave a message and all). For Ben, Joe Kelly perfectly captures the feeling of someone who has resigned themselves to the fact that their accomplishments at work and beyond in the here and now simply do not matter. Because at the end of the day, Ben is impersonating Peter. And he is not Peter as tragic as that is. It’s an interesting framing, and one that resonates for so many of us working through the rigamarole of our day-to-day existence in one way or another – minus superheroic spider-clone shenanigans hopefully.
Finally, the connective tissues that binds these two arcs together has Joe Kelly focusing on Tombstone, Jonah Jameson and Aunt May. While Tombstone approaches the Spider-Man situation in his usual “fists first” manner, it does come from a place of surprising concern that is rooted in the respect he holds for Spider-Man and his actions in the past. It’s a striking chord that Kelly maintains with the character, and one that he carries over from his predecessor Zeb Wells (who always wrote Tombstone exceptionally well) without compromising on the character’s ruthless nature. Meanwhile Jameson and Aunt May end up having the single most thematically resonant interaction of the book when Jonah tries to convince May to intervene directly with Peter’s new “changes”. This interaction beautifully highlights why May will always be the one who just gets her nephew on every level. In contrast to Jonah who simply knows Peter as the Spider, May knows Peter as Peter – and that quiet understanding and the importance of giving him the space to reach out and ask for help and her being there when he’s ready is genuinely the real heart and soul of an issue that fluctuates on character psychology. Though hearing Aunt May actually use the word “mansplain” unironically was probably the most shocking thing to come out of this issue, all things considered (good way or bad way is up for debate)
Stiff Art. Stiffer Action
By now, your mileage on the art will be based solely on where you stand on John Romita Jr.’s output. If you don’t like it, nothing here will every change your mind. And if you do, then nothing will really make you hate it. But it’s somewhat ironic that an issue that from a storytelling perspective also falls into the trap of repetition, the art too maintains that same energy. JRJr.’s art for Spidey has always had its ups and downs, but it’s just as stiff here, the human faces are what they are with little to no real feeling. It’s the same old criticism that we’ve heard a hundred times that you can see in pretty much every line. But when you don’t really have faces to worry about, Romita Jr. still manages to draw a Spidey that is still iconic, like it’s second nature. And the beatdowns between him and Tombstone look genuinely brutal, because for once, the stiffness of the lines genuinely showcase the brutality and impact that these encounters have. So, it’s a bit of a mixed bag if we’re being honest.
Backing up Romita’s art are inks and colors from Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz respectively, who really bring out the melancholy nature of this particular issue in their work. While it’s not the bleakest in terms of color and shading, it’s noticeably more muted when compared to previous issues. And that somehow just fits into the kind of story that Kelly and Romita are trying to tell here. The blood looks fresh and the shadows around sleepless, depressed eyes appropriately dour. Although, there are some occasionally weird glazing effects that look strangely out of place in several panels – making characters look like they’ve been waxing their faces for a ramp walk rather than their day to day lives.
This Story Needs to Find its Next Gear Fast
Amazing Spider-man #16 shows that Kelly is genuinely trying to say something meaningful, but its groan-inducing pacing that often goes around in circles keeps that message stuck in first gear: especially when it comes to Norman. The biggest fear now resides with the fact that between this strange character stagnation and the intercutting between the utterly boring space adventures arcs, the real meat of the storytelling that is the Spider-Man identity crisis of it all will be lost in the hum drum. Before Peter can inevitably return to earth to see the utter circus his life has become in his absence (even by his usual Parker luck standards), it’s vital that the story take greater strides in ensure the pay off has some genuine growth for Norman, Ben and everyone else involved in matters as well. And it’s this tantalizing prospect that still somehow keeps several longstanding readers wanting more – the potential of it all.
Score: 6.5/10.
A stoic and resonant character study with genuine heart that is sadly hampered from reaching its full potential by some frustratingly repetitive story beats and art that is stiffer than a stick of jerky.