ICYMI! The Amazing Spider-Man #35: Final Stop

The Amazing Spider-Man #35 is our last stop on the road to issue #1000, and as far as penultimate chapters go, this one was pretty weak. Like every issue since the end of Death Spiral, it is focused on fun adventure and strong character writing. However, with such a huge milestone looming over its shoulder, there was an expectation that this issue would really set the stage for the next one. Instead, it feels like the book is deliberately holding back. There is a strong cliffhanger at the end that is intriguing and clearly points toward what is coming, but the issue as a whole felt like it was on rails, much like everything has been for the last few months.

I think that is ultimately what makes this issue a little frustrating. There is nothing particularly wrong with it. In fact, most of what it does, it does very well. The problem is that it exists directly before one of the biggest issues in Spider-Man history. Even if the intention was to let #1000 stand on its own, it is hard not to read every issue leading up to it with that milestone in mind.

That being said, on its own, this issue is still great. We get to see the conclusion to Peter’s work with the Department of Damage Control, whose unwillingness to see the gray in superhuman matters forces Peter to step between them and a hero like Ghost Spider. I particularly like the way this conflict puts Peter in a position where he has to defend someone while also pushing back against an organization that is, at least in its own mind, trying to do the right thing.

There is some brilliant action here, illustrated by Francesco Manna, and the issue does a good job of letting the visuals carry the momentum when things get physical. More importantly, though, we get more of the strong character writing Kelly has given May over the last few issues. May continues to feel like a meaningful part of Peter’s life rather than simply someone who exists to remind us of his personal history. That has been one of the more welcome aspects of this run, and it is nice to see that continue even as the book approaches such a major milestone.

Overall, there isn’t much to say about this issue. It reads like a random issue of ASM from the Stern days, and that’s a compliment to how good a job Kelly and the team have done slowing the title down and allowing its stories to focus on our characters as they live and breathe, without constantly shoving them into the next big thing. There is something refreshing about that approach, especially for a character who has spent so much of his recent publishing history caught in one major status quo shake-up after another. That is also why I am willing to forgive this issue for feeling somewhat underwhelming as a lead-in to #1000. The fact that the book has been able to slow down at all is probably more important than whether every individual issue feels essential to the larger story.

It has given issue #1000 the room to really blow up the title in a meaningful way. Whether that payoff works will ultimately determine how successful this whole stretch of the run has been, but I appreciate that the book has resisted the urge to make every issue feel like a prelude to the milestone. For now, #35 is a solid issue that works better on its own than it does as the penultimate chapter of this particular journey. Hopefully, all of this breathing room pays off when we finally reach #1000 and step into what can, hopefully, be a fresh era for the character.