Miles Morales: Spider-Man #16 – Hobgoblin Hustle

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #16 serves as the finale to Miles’ role in the Gang War event. It is a solid conclusion that allows the intense, action-focused artwork to speak for itself. While not a standout storyline by any means, it still excels in terms of superhero event storytelling, providing a surprisingly engaging ending to a story that initially had a rocky start.

Picking up where the last issue left off, the story thrusts readers right into the throes of battle with Hobgoblin and Rabble facing down our heroes in spectacular fashion. The star of this issue is Federico Vincentini, delivering a comic that is 99% action and doing so with layouts that are nearly animated in their kinetic nature. The battle maintains a constant flow, propelling the plot forward while delivering splash pages that are both visually appealing and purposeful. Bryan Valenza also does an excellent job, using color to prevent some of these extravagant and crowded panels from becoming unreadable.

The icing on the cake is how Ziglar crafts his dialogue and plot, focusing on allowing Vincentini to draw the living hell out of this event tie-in. The aim is to make it feel just as significant, if not more so, than the main event title. The dialogue carries the show, exuding character and helping frame the momentum of the art as something rooted within the personal stakes of our many characters’ ongoing and ever-deepening relationships. For those who may feel that the book has become sluggish in its pacing, the ending of this issue serves as a massive springboard for the title’s ever-brightening future.

Hobgoblin is further cemented as a villain for Miles that is unexpected, yet in that unexpectedness Ziglar has turned him into the guiding antagonist for what Miles will have to face in the future. While most of it is still underdeveloped, something that I love about this finale is just how iconic their specific moments of combat are framed. This is a Spider-Man who is dealing with a period of emotional instability and anxiety facing off against a villain that is instability personified. The clashing of their colors as well is mind-bogglingly beautiful in the same way Peter and his various Green Goblins did.