Miles Morales: Spider-Man #7: In The Belly of the Beast

Carnage Reigns has been nothing short of exciting, but in truth has dragged a bit due to a bloated run time. Miles Morales: Spider-Man #7 has a ton of exciting and well-illustrated action that falls a tad flat because we’ve had nothing but consistent action figure bashing over the last three parts of this crossover event. However, it feels a little more special here in this issue, thanks to the killer combo of Cody Ziglar and Frederick Vicentini’s voice and style for Miles Morales.

It’s no secret that this big issue sees the introduction of an Iron-Spider suit for Miles, working as a significant build-up to the moment he receives it. As the crux of this issue, it does work. Miles and the gang spend this entire issue racing against Kletus and subsequently being picked apart as every action they take to stop him is thwarted. Miles having to balance fighting him and saving civilians caught up in his terror is pulse-pounding, the wear and tear on his body as he does so becoming a significant visual reminder as to why Miles is not only a great hero but why he desperately needed that Stark Family upgrade. Iron Man’s long-awaited appearance in this issue hits pretty hard regarding a point and cheer action moments, and the reasons for that are best experienced without spoilers.

The group ensemble writing in this issue has also been significantly stepped up here than in issues prior. Everyone gets a moment here except Normie, who remains unconscious after the events of the last issue. As such, it’s much more fun and stake raising to see everyone here have a role in the story, their personalities very distinct and playing off of one another easily. Miles working with a crew of somewhat lovable villains reads with the same charm as Superior Foes of Spider-Man, which is one of the highest compliments one can give when talking about villain ensemble stories.

Vicentini’s art remains articulate yet messy, lending a sense of energy and motion to the book while keeping the visual storytelling clear. In this specifically, you see him tackle some of the most significant action moments of his career, and a lot of what makes this story as an action story so good comes with his peak visual style. However, his layouts for this issue were sometimes challenging to follow, and his art was surprisingly a little muddier than usual due to how much is happening per panel in this issue. However, when those big splash pages come into play, they’re nothing short of immaculate.