Miles Morales: Spider-Man #9 – A Brewing War

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #9 is a strong finish to the title’s mini-Hobgoblin arc, which served as a breath of brevity after the back-to-back grand slam story arcs “Trial by Spider” and “Carnage Reigns.” With a surprising amount of future setup and some great recognition of stories from previous runs, this issue is a great pivot point for the series, doing so much with so little and still managing to be a satisfying issue for Miles in its own right.

The book picks right up where the last left off, with Miles in an all-out brawl with Hobgoblin, surviving by the skin of his teeth. With help from Starling and a strange Beyond robot, they’re able to emerge from their battle alive, but with Hobgoblin still at large. With Miles beginning to realize just how much he’s been holding onto, loose threads from stories stretching as far back as “The Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond” begin to weave themselves into the natural next step for not just Miles Morales, but the world of Spider-Man as a whole.

Ziglar and Vicentini, alongside newcomer Federico Sabbatini, continue to impress with their action sequences. They’re visually dynamic, and at the narrative level, always rife with drama, tension, and creativity. This issue is such a treat because of how well the script and art blend together and formulate an incredibly engaging story. While Hobgoblin does manage to execute exactly what he had been planning, there is a reason for that outside of subversion.

It awakens some internal observation within Miles as the last few years of his life compile onto him all at once, and he opens up to Starling about it with honesty. It’s rare for an issue to balance both gritty action and down-to-earth human emotionality in a way such as this, but Ziglar nails it at a scripting level, Vicentini & Sabbatini tying it all together with some panels of brilliant character expressions and framing.

Hobgoblin also escapes in order to tie this book into the upcoming “Gang War,” whilst also finally tying up some threads left open during the beginning of Zeb Wells’ current run on “The Amazing Spider-Man.” The way in which it blends into Miles’ story naturally is appreciated and convincing, and the way it goes about setting up the coming event leaves the reader with a genuine sense of excitement. This issue was simply fantastic.