Spider-Man #7
Recap
So, it's all come to this.
The Spider-Verse epic began way back with J. Michael Strazcynski's monumental run on The Amazing Spider-Man, where totems, Morlun, and The Other were all introduced. Through the years Dan Slott with the help of Christos Gage weaved together the epic Spider-Verse story line and its sequel Spider-Geddon. Spider-Man #7 brings with it the finale to The End of the Spider-Verse.
Friends became enemies, enemies became friends and now all of the Spider-Verse ENDS! Jessica Drew? Gone. Peter Parker? Gone. And they aren't the only ones erased by the sacred Sting-Knife. How can Silk and the rest of the Spiders win this Spider-War?!
Review
Spider-Man #7 is a gratuitous read, indulging the worst parts of the multiverse trope without applying any of its positives to the overall story. Part Indiana Jones and part Star Wars, it’s a surprise Slott was unable to find worthwhile in this finale.
Everything about this issue, as a finale, was constructed with competence at the very least. The plotting is fine, the dialogue is nuanced, and the narrative is fine, if a bit rushed. The disappearance of Peter, Kaine, and Jessica Drew is wrapped up with great speed and clarity. Morlun is finally put to rest, and the Web of Destiny is successfully dismantled, Silk eventually becoming the center star as the Spider Queen. Everything one would want from the definitive ending to all of Dan Slott’s Spider-Verse lore is here sterilely.
The attempts here to tell a character-driven story are slim to none; this seven-issue epic serves as an IP farm for different Spider-Man re-skins with surface-level character traits and no development. The entire storyline lacks a main character or an emotional center. Shathra, as a villain, posed no threat.
The end of the world holds little water in superhero comics, and Shathra’s entire purpose as an antagonist is to bring about the end of the world. She doesn’t challenge anyone at a personal level, which makes sense as this storyline has little character work. It’s a collection of messily drawn action scenes within a multiverse of boredom that retreads previous Spider-Verse storylines with nothing but surface-level writing.
Not even Mark Bagley could save this storyline. His art is muddy, whether it be the colorist’s fault, the inker’s, or his own. However, it being Mark Bagley, it’s still really high-technique art, but it’s visibly apparent that drawing hundreds of Spider-people was laborious, wearing his work down.
Final Thoughts
Spider-Man #7 is exactly what one should expect it to be. Dan Slott has brought his epic to an exhaustive, bland, to an end as Mark Bagley's pencils gasp for air underneath all the clutter of superfluous spider-people and heartless action. From here, the title can only go up, and for everyone's sake, it desperately has to.
Spider-Man #7: In The Spider-Verse, No One Will Hear You Scream
- Writing - 5/105/10
- Storyline - 4/104/10
- Art - 5/105/10
- Color - 5/105/10
- Cover Art - 4/104/10
User Review
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Tyler Davis knows his Spider-Man
A great, honest review from a big Spider-Man fan. Thanks Tyler!