The Amazing Spider-Man #10: A Web of Mirrors

Rough around the edges but still promising, The Amazing Spider-Man #10 represents a full-tilt descent into madness as the team pivots away from their initial promise of a return to form for the webslinger and into seemingly alien territory. By the issue’s end, it’s clear that our Peter Parker and Spider-Man are no longer with us, a rampant sense of dread building as we witness what happens when the joy of our hero—when the interpersonal humanity of him—is drained from his soul. Left behind is the walking flesh suit of an icon, metaphorically stronger than the book’s technical structure.

Due to the looming, oversized anniversary issue waiting just around the corner, there is not much in terms of narrative development this issue can do. Instead, it opts to further build up the atmosphere of dread established in issue #9 with scenes that better contextualize the faux-Peter we’ve been following. Rather than the vague fogginess of last issue, this one makes better use of its time by setting up character conflicts, establishing mystery, and diversifying the impact of a Peter Parker divorced from his emotionalism. That being said, the writing here is far from perfect and reads as out of step with the initial eight issues of the run so far. A lot of my positivity pertaining to this strange transition is due to what it is trying to establish and say, less so what it’s achieving in its pace or technicality.

Michael Dowling continues to prove himself a gem within superhero comics. While the plot of issue #9 better suited his style overall, there are specific moments of grounded brutality here that Dowling sells with an uncanny, almost sociopathic tempo—particularly in Spider-Man’s beatdown of the Shocker. His ability to straddle the line between the grounded and the grotesque heightens the unease at the heart of this run, bringing a visual sharpness that compensates for some of the script’s structural shortcomings. Combined with his knack for body language and atmosphere, he anchors the story with a mood that feels both alien and inevitable, making him the creative team’s strongest asset as the run lurches toward its oversized milestone.