The Amazing Spider-Man #25 – Nothing Gained, Everything Lost

For starters, nothing in this issue is new. All these big, heartbreaking reveals are just the things everybody already assumed happened regarding MJ’s time in the Mayan Hell Dimension. If anything, fans might get mad about all the money they’ve spent and the paper wasted on this story arc that has done nothing but over extended its contents and decompress its slim, barely entertaining tale into six issues. A couple of weeks ago, in preparation for the release of this issue, editor Nick Lowe spewed the idea that fans would want to violently assault author Zeb Wells for what happens in this issue. This move, to make readers of the book out to be potentially violent people and stack the deck against the writer of this story by insinuating his work would potentially bastardize the story in the eyes of fans, is abhorrent. Driving sales through shock jock claims is not the thing a good and reasonable editor does. It’s easy to understand the pressure that Lowe is under, but there’s no reason for it. Why?

Because The Amazing Spider-Man #25 is just fine.

The story walks the reader through the lulls that lead to the relationship forming between Paul and MJ. As out of place as this whole plot line has been since Beyond’s end, Wells is great at penning dialogue, and the voices behind said dialogue. Whether or not you like what’s happening with the current status quo, Wells understands how, at the very least, Peter and MJ would act in this situation. While what happens is heartbreaking and reductive of the evolutionary path Nick Lowe and the Beyond team set up with the Spidey relaunch back in 2018, it isn’t written without any skill or knowledge. Seeing Peter at arguably his lowest by doing the right things is difficult for many to read and enjoy, but the drama is rife with substance. However, this substance is still coming off the back of a storyline that came out of nowhere without natural buildup or fascinating story hooks. Paul and MJ’s origin as a couple comes across as rushed yet takes up most of the book, a symptom of Wells’ flat and decompressed style. Their children, and their origin, leave only more questions. This story is hanging on its finale in issue #26, but no matter who it satisfies, it isn’t a surefire promise regarding this arc’s overall quality. A satisfactory ending can’t fix a dull, decompressed buildup.

Most importantly, the dual artists in the main story highlight one of the issues plaguing this openly miserable in-tone run. John Romita Jr. has been unable to capture this story’s emotional pain, strife, and intensity. It doesn’t help that these pages are prefaced by Kaare Andrews, who brings so much to the book regarding visual storytelling that it elevates the plot tenfold. Romita Jr. failed to bring out the broken spirit inside of Peter when he faced down the FF once more at the end of this issue, the lettering and dialogue doing all the heavy lifting. He’s an artist with an air of nostalgia, but he has not been the right artist for this arc.