The Amazing Spider-Man #29: Something Green This Way Comes

Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man title is in a pretty peculiar position and has been for almost five years. Assessing the book for what it lacks at this point is entirely futile. Happiness, growth, or maturity for the character be damned, it’s best to discuss Peter Parker’s redundantly cyclical life on a case-by-case basis. So, in its own right, The Amazing Spider-Man #29 is quite enjoyable.

The issue picks up where the previous one left off, with Peter and Jonah figuring out exactly how to locate Otto Octavius after he knocked out and abducted Norman Osborn for some nefarious, memory-related plan. As the issue progresses, the book plays with some conceptual ideas from Superior Spider-Man, laying the foundation for a significant revelation through engaging plot beats and some of Ed McGuinness/Marcio Menyz’s finest art on Spider-Man.

What makes this issue work is its character dynamics. Norman and Otto are particularly captivating, as the two have not interacted since Norman was freed from his Goblin persona. Their history, especially about Dan Slott’s Superior Spider-Man run, is the driving force behind Otto’s almost psychotic drive to seek revenge on Osborn. On the other hand, Peter and Jonah continue to behave inconsistently with how they acted earlier in this run, but their dynamic remains as entertaining as ever.

Their tinkering with Otto’s old arms leads to even more ambitious hints towards Superior, the book clearly setting up something promising. Readers have lamented the reversion of Otto Octavius back to a villain after years of exceptional character development. There are indications that Otto’s pre-walk back personality is lingering in both his and Peter’s minds.

References and hints alone are insufficient to make an issue worth reading. In conjunction with engaging plot predicaments and character writing, it appears that Ed McGuinness’ art has finally clicked with this series. His art was a good choice for this arc, and although I’ve been critical of it in previous reviews, this issue is where it finally falls into place. His framing, action, backgrounds, and character expressions are all solid, thanks in no small part to Marcio Menyz’s elevation coloring.

The cliffhanger ending could also go a hundred different routes and acts as a great hook into the next issue.