The Amazing Spider-Man #30: A Sunken Eight Ball

The Amazing Spider-Man #30 is a disappointing finale of three storytelling issues that gradually began to rebuild readers’ faith in the title after a year of tumultuous stories. Unfortunately, these narratives haven’t entirely captured the tonal consistency needed to keep serialized works of fiction engaging. The issue fails to coalesce its tiny story seeds into something satisfying, lacking emotional resonance or pure, unbridled fun. At this point, the Amazing Spider-Man is a decaying shadow of its former self, unable to let its characters grow or tell a tale without snapping them and their themes back to something secure, stale, and not worth reading, with foreseeable price increases in the future if you desire to read something with a little more substance.

The issue picks up where the last left off, with Otto gloating over Norman as he awaits the latter’s re-transformation back into the Green Goblin. However, to the surprise of Otto and readers expecting more bouncing back, Norman remains unchanged. Enraged and unhinged, Peter arrives just in time for an explosive battle with Doc Ock that ends with both Norman and Peter coming to grips with the recent death and un-death of Kamala Khan.

As for the positives, the art team is particularly excellent at keeping the book an enjoyable visual experience with some great action layouts. It pairs well with Zeb’s writing style, which leaves everything out on the front street for the artists to go all out with. It’s always easy to appreciate the team’s decision to stick with Norman Osborn maintaining his cured state. The book doesn’t shy away from placing the blame for his past actions squarely on him as a person rather than on the gooey goblin juice that broke his psyche. Apart from this, however, this issue is just another Spider-Man comic.

The most significant flaw in The Amazing Spider-Man #30 lies in its hollow characters and lack of depth. The book struggles to find its identity, torn between trying to be a fun, classic Spider-Man adventure and edgy, dark storytelling. As a result, the characters feel like mere caricatures, lacking genuine emotional depth and growth.

The inconsistent tone is evident throughout the issue, leaving readers unsure whether they should invest emotionally in the characters’ struggles or enjoy the action-packed sequences. It’s as if the creative team couldn’t decide whether to go for a lighthearted, nostalgic romp or a gritty, emotionally charged tale.

Peter Parker, as Spider-Man, should be a complex and multi-dimensional character, wrestling with personal dilemmas, moral choices, and the burden of responsibility. Yet, in this issue, he comes off as a one-dimensional quip machine, cracking jokes during severe battles and lacking genuine introspection. His quickness to anger and Otto’s memory issues are merely touched upon and not explored to their full potential, depriving the characters of the depth they deserve.

The lack of a clear direction in the storytelling hinders any chance of meaningful character development or impactful narrative moments. Instead of building upon the groundwork laid in previous issues, The Amazing Spider-Man #30 feels like a missed opportunity to delve into its characters’ psychological and emotional depths. The story lacks the substance needed to resonate with readers, and investing in the fates of the heroes and villains becomes challenging.