The Amazing Spider-Man #8: Swingin’ on Delay

Although the Hellgate Saga kicked off on the wrong foot, The Amazing Spider-Man #8 proves the bedrock is there for a strong finish within the pits of pacing hell. While still a decidedly imperfect tale, Kelly and the team finally reach the thematic core they’ve been circling around with the messy, often meandering narrative flow of the last two issues. That thematic core is conceptual dynamite—rich in potential, emotionally sound, and thoroughly compelling—but even with all the weight behind the idea, it feels too little, too late. The execution is still tethered to the narrative deadweight of what came before.

To get it out of the way: John Romita Jr.’s art remains about as kosher as it has been across modern Spider-Man comics. Some panels are immaculate, striking a nostalgic chord while delivering real visual clarity, while others look as if they were rushed out the door, contorted and half-considered. That inconsistency aside, Romita’s skill in panel-to-panel storytelling remains strong—even if it’s occasionally hampered by the book’s confused tone. The coloring, however, continues to shine, especially in the third act as the story basks in the golden haze of a dreamy New York sunset. It’s evocative and emotive in a way the script can’t always manage.

As for the issue itself, it’s more of the same: Peter fighting Hellgate. But this time, there’s an actual character dilemma and a splash of thematic sauce poured over the usual slugfest. For as stateless and inert as this conflict continues to be, Kelly’s attempt to interrogate Peter’s ethos—his unyielding drive to throw himself against impossible, godlike power—is, in concept, pretty dang cool. It’s the kind of internal monologue that could’ve reframed the entire arc had it been seeded earlier, or given room to bloom. But as it stands, the lack of narrative stakes and time to actually develop that theme beyond surface-level posturing leaves the emotional beats feeling hollow, undercooked, and ultimately repetitive.

With nothing of real depth emerging and no sense of keen comic book storytelling to break the monotony of familiarity, we’re left with a full-priced issue that reads like a three-minute action sequence from a filler episode of your regularly scheduled Spider-Man cartoon. It’s loud, flashy, intermittently sincere—and yet, curiously weightless. In addition to your regularly scheduled Spider-Man beatdown, there is a two-page interruption that sets a certain crossover that will either spiral out of or directly coincide with the finale of this arc, setting up a character conflict that many have been hoping see as of late. It’s illustrated by Todd Nauck, and he does a pretty fine job with it but doesn’t get to flex with anything exciting.