Tags
Doctor Strange, Harry Osborne, Kindred, Last Remains, Last Remains Part 3, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Nick Spencer, Norman Osborne, Patrick Gleason, Peter Parker, Sin Eater, Spider-Man, Spider-Man #52 Review, Spiderman #52 Review
The Amazing Spider-Man #52
Review by Paul Bowler.
The darkest, most macabre confrontation imaginable awaits Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man #52 as the wall crawler comes face-to-face with the new villain – Kindred! As Kindred reveals his true power to Spider-Man, horrors past and present are unleashed, and Spidey begins realise the terrible danger he’s in!
Having failed to secure the help of Doctor Strange last issue Spider-Man decided to take the fight directly to Kindred himself, but it’s a decision Peter might come to regret as their showdown unfolds. With a gathering of high profile skeletal remains for Kindred’s ghoulish tea party from hell, including George Stacy, Jean Dewolf, Marla Jamerson, Flash Thompson, Gwen Stacy, and Ben Parker, writer Nick Spencer ramps up the horror quota of Kindred’s vendetta to the max in Spider-Man #52 to such a degree that its positively skin-crawling. The way Kindred taunts and goads Spidey before brutally pummelling him to a pulp is done with almost surgical precision, and its not long before our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man finds the tables have been horrifically turned on him.
Kindred has been plotting and scheming from the shadows for much of Spencer’s run, having first killed Mendel Stromm and then Mysterio, Kindred went on to resurrect Sin Eater to cleanse criminals of their sins — including Norman Osborne (the Green Goblin). Last Remains kicked off with Kindred sending these collective sins after Spider-Man’s Spider-Friends, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Woman, Spider-Girl, Miles Morales, and Madame Web, transforming them into twisted demonic version of themselves in order to unleash carnage on Peter and terrorise New York City. It is this demonic version of The Order of the Web that Kindred now uses against Spider-Man in this issue with almost frightening relish, and effetely forces him into a fateful no-win scenario.
Patrick Gleason’s artwork is a perfect fit for The Amazing Spider-Man. Employing a dynamic blend of overlapping page layouts and spectacular two-page spreads to convey the horror and intensity of Spidey’s face-off with Kindred, Gleason renders every moment of raw emotion, grisly horror and bone crunching action to perfection. Every scene is packed with detail and colourist Edgar Delgado enhances the action with a glorious use of vivid color, rich tones, and sinister shadows.
Everything builds towards a shock cliff-hanger which is brilliantly ambiguous and shockingly chilling. Grim thrills and intense action makes Amazing Spider-Man #52 riveting reading, Nick Spencer is firing on all cylinders here, and Patrick Gleason’s art continues to impress on every level. The creative team on this book are doing a fantastic job and Last Remains is easily one of the most darkly compelling Spider-Man storylines that I’ve enjoyed in a long while.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Nick Spencer / Artist: Patrick Gleason
Colorist: Edgar Delgado / Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover: Patrick Gleason and Edgar Delgado
About The Author
Hi, I’m Paul Bowler, blogger and reviewer of films, TV shows, and comic books. I’m a Sci-Fi geek, a big fan of Doctor Who, Star Trek, movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comic Books, and all things PS4.You can follow me on Twitter @paul_bowler,or at my website, Sci-Fi Jubilee, and on YouTube and Facebook
Sci-Fi Jubilee 
Hi Paul, this storyline sounds really good and much darker than anything I have read before. However that probably isn’t hard to imagine as the last story that I read in comic form was The Amazing Spider-Man #33 aka “If this be my destiny…!” which pushed Spidey to the brink too (but that was a long time ago).
The Last Remains storyline in Amazing Spider-Man has been very good, and certainly one of my favourites in this current run. Oh yes, The Amazing Spider-Man #33 and the if this be my destiny storyline was brilliant, that scene where Spidey gathers the will to lift that heavy machinery is so iconic, and a wonderful issue as well! 🙂
Wait, did they start the Amazing Spiderman over again? How’s it only at 52? This series was going in the 90’s after all.
Yeah, Amazing Spider-Man was relaunched again in 2018, If you use legacy numbering the recent issue #49 would’ve actually been The Amazing Spider-Man #850!
Thanks for that. It threw me for a minute.
Whoa! The cover illustration is a show-stopper. It’s so vivid and full of angry energy. Brilliant.
I thought this was an awesome cover as well, not often we see Spider-Man so furious and angry as this in a battle.