The Amazing Spider-Man [2015] #24 - Marvel Comics

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN No. 24, April 2017

Dan Slott was probably right as far as most of this twenty-page periodical’s readers were concerned when he wrote that “people are not walking out of this one happy.” For whilst “The Clone Conspiracy” tie-in does rather nicely explain precisely why Spider-Man found only the dusty remains of Doctor Octopus and Ben Reilly at the end of that aforementioned Spider-Event mini-series, the plot to “Night Of The Jackals” only does so by first introducing a contrivingly convenient proto-clone body for Otto Octavius to inhabit as “the true Peter Parker’s Superior”, and then subsequently allowing the original Scarlet Spider to ward off the fatal effects of his Carrion Virus by simply consuming vast quantities of “New U” pills; “Remember, kids, don’t do drugs. Drugs are bad. Except when they keep you from turning into a carrion zombie.”  

Equally as poorly thought out is the Berkeley-born writer’s motivation for Miles Warren to confront his callous employer at the dog-mask wearing maniac’s safehouse. Admittedly, the Professor’s desire to have his revenge upon “a failed experiment” who made him believe he was actually a defective clone himself was undoubtedly a strong one. Yet that doesn’t explain why, having once again donned his instantly recognisable ‘goblinesque green’ costume, the genius geneticist demands Riley fight him inside the burning remnants of “a recreation of Peter's childhood home,” nor why he is surprised that, having arrived and found his stash of medication destroyed, the American author's latest incarnation of the Jackal simply turns his back upon his predecessor and matter-of-factly ensures the biochemist’s destruction by helping the building collapse upon the talented gymnast’s head.

Quite possibly just as tired as the plot to Issue Twenty Four of “The Amazing Spider-Man”, are Giuseppe Camuncoli’s illustrations. The Italian comic book sketcher undoubtedly pencils the grisly demise of Warren’s hapless melting clones with all the panache and dynamism that made him “best known for his work on the Marvel Comics title… The Superior Spider-Man”. However, the same cannot be said for the rest of the former “Swamp Thing” fill-in artist’s breakdowns, with Ben Reilly in particular appearing increasingly poorly drawn as the adventure progresses, as are the numerous indistinctly-detailed firemen found within the publication's final scene.

Writers: Dan Slott & Christos Gage, Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Inker: Cam Smith