Amazing Spider-Man #686 Review


It’s the penultimate issue of “Ends of the Earth” and half the world is burning!  There has never been higher stakes for everyone’s favorite webslinger, as Doctor Octopus and his evil machinations have seemingly reached their completion… or have they?

The official description from Marvel:

In this perilously penultimate issue of Ends of the Earth, Spider-Man faces down with the diabolical Doctor Octopus! We promised the End of the Earth and this is it!

Amazing Spider-Man #686 begins in a very dark place.  We find old webhead and his allies at the border between Romania and Symkaria, where the devastating results of their failure to stop the Sinister Six come to light.  It’s a hard scene, as Spider-Man thinks about everyone he’s ever failed.  But true to himself he pushes the shame down, and he tries to save as many people as he can.

To be completely honest the story up to this point has been alright, but nothing worth raving about.  Maybe it’s because of my own built up expectations based on this team’s previous work, but the story felt like it was missing something.  Thankfully this issue changed my opinion as readers were rewarded with one excellent turn after another.

Dan Slott does a good job this issue, finally delivering the punches required by a story of this scale.  From the roles of the Sinister Six players, to the actions of Black Widow, Spider-Man or Silver Sable this issue is a shinning example on how you bring a big arc to its proverbial crescendo.  The revelations in the final pages alone bring interesting questions to light, as there may now be consequences to the recent events in Peter Parker‘s work life.

Steffano Caselli returns to art duties this issue, and his work is as good as it ever was.  His style is in perfect sync with the script as he gives readers a detailed world with expressive characters.  Despite the landscape being on fire, his Spider-Man is spot on.

Overall this issue was good, it had a solid script and excellent art that make it a worthwhile buy for any Spider-Man fan.

4/5