Amazing Spider-Man #696 Review

Max Modell ends up trying to free Peter from the clutches of the Kingpin while the battle between Roderick and Phil over the Hobgoblin legacy begins. It’s a decent followup to a better issue that will hopefully prove to be a bridge to a strong third act. 

The Amazing Spider-Man #696

Words by Dan Slott & Christos Gage

Pencils by Giuseppe Camuncoli

Inks by Dan Green

Colors by Antonio Fabela

Letters by Chris Eliopoulos

There’s a growing list — including Symkaria burning, Peter forgetting the difference between a.m. and p.m., benign lizards and many more — of cliffhangers during the Slott run that have been resolved by saying, “just kidding.” I wanted to believe that when, at the end of last issue, Phil Urich was carrying Peter away that wasn’t going to happen and he’d actually put two and two together. It would have been logical: he should have been able to observe not just that Peter was running away but that there was something wrong with him, and it started as soon as the spider sense enhancer went on. 

If you read my last review you know I’m a Christos Gage fanboy and so I would like to blame this one entirely on Slott, but that’s no fair, so I’ll simply have to address it to both of them when I say this: Come on, guys. That could have been so much better. 

Instead of having Urich figure things out and force Peter to try to find a way to convince him he was wrong, we get a retread of an old situation: Kingpin just wants to know how Peter can lead Spider-Man to him.

Kiddo, you’re doing it wrong. 

Despite the slightly disappointing opening, though, the issue does really start to pick up once Roderick gets into the fray. While the immense purple wall of “ha ha ha” he’s shown in front of one he dons the goblin gear is perhaps a bit excessive, overall I enjoyed the scene where he goes through Phil’s apartment, turning up his nose at what he logically perceives as childish use of the goblin power — gear strewn about everywhere, and “peeping tom” photos taken of Norah Winters.

There’s a peculiar level of parralelism going on here that must be intentional: Roderick muses on whether he should get to Phil by going after his “beloved Uncle Ben,” but then decides to aim for Norah and takes care to point out that she ought to be getting thrown off a bridge rather than photographed. I’m not sure if this is just supposed to be amusing or if it’s alluding to something bigger, but it was interesting nonetheless. 

What I was really waiting for, of course, was the actual goblin battle. It’s satisfying while it lasts, though it ends a bit abruptly and I’m hoping that it’ll be picked up again next issue. The way it’s all set up is a well-executed coming together of all the plot’s major players: Max Modell is contacted by the Kingpin and Urich in an attempt to reach Spider-Man, with Peter as their ransom. Max, not knowing how to get to Spidey but fearing for Pete’s life, discovers the mysterious case the Kingpin is after and decides to bring it himself, bluffing Spider-Man’s presence watching his back. And just as things start to get tense with the Kingpin quickly seeing past his ruse, it’s broken up by Roderick’s challenge. 

What made the battle for me was Camuncoli’s art, and the improved look I think it has thanks to the new inker. In the past I’ve always thought his action scenes were particularly great, and here I thought he did a tremendous job of capturing the perspective, motion, and sense of height as the two goblins duke it out. And both have a suitably “Halloween” look without going too far into cartoon territory like I think Ramos’s goblins do. 

Unfortunately, the battle’s interrupted by Peter himself who, in all the confusion, Max passes some web shooters to. This is yet another wasted opportunity. There have been instances in the past where Max has said things to Peter that have implied he’s suspicious about the double identity, and I really liked the idea that a subplot might be building up in which Max would reveal he knew Peter’s secret. But as it turns out, Peter’s excuses for his performance with the shooters — good enough to land the dueling goblins on the spider sense jammer and free himself from its paralyzing broadcast — is that he got a lot of practice when designing them and during Spider Island, which Max appears to buy. Though I think there is still room in this scene for him to be suspicious, I wish he would have just confidently revealed that the knew instead. Either way, the issue closes with Roderick and Phil temporarily calling a truce to retrieve the contents of the briefcase from an escaping Max and Peter, with the provision that they’ll fight over it themselves afterwards. 

This should be… amusing.

While I enjoyed most of this, it carried some minor disappointments compared to the last. In addition the few I already outlined, I wish the time spent on sending Madame Web to a hospital and identifying that her prophecy of doom is related to Doc Ock’s return had been skipped. It might have had some impact if not for the fact that we all already knew that, thanks to Marvel’s strategy of spoiling all their upcoming issues for everyone. Those couple pages could’ve been spent on more goblin battle, and the issue would have been better off for it. Still, despite being a tad weaker than its predecessor, it kept my interest and it has me hoping for a strong finish. There’s still a whole issue left for the goblins to really have it out, so here’s hoping it won’t be wasted.

Pros: Plenty of action, primarily consisting of a beautifully illustrated conflict between the two Hobgoblins. Great characterization of Roderick again as he cooly goes about investigating his enemy, and overall another tightly-paced and well-told issue.

Cons: I felt a few missed opportunities hampered my enjoyment, like the dropped cliffhanger at the beginning and Max’s apparent failure to put things together either. More page space wasted on Madame Web. 

Grade: B