Hunted draws to a close. With the Hunter being hunted and the shield dome down, how does everything tie up in one last issue?
Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #23/Legacy Numbering #824
“Hunted Epilogue”
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Ryan Ottley
Inks: Cliff Rathburn
Colors: Nathan Fairbairn
Editor: Nick Lowe and Devin Lewis
EiC: C.B. Cebulski
Plot:
Peter guns it for home, leaving the capture of the animal-themed villains for the Avengers and miscellaneous heroes assembled outside the dome. Captains Marvel and America capture both the Weekend Warriors and Arcade, while the bigger animal villains (Stegron, Tarantula, King Cobra, Scorpion, Rhino and Vulture) gang up in prison under the Savage Six moniker; on the other hand, at least Taskmaster and Black Ant get a happy ending, with the two of them swinging off into the sunset to go on House Hunters together. (Cash before bros, bros before death. Legend has it that the karaoke that morning was of legendary quality.) On the other hand, Felicia and Billy return to the Connors residence, while Doctor Connors lies alone and crying in the woods, (That sounds like me in ten years) and the Vermin brigade remains at large. (Because that won’t ever come into play again, I guarantee it.)
This matters very little to Peter, who rushes home to find MJ with a broken window, blood on the floor, and a gash in her arm; turns out she was doing laundry and put her arm through the window. Knowing everything is okay, the two embrace, with only a single centipede watching them menacingly… (It’s like looking into a picture of me and Marvel editorial. He angers me, but I respect his lifestyle.)
Elsewhere, after Kraven Sr.’s funeral, Kraven Jr./87 finds a note from his late father to him, after having trashed the place in a fit of rage. His legacy secured, his son takes up the mantle he was always meant to: Kraven the Hunter. Oh, and Chameleon was the guy who buried his brother, that’s gonna be important.
Summary:
So after six issues and four anciliary issues, how does Hunted wrap up?
With one helluva bang.
I think the first thing to address is that it’s great to see Ryan Ottley and his usual support team coming to cap off the arc; while I would have preferred him to 
do the entire arc, (As his style is more appropriate for the bloody and absolutely violent nature of the arc) I’m glad he was able to draw Kraven in some capacity (Both Sr. and the newest Hunter) in their full, Thragg-esque glory. And after four issues of Ramos and two issues of Sandoval butchering the black suit, I think that he delivers a black suit that’s not hard to look at. His MJ is great, his takes on other heroes are great, it’s just nice to look at. It’s nice knowing that he’s going to be on station for at least some answers on Centidemon and the milestone issue, but I’m glad he’s here right now. He’s been a very unique voice for the title, and I think the more he’s on, the better, especially now that he’s working alongside longtime DC company man Pat Gleason.
Writing-wise, I think Spencer did a great job closing the character arcs he had set up from year one, while also opening up some new ones for year two. Taskmaster and Black Ant (Characters who I think Spencer’s take on is almost definitive) get closure with a wink and nod and great comedy behind them, while Peter is reunited with his one true love. (It’s not just me, the comic itself says so! Sorry, Dark Mark, looks like Deb Whitman will have to settle for somebody else.) Kraven’s arc is brought to a close, which while I don’t think should have been needed in the first place does its job effectively, while also leaving a new Kraven behind for new writers to play with. On the subplots opening, we now have Beetle escaping to reunite the Foes and the all-new, all-female Sinister Syndicate, Chameleon doing his new “rip the world” thing, and Centidemon making a big power play, at least that’s how I perceived it. At the same time, he’s left some arcs open and dangling, with Doctor Connors’ fate in the air, and the Vermin swarm still at large, and I think that’s okay, especially given how rare well-executed and timed long-form storytelling is these days; I welcome more of these types of subplots to come back later.
In regard to Peter’s vision of MJ, I’m actually really glad Spencer didn’t have her get placed in mortal danger as the vision suggested. After having all those visions from Civil War II, I’m actually really glad that it just turned out to be an exaggeration and that it was just Peter panicking and his lizard brain kicking in. It shows just how much he cares for MJ, and that he’s also willing to just run from the conflict to make sure she’s okay isn’t him being a terrible hero; he’s well aware that the Avengers can handle the problem, he loves her enough that he’s willing to drop everything for her, and I think that says a lot about how Spencer has gone about fixing Peter’s character since taking over.
Is Hunted superior to Kraven’s Last Hunt? I don’t necessarily think so, but I don’t think it needed to be; Nick Spencer himself is probably self-aware enough to realize this, and to a point even acknowledged it probably never will, and I think it takes a lot of character to admit that. Regardless, in a relatively dark age of Spider-Man, Spencer did the impossible and stuck the landing with both the technical final issue and the epilogue, and I for one am expecting great things coming from him and Mr. Ottley in their second year of ASM.
Side note? It’s great to have a comic I can make fun asides about again! I’ve missed doing that!
Final Grade: A
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@Shane: Regarding the covers, I believe that was intentional. I don’t think they wanted to spoil the fact that Spidey would be wearing the black suit again during this story, since solicits come out three months before the issues hit the shops.
I agree with the art assessment. Thankfully Ottley closed it out. I have no idea what was up with Ramos? He is usually is a decent artist. I love the black suit and was not a fan of those issues. Also who is in charge of covers at Marvel.? The whole story he is in the black suit and we get one cover with the suit .
This is a wonderfully far cry from the days when Mary Jane would dismiss Peter’s behavior with the word “Idiot” and slam her laptop.
@William– I’m inclined to agree with everything that you said. For once, it’s good for Peter to be the central pivot of his own book, with everything else being there to supplement an already strong A-plot. And like I said, I don’t think that Spencer should feel bad about coming in second to Kraven’s Last Hunt; and like you said, there shouldn’t be any shame.
@Alex– I think considering that the last eight years of strong openings and terrible endings, that a strong opening and strong closing are strongly appreciated in my book. The middle might not have been instant classics, but they work organically and move the plot along while providing more and more insight to Kraven’s plan as time goes on.
I don’t mean to sound like i’m dissing Hunted but the prologue and epilogue were by far my fav parts
What strikes me in the end is how even with so many characters running around, and so many arcs opening and closing, the whole thing still feels like Peter’s story, as it always should. I seriously felt like I was in his head-space as he rushed to rescue MJ, and felt his relief when she was okay. The other characters also feel like they’re there to complement his story, and all the events taking place would have been very different without him. After Slott often made him essentially a supporting player in his own book, this is very refreshing.
Personally, I’ve really liked this arc overall, I’d previously given it a strong B+, but after re-reading it as one big story, the pacing doesn’t bother me nearly as much and I’m tempted to give it an A. I think this is definitely the best Kraven story next to Kraven’s Last Hunt, and there’s no shame in being second to that masterpiece.