Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #37 Review: The Bogenrieder Perspective

Time is a delicate thing…. Time to grab a sledgehammer and start beating the tar out of it. Minority report, here we come!

Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #37 (Lgy. #838)

“Time, for a Change”

Writer: Nick Spencer

Pencils: Ryan Ottley

Inks: Cliff Rathburn

Colors: Nathan Fairbairn

Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Editors: Nick Lowe and Kathleen Wisneski

Editor-in-Chief: CB Cebulski

Plot:

With the Clairvoyant powered by Miguel’s time explosion, Peter and Jamie have the ability to profile– I mean, beta test– the device and perform benchmarks. And Peter decides, after consulting several members of the superhuman community, decides to test it as Spider-Man! Using the predictive algorithms, Peter manages to thwart the Fast Five’s attempt at robbing a bank, (Side note: I love how Spencer used these villains, apart from Ewing I can’t name another writer who has used the Fast Five in the modern era.) a lab full of Stegron virus mutates, and stopping a lady’s microwave from starting a fire in her apartment. This allows him to streamline his time, letting him get home in time for a video chat date with his boo MJ; only problem is, he exhausted himself with all his work and falls asleep mid-date.

Menawhile, Jonah is feeling the kickback from his shock jock job and feeling overriden, and is approached by Norah Winters. Using Jonah as a comparison to cancel culture and clickbait, she sways him into the world of podcasting with what else? Money.

Elsewhere, in an abandoned cemetery, Kindred continues to mull over what Norman said to him during Absolute Carnage, and decides to accelerate his plans a bit; by resurrecting the man who killed Jean DeWolffe…. Sin-Eater!

Thoughts:

I’ll admit, my interest after the 2099 arc was starting to wane, especially as the art was declining and I was starting to feel burnout. (If you’ve heard me on the satellite podcast (GO TO PATREON BECAUSE FOR ONLY FIVE DOLLARS A MONTH YOU CAN HEAR MY LOVELY PIPES) you’ll know that I found the overall storyline rather pointless.) But a one-and-done like this was the adrenaline boost I needed and has fully revitalized my engagement in both Peter’s ongoing story and the mystery of Kindred, which was put on the back burner for a good five issues without much progression on Peter’s plot points. Here, we both get some solid plot and character progression as well as a helluva good hook for future issues.

I think the greatest strength that this issue has is Ryan Ottley returning to art duties; if only for a single issue before Coello comes on for three issues, it signals a return to the strong form that Spencer has established for himself, and fits tonally with the issue’s high-intensity action scenes. I still particularly enjoy his take on Peter and MJ, and the two have chemistry, even if it’s through a phone screen, which is greatly enhanced by the colors of Nathan Fairbairn to sell the phone screen effect in the dark.

I think the issue excels in two particular areas, three if we count Kindred’s little time to himself: making the Clairvoyant a more engaging and less controversial device, and being a primarily comedic issue with setup for both the next storyline and April’s, if solicits are anything to go off of. Starting with the Clairvoyant, Spencer called my bluff on the device being a similar device to Poochie aka Ulysses Cain from Civil War II (Hell, Ottley even draws his own rendition of the cover of CW2 #1 just to nail down the comparison) but puts his own, more logical spin on it, as well as mocking the event itself. (I got a genuine gut laugh out of Tony and Carol asking what the other said about it, as well as Daredevil still being peeved about Peter’s supposed working relationship with Kingpin.) And Captain America serving as a genuine voice of reason among a sea of jokes and bad takes was very much in-character, not to mention somewhat heartfelt considering how much of the superhuman community hates Peter right now.

That being said, Spencer takes the smart approach with the Clairvoyant by laying down important rules and, much more importantly, does the smart approach with Peter’s use of the device.

1. The Clairvoyant has a limited power supply; Peter out and out remarks that it’ll arguably only be enough for a few beta tests and some benchmark examinations
2. The Clairvoyant has an established flaw of not being able to make a 100% accurate prediction of how things will go down, which leads to a moral dilemma of how it’s used when a prediction isn’t guaranteed.
3. Instead of behaving like Carol “If it’s an innocent, we’ll ‘find’ the evidence” Danvers and preventing the predicted crime before it even happens, Peter uses the Clairvoyant to catch the crime in progress, rather than stopping the crime before it even happens. This allows him to circumvent the 90% figure and make sure the person he’s catching is guilty.

I think these rules are important because of the implications of the device, and that Spencer understands them himself. He’s a smart guy, and proves that with a little bit of tinkering the predictive algorithm plot line can be made effective. There are also clear personal drawbacks as well, where Peter is exhausted and falls asleep during date night, which will more than likely come up at some point. So rather than the previous writer who would’ve just said it was good or bad, Spencer is making us think and earn our opinion of the device instead of telling us what is right or wrong, which is something I appreciate in my storytelling.

Jonah was also used effectively, continuing on from the storyline in #13 and being dragged into the new subplot by Norah Winters, who has a fairly solid success story and convinces Jonah to get on board. It’s mainly played for laughs, especially with Jonah being easily tempted by money, but I’m willing to assume that this is what will feed into the next arc.

Finally, we get more on Kindred, and I gotta say that this issue kinda threw me off on his identity. At first I was onboard with the Harry train, and I’m more or less on that train still, but he summoned Sin-Eater specifically; which tells me that he’s keenly aware of what happened to Jean DeWolffe, and as far as I’m aware Harry wasn’t equipped with the knowledge of Jean’s death. So this somewhat throws me into some more speculation, but every time he appears on-panel I always have a fun time deciphering what he’s doing and who he is. (Chi-Town, Mark and I always have a blast picking things apart, as Mark mentioned in the comments of his last review, so as long as the mystery doesn’t last too long I’m still on board.)

Once again, this was a very solid breather that continues the plot and brings more in to cycle through what we already have. Ottley being back on art brings us back to a good place, and going forward into the next arc I’m once again excited for what Spencer has to offer in the near future.

Final Grade: A