“Like somebody’s looking over my shoulder, just waiting…”
Wham! To the Future!
Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #32 (Lgy. 833)
“Running Late”
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Patrick Gleason
Colors: Matthew Wilson
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editors: Nick Lowe and Kathleen Wisneski
Editor-in-Chief: CB Cebulski
Plot:
Following up on the plot of ASM #25, Miguel O’Hara came back to the future to fix a problem. Given that he’s being detained and poked at by Roxxon execs? I don’t think it went well.
Meanwhile, Peter is pulled away from his first day of studying with his classmates by Teresa, who has tracked Chameleon down to a merchandise exchange with the Foreigner. The merchandise is none other than the Infinity Formula! (Dun dun….dun?) Peter and Teresa ruin the party, fighting off Foreigner’s Jack O’ Lantern goons. Before Peter can finish off Foreigner, he’s shot in back… by Silver Sable!
Miguel begins his escape, breaking out of the Roxxon facility, only to find that his powers and memory are failing him as he lands on a car.
Thoughts:
It’s a little weird to see a book so intimately tied in with an event that not only does the event only have relation to one title, but it takes place immediately after 
the tie-ins to the last event. I don’t think it was a good idea to immediately begin with yet another event (Especially after Peter escaped year one of Spencer’s run with zero tie-ins to events like War of the Realms) but given that it’s only connected to about ten one-shots and ASM, I’m giving it a probationary pass for now; it can be violated at the last minute, as Immortal Hulk and Captain Marvel did with Absolute Carnage, but benefit of the doubt for now.
To start with something nice, this was Patrick Gleason’s first full issue of ASM, and I think compared to everybody else, I’m a lot kinder to his art. There are certainly a few hiccups (Particularly with how he draws Teresa’s face) here and there, but he definitely has a fantastic grasp on shadow-based scenes and big pictures. (The page where Miguel is jumping out of the Roxxon skyscraper is poster-worthy) I think the thing I appreciate the most is his take on Spider-Man, which not only maintains the use of web-pits per Ottley, but also the use of the new design for Peter that Ottley introduced back in ASM #1. Matthew Wilson also has a solid use of colors here, using saccharine colors to highlight the laid-back and relaxed nature of the ESU library, while the darker reds and deeper colors are used to emphasize the fight scene against Foreigner. So, yeah, I might be kinder to Gleason than others, but I think that slack I’m giving him is well-derserved.
Writing is a little weaker here, though; if anything, I think that this issue is arguably the weakest since the Thieves Guild, mostly because it really doesn’t do a lot outside of setting up the following:
- The 2099 Event
- Followup on the Teresa/Chameleon storyline
- Peter’s new ESU supporting cast
- Silver Sable
Now, granted, there’s nothing offensively wrong here, aside from lacking much in the thicker plot than we’re used to in Spencer’s run. It’s clear, now that we 
have a checklist for the 2099 storyline at least, that the story is being dragged out to five issues to accommodate that storyline, and I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with that if it didn’t take so long to get to the meat of the story. I like that Peter now has a secondary potential micro-supporting cast in the ESU crew, and I suspect they’ll be used later, but I don’t think we’re in a good place to introduce more supporting characters; especially not now, when we already have so many more important plot points and characters that are still in the middle of their arcs.
Like I mentioned, everything is still here to make a functional Spider-Man comic; everybody present is still in character (Even if I’m not a fan of Teresa being a plot device for every time they want Peter to spring into action) and the action and art are great. I just worry about having to make all the 2099 one-shots mandatory reading for the ongoing, and how confused I’ll be going forward. That said, everything here is mainly set-up, and while it’s good set-up, I wish we had gotten a little more substance to accompany the style.
Final Grade: B
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Alot kinder? I’ve seen people praise Gleason’s art in this. He does a Really great job with Peter, MJ, Teresa, and alot of other characters as well as Kindred being the best one. I mean, I saw nothing but praises there. Also, while this issue was really nice, I hope the rest onward improves alot.
The last two issues were great despite being event tie-ins. We got to see Peter’s frustration over not being able to save Gwen and Flash, and Peter beating the heck out of Norman, and more Kindred foreshadowing. This issue was okay, but not as exciting as the last two issues.
I give this a B+.