Where in the world is Norman Osborn?
The Amazing Spider-Man #25 is a massively oversized issue with a cover price to match. To be fair, it's not every day a Marvel book makes it to 25 issues without being relaunched first. Marvel might as well celebrate the occasion. The good news is that issue #25 helps cleanse the palette after the largely underwhelming Clone Conspiracy crossover. The bad news is that too much of the supplemental content in this issue reads like pointless fluff. A leaner issue with a more modest cover price would have been preferable.
The main story in this issue kicks off the next major phase of Dan Slott's ongoing Spidey saga. Following the disastrous alliance between Parker Industries and New U, Peter is in desperate need of a victory. He hopes to earn that victory by following Kingpin's lead and bringing Norman Osborn to justice. But he's not counting on the fact that a Norman Osborn without the Oz formula bogging down his mind is more dangerous and crafty than ever.
It's interesting to note the parallels between this story and the first issue of the series. Both showcase Spidey teaming up with Mockingbird and S.H.I.E.L.D. and gallivanting around an international setting. The key difference being the darker tone. In issue #1, Peter was on top of the world in his new role as a CEO and S.H.I.E.L.D. supplier. Now, the dreaded Parker Luck has taken its toll, leaving Parker Industries in shambles and Peter himself dealing with a mountain of emotional strain. There's plenty of doom and gloom driving this conflict forward, though Slott does take the time to break it up with some Aunt May and Harry Osborn-fueled levity. May has been absent from the series far too long, so it's nice having her back in the mix.
At 40 pages, the main story is definitely meaty, if not always particularly well paced. There's a distinct lull in the plot following the battle in Colombia, and the script never quite gains its momentum afterwards. There's also a disappointing lack of Norman Osborn himself, but that promises to change quickly enough. And having 40 pages of Stuart Immonen-drawn Spider-Man art is nothing to sneeze at, regardless of plot or pacing. No one can render a detailed, dynamic Spidey quite like Immonen, but his storytelling is impeccable whether Peter is in costume or out. Wade von Grawbadger's inks give Immonen's line-work an extra degree of precision, while Marte Gracia's colors further enhance the grim and foreboding tone of the story.
The individual reader's mileage will certainly vary when it comes to the various backup stories, but few truly stand out. Christos Gage and Todd Nauck deliver a new Clash-focused story that fails to do anything new or compelling with the character in the wake of Civil War II. Hannah Blumenreich's tale of a young Peter Parker is fine, but not quite as poignant as it could be given the subject matter. James Asmus and Tana Ford's Shanghai-focused story accomplishes little beyond reiterating the fact that Parker Industries is in poor shape. And the Marvel Tsum Tsum story simply rehashes a gag that already ran its course after the first Tsum Tsum mini-series.
There are really only two highlights among the backup features. The first is Scott Atkinson's hilarious series of "The A-May-zing Spider-Aunt" strips. The second is a top-secret story from Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli, one that teases some big things to come after "The Osborn Identity" wraps up. The nice thing about Slott's long, long run is that there's always something new and exciting brewing on the horizon.
The Verdict
This new issue of Amazing Spider-Man has a lot going for it. The main story, if a bit awkwardly paced, delivers some big twists, a dark tone and plenty of gorgeous art from Stuart Immonen. Unfortunately, this issue struggles to justify the hefty cover price. Too many of the backup stories read like pointless filler rather than meaningful additions to Peter Parker's increasingly chaotic world.
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