WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #62 by Nick Spencer, Patrick Gleason, Edgar Delgado & VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Amazing Spider-Man has been in a dark place recently, with the return of the Sin-Eater and the revelations surrounding the Kindred pushing Spider-Man and his allies to the breaking point. But even if things remain dangerous in the “King’s Ransom” storyline, a recent tonal shift within the story suggests the comic might be embracing a modern unsung classic by the same writer.
While the current storyline of Amazing Spider-Man has seen some dour developments for the Web-Swinger, his allies, and his enemies, it also features a far more enjoyable subplot that effectively serves as a spiritual sequel to Nick Spencer’s previous work on Superior Foes of Spider-Man.
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Superior Foes of Spider-Man by Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber premiered in 2013, during the “Superior Spider-Man” period where Otto Octavius had effectively replaced Peter Parker. The series focused on five of Spider-Man’s less notable enemies — Boomerang, Shocker, Speed-Demon, Overdrive, and the new version of the Beetle — in a largely comedic attempt to steal an invaluable painting of Doctor Doom that unintentionally sets off a massive gang war and caused rampant chaos across New York City. Since the conclusion of that storyline, major figures from that series — such as Boomerang — have become increasingly important within Amazing Spider-Man, with the (sort of redeemed) villain even unknowingly becoming Spider-Man’s roommate alongside their mutual friend, Randy Robertson.
It’s through Randy that Beetle fully reenters the scene, having formed an unexpected romance with the young man. However, on top of bringing some unintended chaos into his apartment, Randy and Beetle also have a far more unexpectedly dark connection: Beetle is the daughter of Tombstone, who has a very personal and brutal bond with Robbie Robertson. When both men discover the connection between their children, they confront them and order the two to break off the romance. But throughout, their subplot is treated as the most comical and — frankly — engaging element of the story. The rest of the issue is given plenty of dramatic weight with Kingpin’s mission to claim the Lifeline Tablet running afoul of Kindred and the restored Norman Osborn, but it becomes fun when it’s about Beetle and Randy.
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Many of the comedic beats that made Superior Foes of Spider-Man such a good story are present in the Randy/Beetle subplot. There’s an attention to character dynamics and dialogue, with both of them seeking out their friends for advice — contrasting Peter’s tips about trying to help villains redeem themselves against the rest of Beetle’s Sinister Syndicate giving their own two cents on why she should end things with the social worker. Beetle’s fan-girl attitude towards certain members of the supervillain community are played up once more, with Beetle breathlessly complimenting Madame Masque before taking a kick to the head. Even specific beats — such as Owl desperately wanting to kill Boomerang — can trace their origins to Superior Foes, where Boomerang was a consistent thorn in Owl’s side the whole series.
Even the central element of the story — a band of villains all seeking the same valuable artifact and causing massive amounts of chaos in the process — can be seen as follow-ups to the tone and events of Superior Foes of Spider-Man, with the story leaning into the comedic elements of the story. With Spencer flexing many of his creative muscles on over fifty issues of Amazing Spider-Man, it’s fun to see him bring back some of the kind of storytelling tricks that made Superior Foes such a memorable series in the first place — especially with breakouts from that series like Beetle at the center of the story.
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