Wells makes you believe Spider-Man can make romance work in Amazing Spider-Man #55. It might take some fast thinking and honest emotional maturity, but he can get there. Read Full Review

If every installment left in Wells' run is as good as this, then this final set of issues will be a highlight for the overall series. Read Full Review

Laiso delivers some great art in the issue. The visuals are fun, vibrant and beautifully detailed. Read Full Review

If you're thinking of picking this issue up because you haven't read an issue of Spider-Man in a while, don't. The only reason I could say to pick this issue up is that you're a collector who's looking to collect the whole run. But even then I would question why you would want to collect this run that is going to go down as one of the worst runs in Spider-Man history. You'd be better to spend your hard earned money on anything else at the comic shop this week, because this issue is 1000% skippable. Read Full Review

Amazing Spider-Man #55 takes a break from nothing by sending Peter and Shay on a date. That's it. That's the whole issue. Zeb Wells's run may go down as one of the worst in Marvel history, and this issue cinches it. The issue earns two points for getting the printing, stapling, and credits page right. Read Full Review

Plot
Peter Parker is late again for his third date with Shay Marken, the Ravencroft nurse he really likes. Aside from being late, he arrives without the appropriate clothes or shoes. Shay is honest with him by saying that she has sacrificed her time and effort to arrive on time, Peter doesn't know how to apologize without telling her that he is Spider-man.

But when Rhino and Screwball appear out of nowhere to do their misdeeds, Peter begs them and demands that they please behave tonight because he has a date, both accept in the most polite way Peter touches his empathy fiber. Screwball takes the opportunity to help Rhio improve her online dating profile.

Peter returns to Shay and kisses her, making it clear that he wants to have a date with her.

Romantic delivery that defines Spider-man's romantic status.

Art
It is quite detailed, with a texture that gives it a retro but at the same time modern tone.

Summary
Peter is going to have a date with Shay no matter what. more

I really expect this issue's strengths to be overshadowed by the fact that Peter is on a date in this issue, and it's not with MJ. Wells' strengths legitimately come from the smaller character moments that are so often ignored by this series' constant motion. We get those strengths in spades here. If Wells' run was just this for 60 issues, I'd be a much more ardent defender of it.

This is very good, very cute but very frustrating. Peter can grow beyond learning the same lesson he has a thousand times over about taking time for himself. He's not the only hero out there and there are more than ever. He wants to go on a date he can call Miles, or Tony, or anyone else if he has plans. That's being responsible while taking care of yourself.

A happy moment for Peter. An interesting shift of the usual dynamic. A new love interest.

Its done pretty well.

I like how Shay doesnt hear Rhino and Screwball tearing up New /york behind her. But overall, this was a nice step up and upgrade from Zeb Wells usual Spidey issues. I wished it was more of this

It was a sweet story. Maybe if he did stuff like this from the get go instead of blowing it all up at the start he wouldn’t have gotten all the hate he received.

A nice "catch your breath" issue. It was quite frustrating, seeing Peter attempting to have his cake and eat it too. Shay pours her heart out and Peter understands everything but just can't help himself. Honestly, it's this stuff that keeps me from really connecting with the character because to me it seems so obvious that he should know he can't save everyone all the time. Even Superman understands this, usually. Every point she made was 100% accurate and he just can't do the right thing. Still, it was a good issue. If the drama actually makes you feel something like that, then it's doing its job.

The Rhino conflict and resolution at the end was very enjoyable too, but I felt that having Shay be happy that Peter came back was kinda dumb. He proved once again that she isn't a priority to him just by leaving, she should have still been annoyed even though he came back. That seemed to be enough for her, when I thought she should have been annoyed but willing to keep talking.

The art was surprisingly good, when I saw McGuinness wasn't on the book I was ready to be disappointed. And it was clearly a step down, but not a huge one. Overall a good issue, but one I had minor quibbles with. Hopefully this Shay relationship actually leads to some personal growth, and Peter evolves past the usual "I have to sacrifice everything or I'm not suffering enough to satisfy my sense of responsibility."
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Hands down the best written issue of this awful run by Wells as he actually took an issue seriously and when he added comedy, it was actually funny. This felt like his writing on Hellions were I really enjoyed his work which initially had me excited he was given ASM. Hopefully he finally starts taking this run somewhat seriously for the remaining arc of his tenure.

I liked the sentiment of this issue, even though it's frustrating to see Peter Parker in the same hopeless scenarios over and over again. I liked it, but in all reality nothing really happened.

Art: 3.5/5
Story: 3/5
Total: 6.5/10

I know this reaction can sound very off to a lot of the praise this comic has gotten. I try to explain my thoughts in this long ramble:

We can start with Shay. It's her fifth appearance and gotta say, I like her. I don't get why MJ and Peter can't be a thing and how them being together makes Peter seem old and unrelatable and then have Peter date someone else. It just showcases that the problem editorial has is not Peter in a relationship, it's just Peter with MJ that is still a very annoying status quo to have.

But, this comic is not about MJ. And as much as I love her and want her to be with Peter, her being on the date with Peter right now would not fit with themes and ideas Wells tries to convey in this run.

And like I said, I really like Shay. I appreciate a lot her speech on "responsibility to yourself" and she seems like a character that would work with Peter. I hope to see more of her. I am just worried we will get the same old tired story with Shay inevitably learning Peter's identity.

So why am I so annoyed by this comic? Isn't it a charming date that many of us have wanted to see Peter have? And isn't it a comic where we finally see Peter being himself and not just swinging as Spider-Man? Answer to both of those questions is yes, but it just makes me annoyed more, because while this works really well as a one-off comic mostly, it really is hard to like as sixth-before-last issue.

It's... hard to explain, but I dislike how little we see what Wells tries to say in this run. This is the first issue in months where we finally see some growth in Peter, some change. And... it's the sixth issue before final one. Like... isn't this a bit too late?

With Wells run, we always get these very tiny small snippets of Peter going forward. We saw it with his A World Without Love, Luke's speech to him in Rek-Rap adventure, Ravencroft adventure, etc... And then we get nothing in bigger and longer stories. It gets tiring, when he really doesn't seem to go forward. Within Wells run, it's really hard to get in the headspace of Peter Parker, mostly because this comic rarely focuses on him as a character.

But like I said, I mostly enjoyed this comic. The date was charming, but what annoys me the most in this one-off story is Peter stopping Rhino and Screwball. Even if we ignore Rhino for a sec (Spidey editorial seems to have no idea what kind of character he is nowadays), that whole speech to them feels... kinda selfish from Peter? And very naive from him to presume they won't just continue that in another part of the city? It's like the only way he can relax on that date now is because Wells broke fourth wall and informed him the villains stopped and did not lie to Peter. I know, lying from super villains? Never seen before.

It's not like I hate the idea of Peter being tired of being Spider-Man. On the contrary, I think that is a very interesting thing to explore and instead of going punching the foes, he tries to talk to them first, maybe even get them to quit. Maybe being sympathetic to them and understanding their struggles?

But... that is not a thing that is explored in this run. Not really. We first see it in the excellent opening arc, then get a little snippet in issue 10 and then... not really anything. I don't really know what is going on with Peter. Why is he now ready to date Shay? What makes her special and why does her work with Peter better than say... Felicia? Whose romance story in here was so awful, and barely a plot even. It was just there until it wasn't. Such a wasted story.

Like I said, I am not opposed to Peter dating Shay. I think it's interesting to see and perfect way to move Peter forward and not just keep him in a stale place (like dating Felicia again as a rebound). But Peter's date life has not been a plot line really, nor do we see how has he gone to this mindset, after his breakup from Felicia. Why is he ready now, or is he just giving life a chance? Is it because GG seems to be gone from his life (once again showing that we have a comic where it has no continuity to previous issue or storyline).

Because this book so rarely focuses on Peter and his mindset, these kind of stories don't feel earned. Like Peter's friendship with Norman and now his date with Shay

And I kinda laughed when Nick Lowe posted he likes doing these kind of stories. Would be nice if we saw more of them.

Instead of "THE BIGGEST BADDEST STORY YOU HAVE EVER SEEN! THE ONE COMIC THAT IS BETTER THAN ANY SINGLE COMIC RELEASED PAST 60 YEARS. A COMIC THAT WILL HAVE MAGNIFICIENT CONSEQUENCES TO PETER PARKER AND SPIDER-MAN AND WILL FEATURE THE LARGEST, BLOODIEST, MOST BRUTAL BATTLE OF SPIDER-MAN EVER!!!"

It's hard for me to be invested in these stories and characters, if Wells acts like they never happened whenever there is a new artist.

TLDR: Shay seems nice. Date mostly charming. Peter leaving Rhino and Screwball alone felt a bit ooc. Art nice. But the whole thing doesn't feel earned. more

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• BirdmanG07
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BirdmanG07 - Aug 25, 2024 (edited)

This is almost exactly how I feel and worded so much better than I could’ve said, thank you.

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