This issue is like Schrödinger's Cat. Either the cat is dead or alive, and until we observe it.. It's actually still dead or alive.
This week, I'm seeing more and more people who are liking these individual issues, while still complaining about the lack of answers, and are letting the lack of answers determine the issue's worth as a whole. I don't know if this is something that always existed in the comic book community, as I've certainly contributed to it myself, but I find it weird how often we as comic book fans tend to decide a story's worth by how much information it contains (ie how "important" it is), without giving enough credence to how it's written or drawn.
This arc clearly had a real effect on the characters in it, that will almost certainly be felt for the foreseeable future. Peter beats Norman relentlessly, as he keeps reliving his multiple deaths at the hands of Kindred in his head. That's not something that's going to be forgotten. This arc promised to put Peter Parker through the ringer and it did exactly that. There were answers in this arc, they just led to more questions. Is that okay? In a long form serialized comic? Yeah, it is.
To come away from this issue thinking that Last Remains was just hype, that it didn't actually do anything... That's an extremely reductionist take, and I think it highlights a problem with the fan community and this rabid need it has for something to be obviously epic and earth-shattering, and for the almighty plot to be advanced in such a way. That's a problem because we're seeing the effects of this story playing out on the characters involved and yet so many people discount the entire issue because it's not an exposition dump about how Harry changed, and therefore it's not "important".
I think this run as a whole has this problem where too many people think anything that's not Kindred answers is filler. And it's not just ASM, I see this happen with most series. Some of my favorite issues have been lambasted as filler because instead of being plot focused, they've made it character focused. Maybe the solution is to clearly define what is filler and what isn't. Maybe Marvel and DC should put a "FILLER" sticker on the covers of issues that are filler, so this unnecessary use of brain power in the comic book community is snuffed out before it can do more harm. more
By: Nick Spencer, Mark Bagley
Released: Jan 13, 2021
• Spider-Man continues to pick up the pieces and try to put his life together.
• But many of the gathering storms are swirling more and more violently...
• We want to tell you more but it WOULD SPOIL SO MUCH OF LAST REMAINS!!!
Rated T+