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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey   Writer- J.M. DeMatteis Penciler- Eder Messias Inker- Belardino Brabo & Wayne Faucher Colourist- Java Tartaglia Letterer- VC's Joe Caramagna Cover artist- Ryan Brown Designer- Carlos Lao Editor- Danny Khazem Published by Marvel Comics (22/03/2023) SynopsisAs Takhar and his "Zoo Posse" close in, Aja attempts to usher Pete and Mary Jane to safety, before confronting her son. Peter is quick to join the fray, once he discovers his old Spider-Armour in Aja's collection of artefacts, using it to defeat Takhar in combat. However, Peter's morals will not allow him to strike the fatal blow to Kraven's protege, which immediately put's M.J. and their unborn child in mortal danger, provoking Aja to leap into action, and receive the blade that was intended for Mrs. Parker's midsection. Wracked with guilt as a result of killing his mother, Takhar attempts to follow in his mentor's footsteps by committing suicide by shotgun, but his attempts are thwarted by Peter. Instead, Takhar takes his mother's body to give her a proper burial, whilst Peter and M.J. go onto build a new life for themselves, post-Spider-Man. Dave So, here we are, on to the final part now. I like the cover to this issue. It makes a strong impression and, of course, there's a big giveaway as to where this story is leading. I like the pose, ready and weaponized for combat, and the rain, in true Kraven style, is dominating the background. A staple for this story. Also, I like the muted colours on this. It all makes for a really good cover. Kev Yeh, I like this one too. It's another nice cover by Ryan Brown. I think either this one, or issue 2 has been my favourite cover in this series. It's very atmospheric, and I love the Spider-Armour, which I remember from all the way back in 'Web Of Spider-Man' #100, with its Alex Saviuk foil cover. Which was over 30 years ago now. Yeesh! Dave I wasn't familiar with the Spider-Armour. I like how Ryan Brown signs his name on the cover under the parking sign. Kev He's incorporated his signature into these covers in quite clever ways. Yeh, the Spider-Armour might have been a little while after you, Mike, and me were swapping our Spidey issues. Dave The big splash page on the first page is good, with the "Zoo Posse" in full effect. Again, this is a homage to The Sinister Six, which has been running throughout the story. Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, it's a visually interesting, birds-eye view, splash page of Gregor and his posse, alright. The 'Zoo Posse Sinister Six.'  "Down with The Posse! Shoot 'em up! Shoot 'em up!" Dave And, of course, Pete is still conflicted about having to run. Good speech by M.J. as well. Kev Yeh, M.J. seems to be at the end of her tether with Peter here, with her head in her hands. But she's also being the voice of reason again, in getting Peter to see where his true responsibilities lie. Also, she’s quite right in expressing her suspicions about Aja. Any sane person would, at this point. Dave M.J. has good instincts. It's natural for her to be protective towards Pete. Meanwhile, as Aja and Gregor tear it up, Minchkin is off for a wander with Pete and M.J. (not quite). Kev Ha, ha! Typical cat. Just doing it's own thing. That’s a nice touch, on page four, with Aja’s speech bubbles, as the first one after Takhar has had his hands around her throat is not as smooth, indicating the ragged, perhaps whispered nature of her voice, before it returns to normal in the next bubble. Dave Yep, this struggle between Aja and Takhar is a constant battle of regrets and anger. Kev Totally. As you often say, there's enough here for a Jerry Springer episode. Dave That's a good panel on the bottom of page 4, of Gregor standing over Aja, from the perspective of her looking upwards, and it shows the imposing figure in front of her. Kev Yeh, especially with his glowing red eyes. Dave Yes, that's nicely demonic looking for that panel, or Gregor is actually a Terminator T-800. Kev Hey, with THIS story, it wouldn't surprise me all that much. Those first two panels on page 6, of Aja taking on Takhar’s mind-controlled zoo animals are excellent. The one at the top of page 7 isn’t half bad either. Kudos to Eder Messias, once again.  "The Deadly Dust" (or Spider-Man Strikes Back) Dave Good colouring on pages 6 and 7 as well. And Aja manages to subdue most of the "Zoo Posse" which her charming tones. Kev Yeh, the colouring game has been strong on this series, and it’s no different on this issue. Excellent work by Java Tartaglia. That change in Takhar’s facial expressions between the two panels at the bottom of page 7, is a fantastic example of storytelling by DeMatteis and Messias. DeMatteis has always been superb at telling story without words, which lets whoever is the artist to take the reigns and really shine. Dave Those bottom two panels on page 7 are interesting. For a moment, we see a bit of humanity emerge from Gregor. And the panel before that, where Aja reaches out to touch Gregor on the chin, is a good one as well.  Alas, poor Takhar! I knew him.....
Kev Yeh, there's that moment of tenderness between mother and son, before son murders mother. M.J.'s assessment of her’s and Peter’s lives, post-New York, and post-Spider-Man, is pretty heartbreaking as well, actually. The conflict within it all; her loving and hating Peter’s selflessness, knowing that Spider-Man will never truly be behind them, and if it ever was, it would most likely be because Peter had lost his life being so selfless. That’s a heavy burden for a spouse to shoulder. Dave Oh yeah, that is a great conflict going on within M.J. She is torn between his selfless behaviour and her fear of losing him to his actions. I like that first panel on page 8 as Pete and M.J. enter the house, and in the background, in the mist, we see this "stray" cat wandering about. The Minchkin on his wanders. Kev Sleekit Minchkin. Dave So the Spider-Armor is a Wakandan artifact. Kev It is now. Aja's claimed it. Dave Nice panel as they come down the stairs. It puts me in mind of Wayne Manor from Burton’s ‘89 ‘Batman.’ Kev Ha, ha! That's a good point. It does put you in mind of Vicki Vale and Alexander Knox entering Bruce Wayne's armoury. Dave "Give Knox a grant" Kev Ha, ha! Dave That's a great panel of the reveal of the Spider-Armor. It’s visually impressive, and I like the colours on it. Slightly reminiscent of McFarlane’s pose style there.  Check out Pete's "drip." Do the kids still use "drip." Look, they probably did when this first came out, alright. Kev Yeh, this is what we’ve been building towards for five issues, this is what we’ve been waiting for, the final conflict between Takhar and a Spider-Armoured Peter Parker. “Here we go!” I agree, Messias's Spider-Armour is excellent. That's a good point; there is a little bit of McFarlane in that pose. Dave “Let the battle commence,” as they say. Kev “It’s not a weapon that’s going to win this fight, Gregor! It’s the strength that comes from Mary Jane’s love for me- - - -and mine for her! It’s the hope for the future we both share! Our child’s future!” Aaand all of a sudden I want Takhar to gut Peter “.....like a helpless fish!” That was one vomit-inducing speech from Mr. Parker, right there. Dave Yep, I would have preferred a few cheeky puns, but I guess he's not in the frame of mind for them. That's a good panel when his mask gets broken. C'mon, Pete! Only a few panels into the fight and your mask is already half knackered! That is also quite a good panel on the bottom of the page, of Pete hitting Takhar on the head while spouting the vomit inducing speech. I would have liked to have seen that fight done with no words, just a full on brawl, then save the speeches for later. There could also have been more panels, as the fight was not really one of the better ones I have seen.  BONK! Kev No. It's all over very quickly, isn't it? Yeh. It looks very much like a John Romita Jr. piece. And that's the highest of compliments in my book. Yeh, I'm not convinced the "Spider-Armour" is doing its job here. I'd be getting it done under the trades description act. Or at the very least, asking for a refund. Dave I will say, it obviously has separate lights controlling each of the eye panels. I thought knocking out the power to half of the mask, on one side, would cut the power to the lights on the other side as well. Kev Good point. It's clearly very hi-tech stuff. Dave Those "Wakandan artifacts" maybe need to get a trial run before getting put into practice. I like the panel of Aja cuddling into Minchkin. He's just a big softie at heart. Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, for allegedly being the most technologically advanced country in the world, the quality of its manufacturing is maybe a little questionable. Like if you get something from Wish, Temu, or AliExpress. All joking aside, they just "acquired" the Spider-Armour. Maybe it was payback for all the artifacts that colonising countries stole from the continent of Africa. Dave Maybe that's the stuff they put on ebay. Kev Ha, ha! DeMatteis has a bit of a habit of going back to this Peter-and-Mary-Jane’s-love-conquers-all-well though. Dave Yep, "history repeats itself" here. Perhaps it could have been taken in a different direction. And the whole Pete-not-being-able-to-kill-Gregor? He could have just given him another whack. What makes him think that one more would have killed him. Kev I do like the promo M.J. cuts on Gregor/Takhar here though, it's pretty insightful. In fact, she's pretty much spot-on in her analysis of Takhar. As armchair psychologist as it may be. It's certainly interesting that, out of all the characters in this, it’s Mary Jane who ultimately confronts Takhar. Dave Is this her doing the selfless act because Pete does it so much, and now it's her turn. She's putting herself in the firing line as well. C'mon woman! You are pregnant! Those bottom three panels on page 14, as Takhar lunges at M.J. with the knife, remind me of the old psychological slasher films, ala Brian DePalma. The over the top panel of Peter's expression, the anguished looking Aja, and the reflection of M.J. in the knife, it's all very interesting.  The Blade Trilogy. Kev That's an excellent spot, Sir. Dave The full splash panel on page 15, the reveal of Aja taking the plunge, so to speak, is where Gregor comes full circle, and finally his facade is broken by the realisation of what he has done.  Roll of the die. Kev Yeh, it's an excellent splash page on 15. That's what you should be using the splashes for, I suppose, for maximum effect on those big, bold, dramatic moments. Especially with the massive "- - DIE!" lettering. Excellent stuff by Joe Caramanga as well here. This is all getting very Greek tragedy-like now. Dave Good point there. This is really good family tragedy stuff explored here. And, of course, Takhar has to attempt to follow in Kraven’s tradition. Kev I must admit, I am a bit of a sucker for all the callbacks to 'Fearful Symmetry.' Dave Me too, I actually did like the tie back to ‘Last Hunt.’ A necessary "cliche," dare I say. After the death of Aja, as Takhar walks away, the story is very quick to wrap itself up. Kev I liked it as a play on the themes of history repeating itself, and destiny being unavoidable, but it almost feels like DeMatteis is forever trying to unwrite Kraven’s suicide. Do you think he maybe wishes he never went in that direction in ‘Fearful Symmetry?’ Dave I don't know. I think the speech from Takhar could be an interesting view on how Kraven's legacy was ruined by his act of suicide. He talks about it being a "coward's grave." That's opening up a discussion right there. I like that open ended writing. That's a good panel on the bottom of the page, as Pete and M.J. walk off, and the Spidey shadow is there. I like that touch. Kev Jesus Christ! Can you believe that I missed that shadow touch? The "coward's grave" thing doesn't sit well with me. I'm hoping that it's the warped perspective of Gregor/Takhar that makes him perceive it in that way, rather than DeMatteis coming through as the author. Dave I think it may have been done that way to let the reader formulate their own opinion, as it is a very debatable subject. Takhar's world has essentially fallen apart, both physically and psychologically, so the emotional side of him is reacting. He's not thinking objectively, only subjectively at that moment. Kev Yeh, you're probably right. It's just the use of "coward" again. I struggle a bit to get beyond that. Dave The story rounds up fairly quickly, with the second last page showing Pete and M.J. starting to get on with their life. Kev Yeh, it all seems to wrap up all too quickly, and little too seamlessly for my tastes. “If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that even in the darkest of times……especially in the darkest of time…… love……will always light the way.” This is all a bit mawkish for my bitter, cynical, old heart, I’m afraid. Dave Yeah, I agree; this issue was the weakest of the series. However, the last part of any series can always be a let down, because they usually peak about half way/two thirds of the way through, so I wasn't surprised that this story wasn't as strong as the others. I'm guessing that, on the last page, as Takhar visits Aja’s grave, the hand coming up is leaving the story open for a further chapter? Kev Could be. I do like that last page of Aja’s resurrection though. It's very well done. Dave I also thought the artwork was not up to the same standard as previous issues. Did they make some changes to the team on this issue?  Leaving Spidey behind. Kev That's a really good spot as well, man, that hadn't really occurred to me either, but it was a different inker and colourist, yeh. Plus, it didn’t have the art teams, plural, like we did last issue for the different stories within the issue. It’s almost like DeMatteis didn’t really know quite how to end this though, certainly not in a way that was different, so he just went with the standard superhero fight climax, with a bit of love always wins at the end too. Although, in his defence, it does feel like it may have been an editorial mandate as well. Almost like, DeMatteis's story was the psychological battle between Peter and Takhar, with M.J. and Aja in there too, in order to raise the stakes, but somebody, somewhere, on a corporate level knew they had to have at least one "fight in tights" (or Spider-Armour) to sell it to an adolescent, superhero audience, otherwise they'd had to call it 'Peter Parker: The Lost Hunt,' and lost half the readership, and half the sales. Dave Yeah, it felt a bit rushed, and slightly less in keeping with the tone of the other issues in dealing with the subject. A bit more adolescent is a good way to describe it. Kev That's often superhero comics for you though, I suppose. Dave I call it, 'Chapter 5: Let's wrap this up quickly.' Kev Yeh, it did kind-of feel that way, didn't it? Dave Still, it doesn't detract from the fact that this has been a great series to review. I can handle one part not being quite up to par. It was a great follow-up to the Kraven saga, as we discussed in the last review. And judging by the final panel, it has left it open for another chapter. Kev I agree though. It maybe doesn't quite stick the landing (as you said, a common issue with these types of comic book stories), and it's perhaps not quite up there with 'Fearful Symmetry,' but it's still a cracking, surprisingly good, actually, entry in the Kraven saga. The fourth chapter, with Aja's backstory, was a pleasant surprise with just how good it was. It's legitimately one of the most enjoyable single issues of any comic that I've read recently. Dave And plus, with the Kraven movie coming out this year, I wouldn't be surprised if something ends up in the pipeline. Kev Yep, gotta have that corporate synergy across all media and marketing platforms, right? Dave Oh yeah, and it makes you wonder if they just churn something out without thought or due care, what are we, the reader, going to get? Kev I hope not. And hopefully DeMatteis gets the gig if they do because, despite a couple of nits that I've had to pick with this and 'Soul,' he's a guarantee of a quality Spidey and/or Kraven tale. Dave Yeah. Plus, there has to be a substantial story to tell, not a rehash of what's been told already. Kev That's also very true. I know a lot of people are shitting on it, but I'm more than willing to give the 'Kraven' movie a chance. It can't be any worse than a lot of the other comic book-based nonsense that's out there just now. (D) & (K) The end. 
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