The Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 5: Spiral

The Amazing Spider-Man (2014) (Collected Editions)

by Gerry Conway, Carlo Barberi (Illustrator)

The underworld is in a constant flux and has been since the Kingpin got taken out at SHADOWLAND. That war is heating up and Spidey's going to do something about it. But he's not the only one-- Police Captain Yuri Watanabe is trying to curtail the madnessboth in her day job as a police officer and asthe vigilante THE WRAITH! Do she and Spideyplay by the same rules?

COLLECTING: Amazing Spider -Man 16.1-20.1

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Spider Man, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2015

About the author

Gerard Francis Conway (Gerard F. Conway) is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics' vigilante the Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man. At DC Comics, he is known for co-creating the superhero Firestorm and others, and for writing the Justice League of America for eight years. Conway wrote the first major, modern-day intercompany crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one’s the first post-Spider-Verse story and in order to ratchet down the action a little from inter-dimensional shenanigans, Spider-Man goes up against the various gangs of New York.



Not those gangs. I assume Spider-Man would make short work of these music theatre rejects.

*Hums “Tonight" from West Side Story*

The Kingpin’s gone so it seems that there’s a turf war developing between rival gang leaders and police officer/super hero, Yuri Watanabe/The Wraith is determined to do everything within her power to control events, but the situation soon (title and theme keyword alert) spirals out of control.



Every Marvel gangster goon lays claim to Watanabe’s 3rd Precinct and Spider-Man is web-deep involved in helping to keep the peace and keeping The Wraith from (title and theme keyword alert) spiraling downward as a result of the chaos.



Black Cat, who’s still not gotten over being punched in the face and left to get arrested by Doc Ock/Superior Spider-Man, angles to control a huge piece of the gangsta pie.



Note to gamers: Black Cat is now wielding a weapon similar to the nasty one used by Ivy Valentine from the Soul Calibur games. Ouch!

Bottom line: The character of Spider-Man has a certain “voice” that not every writer can write to. Gerry Conway penned this instead of Dan Slott, who’s helmed this title for years, and although a solid story, it lacks the punchy Web-head dialogue that has become Slott’s trademark. Bonus: Humberto Ramos didn’t do the cartoony art work on this volume.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit, it's been nice to have some pre-Secret Wars Spidey action to read in the midst of that bloated, lumbering crossover 'event'. It's also really nice to have Gerry Conway back penning a Spidey story again! I grew up reading Conway's Spidey stuff and, for that reason, I think I enjoyed this one more than the majority of folks who have been griping about Conway's Spidey not having the 'right' Spidey 'voice' like Dan Slott's (I'm trying really hard not to roll my eyes here but - oh - no - there they go).

I haven't hated Slott's run on Spidey by any means (apart from 'Superior'; that I hated with a passion) but it's averaged out as only fair-to-middling for this aging Spidophile. This arc by Conway has been a breath of fresh air for me.

Not that it's without its faults... it suffered from perpetuating Slott's whole 'the Black Cat's evil again now all of a sudden for no good reason' bollocks (something else Slott has done that I can't abide) but I'm guessing that was an editorial mandate, so I can't blame Conway too much.

Based on this, I'm looking forward to Conway's new Carnage book.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Slotts writing but close. Still enjoyed it

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legendary Marvel writer Gerry Conway returns to Spider-Man for this bonus story. After the Superior Spider-Man cleared the New York streets, the race is on amongst the various villains to be top dog. Everyone from Tombstone, to Hammerhead to Black Cat to the Circus of Crime to Mister Negative all want a piece of the action.

Although a Spider-Man story, this focuses a lot on the Wraith. We haven't seen Detective Yuri Watanabe's alter-ego for a while but she's back here with a vengeance, quite literally. It's the story of a Spider-Man like character losing their moral compass and Spider-Man struggling to see it. But with loads of villains and fighting too.

I really loved this story. Because it is outside of the main story, nothing really to do with the ongoing tale of Spider-Man, Conway gets to focus on a minor character. But he does it wonderfully here, making the Wraith change whilst still keeping you guessing how far she will go.

What's also good it that while separate from the main series, it is still very much in continuity. This is a post-Superior Spider-Man world with all the consequences that has for Peter Parker and everyone else.

I expected Conway's writing to feel a bit old-fashioned, like classic Spidey, but actually this feels really fresh, whilst maintaining the quality of old. I love Gerry Conway's work on Spider-Man, even this most recent volume, and I hope he gets another story like this in the future.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but different. Slott has been on Spider-Man for quite a while and developed his own style: a fun, energetic, fast paced style. I'm not sure why but Gerry Conway was brought in for a five part story which takes place right after Spider-Verse (and I believe right before Secret Wars.) Conway is famous for taking over Spider-Man after Stan Lee back in the early-mid 70's so he's no stranger to the character.

The multi-part story has Spider-Man dealing with a new Gang War in a section of New York. This seems to feed off some of the story threads that Slott has previously laid out. It's also a character study of the hero/anti-hero called Wraith.

It's not bad, as I said, but Gang Wars have been done many times over the years so it felt like a retread. Also, Conway's style is a slower pace and has a little bit more serious tone to it so it contrasts quite a bit with Slott's writing. Again, it's ok, it just takes some getting used to. I was very pleased with the art by Barberi, who I don't think I've ever seen before. It's a little Art Adams and maybe a little Mark Brooks. Hope to see more of him.

I'm not sure if this was sort of a 'fill-in' until Secret Wars was over or what. Until I read the new AMS-post Secret Wars I won't know for sure.

[Jordan Lahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent story about how far heroes can and can't go in the pursuit of making things better for their city. It'll be interesting to see where things go for these characters. Poor Peter is in a pattern of ex-girlfriends going evil!

[J.M. Giovine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story for the most part is set at the same time as Graveyard Shift, and by all means, is definitely better. While Volume 4 was more about “catching up” after the events in Spider-verse, this one continues the main story (or at least a more interesting one) in which the crime gangs in New York are all at war after Kingping’s departure, needing an alliance with Wraith, aka detective Yuri Watanabe, who’s been receiving information from Mr. Negative, in order for him to gain control over the city’s crime take over. Yeah, seems like a lot of things are going on, but unlike GS, this volume is more intriguing and normatively complete, rather than just a bridge to another big event in Spidey’s run. I liked Wraight/Watanabe as a whole character; she really seemed to bring the classic “vigilante” complex, adding the deep conflict these characters develop in their stories, and also, Spidey trying to make her mind about crossing the line. Yeah, an overused concept, but here is done right, especially when Black Cat shows up again. Which it leads me to my main problem with all these volumes: Black Cat. Since Superior Spider-man she was planted as a main-future threat for the Spider, but in these volumes she’s just there to cause trouble, but never going beyond. I don’t know what her roe will be in Secret Wars, but in these previous stories she was a disappointment, considering how her character promised to go full rogue. But, as I said, I liked this volume, at least more than GS, considering how much deep storytelling was given to Spider-man (I love when they go with that sort of direction with any comic book character), especially at the very end. Yeah, maybe the volume seems to go nowhere, but it was solid and focus, and nowadays, I think all comic books should try their best to give that into characters and stories. All in all, a good addition pre-Secret Wars- Renew your Vows, maybe not as good as Superior Spider-man, but at least it felt as they tried their best to craft a decent Spidey story.

[Jordan Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐ (85%/100%)

Overall, a good miniseries for people who want to see what Spider-Man was like pre-Secret Wars without having to read the entire series before Spiral takes place, which is when I first read this miniseries. The story shows the transformation of Yuri Watanabe into the anti hero Wraith after her mentor gets shot and killed by Tombstone. Spider-Man is quippy yet mature in this series, which is something I liked about Andrew Garfield's movie version of the character. There is a line that Spider-Man says at the end of the fight with Hammerhead in Spiral 2 that he could have thought a lot more about later but then gets completely thrown out of the window. I'm not going to spoil too much about the series, but the characters were great, Mister Negative sneaking a fourth wall break in Spiral 3 was pretty funny, Spider-Man and Black Cat probably got shipped after Spiral 5 came out, and seeing Yuri turn to the Dark Side was a good story and a very fun read.

[Tesutamento · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Amazing Spider-Man serisinin üçüncü yayın dönemi bu kitap ile son buluyor. Secret Wars'a giden yolda Spidey için son hikaye denebilir.

Kingpin'in yokluğunda şehirde çete savaşları başlıyor. Mister Negative'den aldığı ihbarlarla baskın yapan Wraith tabii ki farkında olmadan Negative'in eline oynuyor. Peter Yuri'nin bir noktada aklını başına toplayacağına inansa da işler çığırından çıkıyor.

Serinin bir önceki kitabı Gece Vardiyası çok sönük bir hikaye sunuyordu. Bu kitabın da pek iyi olacağını sanmıyordum fakat yavaş bir başlangıçtan sonra ritmini buluyor ve okuyucuyu sürüklüyor. Yine de pek özel bir tarafı olmayan, ortalama bir Spider-Man hikayesi.

[Sevki · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this was the best volume out of the 5 TPBs from the TASM NOW! era, even though this one is a bit of a mix (another writer, chapter numbers being X.1, etc.).

It reminded me the Spider-Man PS4 game due to the characters and their respective relationships, so overall I liked it. Plus, Wraith going to the "dark side(!)" was a nice experience as I got fucking sick of the same "spiral" Marvel moves of series with no real story progression.

Let's see if I will pick up the Worldwide series.

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standard Spider-man super heroics! I really wanted to give this book five stars but found it hard to decide if I like this story immensely or is this story just mediocre. Let's get the positives out the way. The art is pretty good and the story is easy to follow. The kingpin is gone so New York's crime families are fighting for territory. Spider-man is basically trying to aid the police in keeping the city from getting out of control. The story is so simple that I wager that you could pick this book up at anytime and just read it without having to know anything about the current continuity concerning Spider-man. This a plus because i feel that Marvel is trying to give current readers a break from all th hectic and status quo changes in this series. Sometimes you just need a simple adventure story now and then without the threat of a looming life changing story arc. The don side to this volume of spider-man is that it is at times to simple. It doesn't take any chances in the plot and it is very predictable. Surprisingly this reminds me of Vol. 6 of Batman in that book was basically a collection of short Batman stories that happened between the major story arcs. I not saying this book is bad but it is just a basic Spider-man story.

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really solid story. This feels a bit retro, in a good way. The exposition sets the stage and informs the reader. This is the only superhero comic I've read in years that actually lives up to the claim that it would work for new readers (so of course it doesn't actually say that on the cover). And the art is solid, not always the best figure drawing, but clean lines and detailed backgrounds. When Spider-Man is in a fight over the city, it looks a lot better when we can actuallyvsee the city.

The numbering on this is weird. This collects issues 16.1, 17.1, 18.1, 19.1, and 20.1. Because Marvel editors don't know how numbers work. And this collection is Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5, rather than a non-numbered side story. Which I guess is good, maybe?

Anyway, Spider-Man's (relatively) new pal Captain Yuri Watanabe, aka The Wraith, is trying to fight organized crime and finds she has better luck as a vigilante than as a police captain, which sets her on a bad path. Again, this feels retro in that Spider-Man is taking the moral high ground and trying to keep the Wraith on the straight and narrow, despite being a vigilante himself.

Gerry Conway's been around forever. Sometimes when you bring in a veteran writer, they just write the characters they know (like Jim Starlin and Thanos), but this tale utilizes current characters: The Wraith, obviously, Mr. Negative, the recent developments with Black Cat.

Maybe it's just me being old, but this felt a lot more like what a superhero book should be, and was a nice change of pace from things like Spider-Verse and Secret Wars.

[Rick Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the Kingpin out of the picture, New York's criminal gangs are in a war for territory with NYPD Captain Yuri Watanabe's Third Precinct as the top prize. This volume collects The Amazing Spider-Man #16-20 from 2014, and it follows up on a bunch of Spiderverse adventures by bringing Peter Parker back to his "Friendly Neighborhood" roots fighting New York crime.

The result is a rapid-fire succession of classic Spider-Man villains. Unfortunately, by "classic" here we generally mean third-rate. Admittedly, it's fun seeing Spidey score one-punch knockouts on guys like Hammerhead, Ringmaster, the Enforcers, Tombstone, and Crime Master. But nostalgia only goes so far.

The real heart of this story is a battle for the soul of Yuri Watanabe, who has gone back to moonlighting as the Wraith, and who has entered into a dangerous game of manipulation with the Negative Man. Did I mention there are a lot of villains in this book? Black Cat also shows up, fairly interesting in full-on heel mode.

But the theme of where to draw the line between "by the book" police work and vigilanteism is muddled by Peter Parker, longtime vigilante, trying to lecture Watanabe on where the line should be drawn. It doesn't help that the actual moment when Wraith crosses the line is not a terribly impactful scene. It helps even less that the confrontation between Wraith and Spider-Man is anticlimactic, and the final battle between Spider-Man and Negative Man is even more so.

This had fun pacing and that comfy nostalgic vibe, but it never rose to the level of seriousness that it was going for.

[Ashe Catlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

There isn’t much you need to know before reading this, everything important is referenced. Like Doctor Octopus taking over Peter’s body and Kingpin no longer ruling over New York, which has created power vacuum. Yuri is back as the Wraith, trying to stop a gang war that could lead her down a dark path trying to stop the gang war.

It takes a little while to get into, it spends the first of five issue setting up everything. When it gets going though it’s really fun, I have 2 gripes. Both of them are about how Spider-Man acted, he has a problem with Yuri being a vigilante. Even though that is what he is, yes he is loved by the public but that doesn't change anything. Yet when someone else decides to take the law into their own hands, he's like nope you have to abide by the law. Secondly he has a problem with Yuri going down a dark path, where as Black Cat in this issue is going down a much darker one. I guess because he's shagged her though it's alright, she can do as she pleases but this new girl nope not going to happen! It even gets to a point where he thinks Yuri is irredeemable, this is the guy who gave Venom a second chance. Heck at one point he almost beat Morlun to death, so I don't get why he's so judgemental. So yeah apart from the little bit of forced conflict it was good, it was nice to have a Spider-Man story that doesn't revolve around his job or some nut trying to destroy the world.

[pastiesandpages - Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is basically a mini series running alongside the main Spider-Man title from the 2014 series hence the odd numbering of the individual issues 16.1 to 20.1.

It's an old fashioned gang warfare story with various criminal elements vying to take control in New York with the Kingpin out of the picture.

Plenty of chances to show Spidey in acrobatic action with villains Tombstone, Hammerhead, Black Cat, Ringmaster and the Circus of Crime, Mister Negative and more goons than you can shake a stick at.

For the most part Spidey is almost a supporting character as the main focus is on the vigilante Wraith and her alter ego police detective Yuri.

The art is great and very fluid showcasing the action sequences.

The drawbacks for me were that it never explained what power Wraith has, Spider-Man was sidelined in his own book (so much so that Peter Parker doesn't really appear) and the ending was somewhat inconclusive. Probably intentional so that it can lead into other comics but for a mini series it needed a better ending.

Still good fun overall and 3.5 stars from me.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read. I liked how they had this story running concurrently with Slotts ASM. it provided an interesting alternate take on Spider Mans problems after Superior wrapped. Specifically it give more depth to Black Cats change into an arch villain. As much as I love Slotts work I felt his explanation for her going completely evil was a little weak. Conway went into this change with a bit more depth so now the change makes a lot more sense to me. Dont get me wrong, I dont blame Cat for being pissed but some of the things she's done since Superior wrapped have been unforgivable. I now see the change in a different light. Also Wraith is one of my favorite new Spider Man characters. Here's hopeing she doesnt go the way of other minor characters (shows up, plays a role only in stories written by the person that created her).

[Jota Houses · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tras Superior Spider-Man, volvemos (otra vez ) a los orígenes con Peter intentando ajustarse a sus nuevas responsabilidades mientras las bandas de supervillanos intentan reocupar los nichos que la mano de hierro (tentáculos) de Doc Ok ha creado. La Gata Negra, mientras tanto intenta vengarse del trepamuros, sin importarle quién lleva las mallas. Y en mitad de todo esto, metido con calzador, un confuso evento lleno de crosovers para aprovechar el tirón del Spider-Verso. Una especie de Crisis en Telarañas infinitas en la que la confusión que suponen miles de hombres araña con pequeñas diferencias en la trama o patron de coloreado de las mallas se incrementa con el hecho de que la narración central comienza argumentos que no pretende terminar y los envía a las distintas colecciones. Un desastre sin paliativos.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Yuri Watanabe in the SPIDER-MAN video game and I believe the character is somewhat wasted with them having gone down the path of being the Wraith. Then again, I feel like Spider-Man having a George Stacie or Jean DeWolfe character was always a good thing and lacking in modern comics. Sadly, I didn't quite buy the corruption of Yuri in the book and feel like it was much too abrupt. I'm also not sure how she developed her super-reflexes without superpowers or training.

Yes, yes, I'm overthinking it. Felicia Hardy is also at her meanest in this book and no one was asking for that. Still, very well drawn and some classic villains return.

[Daniel Kovacs Rezsuk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spiral is not an entirely lousy volume when examined at its particular place in the series and continuity as a whole. On its own, though it contains very little novelty in terms of plot developments, resolutions, and the overall story itself came off as a throwaway tie-in too. To top it all off the artist Carlo Barberi didn't bring his A-game here either, but it's not entirely his fault - there is not much place for exciting visual creativity where 90% of the storytelling is carried out by self-narration from multiple perspectives. Just skip to the Worldwide series unless you are a completionist like me.

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fine. Art was fine, story was fine. A decent Spider-Man story, however Yuri changes dramatically. I'm not sure that it is within her character what happened.
I especially don't like supporting characters becoming powered. I know Slott gave her powers, and pretty sure created her, however she would have been fine to remain a police officer or unpowered support character for Peter. It makes the powered characters less special if their supporting characters are also powered. Also removes some relativity which is what Peter specifically is meant to be.

I'm sorry if people read this thinking I don't want people of colour, women being powered, minorities et al. That's not the point.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspired by the recent PlayStation 4 Spider-man, I decided to use this as a homecoming to get back into my Spider-man books. Get it, homecoming? I'll leave the quips to Spidey. Anyway, this book is interesting for fans who wish to read a story featuring two major characters in the new game. While the story does not follow the same path as the game, fans seeking Mr. Negative and Captain Yuri Watanabe won't be disappointed as both are major focuses in this story.

Overall a decent story and solid art make this a quick and enjoyable read.

[Andreas Sekeris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun Spider-Man story that balances the weight of its history with just having some fun. Stuff actually happens and changes in this collection. A change over of which gangs rule the precinct. Yuri changes. It’s a bit cliched. That’s ok. It’s done well and told well. Characters well defined and reacting to each other. There’s references to multidimensional craziness that I haven’t read and it doesn’t lose me. I enjoyed it!
Artwork wasn’t amazing. Muscle definition in the spandex got ridiculous at times and poor Spider-Man just had nothing where a cod piece should be at least.

[Shevek · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe that Gerry Conway is the best writer Spider-Man has ever had. His first run in Amazing defined many facets of the character, and his run in Spectacular during the 80-90s is simply the reason why I am a fan of comic books. Unfortunately, I cannot say such pretty things about this volume, which basically focuses on the Wraith, a character with little interest per se that is not well developed here. Other than that, Spidey is just a guest in a story where all the villains/mobs are inconsequential and sporadic. The art does not help either.

[Adrian J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE COLLECTION OBSESSION cemented my (largely positive) view of Steve Rogers.

THE GATHERERS' SAGA cemented my (overwhelmingly positive) view of Dane Whitman.

SPIRAL has cemented my (slightly positive) view of Peter Parker.

Also, kudos to Conway for getting the "SNAP!" effect past the editors. :P

The story moved me so much I wanted to reach into the page and intervene. Damn Parker. Get good at stuff already.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This step down from Spider-Verse (and a non Dan Slott written story) was fine, an admirable change in pace but felt lacking. It's always good to see Spidey getting back involved in the street level gangs but the theme around Yuri's fall from grace and turn to the dark side was rushed. That's a story that should have been played over a longer period. Here it felt forced and clumsy. I'm still not liking Felicia's direction either. Perfectly fine artwork, all a little generic.

[Craig Lotter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A self contained Spider-man story that puts him up against some gangs of New York with the aid of Wraith, a police captain who is slowly being turned from the path of justice. And enjoyable more 'street-level' tale for Spider-man, though he is not quite as quippy as is normally the case. Artwork is flowing and action packed, but a lot of the faces look very much the same which is a tad detracting. Was a pretty good, slick read.

[Mr. Stick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"GOOD FOR YOU CREW-TOP. PLANS ARE TERRIFIC. BUT THEY'RE LIKE OPINIONS AND CERTAIN ALIMENTARY ORIFICES. EVERYBODY'S GOT ONE. NOBODY'S IMPRESSED."
- Spider-Man, ruining Tombstone's plan.

The Wraith's quest for revenge leads her past the gray area of the law and straight into the darkest parts of human depravity. The ending surprised me. However, my limited attention makes that easy to do.
Plenty of B-list villains in this one, and a D-lister or two.
Different author, yet still good. Four stars.

[Amanda Shepard (Between-the-Shelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the action with the Wraith in this one. She's battling with herself, trying to figure out how to move forward with, and Peter is desperately trying to help. I enjoyed the art in this one too; lots of sprawling cross-page spreads that show the battles that are going on. Again, not my favorite, but still entertaining nonetheless.

[Sleepseeker · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fun read and I always enjoy Peter Parker. It was it's own story and you don't need to read the other books to understand it, but it's still in main story's world. I'm sad about Black Cat but also can't wait to see how that story plays out in the main series.

Great read and quick for any Spider-Man lovers.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a stand alone book, this is fine. A good story about the pull from the darker elements in life. But after the recent events in Peter's life this book is oddly placed. Gerry Conway's plot is decent although I could have done without the Circus Of Crime. I enjoyed the art by Carlo Barberi. Overall, the book doesn't do much at all to move the story along but serves its purpose.