Knull’s invasion is still wreaking havoc. However, Spider-Man and a new young hero, Reptil unite to save New York.
Spider-Man is still dealing with Knull and his army. However, he cannot help but feel responsible for this event. He is doing whatever it takes to save lives in his backyard. Even though he’s fighting, he is not alone. Nevada’s own, Humberto Lopez aka Reptil helps the webhead. Lopez is a new hero that can turn into a reptile-like being. He uses these abilities to help out one of his favorite heroes. King In Black: The Amazing Spider-Man #1 starts with Peter comparing himself to Alfred Nobel.
A Swedish chemist that inspired the Nobel Prize. The reason for the comparison is that both were inadvertently the reason for the world being in some bad shape. He goes on about how it was his fault that symbiotes came to Earth. As we already know, Peter had the black suit from secret wars. After getting rid of it, it was passed down to Eddie Brock, creating Venom. These events leading to many casualties that Peter blames himself for. As he continues beating himself up, he swings back into action.
He sees a flying dinosaur with an elderly woman. Believing this is a symbiote dragon, he attacks it. He finds out that this creature was trying to save the woman. He even recognizes the young hero. After a brief conversation about Avengers Academy, they talk about working together. Reptil expressed his love and support for Spider-Man.
As Peter continues talking to himself, he mentions Hank Pym. The first Ant-Man ran the academy before it shut down. Peter likes this new hero and they protect Mrs. Volkov. As they are in the air, they are talking about bringing Volkov home. Peter is shocked to hear Staten Island because it is too far. The three-run into a dragon, but Peter handles it.
Now webbed to Reptil, they spot a ferry. They think they are in the clear, but have to deal with another dragon. Peter plans for Reptil to turn into something to take down the dragon. Reptil disagrees with this because it has to be on land. Peter then has Reptil fall in the water and he’ll look after Volkov.
The pair make it to the ferry. Then, Reptil transforms into a water dinosaur and fights the dragon. This is buying them some time to think and take out this monster. One of the engineers works with Peter to create a powerful device. This will be used to stop the dragon. He is then seen by civilians on the boat, but they prefer Captain Marvel’s and Thor’s help. Even Peter is blaming himself again.
However, Volkov stands up for the web-slinger. This is even though she went all J. Johan Jameson on him earlier. She gives an inspiring speech supporting Peter and he gets to work. Reptil continues putting up a fight, but he loses. Peter is ready to face this monster and references Ben’s famous speech. Now fearless, Spider-Man stabs the tongue of the dragon. It explodes as a shock current rips it open.
Reptil recovers and compliments Spider-Man on his actions; Peter does the same. Even Volkov praises the new hero and stays on the ferry to go home. The two rest for a bit and Peter tells Reptil that this was just the beginning. Humberto texts his grandfather, checking on him. Then, he and Peter go back to saving New York. They spend a lot of time stopping dragons left and right. The duo even take breaks into between.
We get narration from Reptil during this event. He reflects on the late White Tiger and Hank Pym. He wants to make sure Peter survives this event. He adds that he desires to be the type of hero like Peter. The writing of Jed MacKay was a great read. I loved seeing Peter punching himself; thinking he was responsible for Knull’s arrival. However, what made it better was people standing by him. Volkov was bashing out hero but stood up for him.
She knew he was one of the only people left to help the state. Encouragement was big in this issue. It should that even when you’re blaming yourself, others are behind you. Of course, Reptil was also by Spidey’s side. He was not just a fanboy, he was a partner. I do not even know this character and I want to learn more about him. Luckily, in late May, we will get a spinoff looking at what looks like Reptil’s origins.
The team of Michele Bandini, Alberto Alburquerque, Elisabetta D’Amico, Erick Arciniega, and Rachelle Rosenberg was beautiful! They showed great detail in all of the panels. Shots of Spider-Man fighting and webbing were awesome. Along with the symbiote dragons. Finally, the work done on Reptil was great to look at! Nothing here shies away from detail. Every photo looks spot on and a sight for anyone to look at.
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