TRADE WAITING #02: Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, Absolute Flash
Hello, and welcome to the second installment of Trade Waiting! Reviewing a single issue of a comic can be hard. Sometimes nothing happens in one issue, and then everything happens in the next issue. For Trade Waiting, we review multiple issues at once in smaller, bite-sized reviews.
This week: Spider-Man in space, Captain America post 9/11, and an absolute Flash!
A Spider can actually be pretty good
The Amazing Spider-Man (2025) #10-14
Written by Joe Kelly, Jason Loo, Lee Gatlin, & Saladin Ahmed
Art by Michael Dowling, Jason Loo, Lee Gatlin, Pepe Larraz, Pere Pérez, Todd Nauck, John Romita Jr., Ed McGuinness, Erick Arciniega, Marte Gracia, Cliff Rathburn, Marcio Menyz, Mark Farmer, Joe Caramagna, Wade Von Grawbadger
Covers by John Romita Jr, Pepe Larraz, Ed McGuinness, Patrick Gleason, Scott Hanna, Marcio Menyz, Marte Gracia
Published by Marvel Comics
Rated 3.5 out of 5
I know, I know. I’m supposed to be a hater because it’s a modern Spider-Man book. That’s the trend as of late, isn’t it? No matter the team, no matter the story, Spidey books just seem to have a bad rap. I can’t necessarily blame them. Previous runs have been a real mixed bag, with way more bad than good, and this current run of The Amazing Spider-Man — which kicked off with Spidey facing a poisoned soda supply, a criminal plot by the Hobgoblin, and a mild retcon that Peter was a briefly leather-jacket-wearing punk as a kid — looked like more of the same.
But it’s Joe Kelly-penned, and if I’ve learned anything over the years with Kelly’s work, it’s to trust the process. The latest development sees Spidey’s life uprooted in spectacular fashion as Peter finds himself inexplicably yeeted to the other side of the galaxy with no means home, no apparent means of contacting help, and stranded on the other side of a massive intergalactic conflict. Meanwhile, with no explanation for his sudden absence, Norman Osborn takes over as Spider-Man, while Ben Reilly is all too eager to take over Peter’s life.
We’re still in the very early days of the story, but I am genuinely enjoying it. I love the weird sci-fi aspect of Peter out of his element, but freed from the shackles of having to balance his duel identities. The tension with Norman, Ben, and the various other Spider-folk back on Earth is less exciting, but seems to be a much slower burn, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. I’m sure this is all a slow-burn building towards the inevitable Amazing Spider-Man #1000, but for once, we should maybe just take a breather and enjoy the ride.
They made a useless Captain America, I guess
Captain America (2025) #1-4
Written by Chip Zdarsky
Art by Valerio Schiti, Frank Martin, Joe Caramagna
Covers by Ben Harvey
Published by Marvel Comics
Rated 4 out of 5
Fresh off a run on Batman that was better than it gets credit for and a Daredevil run that will make everything look slightly worse by comparison, we get Chip Zdarsky’s run with Captain America, and it’s poised to be another landmark, revolutionary run.
That’s because Zdarsky is starting off with a major retcon, establishing Captain America as having come out of the ice shortly after 9/11 rather than in the 1960s. With this comes the reveal of a second Captain America built with the modern age in mind. The two find themselves on a mission together weeks after Cap’s return, headed to Latveria to defuse a hostage situation spearheaded by Doctor Doom.
We’re only a few issues into this run, but I’ll be frank: it kicks so much ass. I’m really enjoying the exploration of Captain America’s struggle with a post-9/11 world that is so very foreign and so very familiar to everything he knows. I also find it hilarious that the new modern Cap, David Colton, has all the gear and training, but still seems to be largely useless.
It should be no surprise that Zdarsky has struck right at the core of what makes Cap who he is, and dropped him in a scenario where embracing that part of himself is the only thing that will save the day. It’s been a fun revamp, and I’m really excited to see where this story goes next.
Flash fact: the Absolute line is kind of bonkers
Absolute Flash (2025) #4-8
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by A.L. Kaplan, Nick Robles, Travis Moore, Chris Sotomayor, Adriano Lucas, Tom Napolitano
Covers by Nick Robles
Published by DC Comics
Rated 3 out of 5
I think at some point I’ll be overdue for a whole check-in of DC Comics‘s Absolute line, but for now I wanted to take a little gander at Absolute Flash. I was naturally pretty stoked to be getting not just an Absolute iteration of The Flash, but also one that was Wally West.
The new take on Wally is a pretty great modernization of the old Kid Flash iteration of the character, presenting him as incredibly young and sheltered, and his powers as something he just does not have the ability to reckon with. Beyond that, though, Absolute Flash is a bit of a trip, like other titles in the line. Unlike others, there’s a lot of tongue-in-cheek nods here to the original Flash continuity.
Whether it’s Captain Cold asking Wally if he’s ready to go rogue or the reveals of Absolute version of Eobard Thawne and Jay Garrick discovering the speed force, it’s sometimes a little much. For a line that has been so desperately focused on distancing itself from anything resembling its prime universe counterparts, Absolute Flash seems to be toeing just around the edge of it, and it can take me out of the issues sometimes. Still, I think this book is more comparable to Absolute Superman with its slow-burn and more grounded arc. As it is right now, I’m enjoying it, but I don’t think I’m really going to love it until the bigger picture is more apparent.
What comics have you been reading that you’re enjoying? What should I be checking out for future installments of Trade Waiting? Let us know in the comments below, or join us in the Discord to discuss comics!
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