The Amazing Spider-Man #31 is another hugely important chapter in the series. Wedding bells are ringing, even while another romance falls apart. Old heroes return while new heroes are forged. And in the end, the series lays the groundwork for a major upcoming crossover called “Gang War.”
We’re here to break down all the big developments in this new issue and what it means for the future of the franchise. Read on for more, but beware of full spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man #31!
Spider-Man and Black Cat’s Breakup
The current volume of The Amazing Spider-Man has courted its fair share of controversy over the past two years, mainly due to the decision to once again break up the romance between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. MJ was stranded in another dimension for years, falling in love with a man named Paul and becoming a mother to his two children. Peter was forced to accept that MJ had moved on, despite her only being missing for a matter of hours from his perspective.
More recently, Peter has struck up a romance with Black Cat. Despite once being horrified at the sight of Peter’s unmasked face, Felicia Hardy has shown a willingness to lead a healthy relationship, both in and out of costume. Peter, for his part, confessed that he now loves MJ more as a sister than as a potential romantic partner. ASM readers were less than thrilled about that admission.
Unfortunately, the Parker Luck strikes again in issue #31. This issue features the wedding of Peter’s best friend, Randy Robertson, and Janice Lincoln, the current Beetle and daughter of the crime boss Tombstone. Felicia joins in on Janice’s bachelorette party, curious to learn how an unrepentant criminal and an ordinary guy can maintain a long-term romance. In the process, Felicia reaches the epiphany that she and Peter aren’t right for each other. Compared to the real love Randy and Janice feel for one another, Felicia and Peter have simply been “going through the motions.”
Once again, Peter Parker is a single, somewhat less-than-eligible bachelor.
From Wedding to Gang War
It’s pretty rare for major events like weddings to go down in the Marvel Universe without someone crashing the party, and the wedding of Randy Robertson and Janice Lincoln proves no exception. Tensions are already high leading into the big day, with Tombstone having to force his fellow New York crime lords to attend despite their fear of a potential power play by the Kingpin.
However, it’s not Wilson Fisk who winds up ruining the happy day, but a mysterious, motorcycle-riding assassin named Shotgun who claims to be serving a “new boss.” Shotgun interrupts the ceremony and even manages to shoot Tombstone several times, despite the super-strong villain’s invulnerability. Only the timely arrival of Spider-Man saves Tombstone from what would surely have been his death.
Shotgun manages to escape, leading Spidey to assume he had help from someone else at the wedding. The various crime bosses make their escape while Tombstone himself is rushed to the hospital. However, Madame Masque doesn’t even make it out of the area before Hammerhead detonates a bomb planted in her car.
At this point, the various crime families of New York are headed into all-out war. This story is meant to set up “Gang War,” a crossover linking The Amazing Spider-Man, Miles Morales: Spider-Man and the new Spider-Woman series (more on that book shortly). With the various crime families in open conflict with one another, it’s going to be all Spidey, Daredevil and Mayor Luke Cage can do to keep the city from burning down around them.
Spidey’s Reunion With Ms. Marvel
It’s only been a few months since Ms. Marvel was killed off in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #26, but she’s already been brought back to life courtesy of the X-Men. One of the stories in this issue allows Spidey to reunite with Ms. Marvel and catch her up on the details of her own death (which, given the way mutant resurrection works, Kamala doesn’t remember).
Kamala is content knowing she sacrificed herself to save the world. But Peter realizes he has one piece of unfinished business left. He makes the decision to unmask and reveal his secret identity to Kamala, who’s flabbergasted to realize she was working alongside Spider-Man at Oscorp this whole time.
Kamala is pleased to know that someone else in the superhero community is keeping an eye on the supposedly reformed Norman Osborn. That, of course, doesn’t quite reflect the current relationship Peter and Norman have these days, but he’s happy to let her think otherwise. Surely that won’t come back to bite him down the road…
The Return of the Superior Spider-Man
Spidey recently tussled with Doctor Octopus in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man, and the villain returns for another epilogue tale in issue #31. In the process, we learn why Marvel is bringing back the Superior Spider-Man.
Still smarting from his latest defeat at Spider-Man’s hands, Otto Octavius is working fiercely on a mathematical equation he believes will grant him “unlimited power.” There’s just one problem – Otto solved that equation when his mind was inhabiting the body of Peter Parker, and he doesn’t have those memories any longer. The only solution is to recreate the conditions that gave rise to the Superior Spider-Man.
Now we know why Otto wants to revert to his Superior Spider-Man days. We just don’t know how he’ll go about it. Will he pluck his old self out of the timestream? Clone a new Peter Parker body and transfer his consciousness again? We’ll find out when The Superior Spider-Man Returns #1 hits stores in October 2023.
Mary Jane Becomes a Superhero
This issue also touches base with Mary Jane and Paul, who are both attending grief counseling in the wake of losing their two children. It’s a particularly rough time for MJ, but with a little coaching from Felicia Hardy, she’s convinced to venture back out into the world and put her newly acquired super-powers to good use. MJ has officially become the new Jackpot, and she’s got a costume to go with the name:
Expect Mary Jane’s new role as a superhero to play a big part in the future of the series, as well as an upcoming Jackpot limited series.
Spider-Woman’s Quest for Vengeance
Marvel recently revealed that Spider-Woman is getting her own monthly series again, this time written by Steve Foxe and drawn by Carola Borelli. The new series will tie directly into the events of “Gang War” in its first story arc, but it also spins out of another major development in The Amazing Spider-Man #31.
Another epilogue story in this issue shows Jessica Drew attacking Taskmaster and pressuring the world’s foremost supervillain trainer for a list of his pupils. Jessica is on the warpath, searching for anyone who can solve the most urgent mystery of her life – what happened to her infant son Gerry?
That quest looks to be the driving force of the new Spider-Woman series, as a grieving Jessica Drew leaves a trail of pain and destruction in her wake. The disappearance of her son may be a result of the events of “End of the Spider-Verse,” where Spider-Woman herself was temporarily wiped out of existence. She’s back, but maybe her son isn’t so lucky. We’ll learn more when the new Spider-Woman series debuts in November 2023.
Spider-Man: Reign Gets a Sequel
The Amazing Spider-Man #31 even features a tease for a completely different Spider-Man project. Spider-Man: Reign 2 is the sequel to the infamous 2006 series by writer/artist Kaare Andrews. This Dark Knight Returns-esque universe is set 30 in the future, with an aging Peter Parker haunted by the ghost of Mary Jane.
The prologue story in this issue makes it clear that this aged Spidey will be going up against a revived Kingpin, who’s looking more grotesque and physically imposing than ever.
What’s next for Spidey and MJ’s relationship now that Peter has broken up with Black Cat? Will they get back together, or has that ship sailed for good? Cast your vote in our poll and let us know what you think in the comments.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.