The Sin Eater is rising in power and popularity as he’s taking down dangerous villains with great prejudice. The thing is, what if he’s making the world a better place as a result? After all, he’s cleansing these folks of their sins and their evil intentions. Spider-Man knows he’s up to no good, but he can’t quite put the pieces together.
Spidey’s feelings mirror my own as I don’t see what the point of all this is just yet. It’s been a long and winding road with this series and this arc in particular, taking Amazing Spider-Man into a darker, more serious tone. This character doesn’t feel at home in a gritty environment, so it comes across as rather unnatural.
There’s a cult-like following developing around the Sin Eater, which is rather disturbing, especially in this day and age. People are drawn to him and his vigilante attitude as he’s taking matters into his own hands. Writer Nick Spencer fills Amazing Spider-Man #47 with the villain’s ravings. At least half of this issue has Sin Eater ranting about his work, yet for all these words, he doesn’t really say anything. It’s all your typical villain / vigilante stuff about fear and trust. Honestly, the guy would have been at home at the Republican National Convention.
Amazing Spider-Man #47 hits on a pet peeve of mine too in that the big reveal at the end of this issue is spoiled from the solicitation information for it. We all knew what was coming, so the cliffhanger ending doesn’t have any impact.
While it feels a little unnatural for Spider-Man to be in this dark and dreary battle of words, artist Marcelo Ferreira does a great job bringing this to life. The ominous nature of the Sin Eater is on full display. While he’s still an obscure character from the web-head’s past, he comes across as super menacing and as a real threat and that’s before he taps into the powers he’s stolen from his victims.
Inker Roberto Poggi uses shadows well to accentuate this intimidating tone too. Although he’s wearing a mask, you can picture the angry sneer on the man’s face.
Amazing Spider-Man #47 leans into this gritty mood with its color palette too. Colorist David Curiel uses some more muted shades, all mixed with the darkness of the shadows to create this dreary tone. It’s snuffing out the hope that usually shines through in this title. This contrasts well with the fiery nature of his attacks when he uses his new powers, appearing with bursts of energy and some explosive sound effects from letterer Joe Caramagna.
While I’m still not sold on this villain or this arc, there are some interesting elements in Amazing Spider-Man #47, challenging the wall-crawler to re-examine how he handles his own super hero adventuring. He’s still about ten steps behind though and needs to catch up quick. Otherwise, the villains are going to continue running circles around him.
5/10
Amazing Spider-Man #47 from Marvel Comics is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.
The Sin Eater is rising in power and popularity as he’s taking down dangerous villains with great prejudice. The thingCOMICONRead More