WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #50 by Nick Spencer, Patrick Gleason, Edgar Delgado & VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Two years ago, writer Nick Spencer kicked off a new volume of Amazing Spider-Man with Ryan Ottley, and that first issue introduced the mysterious Kindred, a horrifying, new and apparently demonic villain. In that first appearance, in was clear that Kindred had a wealth of knowledge about the web-slinger, who he referred to familiarly as "Pete." Since then, he's used that knowledge and his infernal powers to manipulate villains and events to torment Spidey. He's primarily done that from the shadows, but in the current “Last Remains” arc he's about to step out to confront Pete directly.
In Amazing Spider-Man #50, the kick-off chapter to “Last Remains” by Spencer and artist Patrick Gleason, readers found out part of the reason why Kindred has proven so dangerous; he's actually Peter Parker's former friend, Harry Osborn. Along with a look at Federico Vincentini and Marcio Menyz's art from the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man #50.LR, Patrick Gleason and Edgar Delgado's art from Amazing Spider-Man #51 and Mark Bagley, John Dell and Edgar Delgado's Amazing Spider-Man #53, CBR spoke with Spencer about that reveal, the remaining mysteries and upcoming and horrors of “Last Remains,” the importance of the bonus “.LR” issues, and how the story impacts Spider-Man's adventures in the new year.
CBR: Kindred, the villain who's been hounding Pete for much of your run, has been revealed to be his best friend and occasional worst enemy, Harry Osborn. What made you want to reignite Harry's rivalry with Pete in such a grand fashion? When did you come up with the idea to have him become Kindred?
Nick Spencer: You know, it’s funny. When Kindred first appeared back in the very first issue of our run, with very few hints given, people were already guessing it was Harry. And that tells you everything you need to know about why it had to be him, funny enough. There is something about that wound that did not quite heal right. And as a writer, that’s the kind of thing I find myself drawn to.
When you get a book like this, you have an obligation to swing big. Whenever I’m starting on something, I look around and say “what are the third rails? What are the things that you can’t possibly do?” And that’s not looking for shocks or surprises, although that tends to come alongside; it’s because it more often than not tells you something fundamental and illuminating about the character or the character’s story. There’s a reason those things get a visceral reaction, positive or negative.
This was especially true here. I’ve said before, but Amazing Spider-Man is the only comic I’ve read throughout basically my entire life without pause. So it’s the one where I have the best aerial view, and what really struck me is how, for a book that is driven so much by a moral lesson about responsibility, there are so many things that have been sort of swept under the rug, never to be mentioned again. There was something fascinatingly meta about that conflict, and the longer I looked at that, the more drawn to it I became. To my eyes, Peter Parker was in need of a fearless personal inventory. And Kindred is very much the personification of that.
Kindred's identity may have been revealed, but his motivations and origins are still somewhat shrouded in mystery. Can you talk about when we might learn more about those?
This reveal was structured very differently from any I’ve ever done before. I think I have a pretty well-earned reputation for last page twists. I know how to build the kinds of mysteries you can’t possibly guess your way through. This wasn’t that. There was a moment after the Absolute Carnage issues, where I really think we led the horse to water, when I contemplated a misdirect, something that would seem to eliminate Harry from suspicion. But ultimately, that felt like stunt work. I wanted to play fair here.
The reason I could do that is I knew the reveal was the beginning of the mystery, not the end. And that’s what I’ve been pleased to see in the response, people realizing that. It’s not that Harry wasn’t on the list of suspects. He was. It’s the can of worms he opens. How did he become this? When did the turn happen? What is he after? “Last Remains” is where all that starts to unravel and there are plenty of twists and turns to this part of the story that I feel confident no one will see coming.
I remember in one of our first Spider-Man interviews you mentioned how when your run got to a certain point it would very much feel like a horror story. I assume “Last Remains” is the point you were referring to?
This is certainly the most overtly horror part of the story, yes. You’ll see Kindred do some really gruesome, gory things. But that’s not the kind of horror I usually respond to. I think Kindred’s voice scratching at the back of Peter’s head is what’s unsettling. More than that, this feeling Pete has, that something is not quite right or recognizable about his life, that it’s somehow all a dream and he’s being swept along, trapped in a kind of hopeless cycle, that’s what’s truly terrifying.
Pete has a lot of experience in horror tales, even supernatural ones, but he's first and foremost a man of science. So, what's it like for him to be dropped into a scenario that has elements of the arcane and the infernal?
I think this goes back to the previous answer. Something is in the house. Pete can’t see it, but he can feel it. Things happened that he doesn’t remember, or doesn’t want to remember, and now there’s a ghost haunting him.
Helping Pete navigate that world is Doctor Strange. How big a role will the Sorcerer Supreme play in “Last Remains?” What do you enjoy most about writing him in a Spider-Man story?
I was a big fan of how JMS wrote them together back during his run, and you’ll see some direct reference to those stories here. It’s the two great Ditko creations together, so it’s always fun to have them bounce off each other.
”Last Remains” is a story that runs through Amazing Spider-Man #50-55, but there are bonus ".LR" issues that stretch between issues 50-54. What can you tell us about those? Can “Last Remains” be read as just a six-part tale? Or do you have to read all 11 parts?
Yeah, this was one of the reasons I wanted to do this, to try to get the word out-- these .LR’s contain some really important story beats. I know on “Hunted” we did something similar with the .HU’s, which were really self-contained spotlights, adding texture. And while I felt those added a lot to the overall event, this is something else. I wanted the camera on Spider-Man and Kindred squarely in the numbered issues-- so the .LR’s contain a lot of crucial plot points regarding other characters-- some you know now, some you don’t-- that will dovetail at the end of “Last Remains” in a big way. So I highly, highly recommend not skipping them, I would say they’re essential to the story.
This story is clearly a huge tale for Peter and the Order of the Web, but what about the supporting cast of Amazing Spider-Man? Who are some of the supporting players with crucial parts to play in this arc?
Norman Osborn will play a big role, you know that. But beyond that, we’ve got some cool surprises in store.
Let's chat about your “Last Remains” collaborators: co-writer Matthew Rosenberg, and artists Patrick Gleason, Mark Bagley, and Federico Vincenti. What's it like working with them?
Matthew is a great writer and a good friend of mine. He’s doing a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of The Order in those .LRs. He does character and dialog as well as anyone in the business, and I loved the voice he gave that cast.
Pat-- well, people already saw in issue 50-- Pat’s a monster. He can do anything. He is a master of tone and atmosphere and switches from light to dark so masterfully, I’ve never seen anything like it. He elevates every page he’s on and always finds the most dynamic, interesting shot. I am in awe of the guy.
With Mark-- look, I wake up every morning and pinch myself that I am getting to write Spider-Man pages for Mark Bagley. He’s a legend, obviously, but when you’re working with him you really see it-- he’s one of the best pure storytellers in all of comics. That levels everything up.
And Federico-- I first saw his work last year, and immediately told the folks at Marvel I wanted to work with him. So much energy and motion on the page. He’s gonna turn some heads here, I’m sure of that.
Finally, “Last Remains” concludes in the final 2020 issue of Amazing Spider-Man. So, what does the new year look like for Spidey? What kinds of plans do you have for him in 2021?
I haven’t done a lot of interviews or talked publicly about the run these last couple years. That’s been by design. I wanted to really try to let the work do the talk and leave it in the hands of the audience. And so far, I’m pretty pleased with the results of that experiment.
But one thing I would say I see, in terms of how the book is often evaluated, that I’d push back against is this notion that there is a main story-- the Kindred story-- and the others arcs are just breathers from that. Little stories. That, I promise you, couldn’t be farther from the truth of it. Each of those arcs, while intimate and character-driven (which I love to do, don’t get me wrong) is there to serve the larger plan. They’re putting something on the board or setting something in motion that will pay off down the road.
I had this on a smaller scale with my Cap run. I can remember the back half of Steve Rogers: Captain America, people saying they didn’t get it-- one issue he’s up in space, the next issue is about Baron Zemo and Cap’s barely in it, the next one is all about Maria Hill. And at the time people were like “it’s all over the place, they should get back to the main story”-- then Secret Empire #0 hits, and you see how everything we did there was part of the plan; it was all interconnected, and people seemed to love the payoff.
Well, this, structurally, is that times ten. Every story is a domino, and when we tip it over, I hope people will be impressed by the scale of it. And these stories really start to get bigger and take a firmer shape in 2021. And yes, alongside that, you have Kindred. “Last Remains” is the next big piece there.
I want to say thank you to everyone that’s been reading. I’ve said it a bunch of times, but this really is the book I’ve always dreamed of writing at Marvel, and to be at this point in it, to be starting to fulfill promises we’ve been making since the first issue, it’s exciting. Spidey fans are some of the most passionate in all of comics, and they’ve made me feel very welcome here. I’m enormously proud of the response we’ve gotten, especially from the lifelong, hardcore readers like me. I promise I’m doing everything I can to do right by them, and by the character.
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