Warning! Spoilers ahead for Amazing Spider-Man #61
In the latest issue of Marvel Comics' Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker becomes the biggest sellout in the Marvel Universe. Strangely enough, writer Nick Spencer has pivoted the webslinger away from the recent trauma that came from Kindred and the Osborns, and this new arc replacing it couldn't be more different...or jarring. While Spider-Man gets a brand new suit, it comes with a cost, and it's one that Spider-Man should have known better than to pay in this new issue.
In previous issues, Spider-Man goes through an incredibly intense experience, getting captured by the demonic entity known as Kindred, who has been tormenting Spider-Man since the beginning of Spencer's run in 2018. Revealed to be none other than Peter Parker's childhood friend Harry Osborn, Kindred repeatedly kills and resurrects Spider-Man multiple times using his dark powers, trying to force Peter to confess his sins. While Spider-Man and his fellow Spider allies are eventually saved thanks to the combined efforts of Mary Jane Watson and a reformed Norman Osborn, that kind of experience is not one Peter will soon forget.
However, it looks as though Spider-Man's newest arc beginning with Amazing Spider-Man #61, written by Spencer with art by Patrick Gleason, will be taking a sharp turn away from the darkness of Kindred, who's currently in captivity at the Ravencroft Institute. Now, Peter Parker has to get back to his routine and is low on funds. While he's desperately trying to make money by becoming an Instagram influencer, it's not working out so well. However, Spider-Man just got a job offer from Threat and Menaces (Marvel's version of Buzzfeed), which is where the new suit comes in. Lured by the fairly large paycheck, Spider-Man unfortunately agrees to wear the suit they made. While it improves his abilities and web-shooters, it's also features POV cameras for TnM subscribers can see what it's like to be Spidey. However, it gets worse.
Not only are subscribers writing Spider-Man's jokes for him, but there's also audience polls so they can vote on which move Spider-Man should do next. Sponsors have also signed on so that their brands can be holographically projected from the suit as well. It's all terrible. Peter Parker knows it's terrible. While it's evident that this new storyline is meant to inject some humor back into the series after Kindred, selling out to a clickbait website couldn't be a more of an uncharacteristic choice for Spider-Man to make. He knows he's better than what he's signed on for. Furthermore, it makes no sense: how can a new startup website like Threats and Menaces even afford such an advanced and high-tech suit in the first place?
Likewise, this new arc seems incredibly strange given the depths of darkness and intensity the previous arc has had. Amazing Spider-Man #60 literally saw Peter Parker in tears, bearing his soul about his guilt, flaws, and sins that have come in his career as Spider-Man, questioning if all the good his done is even worth it if his loved ones keep paying the price. As result, this sharp pivot is extremely odd and an unwelcome turn, especially considering it's uncharacteristic nature even if Spider-Man was low on cash. Given Peter Parker's distaste for the job already, it's likely that this new arc will only last for a few more issues (if that). Regardless, one has to wonder why it's happening at all in Marvel Comics to begin with.