Review: Radioactive Spider-Man #1
6SHARESRadioactive Spider-Man #1
Written by: Joe Kelly
Illustrated by: Kev Walker
Colors by: Chris Sotomayor
Letters by: Joe Caramagna
Marvel Comics
2025
Spoilers..
UNFRIENDLY AND UNSTABLE! X YEARS LATER, the X-Virus decimated New York – but Spider-Man won’t stop fighting. In a desperate gamble, Peter Parker doses himself with lethal radiation to hold the infection at bay. Survival comes at a cost. While this may not kill Peter Parker, it sure messes him up. This is the most dangerous, mutated Spider-Man ever – and he’s not alone.
Radioactive Spider-Man #1 delivers a version of Peter Parker unlike anything Marvel’s done before. The world is in ruins after the outbreak of the X-Virus, and what’s left of New York is a wasteland of broken buildings and fading hope. Spider-Man is still out there, but survival has come at a terrible cost. To keep the infection at bay, Peter injects himself with radiation — the very thing that gave him his powers in the first place. It’s keeping him alive, but it’s also tearing him apart from the inside.
Joe Kelly writes Peter as a man haunted by his own persistence. The trademark humor is there, but it’s quieter, edged with exhaustion. There’s no glamour in this fight; it’s raw, lonely, and unsettling. Kelly captures that sense of moral stubbornness that defines Spider-Man, but in a way that feels stripped down and human. Peter doesn’t crack jokes to lighten the mood — he does it to keep from falling apart.
Kev Walker’s artwork brings that desperation to life. His Spider-Man looks gaunt and damaged, his body twisted by radiation and battle scars. The costume is half-shredded, and every movement feels heavy, like the air itself has turned toxic. Chris Sotomayor’s colors give the pages a grimy glow — greens that pulse like infection and reds that suggest both rage and decay. Together they create a version of Spider-Man that feels more like a survivor than a savior.
The atmosphere in this issue is thick with tension. Every alley and rooftop looks corroded, and even the silence between panels feels heavy. Peter’s world has shrunk to a handful of choices, none of them good. There’s no bright city skyline to swing across, just the ruins of a place he can’t stop trying to save. That sense of futility makes the story hit harder — you can feel that he’s running out of time, and maybe reasons.
What makes Radioactive Spider-Man so effective is how personal it feels. It’s not a story about hope or heroics; it’s about survival and what happens when you push yourself past the point of redemption. Peter isn’t fighting for glory or recognition — he’s fighting because it’s all he’s ever known how to do. It’s a bleak take, but it rings true for a character whose defining trait has always been sacrifice.
In the end, this first issue is a haunting reimagining of Spider-Man’s core idea: that doing the right thing doesn’t always save you. It’s grim, beautifully drawn, and emotionally charged — a story about what’s left of a hero when everything else is gone.
No Cure, No Hope, Just Spider-Man
Radioactive Spider-Man #1 pushes Peter Parker to his limit in a ravaged world where survival means self-destruction. Joe Kelly and Kev Walker craft a haunting, visceral story about endurance, sacrifice, and what’s left of a hero when everything else is gone.