Amazing Spider-Man #2 Review

Written by: Zeb Wells
Art by: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna
Colors by: Marcio Menyz
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, Marcio Menyz
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: May 25, 2022

Amazing Spider-Man #2 brings Peter Parker in contact with Norman Osborn as a potential path toward getting back on his feet. Meanwhile, the mob war between Rose and Tombstone heats up.

Was It Good?

Amazing Spider-Man #2 is amazing in that all the woo moments and big ideas presented in issue #1 are completely ignored in issue #2. This is a straightforward issue where Spider-Man inserts himself into escalating mob tensions, and he pays for his overconfidence.

The highlight of the issue is Wells’s formidable and intimidating portrayal of Tombstone. Throughout the Marvel titles and the MCU, Kingpin always gets the mob villain spotlight, but here, Wells gives readers a Tombstone who’s every bit as dangerous, calculating, and imposing as Wilson Fisk… perhaps more. Tombstone comes across as a genuine threat and someone you hope to never cross.

The plot involves Spider-Man looking for Tombstone after the mobster relayed his message to Peter Parker in issue #1. Peter tracks down Tombstone’s lieutenants and forces a location out of them. When Spider-Man catches up with Tombstone, it’s a gritty, bare-knuckled fight that ends in a cliffhanger with potential stakes. The plot is remarkable because it doesn’t confuse the audience with big moments that happened in the past without explanation. However, by not giving further explanation about the explosion in Pennsylvania or Mary Jane’s “mommy” status or whatever Peter supposedly stole from the Baxter building, Wells is walking the fine line between curiosity and frustration. Whatever curiosity was built up in the first issue is not satisfied here. In fact, the cover suggests more interactions with Mary Jane, but she is not present in this issue at all.

The art in this issue is very good. Romita, Jr.’s super-hatching style suits the look of Tombstone, and it gives his hardened exterior a rough look that adds to the intimidation factor. The one oddity in the art is the modification to Norman Osborn’s hair. His trademark waves are changed from left-to-right to front-to-back, and it makes Norman look like his hair is braided. It’s not a flattering look, and it’s unclear if the artists made an oopsie or if Norman’s going for something different. Either way, it turned out to be an odd distraction.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Amazing Spider-Man #2 delivers a solid, almost standard, Spider-Man story as the wall-crawler takes steps to intervene in an escalating mob war. the plotting, pacing, and dialog are all excellent, and Tombstone is the standout character due to the pure intimidation factor. That said, the confusing wow moments are not only not explained, but they’re also completely ignored in this issue, leaving a frustrating aftertaste.