• Written by: Joe Kelly
• Art by: Pepe Larraz
• Colors by: Marte Gracia
• Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
• Cover art by: Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia
• Cover price: $4.99
• Release date: April 23, 2025

Amazing Spider-Man #2, by Marvel on 4/23/25, fights through a tidal wave of hallucinations when he’s poisoned by a mysterious enemy, but Norman Osborn arrives to save the day.

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Is Amazing Spider-Man #2 Good?

Recap

When last we left Ol’ Web Head in Amazing Spider-Man #1, Peter ran through a gauntlet of job interviews until he finally landed a gig at Rand Enterprises. As (Parker) luck would have it, Peter’s first day on the job was interrupted when a chemically enraged Rhino rampaged through the city streets. Peter suited up and defeated Rhino, but the fight gave the big villain a heart attack. We soon learn that Roderick Kingsley is behind whatever chemical sent Rhino into ‘Roid Rage, so he sends a shadowy figure to take care of any loose ends, including Spider-Man.

Plot Synopsis

In Amazing Spider-Man #2, Spider-Man continues his rollercoaster of hallucinations that started in the last issue’s cliffhanger. The Wall Crawler crashes through the window of Rhino’s apartment to the street below, assaulted on all sides by a cavalcade of Spidey villains. In reality, Spidey fights thin air, tossing cars and wrecking mailboxes in full view of the public.

Suddenly, the scene shifts back to Rand Enterprises as Peter Parker continues his first-day tour. Peter gets a pre-emptive warning from his new boss not to rely on IBS excuses. When Peter’s childhood friend, Brian Nehring, continues the tour into a lab focused on medicinal and hallucinatory fungi, Peter’s mind suddenly shifts to the roof of the Rand building. Peter imagines the Green Goblin attacking him, but Norman Osborn has come to save him.

Later, Norman examines Peter’s blood and determines it’s pumped full of hallucinogens, probably administered by gas when Spidey broke into Rhino’s apartment. Despite Norman’s warnings to rest, Spidey suits up and heads to Ravencroft to check on Rhino’s recovery. There, he finds the culprit sent by Hobgoblin to hide the truth by killing the unconscious Rhino – Itsy Bitsy.

First Impressions

Hold up. I’ve seen how this story ends, and I’m not looking forward to a repeat. One of the worst runs in modern memory, the Zeb Wells run, wrapped its worst arc around a villain Wells created years earlier. He thought, “Ya know, my invention was great, and the public deserves to see him again,” and we all know how that turned out. Now, Joe Kelly takes the same play out of the Wells playbook by bringing back a character he invented in 2016, has only appeared in that one miniseries, and has never been referenced or mentioned again. The cuts and bruises of that form of creative egotism still linger from Wells, so to Kelly, I say, “No, thank you.”

How’s the Art?

Pepe Larraz looks like he’s having a blast with weird panel progressions and off-kilter layouts meant to reflect Spidey’s disorientation during his hallucination trip. But here’s the kicker. The way the panels are arranged, drastically helped by Joe Caramagna’s coloring, makes the fever dream of imagery a breeze to follow. The action looks great, even if it is all in Spidey’s head.

What’s great about Amazing Spider-Man #2?

Joe Kelly’s central concept relies on a decent mystery. It’s not a great mystery but good enough to hold interest. Spidey’s hallucinatory trip is wild enough to intentionally throw the reader off-kilter, more from the art than the writing, and Norman Osborn’s involvement shows potential.

What’s not great about Amazing Spider-Man #2?

Nobody remembers Itsy Bitsy because nobody cares about Itsy Bitsy. For Joe Kelly to dust off a one-and-done character he created to revitalize a floundering series seems like a tone-deaf choice. Plus, Itsy Bitsy’s re-introduction doesn’t make sense when you consider her origins and powerset. She’s practically indestructible and powerful enough to take on Deadpool and Spider-Man in a team-up. Why would she be a lackey hiding in the shadows in service to Hobgoblin?

Plus, Joe Kelly hand waves a few too many details that help Spidey along the path to solving the mystery. Norman jumps to the conclusion that Spidey was poisoned by gas with no evidence at all. Spidey assumes Rhino is the key to everything when he already knows from Randy that multiple families in the area are affected. And Spidey happens to show up at Ravencroft at just the right time to catch Itsy Bitsy by surprise. We can suspend disbelief at one assumption or coincidence, but too many are stacking up.

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

Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Final Thoughts

Amazing Spider-Man #2 increases the mystery and the villain count when a one-off villain returns to as Hobgoblin’s lackey to tie up loose ends. Joe Kelly’s script successfully the disorienting feeling of a hero under the spell of powerful hallucinogens, and Pepe Larraz’s art helps Kelly’s script considerably. That said, a one-off villain that hasn’t been seen in years falls well short of what this series needs, and the mystery progresses through too much hand-waving.

6/10

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