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Amazing Spider-Man #3 Review

  • 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 A)
  • Cover price: $4.99
  • Release date: May 7, 2025

Amazing Spider-Man #3, by Marvel on 5/7/25, finds Itsy Bitsy expressing a very personal interest in Spider-Man, and the poisoning investigation leads to an unlikely facility.

Is Amazing Spider-Man #3 Good?

Recap

When we last left the Wall Crawler in Amazing Spider-Man #2, Peter Parker narrowly escaped ruin, thanks to Norman Osborn, after he was poisoned with mind-altering hallucinogens. Peter, not one to sit still, set out to find out who or what is driving people crazy, so Spider-Man heads to Ravencroft to follow up with Rhino. Spidey arrives in the nick of time to find Rhino about to draw his last breath at the hands of Hobgoblin’s latest partner – Itsy Bitsy.

Plot Synopsis

In Amazing Spider-Man #3, Joe Kelly slides down the slippery slope from weird to creepy and gross. Spider-Man knows Rhino has impenetrable skin, but that doesn’t stop Itsy Bitsy from trying to give the big guy a lobotomy through the eye sockets. Despite his best efforts against the lingering effects of the hallucinogenic poison in his veins, Spidey gets knocked out. When he comes to, he wakes up on the ledge of a bridge, thanks to Itsy Bitsy. There, she proclaims her unsavory romantic feelings for her are preventing her from killing him, so she shoves him into the river below.

Later, Peter shows up at Aunt May’s apartment, looking for rest and refuge. Aunt May, of course, lets him in, but he disappears the next morning before Aunt May can sit Peter down for a serious talk. Peter seeks out Norman for a check-up and stitching-up before positing a theory he realized during his fight with Itsy – the poison comes from a specific brand of soda. Spidey asks Norman to look into the soda manufacturer, while Peter visits Brian Nehring at Rand and asks to have an open can of “Queen’s Cola” examined for non-cola ingredients.

Norman learns Queen’s Cola is made in only one facility, prompting Spider-Man to pay the business a visit. The issue ends with Hobgoblin arriving to blow Spidey’s recon mission.

First Impressions

Joe Kelly’s return to ASM has a few interesting pieces that are taking root, but the odd pacing and lack of clarity make the story hard to invest in. It reads as if a bunch of weird things are happening with very loose connections to each other.

How’s the Art?

Bluntly, Pep Larraz’s art is too good for this script. Larraz has a great eye for dynamic figures in motion, character facial acting, and engaging figure work. This comic looks great. I just wish there was a better story behind it.

What’s great about Amazing Spider-Man #3?

Joe Kelly’s story, such as it is, appears to be forming into a decent little mystery. There are several good ideas in this issue, including Hobgoblin’s plot to poison the population, that make for a great Spider-Man adventure. It’s big in scale but grounded enough to fit within Spidey’s Neighborhood.

What’s not great about Amazing Spider-Man #3?

Joe Kelly’s pieces are interesting, but they aren’t coming together well enough to hold the readers’ attention, especially when some of those pieces happen by “coincidence.” How is it that Rhino was the one person who went on a psychotic rampage at the exact time and place as Peter’s first day at Rand? How did Itsy Bitsy get a “metric butt-ton” more drugs in Spidey through the air than the Rhino did in drinking Queen’s Cola? How did Hobgoblin know to show up at the Queen’s Cola factory at the exact same time as Spider-Man? If you push the reader to swallow too many hard pills, they’ll just stop swallowing.

Further, there’s a scene where Itsy Bitsy expresses weirdly romantic feelings for Spidey, which is why she didn’t kill him. When you consider that Itsy Bitsy is Spidey’s genetic “daughter,” the scene comes off as creepy and gross. Sure, Itsy’s blood connection to Spidey is medically created, but why are we even going down this road with a throwaway character? Doesn’t ASM have enough problems?

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 #3 is a weirdly uneven comic. Joe Kelly’s central mystery about a Hobgoblin plot to poison people is picking up steam, and Pepe Larraz’s art is fantastic. However, Itsy Bitsy’s presence and weird affection towards Spidey is unwelcome and gross. Plus, there are too many coincidences to swallow to stay invested in the story. Bonus points for the art.

5.5/10

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