Marvel Just Brought Back Spider-Man/Deadpool’s Weirdest Character

The Amazing Spider-Man has entered a new era, with writer Joe Kelly and artist Pepe Larraz dropping a cool new story on Spider-Man. The Amazing Spider-Man #1 was a great ride, with Spider-Man getting a new job from an old friend, all before a rampage by the Rhino set him on a new mission. Issue #2 sees him dosed with a powerful hallucinogen, all while trying to figure out who has targeted Rhino. This eventually leads him to Ravencroft Institute, where Rhino is being held, and he learns who’s behind the drugging of both himself and the villain — Itsy Bitsy. Itsy Bitsy is a very interesting piece of Spider-Man’s history, one that Kelly himself created years ago on Spider-Man/Daredevil.

Kelly got his first attention in the mid ’90s from writing Deadpool, moving to X-Men and then going to DC for Action Comics and JLA. Kelly returned to Marvel and wrote The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man/Deadpool, a fun team-up series between the two that doesn’t get the credit it deserves. This was the introduction of Itsy Bitsy, a character who considers herself the daughter of Spider-Man and Daredevil. Itsy Bitsy hasn’t been around for a long time, so seeing her return to work with Hobgoblin is an awesome callback. For those who didn’t read Spider-Man/Deadpool, here’s a primer on Itsy Bitsy.

Itsy Bitsy Combines the Power and Madness of Her “Fathers”

Itsy Bitsy started life as a woman who wanted to make a difference in the world and turned to drugs when she failed. She was eventually drawn into the orbit of Patient Zero, who had sworn revenge on Deadpool and Spider-Man as part of a deal with Mephisto. Patient Zero experimented on Itsy Bitsy, imbuing her with the genetic structures of Spider-Man and Deadpool. Itsy Bitsy was first called Susan Mary, and met her fathers while they battled the Hateful Hexad on Wall Street. You’ve never heard of them because she killed them all, teasing Spider-Man and Deadpool by singing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” as she left. She wanted to join with the two heroes and violently fight crime, which caused her to rebel against Patient Zero. Itsy Bitsy killed Patient Zero right in front of the heroic duo, who chastised her for her action — even Deadpool, who had been convinced by Spider-Man to stop killing — and this changed Itsy Bitsy’s goals in life. Instead of wanting to join Spider-Man and Deadpool, she decided that she would destroy them.

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Itsy Bitsy started killing in the name of Deadpool and Spider-Man, which caused the Wall-Crawler to actually consider killing her. He was able to lure her to a pier, where he used a plasma weapon on her to disintegrate her. Deadpool showed up and the two of them battled over the fate of Itsy Bitsy, as Deadpool tried to keep Spider-Man from crossing the line. However, she was able regrow the burnt away portions of her body while they fought. She joined the fight, with Spider-Man continually trying to kill her. Deadpool, who had worked hard not to kill anymore, decided to do the deed so Spider-Man wouldn’t and seemingly killed her with the plasma weapon. However, Itsy Bitsy survived, stuck in the body of a small spider for a time. That was the last time anyone saw Itsy Bitsy until her recent team-up with Hobgoblin. She was the one who used the hallucinogen on Rhino and Spider-Man, and went to Ravencroft to finish off Rhino. Itsy Bitsy is a blast from the past for Spider-Man, reminding him of a time when he was willing to give up his morals in order to stop her.

Itsy Bitsy’s Return Gives Hobgoblin a Perfect Sidekick

Hobgoblin’s return brings back one of Spider-Man’s most storied villains. Hobgoblin is better known for the multiple men who have worn the brown goblin mask than for any of his actual actions, so in a lot of ways this is a make or break story for a character that has been around for decades. Hobgoblin was meant for bigger and better things, and teaming with Itsy Bitsy may be exactly what the doctor ordered.

It’s hard to know exactly what the plan is for the two of them. They have access to a powerful hallucinogen, and in The Amazing Spider-Man #2, they slaughter a bunch of workers at a FDA facility before blowing it up. However, between Itsy Bitsy’s grudge with the “parent” who tried to kill her and Hobgoblin’s fiendish need to prove himself, they could be trying to do something largescale with their new drug, with only Spider-Man in the way.

The Amazing Spider-Man #2 is on sale now.