The Amazing Spider-Man‘s latest reboot has been going swimmingly so far. The Amazing Spider-Man hasn’t had a good reputation for a long time, so this current run has a lot riding on it. The new creative team of Joe Kelly and Pepe Larraz has been doing a pretty good job with the last few issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Amazing Spider-Man #3 keeps building that plot. Last issue, we got the return of Itsy Bitsy, a villain from Kelly’s Spider-Man/Deadpool series, and issue #3 continues the confrontation between Spider-Man and the villain, as well as revealing even more about her and Hobgoblin’s plot. However, this issue doesn’t really reach the heights that the book has reached so far.
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So, to begin, this isn’t really a bad comic, it’s just sort of mystifyingly structured. Spider-Man has been hallucinating since the end of The Amazing Spider-Man #1, which has played a huge factor in the series so far. This issue continues that and it’s honestly getting a little tiring. It’s a fun gimmick for a Spider-Man story, but it’s been going on way too long. The Amazing Spider-Man #3 shows this possibly false flashback of Peter’s early teenage years that doesn’t really fit anything we know about Spider-Man’s history and it feels so out of place. Kelly has played a lot with this idea of young Peter becoming a bit of a hellion with his friend Brian, but there’s always been something off about that idea, and this issue really pushes further than it already has.
This feels like a pretty standard issue of a Spider-Man comic — some action, some civilian Peter shenanigans, and an ending that sets up the next big fight — but it just never seems to gel into something interesting. Kelly makes a very weird choice with Itsy Bitsy, and it doesn’t at all feel right. The pacing of the issue is off as well; so many of the book’s events feel like filler that had to be stretched out for the purposes of the overall story. There’s a lot of little things wrong with the writing of this issue. It’s not enough to make it a terrible comic, but it feels like the book has already run out of steam, which is unfortunate after such a good start.
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However, the art from Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia is gorgeous. From the opening flashback to the inaugural opening scene, Larraz shows off his expert character acting, as well as his penchant for action scenes. From there, we get an exciting battle between Spider-Man and Itsy Bitsy, with a very cool double page spread, and then most of the rest of the issue is quiet moments dealing with the aftermath of the fight with Itsy Bitsy and more flashback scenes. The highlight of the issue’s art is the beginning and the end, with some really good Spider-Man swinging through the city panels in between. The issue’s weird pacing is a problem with the writing, but it’s always nice to spend more time with Larraz and Gracia’s art.
The last page of the issue is the best. It’s the first meeting between Hobgoblin and Spider-Man in a while and it’s hype. Larraz’s Hobgoblin has a touch of Humberto Ramos’s version of the villain, and looks perfect. Larraz doesn’t really change the design of the character too much, but he definitely captures the core of the character. The lighting on the scene, supplied by Gracia’s beautiful colors, give this moment the right amount of light and shadow.
The Amazing Spider-Man #3 takes all of the cool work in the first two issues and squanders it, to an extent. This is definitely a build-up issue of the current story, without a lot of things happening, but the problem is that it feels like it. Every story arc has issues that are just meant to build the story, which isn’t a bad thing; not every issue of a story arc needs to be full of action and big moments. However, other than the art, there’s really not much to actually enjoy in the issue. It’s a middling comic, not really good, not really bad, just sort of there, even with the fantastic art.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Published by Marvel Comics
Released May 7, 2025
Written by Joe Kelly
Art by Pepe Larraz
Colors by Marte Gracia
Letters by Joe Caramagna
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Image Credit: Prime Video
