In this review of The Amazing Spider-Man #3, Spider-Man is confronted by Itsy Bitsy!
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #3
Writer: Joe Kelly
Art and Main Cover: Pepe Larraz
Variant Covers: Alex Maleev, Rose Besch, Ario Anindito, Ed McGuinness
Page Count: 19 pages
Release Date: May 7, 2025
This review contains spoilers
The Amazing Spider-Man #3 begins with a hallucinated flashback of Peter stealing his Uncle Ben’s war jacket when he was in middle school. In the hallucination, May chokes him and threatens to kill him for taking it. The present Peter, fighting Itsy Bitsy, acknowledges that wasn’t how the memory went, but has to focus on the fight.
Though he is able to protect Shay, Spider-Man is knocked out by Itsy Bitsy and awakens with her sitting beside him on a bridge. She tells him that she spared him because he reminded him of her, but next time she’ll kill him, and pushes him into the water below.
Peter shows up at May’s house, soaking wet and shaking and stays the night there, missing a call from Shay. He dreams of an argument he had with Ben and May that ended with Ben telling him he could leave if he hated their home so much.
May comes to Peter’s door the next morning trying to talk with him, but he’s already gone to Norman Osborn, who patches him up before giving him a tip about Queen’s Cola, which is how Peter suspects Rhino might have been poisoned. He takes the can to work and asks Brian to see if there is any substances on it. In the meantime, as The Amazing Spider-Man #3 comes to an end, Peter heads to one of the factories, but is attacked with an explosion by Hobgoblin.
Analysis
Once again, the art in The Amazing Spider-Man #3 must be praised. The angles used in this issue make every panel feel fresh and new, from the more mundane images of young Peter and his family to the fight scene between Spider-Man and Itsy Bitsy.
Along with the angles comes a great use of light, particularly in the scene where Itsy Bitsy is explaining why she hasn’t killed Spider-Man yet, framed by circular city lights, and when Aunt May stands outside of young Peter’s room with light streaming in behind her and encasing her partly in shadow.
Where things really stand out in The Amazing Spider-Man #3, however, are the final two pages. The explosion that knocks Peter down is filled with color as it takes over the page. The fire it leaves behind in the final panel is dimmed, but still noticeable.
The real star of the show in the final panel are Hobgoblins weapons. His flamed sword feels alive as the colors bend and curl, lighting one side of him while shadows continue to encase the other. In his other hand, his bomb does the same, but the colors fade into black smoke and vanish into his wing. All of this cuts a striking but intimidating image that is perfect for this ending.
The story in The Amazing Spider-Man #3 is mostly well crafted. The dialogue is the best part. Itsy Bitsy’s conversation with Peter feels vulnerable and real, but you can feel the underlying threat from the beginning. The talk between him and Norman also works well, and ends on a light note that this issue felt like it needed.
The story has also begun to paint the memories that Peter keeps hallucinating as an unreliable narrator of sorts, showing the reader their first lie. Though Peter is quick to point it out, it has set up an interesting conflict that can add to Peter’s struggle in future issues.
While the dialogue sets up a strong tone, the action is surprisingly underwhelming. Last issue ended with the grand reveal of Itsy Bitsy, but Peter only throws one punch before the fight is over. Considering that all three issues so far have ended with images of villains, but both issue two and three have had a lack of action, I hope that issue four delivers on an action sequence.
While Peter’s characterization is definitely going in the right direction, there is one flaw that was particularly noticeable in The Amazing Spider-Man #3. He’s letting his personal life drop by the wayside again. He was meant to help May with moving boxes, Shay calls him and begs him to call her because she needs someone to talk to, and he is flaking on work.
While the story has made it very clear that none of this is his fault, his atonement for the way he acted during the scion trials is still part of his characterization. He is still trying to make up for his past mistakes, and yet we have yet to see him truly make an effort. If there had been a mention of him needing to wrap up the investigation to help May or if he had tried to pick up Shay’s call but passed out before he could, it would at least have shown the reader that they are still a priority to him.
Instead, it feels like that part of his characterization, which felt very prevalent in issue one, has been pushed by the wayside until it can come out for dramatics.
Final Thoughts
The Amazing Spider-Man #3 comes in strong with good dialogue and expressive art, but the short action sequence and lack of growth in Peter’s characterization hold it back.
