In this review of Spider-Man Torn #3, Peter deals with the aftermath of Evangeline’s attack!
The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #3
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Pere Pérez
Main Cover: Greg Land
Variant Covers: Tony Daniel, Zulema Scott Lavina, Gerald Parel
Page Count: 19 pages
Release Date: December 17, 2025
This review contains spoilers
As The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #3 begins, the fight between Spider-Man and Evangeline ends when Evangline reaches for the book and suddenly disappears, and Peter is taken to the hospital by Gwen and Captain Stacy. MJ chooses not to go with them and goes to visit May instead. May admits that Peter has trouble having difficult cpmversations, and she understands why, but MJ shouldn’t stay with him if it’s causing her pain.
After getting stitches, Peter returns home and has a conversation with Harry. Harry admits that Peter is getting in the way of him and Gwen but he doesn’t want to give up, while Peter admits that he loves MJ.
Meanwhile, Evangeline ends up in another world and comes face to face with a mysterious entity that says it is a liaison to her masters. The entity tells her that the world will be destroyed, but that she can be saved and reborn.
Analysis
When it comes to the art in The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #3, it’s pretty well done. The fight that kicks this story off is dynamic, featuring various angles and colors that make it feel fast-paced and full of energy. The world that Evangeline ends up in is bright and full of colors, but with a strange look that immediately makes you feel on edge.
One critique of the art is that occasionally characters’ expressions look like they’re caught mid-motion, leading a few faces in this issue to look awkward or strange. It’s not enough to outweigh the good expressions throughout the issue, but it was still noticeable.
The dialogue in The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #3 is incredible. The conversation between MJ and May about Peter made it clear that May cares about Peter enough to understand him, but also cares enough about MJ to want her to make the right choice for herself, even if it hurts Peter. The dialogue between Harry and Peter immediately after almost proves her point, as neither Peter nor Harry lingers too long on the “difficult things.”
As soon as the conversation about Harry and Gwen gets deep, Harry changes the subject. When Peter gets honest about how he feels about MJ, both he and Harry look awkward and move on to a conversation about ordering pizza. Even with the awkwardness between them, it was still a nice moment of honesty between two long-time friends.
While those moments are enjoyable, the lack of concern over the fact that Evangeline is just out there somewhere with the ability to track Peter down after threatening his loved ones was a bit surprising. While he doesn’t get much time to himself after the attack, those moments are, we don’t get any more of his inner thoughts until after the conversation with Harry begins, despite the fact that we know he gets a bit of time before Harry comes home.
Considering the fact that a large part of Peter’s decision to be Spider-Man and hide his identity is to protect the people he cares about, it was surprising not to see him react to that information. Especially when it would have further emphasized Peter being torn between his duties as Spider-Man and his civilian life as Peter. It doesn’t negate any of the good characterization Peter has, but it felt like a missed opportunity.
Final Thoughts
The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #3 is a great issue that adds depth and character to the story, but it misses a key opportunity to emphasize Peter’s feelings and leaves a lot of open ends.
