REVIEW: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ Issue 2

The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 2 (2025) is published by Marvel Comics. Written by Joe Kelly, art by Pepe Larraz, colors by Marte Gracia and letters by Joe Caramagna.

Spider-Man is tormented by hallucinations and poisons, making it hard for him to tell the difference between reality and the real world.

The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 2 changes this series’ tone and genre. It gets much creepier and intense, getting close to a horror story. This happens from the beginning, with Spider-Man smashing out of the Rhino’s apartment and going on his own rampage. The issue bounces between what looks like reality and the twisted hallucinations inside Peter’s mind. The pace slows down in these moments, making him try to grasp onto something.

With the help of Norman Osborn, the truth is revealed about what’s going on inside his body. But there are still many mysteries yet to unfold. The plot ventures to Ravencroft Asylum, Marvel’s answer to Arkham to find answers. What’s fascinating is that Spider-Man doesn’t even see a patient or get down the corridor before his mind melts down again. It leads to an unstable narrative and a mesmerizing set of obstacles that stop Spider-Man in his tracks. The ending is a huge surprise, bringing back a villain that is not well-known.

Kelly’s writing of Peter is intriguing because he’s so unlike himself. In the opening scramble, he is panicked and furious. He lashes out with rage but still offers quips, genuinely believing he’s battling a set of his most dangerous villains. As Peter, he struggles to focus entirely. Just giving a complete sentence is a struggle for the man. So much is going on as Spider-Man, and he’s been so absent from work that his job at Rand Enterprises has barely registered yet. There’s no sign of Danny Rand yet, so the corporation could be a company within the Marvel sphere.

Seeing Spider-Man so disoriented and unable to exert his personality draws in his supporting cast. Osborn gets to help, as does Peter’s new girlfriend, Shay, who works at Ravencroft. Even Peter’s narration, usually there to reason with himself and a calm voice of reason within his own head, is struggling to make sense of what’s happening. Kelly’s narration brilliantly details how Peter’s body and brain are reacting to the hallucinations, sometimes coming out with truly insane statements that could either be premonitions or a sign of how broken Parker’s mind is at the moment

The art takes a darker turn, toying with horror. Larraz puts Spider-Man into free fall from the start. It’s a chaotic, sprawling fight with characters that are illustrated to look terrifying and brutal. It energizes the book instantly. But around him is the real world, utterly perplexed and almost at a standstill compared to what Spidey is witnessing.

The normality of the city around Peter is made to look as mundane as possible to accentuate his ridiculous reactions. Pete’s face looks haunted and constantly uneasy. With thousand-yard stares and wide eyes, he seems terrified most of The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 2. Then Spider-Man travels to Ravencroft, a gothic asylum that invites sinister thoughts and artistry. But there, the hallucinations could prove to be more real than anyone thought.

The colors are terrific. During the hallucination, a pulsating red covers everyone and everything. This creates pressure and alarm. After that, there are still vibrant tones inside Rand Enterprises and the real world, but the light creates a safer atmosphere with more clarity. There are flashes of Peter’s past, younger than we usually see him. The friend he makes at Rand Enterprises is an old face from middle school, before his origin story at Midtown High. These visions look like ghosts, wispy and grey. And with Peter’s state of mind, these visions are justified within the plot. The lettering is consistently easy to read.

The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 2 (2025)  submerges the book in sinister storytelling. It disrupts Spider-Man’s ordinary world at all points. His personal life is a mess, and a public outburst tarnishes his image as Spider-Man. Kelly hasn’t quite made the individual story as engrossing as he can, but the plot that Spider-Man is dragged into is impressive. The art is sensational, and the creeper elements give the comic grit and intensity.

The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 2 (2025) is available where comics are sold.