Writer: J Michael Straczynski
Artist: Pere Pérez
Colorist: Guru-eFX
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Mark Chiarello; Ario Anindito; Gabriele
Dell’Otto; Steve Rude; Pere Pérez & Marte Gracia
Designer: Carlos Lao
Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 12, 2025
Life at Empire State University challenges Peter Parker.
Some General Education classes tax him. Other subjects he could ace in his sleep,
but must sit through regardless. Peter feels torn between his duty to protect
the public and his schoolwork. College life also prompts Peter Parker, Gwen
Stacy, Harry Osborn, and Mary Jane Watson to contemplate the careers they will
pursue and the people they will share their futures with.
As Peter struggles to figure out where he belongs and what
his future holds, trouble explodes on campus. While stealing a rare book, the
stone-cold killer executes the librarian and his assistant. But before Peter
can apprehend her, the woman transforms into a winged demon. Who will the demon
thief attack next? And can Peter draw on German 101 to read the 13th-century
tome and figure out how to reverse the thief’s transformation? Let's thwip into
The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2 and see!
Story
The dangers that threaten people know no boundaries. They
may occur across the Hudson or when Peter is relaxing with his friends. After
his uncle taught him the relationship between power and responsibility, Peter
feels the weight of every soul he couldn't protect. So, while Gwen, Harry, and
Mary Jane mourn librarian Tom Ambrose and his assistant Lauren Connor, Peter
blames himself for their deaths.
In The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2, Peter researches the
book he grasped from Evangeline's claws to understand why they died. But he
finds little or no mention of the book online. Languages change over time, and
Peter keeps tripping up in Dr Dunkle’s class. He realizes he’s not up to
deciphering 13th-century German. So, Peter seeks assistance, even
though doing so risks his secret identity.
As Peter navigates the complex web of his investigation,
guilt, and relationships, Evangeline strives to understand what has happened to
her. She seeks the aid of the person who commissioned her theft. Evangeline is
frustrated and shocked by her transformation. And while she's not thinking
straight, she lashes out with her newfound strength. In J Michael Straczynski’s
story, Evangeline clings to the hope of regaining the body she has lost.
Art
In Lafayette Deli, a young employee struggles to comprehend
the intricacies of customer service. His pupils rise when webbing yanks the bag
from his smiling employer's hands in The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2. As Peter
sits atop a column high above the street, Pere Pérez shows how Peter relies on
coffee to prepare for those grueling 8 am general ed classes. Amid the
streamlined towers, a man gazes out upon the city through his wall windows. His
Garfield-like cat leaps from his arms when a winged demon makes a spectacular
entrance.
As Guru-eFX adorns The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2 with a
radiant palette, he gives Mary Jane and Peter black shirts, and dresses Dr
Dunkle in a black suit. The man who commissioned Evangeline’s theft wears a
purple robe, a color historically linked with wealth, royalty, and power. The
story he weaves for Evangeline’s pointed ears appears in white, black, and
purple. As he explains how the book transformed her, Evangeline’s brown skin
links her with the leather-bound volume.
Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black letters into white
dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The words grow bold for intonation,
swell for raised voices, and rarely shrink. Evangeline speaks into cloudy
balloons, while the font hints at her traumatized state. Sound effects herald a
shrieking demon, enhance fighting, and remind Peter of an upcoming engagement.
Ask not for whom the bell tolls, Peter. It tolls for thee! Thanks to Marvel
Comics for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
While Peter fears hurting his friends, losing the last
person he sees as a parent, and not saving those in need, he worries about the
trauma people undergo following a life-threatening ordeal. Mary Jane fears the
consequences of an opportunity not taken, while Evangeline fears life as an
outsider. Yet the greatest fear people face in The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2
isn't death, relationships, or the future. Instead, it is the secrets contained
in an ancient book, and what drawing upon its power could unleash.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
