Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Pepe Larraz
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia; Mark Chiarello; Alex Ross; Greg Land & Rachele Rosenberg
Designer: Jay Bowen
Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 21, 2025
Peter Parker wants a fresh start. But his new job at Rand Industries gets derailed when Rhino goes whacko. Randy’s observation that East Harlem is becoming Fear City prompts Spider-Man to investigate Rhino’s apartment and demolish Korean automobiles. An invite to chat with Rhino ends in a brawl with a six-eyed, six-armed, thwipping purple spider-killer who murders Shay's friends.
While all this is happening, Peter's history with Brian Nehring, his new (and old) bestie at Rand Industries, roars back to haunt him. Can Peter make soda safe to drink again? And can he get his life as the all-new, all-different Peter Parker back on track? Let's grab a can of Queen’s Cola, leap into Amazing Spider-Man #4, and see!
Story
Norman shut down Oscorp. Now, he's got time to be Peter's man in the chair. But Peter has another aid in his Psycho Soda investigation. Brian Nehring wants Peter to shape up or ship out of Rand Industries. While Peter pursues Norman's lead, the psychedelic mushroom grower tests a can of Queen’s Cola. Can Brian discover a biological agent that Norman couldn't?
In Amazing Spider-Man #4, Hobgoblin wants Spider-Man dead. He’s asked Itsy Bitsy twice, but each time she chickened out. When he finds Spider-Man in the Queen’s Cola factory, Hobgoblin decides to stop delegating. Avoiding Hobgoblin's attacks would be easier if Peter didn't see his past everywhere. While he fights for his life, Peter justifies his actions to the ghosts.
Joe Kelly’s action-packed horror story evokes Saladin Ahmed’s Spine-Tingling Spider-Man series. Peter’s inability to protect the people he loves haunts him. Joe Kelly also associates Peter's brain with Brian, as Peter fights for his sanity while remembering acting out with his childhood friend. Then there is Peter’s relationship with Itsy Bitsy. He feels responsible for who she’s become. She cannot control her feelings for him. And just like with Rhino, Shay, and May, Peter will cause Itsy Bitsy pain in Amazing Spider-Man #4.
Art
Terrarium globes frame Dr Osmani-Milton like glow globes surrounding Lady Jessica. Brian plucks and tastes a mushroom growing in his Mycology lab while speaking with his boss. Peter flees a fallen angel of death who wields a flaming sword. Backgrounds blur and burn as Peter hurtles toward the ceiling. While Pepe Larraz portrays Peter’s blurring flight, he showcases Peter’s fear of failure. When Peter battled imaginary foes in Rhino’s apartment and beat up Kias outside, he imagined nearby citizens shrinking. In Amazing Spider-Man #4, Peter shrinks, while the people he loves grow Giant-Size.
As black and gray security guards unleash a barrage of fire, Hobgoblin's flaming sword evokes a fireworks show. Marte Gracia juxtaposes Peter fighting a brown-and-blue Hobgoblin with luminous blue-gray statues. Explosions paint the air yellow, orange, and purple, while Peter's suit turns blurry green with a hint of red. Itsy Bitsy's face and suit reveal the same light blue-gray as the giants of Peter’s past in Amazing Spider-Man #4. She hangs upside down before gray metal walls textured with dots, crosshatching, streaks, and tinged yellow and brown by a flaming orange pumpkin.
Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into white dialogue balloons and red-bordered narrative boxes. Words grow bold for inflection, swell, change color, and shrink for lowered voices. White letters in edgy black balloons suggest Itsy Bitsy shares Peter’s struggle to turn over a new leaf, while gray dialogue balloons enliven childhood memories amid two red combatants. Sound effects include thwipping, exploding, and slamming so hard into the ground that white dust fills the air. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Peter Parker struggled with accepting love in his youth. Hopped up on Hobgoblin’s synthesized fear, Peter remembers inflicting pain on those he loved, while hurting a person who loves him in Amazing Spider-Man #4.
Rating 9.7/10
To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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