Amazing Spider-Man #4: Sweet Poison

The Amazing Spider-Man #4 is as strong as a penultimate chapter can be, continuing a hot streak of killer art and thoughtful writing from the team. Pulling that off takes a level of restraint and balance that’s kept this rather stuffed first arc from tripping over itself. This issue, in particular, is a clever showcase of thread-tying that wraps up everything down to the tiniest morsels—save for the big, orange goblin in the room.

The real strength here is in the synchronicity between Kelly’s script and Larraz’s art. The dive into Peter’s inner psyche only lands as honestly as it does because of how the layouts and visual motifs do the heavy lifting—Pete literally crawling through the dark truths he tries so hard to avoid. These aren’t just failures he runs from; they’re ones he internalizes, buries, and lets fester. His clash with Hobgoblin lets Kingsley step forward as a real, physical threat, with the fight choreography imbuing the whole book with a frantic, visceral energy.

Plot-wise, even with the focus tightening around Kingsley and Itsy Bitsy, there’s still room carved out to weave Peter’s new status quo into the chaos, so that nothing of value gets left on the cutting room floor. At a pace like this, most superhero comics tend to lose the thread, sacrificing theme for momentum. That was the big letdown in the last volume. Here, it feels like the team was given the runway to make sure every plot point had space to breathe and stick the landing.

And while the issue’s ending puts a pin in Itsy Bitsy, its real crescendo hits with the resolution of Peter’s “rebel youth” flashbacks—a payoff that feeds directly into the arc’s core thematic concept of poison, both literal and emotional. It nears total emotional resonance, as the power of acceptance paves the way for Peter to grow past the trauma of the last few years. That means swallowing down what he has avoided for so long, and that process proves painful yet necessary.

The entire concept being delivered by a May and Ben written not as perfect angels, but as human beings who make mistakes—and have learned from them—makes it all the more bittersweet. While Ben may forge the philosophy behind Peter’s heroism, May is the compass that guides his emotional maturity. And it seems Kelly understands that importance, as the team leads us deeper into Peter’s brightest days in a long, long time.