If you aren't caught up on the events of The Amazing Spider-Man (2025), then all you need to know is... something has been seriously off with the wall-crawler. We all know Peter and his unbreakable moral compass. He is willing to help even those who decide to do wrong in the city. Not only will he not take a life, but he'll do his best to make sure that the bad guys don't end up in a hospital with multiple broken bones. Unfortunately, the friendly neighborhood hero hasn't been so friendly anymore.
A new villain called Hellgate just entered the picture and gave Spider-Man one of the worst beatdowns of his life. After the incident, the web-slinger was nowhere to be seen. This provoked a spike in criminal activity, as bad guys like Tombstone took advantage of the situation to run amok in the city without any repercussions. Since that day, everyone has been wondering why the hero decided to leave them unprotected without prior notice.
But just when all hope seemed lost, Spider-Man swung back into action... except he wasn't holding back his punches anymore. He nearly took Shocker down for good and sent the villain's henchmen to the hospital without any remorse. So, the question has to be asked: What prompted this sudden change in attitude? Well, we finally have an answer, and it's one few could've seen coming.
Norman Osborn takes over as Spider-Man while Peter Parker is gone
Let's address the elephant in the room: What happened to the real Peter Parker? Well, after being nearly beaten to death by Hellgate, he's now inexplicably in space. But how did he get there? Well, The Amazing Spider-Man (2025) saga hasn't given us all the answers to the mystery yet, but it all seems to be related to Hellgate's mission to help the hero become stronger.
Unfortunately, this means that New York's supervillains are taking advantage of Spidey's absence to do whatever their hearts desire. However, Norman Osborn (who's now one of the good guys) could not stand with his arms crossed while chaos broke loose, so he dressed up as Spider-Man and has been filling the hero's place ever since. That's why the wall-crawler has been acting more relentlessly lately: Because the former Green Goblin is personifying him.
As if the situation wasn't complicated enough, Chasm has also been posing as Peter Parker on Earth, while the real hero is on Planet X, sporting a new, advanced suit. Needless to say, this marks the beginning of a very different and bold direction for The Amazing Spider-Man.
The saga just concluded the Eight Deaths of Spider-Man storyline, which represented yet another big change in the character's status quo by making him learn magic and perish over and over again. That means it's been a while since fans have seen the hero take on a "normal" mission. On the other hand, everyone has been praising the likes of Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) for taking Spidey back to his street-level roots and giving him a "simpler" life with Mary Jane. So, it remains to be seen what the reaction is like to this new space arc.
From this point onwards, The Amazing Spider-Man (2025) will feature two different storylines. One will be illustrated by John Romita Jr., following Norman Osborn as he tries his best to fill the wall-crawler's shoes and keep New York safe. The other one will feature art by Pepe Larraz (which is nothing short of outstanding and kinetic), and it will showcase Peter trying to become stronger in space before his impending return to Earth.
It's too early to tell, but Norman's return to action might be the catalyst for him to become the Green Goblin once again. Besides, it appears that Peter being away might seriously hurt his relationship with Aunt May. So even if the iconic hero does become stronger during his time on Planet X, he might return only to see his personal life in more disarray than ever before. Coupled with Hellgate's comeback, it seems there's only trouble ahead for the wall-crawler.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2025) No. 12 will be released on Sep. 17, 2025.