We are in a new era of The Amazing Spider-Man, courtesy of the great Joe Kelly (Deadpool and I Kill Giants) and artist Pepe Larraz (Fall of the House of X and Blood Hunt). This series begins with Aleksei Sytsevich (Rhino) on a rampage. This is weird because Aleksei has reformed. At the very least, he wouldn't be running through New York without a care in the world.
After some investigating, Rhino's actions, Spider-Man learned that they were caused by a poison. Unfortunately, while looking into things, Peter is infected by the same stuff that drove Rhino mad.
After a few issues, readers learn that a company run by Roderick Kingsley (Hobgoblin) added something to sodas that’s giving people uncontrollable anxiety. In Spider-Man’s case, he’s seeing memories from his childhood where he was being a brat to Uncle Ben and Aunt May. The hallucinations caused him to be clumsy and sometimes paralyzed him with panic attacks. Luckily, he eventually dealt with the trauma, resulting in a detox. And, with the help of his coworker and childhood friend, Brian Nehring, a cure was created to counteract Kingsley’s poison.
Amazing Spider-Man (2025) creative team
- Writer: Joe Kelly
- Artist: Pepe Larraz
- Colorist: Marte Gracia
The Hobgoblin has done some awful things in his day, but this is among the worst. He was producing something that was going to give people anxiety nationwide. And, according to Norman Osborn, it wasn’t going to stop at soda. The poison was headed into bottled water, energy drinks, and even juice boxes. This would have put millions of people in danger. Not just the person drinking the product. Imagine a bus driver or pilot sipping something and having a panic attack while at work. That could be catastrophic for so many people.
It gets worse. Not only did the Hobgoblin plan to give millions uncontrollable anxiety (which is a nightmare), he was going to produce a cure and get paid for that too. If no one learned that the drinks were causing the symptoms, this could become a recurring money-making cycle of trauma, cure, trauma, and then cure again. Also, Norman learns that the cure has been on the market for two years, and the foresight is something beyond Kingsley. That means he isn’t working alone, and that this is far from over.
Whoever's in charge of this won't stop any time soon, and they're even more monstrous than a supervillain wearing a goblin costume. It could be someone Spider-Man has fought before or a new antagonist who's ready to make life harder. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out who that is.
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