Marvel Comics’ ongoing Amazing Spider-Man run from writer Joe Kelly has officially launched the series’ milestone issue #1000 for Local Comic Shop Day, with the full and official release date on September 30. To commemorate this new Amazing Spider-Man era, it is choosing to eschew its new relaunch numbering and simply adopt the book’s legacy numbering, meaning the following issue will officially be #1001, not #37.
Therefore, with The Amazing Spider-Man #1000 out in the wild, solicitation and cover reveals have begun applying the brush strokes necessary to paint a portrait of what Peter Parker’s future will look like in issue #1001 and onward, such as Spider-Man soon becoming an Avenger again. All we know with any certainty regarding the story being told in Joe Kelly’s The Amazing Spider-Man run is that a kinky and well-designed villain has wall-crawled her way back once more, and with yet another new look.
Marvel’s Itsy Bitsy Has Climbed Up The Spout Again
In McGuinness’ main cover for issue #1005, Itsy Bitsy has another new look, though it’s nowhere near as drastic as when she went from a red, cropped tank featuring the Spider-Man/Deadpool logo to a genuine costume that propelled the character to a significant level of authenticity and earnestness. She seems to have retired the mask, which was a cool element while it lasted, and not having a mask means she can bear her spider mandibles whenever she pleases. Likewise, Itsy Bitsy has reverted to her white mohawk, this time with it being a lot longer.
An original character authored by Kelly and Ed McGuinness, Marvel Comics’ Itsy Bitsy—a Spider-Man and Deadpool cocktail concocted by Patient Zero/Weasel—first appeared in Spider-Man/Deadpool #9. Interestingly, nudged to the brink of morality in Spider-Man/Deadpool #18, Part 5 of the “Itsy Bitsy” storyline, Spider-Man nearly killed Itsy Bitsy until Deadpool selflessly did it in order to preserve Peter’s soul. Of course, Itsy Bitsy survived being fed to a plasma breeder, thanks to the regenerative healing factor she inherited from her “Dead-daddy,” and “went up the spout again.”
Spider-Man last tangled with Itsy Bitsy in The Amazing Spider-Man (2025) #4, when investigating and discovering Hobgoblin’s drugged soda scheme. Here, Pepe Larraz’s design for the blue, eight-legged wall-crawler was much more intriguing. Having vanished since, Itsy Bitsy’s last words to him, while ensnared in webbing, were:
You $#%&@#! I’ll #$%& gut you!
Kelly Can’t Get Enough Of Itsy Bitsy, And She’s Fantastic
Itsy Bitsy will first return in The Amazing Spider-Man #1004 (possibly an Amazing Spider-Man #1003 cliffhanger), as per the issue’s solicitation, but it’s in the cover reveal for The Amazing Spider-Man #1005 that we’re treated to the unveiling of her latest redesign. Obviously resentful, it’s curious why Itsy Bitsy would be going after Jonah and not Spider-Man, though perhaps she’s only after Jonah because she thinks it’ll get Spider-Man’s attention.
Plus, even if Spider-Man was able to subdue her quite effortlessly on his own, he did note that he wasn’t sure if his “newly sober butt can beat her,” but that “she seems crazed enough that she’s lost her edge” after being emotionally compromised by Peter’s inadvertent hug. According to Marvel Comics’ solicitation for The Amazing Spider-Man #1005, he’ll have one of his new Avengers pals’ assistance:
ITSY BITSY SPIDERS! J. Jonah Jameson’s tangled in ITSY BITSY’s web, and only SPIDER-MAN (with an assist from WOLVERINE) can save him! Spidey’s leveled up since the last time they fought, but whatever Spidey does, Itsy can do better! As if Spidey didn’t have his hands full, Damage Control is up to something. And there’s still the problem of Ravage...
The Amazing Spider-Man #1005 is scheduled to be released on December 9, 2026.
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