Now this is what a comic should be.

All over the place in Marvel we’ve been swamped with the forced fallout from Fear Itself which only faded away to begin the upcoming Avengers vs. X-Men event. With those two sagas looming over the Marvel Universe, very little time has been devoted to A-list character development; save Spidey.

Here we get to see Parker display his uncanny ability to lighten any situation in its best, all the while reminding Steve that we never outgrow who we once were. It only takes Pete’s child-like, optimistic view of the world to make it shine.

This issue is easily one of the best stand-alone issues in recent memory thanks to its heart-warming story and incredible art by Yu. You need no knowledge of Serpent Gods or superhero strife to jump into this book and enjoy it for all it’s worth.