Spiderman at his best is about responsibility. This is often beaten into long-time readers and it can sometimes feel like every other issue makes reference to Uncle Ben and Peter Parker’s responsibilities and yada yada yada. But this is important because Peter Parker doesn’t just have responsibilities, he has RESPONSIBILITIES. As in train a young, impressionable kid with the highest measurable power set and make him into a duty-bound hero. That’s no easy task.
Slott’s Peter Parker can be a little hang-dog every once in awhile. He’s a little mopey in this issue and he cries on Mary-Jane’s shoulders for a spell. What’s great about Slott’s writing is that he makes you sympathize with Peter rather than roll your eyes with a “here we go again” sigh. Alpha, aka Andy Maguire, is also a somewhat sympathetic character here. In his introduction last issue, he was pretty unlikeable. He’s not a great guy in this issue by any stretch but it’s a lot easier to see his point of view in this issue.
The ending also lays out the path that these two will take. It’s not what I anticipated but it’s also a great way to proceed. I can see several ways this could progress and they all seem pretty great to me. I’m liking this arc and I’m looking forward to where’s it’s headed.