What did you think of "Back to Basics"?

[Mister Mets]

Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley's first arc of Amazing Spider-Man just came to an end. So, what grade would you guys give it?

[Miles To Go]

I give it a B

Pros

-Peter reunites with Mary Jane
-Peter playing down Ock's significance in his pantheon of arch enemies
-Peter's doctorate exposed
-Mysterio's "invasion"
-Peter doing little things to help out a person like paying parking meters
-Funny lines
-Building the mystery villain
-Mary Jane's rationalisation for being back with Peter ("Spider-Man is what drives me away, but your heroics are what keeps me coming back")
-The use of B and C list rogues

Cons

-Rushed resolutions to things
-Too many jokes in what would be intense, emotional or serious situations (the conclusion of this arc was a big culprit)
-MJ taking Peter back too quickly (I know it's rationalised later, but it should have been paced better)
-Stakes didn't seem too high despite the premise
-Story could have been told in fewer issues

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[Prof. Warren]

A solid A.

Great start to the new era. It feels both fresh and old school at the same time.

[oldschool]

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it; I expected to like it but this story (and art) had a fresh energy to it that has been lacking on the title for some time now. It felt both new and old at once, both funny and dramatic, both exhilarating and tense. Perfectly balanced and set up new subplots quite well to boot. A solid "A" in my book!

[Celgress]

I give it a B, solid but not remarkable. Keep in mind I have very high story standards.

[Jman27]

Its a B for me like the arc implies its back to the basic. Expecting it go up from here

[blackspidey2099]

I'd probably give it a B+ - a solid story that's enjoyable but unremarkable, and had a few pacing problems.

[Orbus]

It doesn't seem all that much back to basics to me,

The concept of doing Superman Red/Blue but with Spider-Man doesn't seem all that much like a basic Spider-Man story to me. It seems more like the kind of high concept plot Slott would have done, at times the split Spidey seemed to channel parts of Superior especially with using giant robots. Not to say this is a bad thing, as someone who enjoyed most of Slott's run all the way through it's no big deal but after a decade of those kind of stories I would have assumed we'd get something a bit more grounded as the first arc of a new creative team. Also with Spidergeddon happening at the same time it doesn't seem very back to basics either, I suppose dimension hopping is now proven popular enough that it's now a part of the Spidey mythos that will crop up every few years.

Again, not that any of this is bad, it's been okay by me so far and I like Spencer's work (even Hydra Cap) so I'm eager to see where it goes but judging this an an attempt at a back to basics Spidey is a bit screwy to me as I'm not sure it is. Some aspects are sure, room mates, going back to school and dating Mary Jane (which I suspect I the #1 reason people love this) but on the whole not really.

[SpiderClops]

Somewhere between A and B. Leaning close to A.

[Batman Begins 2005]

Somewhere between A and B. Leaning close to A.

Same for me.

[Scott Taylor]

I give it an A, mainly for the brilliant deconstruction of Peter Parker. That could have been handled dozens of poor ways but Spencer pulled it off.

[Vegeta]

Definitely an A. I can't give it an A+ as that only goes to stories like "the Night Gwen Stacy Died" or "Kraven's Last Hunt" but absolutely fantastic otherwise.

[Von]

A solid A! The writing has Nick Spencers absurd, comedy twist...and I like it.

[Minerboh]

B plus.

[Jekyll]

VERY solid A. Spencer has exceeded my expectations and this book is pure fun! Looking forward to the next arc.