View Poll Results: What grade would you give "Back to Basics" (Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5 #1-5)?

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  • A+: One of the best Spider-Man stories ever.

    0 0%
  • A: An excellent Spider-Man story.

    22 38.60%
  • B: A good Spider-Man story, worth rereading.

    26 45.61%
  • C: A pedestrian and unremarkable story, not worth rereading.

    5 8.77%
  • D: A poor story, that might not even be worth reading once.

    0 0%
  • F: Even worse than the above.

    0 0%
  • N/A: Haven't/ Won't Read It

    4 7.02%
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  1. #16
    BANNED WebSlingWonder's Avatar
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    I gave it a "B"! I'm kind of a harsh critic, ironically, but I liked this story. However, towards the end, I started liking how Spencer and Ottley began rather than ended. MJ was a big part and then faded away, while the Tri-Sentinel threat never went anywhere. The split Spider-Man could've been developed a bit more for me and didn't seem to have much dramatic impact. In my opinion, this story felt more "fun" and energetic than "Spider-Man", where the stakes are personal, serious, balanced with humor and fun.

    Basically, the timing was intriguing. I praised Insomniac for giving us a well-rounded Spider-Man story with "Marvel's Spider-Man, but with the ending of this story coming a few days after the game dropped, this felt far more lighthearted and "safe" than the game, which is fascinating to me.

  2. #17
    Incredible Member Naked Bat's Avatar
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    the ending felt kinda rushed, but apart from that, I really liked this first arc. Kudos to the new team!

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Orbus View Post
    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.
    I agree completely with this.

    I have no real opinion on whether this story is good or not. What I do know is that this story has (finally) led me to give up buying Amazing Spider-Man, having not missed an issue since the early 1980s. Like a lot of people, I've been waiting years for Slott to leave, principally because I hate his high-concept, epic form of storytelling (I particularly despised Spider-Island and Spider-Verse – though I actually thought Superior was a great, character-driven idea unlike these other stories).

    This first Spencer arc made it clear that Slott's style is basically the default ASM style now. That's fair enough – lots of people like it – but I really don't, and I finally realized that there's no point me spending money on comics just to keep the collection complete when I simply don't like the fundamental nature of the book.

  4. #19
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    An excellent Spider-Man story!

  5. #20
    Spectacular Member Imago's Avatar
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    It's a B+ for me, i didnt like the splitting personalities stuff that much and the resolution felt kind of rushed, but i really enjoyed everything else, a really promising start of a run imo.

  6. #21
    Mighty Member WhipWhirlwind's Avatar
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    It was basically my best case scenario for Spencer.

    It wasn't perfect but it showed a very high ceiling for this team, IMO.

  7. #22
    Extraordinary Member TheCape's Avatar
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    It was good, a solid B maybe B- because i'm really anal retentive toward certain stuff (like how Lizard is so easily pardoned), but otherwise enjoyable. I'm definetly more excited for the series that i had been in a long time.

  8. #23
    Mighty Member oldschool's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WhipWhirlwind View Post
    It was basically my best case scenario for Spencer.

    It wasn't perfect but it showed a very high ceiling for this team, IMO.
    Yeah, I feel the same and---what's really promising----is the interview Spencer did before his start on the title wherein he promised starting the series with one tone and then shifting gears towards another, more serious feel. I wonder/surmise that he might be referring to when this new mystery villain is revealed; I am definitely looking forward to that!

  9. #24
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
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    I'd give it a B+, which comes closer to B than A.

    It's a pretty decent start for Spencer/ Ottley. Their storytelling style generally works, the first issue can be a master class in how to start a run, highlighting Peter at a crossroads, while setting up later developments in interesting ways, and setting up some big status quo changes in Pete'rs life pretty well.

    The split of Spider-Man and Peter Parker allows for an exploration of the character. The bad guys are more of a set-up to something big later, and there some scenes I don't buy, especially in the resolution (four issues of set-up about a weird hunt ends on a predictable note, a major plot point is Peter telling Randy about a security risk in such a way that someone they both know to be a villain overhears.)

    This was a good story, but I'd be a bit disappointed if it's the best from Spencer's first year.
    Sincerely,
    Thomas Mets

  10. #25
    Astonishing Member UltimateTy's Avatar
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    B-

    Mostly brought down because of Spencer's humor
    We need better comics

  11. #26
    Fantastic Member MarkRodriguez09's Avatar
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    I put B. It was a good story but it felt pretty rushed and we didn't get to see enough of Parker and Spider-Man. Like, I would have liked to have seen Parker begin to forget more things, and maybe have Spider-Man's powers start to mess up and have him lose fights to low level villains. I kinda wanted something to happen to Spidey to make him realize that he also needed Parker. Then an entire Tri-Sentinel army stopped in minutes?

    I did like all the cameos of all these minor villains, most of them being people I have never heard of.

  12. #27
    Spectacular Member origami's Avatar
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    I just read Issue 1-5 in one sitting, some of my thoughts:

    Peter and MJ back together is great.
    Good to know that Boomerang is an ******* both in and out of costume.
    Kraven's return was predictable the moment those hunters showed up in Issue 2.
    I felt sorry for Mendel Stromm but I suspect he will be back sooner or later.
    The Avengers showed up for a fake alien invasion but couldn't be bothered with Tri-Sentinels.
    The ending to the army of Tri-Sentinels is too glib, we see a high rise toppling over... and that's it.
    The split into two plot is resolved far too easily, as contrast, how the writer of Daredevil handled Mike Murdock is more up my alley.
    Ryan Ottley's artwork reminds me of Sal Buscema's work.

    I am probably wrong but spoilers:
    could Centipede Man be Blackheart?
    end of spoilers

  13. #28
    Fantastic Member MarkRodriguez09's Avatar
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    Did they ever explain why the Marvel heroes hate Spider-Man? Did he do something after another Marvel event that pissed them off?
    Check out my blog for Comic Reviews and other things. https://markepicblogofrandomness.blogspot.com/
    I also started The AEW Crew, the All Elite Wrestling Fan Club! https://www.facebook.com/groups/637508120044168/

  14. #29
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    Meh. One More Day still in effect? Garbage.

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by 2Thumbs View Post
    Meh. One More Day still in effect? Garbage.
    Peter and MJ are back together and you still call it garbage based on the fact they're still not married?

    A bit much, but you do you.

    I still think they're going to undo OMD or at the very least acknowledge it's effects on things.

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