JMD is pretty much incapable of writing a mindless monster type of villain, I think. He tries to write all of his villains with some degree of humanity and the potential for redemption (maybe not Kraven, but usually). But yeah, I agree. Dematteis has always been a gem in the industry and he has so much heart in his writing.
Another poster wrote about JMD's Peter (and Ben, too) has a willpower and humanity to him that a lot of the modern depictions of Spidey lack and I agree. I grew up with his take on our Spider-Men and while Peter was nerdy and made jokes, underneath that was a guy that would never give up, who would take on guys much bigger and stronger than him, would endure the worst tragedies life had to throw at him and he just wouldn't give in. He'd keep fighting and he'd find a way to survive and even thrive. There's a grit and a toughness to Peter that I love in his stories.
I agree with this completely. Even when I see how savage Proto Goblin is on the cover of #4, I know that Spidey is going to find a way to rally against him and pull out a win. Now I originally was going to slam a different book where Spider-man dosen't win quite so much or comes off as much of a winner or a compelling character in general. But I think i will stay positive and say this mini-series looks amazing.