Amazing Spider-Man Vol II #23 (464) Review

Amazing Spider-Man #23
Plot: This story takes place on two fronts: in the present, where Spidey, Arthur Stacy and the Ranger battle Senator Stewart Ward and the alien Z’Nox, and the past where Arthur, Ranger and Senator Ward battle Hydra and the Z’Nox. This issue also features Peter moonlighting as the Green Goblin!
Likes: It was fun seeing Arthur Stacy in his glory days, complete with a cool GI Joe-type code name (Seeker)! Senator Ward’s code name was cool, too, if overused lately (Sentry). Mackie deserves a lot of praise for his efforts to bring back Arthur, Jill and Paul Stacy into the Spidey-Mythos the last few years. Ever since Marvel finished destroying the Stacy family (by driving off Gwen Stacy II at the end of ASM #149) in the mid-70’s the Stacy’s have only been brought back in flashback sequences or demented illusions for the purpose of making Peter look like a failure. It’s nice to see that some writers are still capable of writing stories not based on the principles of nihilism and character deconstruction (see Jim Krueger’s disastrous Spidey: Universe X one-shot).
Dislikes: This issue was as bad as the last one.  Spidey shouldn’t be fighting people infected with alien viruses, he should be fighting cool super-villains! Erik Larsen, if you are reading this, I’m willing to initiate a national fundraiser, “Save Our Spidey” (SOS) to get you back as a writer for one of Spidey’s titles!!!

Rating: web-heads out of four. Sorry Spidey!