Review: Amazing Spider-Man #645

Believing that the "goblin baby" is dead, Spidey goes on the warpath, punishing every single villain involved in this terrible crime.
 

The Good

Wow... I've never seen Spidey this badass.  Part of the fun of a thriller like this is the catharsis you finally reach after a long period of frustration. And I thoroughly relished watching Spidey terrorize his rogue's gallery like this. Holy crap... he breaks the Shocker's arm! He rips a whole dock in half! As I said with last issue, Waid's a master of making you follow every twist, turn, dip and loop-de-loop in a comic's plot, and I was definitely strapped in for the ride in this one.

The Bad

There's a surprise concerning the Lizard in this issue that seemed a little too convenient. I know that the point of this arc is that Spidey's facing an overwhelming, relentless gauntlet of foes who won't give him even a second of rest, but still... it seemed less reasonable as a cliffhanger in comparison to the Chameleon-related twist from last issue.

The Verdict - 4.5/ 5

Those who have been having reservations about the art in this arc really out to take a second look, because the gritty line work perfectly suits the intensity of this story. I've never read a Spider-Man story that was as frenetic as this. This feels less like a regular superhero book and more like a hot-blooded, white-knuckled, hard-boiled thriller from the 70s. Since this is bi-weekly, scoop up the previous issues before this arc wraps up.