SPOILERS A PLENTY!

You have got to be kidding! I know I shouldn't judge a story before it's done, but so far this has proven to be the most contrived, predictable piece of garbage I've read all year. Who is the mysterious lady in red? Exactly who you think it is. Mephisto! Freaking Mephisto! A villain with little to no prior connection to Spidey has suddenly decided to try and mess up his life. They couldn't use the original Mysterio, who is currently a demon with fancy mystical powers who would actually have a MOTIVATION to do this? Yeah, yeah, yeah Mephisto finds pleasure in the suffering of others but his appearance here still feels random; I don't care how well Joey Q draws him.

Speaking of Quesada, I'm starting to fall out of love with his artwork. Peter's facial expressions just didn't seem to fit the situation he was in throughout the whole issue. Then again, with the way Spider-Man has been written here, it's hard to get a sense of what is going through his mind (if anything at all). He should've kept his mask on.

With the loopy way Spider-Man has been written lately, anything can happen in the final part, and by the looks of it Marvel has decided to go the easy route and use an extremely powerful character to hit the reset button and possibly shitcan the last 20 years of Spider-Man's history. I just don't see the logic in the "deal" Mephisto offers him at the end of the book. I don't mean to sound harsh, but Aunt May is a frail old woman. Are Peter and MJ really going to sacrifice the one thing they have left just to slightly extend her lifespan? You'd think Peter would be used to the idea of her dying by now with her constant heart attacks, kidnappings, and flirtations with Doctor Octopus. This definitely is not what May would want for them. But, anything to end the marriage I suppose, hopefully next issue will offer something in the way of surprises and characterization.

The positive? As much as I've complained about Mephisto's inclusion in the story, he is the coolest character in the book.