Thanks to Marvel legacy, Spider-Man is about as close to his classic status quo as we've seen since Dan Slott first took over as solo Amazing Spider-Man writer in 2010. Peter Parker is back to being broke, unlucky and hated by everyone around him. This "back to basics" approach is both refreshing and a little worrisome. Two issues into "The Fall of Parker," it's unclear where exactly Slott is headed with this new story direction.

This issue is most successful when it comes to exploring Peter's miserable new lot in life. There's a clever subversion of the usual Peter/Spidey dynamic. These days, Peter Parker is the public menace and Spider-Man is the lone source of respite from that hardship. Slott, co-writer Christos Gage and artist Stuart Immonen craft a great little montage scene as Spidey backs in the affection of New York's residents while shirking his duties as Peter Parker. At the same time, Slott and Gage are diligent about exploring the power/responsibility angle and exploring how Peter is shouldering the burden of his unilateral decision to tank Parker Industries. Responsibility has been a crucial theme in Slott's work to date, and it's encouraging to see that this remains the case now.My big concern with this new direction involves a fear that Peter will backslide so totally into his classic status quo that it'll be like the whole Parker Industries era never happened. Slott needs to find that balance between resetting the playing field and allowing Peter to keep growing as a character. And unfortunately, there are still worrying signs, particularly where the Daily Bugle is concerned.Issue #789 got a lot of mileage out of Peter's romance with Mockingbird. This issue shifts focus to his frayed friendship with Human Torch, a hero who has his own obvious horse in the race now that Parker Industries is being systematically dismantled. It's always a treat to see the Fantastic Four crew pop up in Slott's work. He writes them so well that I can only hope Marvel intends to one day relaunch that series with Slott at the helm. That said, this isn't Johnny's finest hour. While it's intriguing to see a growing friction between the two characters, this issue overplays its hand by having them come to blows. Even ignoring the fact that Marvel has delivered too many "hero vs. hero" stories in recent years, their feud doesn't seem entirely justified here.Fortunately, Immonen remains as dependable a storyteller as ever. It's been a real treat to see such a consistent look to the series in 2017. Immonen's versatility serves him especially well with this story arc. He's able to deliver a winning blend of epic action, goofy physical comedy and some intense, dramatic character moments in this chapter. Meanwhile, Marte Gracia's colors strike a balance between colorful superhero visuals and a slightly more grim tone that perfectly captures Peter's present state of mind.