Well, Electro is back. Kind of similar to the Scorpion case - both having been a broken man, rescinding their life of crime at the hands of Spider-Man. Now, they return more powerful than ever. Actually, Doc Ock also gave up crime for a while, and actually went into voluntary therapy. Now, of course the fans have spoken, and everything old is new again - with every villain being up-powered for the re-match.
Talking specifically about Amazing #423 ("Choices", as reviewed in last month's issue by Oddball). I was delighted to see The Family Robertson receive a little attention. Also, Max Dillon was long overdue for a little family history - although I think the "Violent Father" thing is dragged out a little too often. Sure it's human drama, but Mary Jane and Janine are two others who come to mind with the same problem. Let's save it for special occasions, huh?
The most brilliant part of the comic is when Electro turned out to be just too tough for Spidey, and made him beg to live. YES! At last, we see that even Super-Heros can't win every battle. That's Oh So True in life, but how rarely we see it in comics. Spider-Man has fought over 2000 battles, and wins outright, or escapes to win later in almost every case. Improbable, and un-interesting. Now, he comes face to face with outright defeat, and that's going to be hard to deal with.