over the last eight years (Tony, incidentally, has finally found some semblance of balance – he's still Iron Man, but he's back with Pepper Potts). In the interim, rather than trying to grow up too fast and leave school, friends and academia behind, Peter’s had no choice but to fall back on what semblance of a personal life he has. He asks Liz to homecoming for the sake of asking her as opposed to any Spider-Man related scheme, and once all his attempted Avenging falls by the wayside, it's here that he’s allowed to be truly tested. He bails on her like he did at her party thanks to similar logistics – getting weapons out of the hands of those who would misuse them – but this timesense of morality.

This Spider-Man is firmly anti-lethal force (Karen, his suit’s A.I., is promptly turned down whenever she suggests it) and his big hero moment comes in the form of dragging his villain to safety even after he’s attempted to kill him. That’s where the plot culminates, with Peter standing apart from the Avengers in deed, perhaps unbeknownst to him, but the climax of his story comes later. During his goodbye with Liz, he apologizes for bailing on her once again, and she bids him luck with figuring his life out. She was one of the people who needed him, the way his friends on the decathlon team might need him going forward. Failing at this smaller, more personal form of non-Avenger heroism helps him realize this. There's