Another volume from my favourite Marvel era; the one which bridged the largely simplistic tales of the 60s and the more ‘grown-up’ 80s. This balances those stories nicely, allowing for character work to be balanced with the requisite punch-ups. There’s nothing particularly outstanding or memorable here but where it works best is in the culture clash between books; seeing Spidey get a chance to go up against foes he normally wouldn’t face such as the Super Skrull or the Living Monolith. It requires some contrivance to keep a different gust star hero every issue (frankly the Daughters of the Dragon one is simply cheating) but there’s a great deal of fun and energy on display. Proof that Claremont didn’t need ongoing soap opera elements to write good comics. ( )