So as it turns out, J. Michael Straczinski is the writer to beat this week. Folks know I've had a contentious relationship with Spidey at the best of times, but Amazing Spider-Man #536 is in fact the finest single issue yet published under the entire Civil War banner - including the Civil War proper issues themselves, and all the other cool shit like Bendis' Iron Man issue of Avengers last week and the better issues of Front Lines.

Somehow, in one appealingly concise issue, Straczinski manages to address the meaning of life, the role of the hero, the stakes of this Civil War, and Civil War's metaphorical relationship to the real United States as it exists today... and he manages to work in Mary-Jane taking her top off. In 22 pages, with too many ads breaking the flow, and it still works. He gets right at the heart of what makes ol' Peter the lovable fellow he is, and makes us figure why we all - Iron Man boosters and Cap supporters (rah!) alike - have been waiting for the moment when Spidey switched sides. As Spider-Man goes, so goes the nation.