Well, yes and no. I'm a great one for hearing a guy out before I respond, and I think that in this case you might be jumping the gun a little. If you check out the very latest issues of Amazing Spider-Man, you'll see that even Peter himself is starting to worry that perhaps he has just taken a step too far.

Yes, Peter did bow to Tony Stark's request - and for some very sound reasons. Remember the whole "Responsibility" kick? Well, as he says himself, what is responsibility if not admiting to what you've done and accepting the consequences. Is it responsible to secretly go out at night, break the law, and beat up people without giving the right to a fair trial, while you yourself avoid any consequences by hiding your identity.

You must also remember that Tony had given Peter and MJ a home, security, and even really a family, in the New Avengers. Then, at a critical moment, Tony asked Peter for loyalty and trust, which Peter gave. Then by a series of steps, Tony led Peter to the moment where his identity was revealed. And what was the juicy carrot? The respectability and public support that as you rightly point out, Peter has been denied for so long. Now, maybe that might not eventuate, but the promise was there... and that's what Peter acted on.

You might not like what has happened to Spider-Man, but when you look at how the events came about, and what happened afterwards, it's hard to deny the ring of authenticity about the story.

Like yourself, I'm very nervous about such a fundamental change to Spider-Man. But on the other hand, I'm very much enjoying the Civil War storyline. It has real substance. Unlike "The Other" for example, which was just pointless, Civil War by contrast is addressing some real issues. So, Spidey is outed, he's no longer the unappreciated nobody that we loved. Well, heck, if you want that, then go buy Essential Spider-Man Volumes 1 through 25. In the meantime, we've got something new and thought-provoking. That's good enough for me.