Spiders and Magic: What If? (Brief Thoughts) · 5:31am Jan 1st, 2017
There has been much commotion over the brand-new spin off Spiders and Magic: What-If? Which ship is better: ParkerxSparkle or ParkerxLuna? Should this have been the canon choice? What’s in store for the series going forward?
Well, question no longer my friends because as you all know, when it comes to Spiders and Magic, MY opinion is the only one that truly matters. So what’s the verdict?
Spiders and Magic: What if? is …… good. To be completely honest, I didn’t have any expectations going in and I was pleasantly surprised by what we got. As much as I enjoyed the more recent entries in the series, it was nice to read a story that was so simple and straight-forward. It should also be noted that I like both ships with no significant bias toward either one.
Luna and Peter have a great dynamic in this story and seeing them slowly warm up to each other was fun to see. Compared to the original, the build-up to this relationship is a lot more interesting. The key difference between the original and this story is that Peter took the initiative. He had feelings toward Luna and made intentional moves to win her affection. Compare this to the original, where Twilight came out of nowhere and confessed her love, resulting in Peter just shrugging his shoulders and saying, “Why not?” As much as I like the PeterxTwilight ship, it sort of just popped out of thin air, which is why this new ship feels a lot more authentic. It should also be noted that Max has over two more years of experience under his belt and has Azu there to help him, so of course the writing is better.
I loved how Peter struggled to impress Luna, I loved how Luna struggled to contain her emotions and remain professional, and I loved how Celestia was a cheeky little enabler. It was cute and I liked it, simple as that.
It also helps that the story wasn’t bogged down by all the other characters and subplots, like Sombra, Trixie, and the Green Goblin. Speaking of which, whatever happened to Green Goblin? From what I remember, he played a very significant role in the original and had a major impact on the series. Is he just not involved in this specific universe? Granted, its been two years since I read the original, but I was pretty sure that everything that happened in that story was a result of the Green Goblin’s meddling. Maybe I’m wrong, but it drove me crazy nevertheless.
I think the only thing that I really disliked in this story was Twilight’s characterization. Seriously, what is it with the women in these stories? Luna gets rejected and silently obsesses over a married man for over 10 years and now Twilight gets rejected and turns into Kylo Ren. You do know that most people who experience heartbreak eventually get over it, right?
I don’t buy the idea that a character like Twilight Sparkle would go to the dark side just because she got rejected by a dude. In the show, when Trixie went to the dark side, it made complete sense: she had no friends, was publicly humiliated, and her career was in the toilet. Twilight, on the other hand, has great friends, a strong family connection, and a caring teacher. I find it hard to believe that NO ONE would successfully reach out to her before things got out of hand.
I know she once went crazy because she almost missed a deadline, but even she recognized when her behavior had gotten out of control. I know that you need SOME drama (and a villain), but I don’t feel like you’re giving Twilight enough credit.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this story and its encouraging to see Max and Azu continue to improve every time they release something. I can’t wait to see how this will all connect to the Equestrian Avengers.
Now, if you can excuse me, I have a review to finish. Happy 2017 everybody! 
Surprised to see a review so quickly. Good points were brought up, but personally, I can see Twilight being distant in this situation, not full-on villany but still.
Now, there's one important question that must be answered by you... Is Spider-Knight a better name than Spider-Mane to you?
Happy New Years to you too by the way!
4363944 She would definitely take it hard, but she would recover eventually. I feel like making her the villain was a very predictable move and I was hoping they would do something more interesting with her character. As for your question...
media.giphy.com/media/jFzjaNGjGzeeY/giphy.gif
Very fair points, my friend. I'll address what I can.
For the Goblin, he only became the villain because Discord 'faked' his capture. However, that plan fell through AFTER Twilight and Peter got together. This was why Discord was thrown off so badly. The last pony he expected to come forth was Princess Luna, and her interference completely threw his plans down the drain. Yet, he was fine just watching their progress because of how different and unexpected it was.
And sadly, yes. It was super easy to turn Twilight into a villain. Heck, most fics have her turning into a bad guy. Love hurts, but we recover (eventually). I suppose we compared apples to oranges in how Luna and Twilight handled their respective heartbreaks. Like you said, Luna handled it (well?) and quietly moped about it for a decade. However, Twilight went full on loony about it.
Luna has had eons of life experience and is used to rejection. However, Twilight was considerably younger and not ready for such a thing, seeing as she was still getting used to how friendship worked (at this juncture- since it took place at the start of MLP season 3). I suppose we anticipated that Twilight would take it badly. Then again, we needed a villain for this verse and Twilight made the most sense (even if it's severely predictable in hindsight). We certainly could have handled Twi's... reaction a bit more eloquently.
I'm glad you mentioned my experience. Spiders and Magic Part I was my FIRST crossover story. Looking back, it SHOWS. While the pairing holds up, it's Twi and Peter's START that's the roughest, I believe. Hence, this is why they're much better written as of now and why Luna x Peter had a much better start in comparison.
I also suppose I went with such a premise is because, well, What-If stories ALWAYS go badly for Peter in Marvel. I'm serious. In one what-if comic, Mary Jane AND Black Cat were killed, and Peter went into depression (fortunately, he got with Silver Sable in the end). Another was Civil War related, where Mary Jane took the bullet instead of Aunt May and died. THAT one ended with Peter going rogue, killing Kingpin and getting arrested by Tony Stark. Then there's ANOTHER What-If where Peter snaps on the Kravenoff family and gets shot in the face by a shotgun. He survives but is blind for the rest of his life. What-If stories have never been kind to Peter. This was kind of a step-up.
Anyway, Twi CAN be saved. We all grieve in some way, experiencing various emotions. Twi went from denial, to anger, to grief but never reached acceptance. I think she is just stuck in between anger and grief.
I'm rambling! Thanks for the review, my friend! I appreciate your honesty as always! Happy New Year!
I agree with you, Twilight's decent to madness felt bland and rushed. I felt as though it wasn't explained as much and I'm hoping that in Equestrian Avengers will be better explained.
4364037 I just noticed something. This version of spidey has been through everything spider-mane went through up to the point where he left for Luna. That would mean he ALSO was called here for being the "greatest" hero....which is kinda confusing considering they already have one in the form of the original spider-mane. Kinda a paradox when you think about it. That would also mean he's ALSO defeated Thanos and saved the entire multiverse as well as shattered dimensions....This is more confusing then explaining time travel.
4364738 We actually don't know that. We weren't shown the exact details of this Peter's accomplishments (as seen in the Eyes in the Back of his Head chapters). Because THAT chapter never happened.
4364790 Oh I see. then that still leaves the part about him being summoned in the first place...this also means that This Peter never got to see Aunt May again or get his reputation up on earth.
4364879 Multiverse theory, my friend. Small yet key differences make a WORLD of difference. He was a great hero, but we have no idea what Spider-Knight's accomplishments were in comparison to that of Spider-Mane. Likely, they pale in comparison.
The What-If takes place right at the end of the Race in Manehattan. So yeah. No Aunt May. No Eyes in the Back of His Head arc. No revisit to Earth. No Goblin. None of that. Very much like someone suggested, Spider-Knight, or even Spider-Mare (Patricia Parker) hasn't gone through a gauntlet like Spider-Mane had (which helped him mature into the Spirit of Order and Harmony).
So no video, figured it could have cameoed in one like Rise of Spider-Mare. Still, like your points here. Twilight taking the rejection hard was the only thing I really disliked, I think that's the reason I found it hard to like the story. If she accepted and actually encouraged Peter towards the end then I would have taken it slightly better. But still, as already stated, Luna already had that fall for her character, Twilight didn't, so maybe it would make sense for Luna to handle the rejection a bit better. Even if it did seem weird for Twilight to turn evil, but if Peter's capable, and even Superman in some comics, I guess Twilight counts too. She has joined the Dark Side, grabbed her Potara Earing and is ready for revenge. Still, feel more bad for Twilight than I do happy for Luna, because I know that Trixie, Sonata and Laura also suffer from this too (and no one in Peter's world sees him again or knows where he went). Wow, shame to think about, Luna better be grateful.
4364790 Can't tell if that's a good or bad thing