I need Spider-Man creatives to stop making the misery the main point · 1:38pm Feb 14th, 2023
Okay, cards on the table. Ever since One More Day, I haven't read Spider-Man on the regular. I did catch up on the Red Goblin saga, and I'm aware of the events of Spider-Verse, but that's about it. So, I may not be the target audience of Spider-Man. With that said, it kind of pains me that the main selling point of Spider-Man comics nowadays seems to be the misery; gleefully announcing how the next issue will be the most shocking since and full of heartbreak.
For those making the math, 50 years ago was the publishing of "The Night Gwen Stacy Died". Also known as one of Spider-Man's saddest stories, and a turning point for the media in general. It is considered the end of the more fantastical Silver Age and the start of the more serious Bronze Age in comics. From Peter having to balance his life between being a student and a superhero, to the true tragedy that is being Spider-Man and the trauma Peter has to withstand for being responsible.
And at the time, it was a ground breaking moment. What set Spider-Man apart from the rest of the genre is how human is Peter and how consequences are present in his stories, and this story cemented it. Sometimes, at the end of the arc, things can't go back to normal and the character has to deal with it. But still, it didn't really mean that Spider-Man would only be about the tragedy either. We've had lighter and even triumphant stories since 1973 with Spider-Man.
Peter's overcome the symbiote, married MJ, stopped Norma Osborn over and over from hurting more innocents, saved New York and the world countless times and even became an Avenger. Plus the future stories where his daughter becomes Spider-Girl. There have been more tragedies along the way, like Ben Reilly, George Stacy or Jean DeWolff. And dark moments too, like the Clone Saga or Down Among the Dead Men. Yet, that's always been the point. The good and the bad exist in everyone's life, which makes it, well, life.
But in the past decade, there's been this editorial direction that almost mandates Peter's life to remain static. Ever since One More Day, he really can't have any lasting relationships, or at least not a romantic one. While there's still some balance in good and bad and changes in the status quo, like mending things with JJ Jameson during the Red Goblin saga, Peter is not too far away from where he was back in 2005. Like many other long runners at different moment, he's kind of trapped in a hamster wheel, where he always end up alone at the end of the issue.
I hope I'm wrong, and this is just the 'emotional low point' on the current run. That Peter will rise to the occasion and find some lasting happiness beyond the end of the arc. As I said, I haven't read Spider-Man regularly in over a decade and a half. All of this may just be looking from the outside.
But as always, it's a matter of perspective, really.
Nick Spencer was the guy that handled this the best in quite a long time. He doesn't make the heartbreak and misery the main point but it's part of who he is. The relatable superhero whose mistakes hurt him and the others around him. It isn't some major plot point and it isn't the only reason Spidey sells well. It's just a part of life.
5713599
I take your word for it. As I admitted through the post, I'm not up to date with the current state of affairs. But the advertisement bout being "more shocking than Gwen's Stacy's death" was honestly upsetting. Also, with how creatively blocked I've been lately, I'm sharing anything I can write longer than a paragraph.
5713625
The only thing that'd shock it all is if it somehow means One More Day gets broguht up and they're scared of how to approach it.
5713634
I think OMD is the Marvel equivalent to Emerald Twilight. I was a bad idea from the get go, but it started protected through editorial line and later held by grandparent clause. Though, since under Paul Levitz, Hal Jordan was allowed to develop from Emerald Twilight until it got finally undone in Green Lantern Rebirth. So, hey, now it's similarly aged, maybe we're at portas of OMD finally getting the plug pulled.
I started reading Spiderman in 91 and One More Day finally made me quit. Only dipped back in when something really caught my interest. So long as they keep making Peter act childish and crap on MJ, I'm done.
5713711
What's baffling to me is that the whole base of One More Day is the idea of Peter being outright unable to accept the guilt of a decision he made. And ever since then, they keep trying to lock Peter in the attitude of a guy still entering university. Pretty much like with Beast Boy at DC, it looks less like keeping an status quo and more like the character is a receptacle of the aptly named Peter Pan syndrome.
5713738
Yeah, for me the marriage was the status quo when I started reading, so anything else feels like going backwards. Might as well reboot it if they won't let Peter grow anymore.
5713741
And I still don't get why if Ultimate Spider-Man existed specifically to have a teenage Peter around without loosing the one that grew up. Granted, Ultimate went on its own tangent, but I'd say that Ultimate Peter went with more dignity to his name than regular Peter. Where one died and had his narrative closed in favor of moving on with another generation through Miles, 616 Peter has been trapped in a cycle of unfocused tangent after another. Some have been interesting, like the Spider-Verse or Red Goblin sagas. But all in all, despite being the character that opened the idea of long term consequences sticking in super-hero comics, he hasn't changed in 20 years at all.
Also, holy crap, One more Day has been canon for 20 years. And it still has lasted less than the marriage.