This thread's for the Spider-Man comics and spin-offs, whether they're decades old or brand new.
- Apart from the main Marvel Universe titles, Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man "What If?" stories, crossovers, guest appearances in other books, Alternate Universe tales and things like Marvel's manga adaptations are all on-topic here.
- Spider-Man 'family' books are on-topic (as are their own crossovers, guest appearances etc.) - e.g. Spider-Man 2099, Miles Morales, Spider-Woman, Silk, Spider-Gwen, Venom, Carnage, Black Cat, Red Goblin and Spider-Verse.
- Characters and comics that originated in Spider-Man but are no longer directly connected to the spider-franchise (e.g. Punisher, Silver Sable) are not on-topic, unless you're discussing historical connections and crossovers. If in doubt, check before you write a long post. If this isn't the right place, there's a more general Marvel Comics thread
which covers them.
Technically, Marvel's Infinity Comics (and their predecessors, Infinite Comics) are webcomics, not comic books, but it's fine to talk about their Spider-Man stories here.
Discussions that are only about Spider-Man adaptations in other media (films, video games etc.) are off-topic, but discussing the differences between the adaptations and the original comics is fine - as long as spoilers for the adaptations are tagged.
Please follow the spoiler policy rules - tag spoilers for the latest issues, for any previews or content leaks, and for off-topic comics. When including spoiler tags, try to write so that tropers can make an informed decision before viewing them (e.g. which series and issue will they spoil?).
Edited by MacronNotes on Jul 10th 2023 at 10:58:13 AM
"Zeb Wells run ends at issue 54"
The mission... the nightmares... they're over.
(fingers crossed editorial goes with him so that will actually be true)
Volunteer Vexilologist
Team Rocket Boss.
This has been brought up before. Please don't play armchair psychologist.
I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.
Volunteer Vexilologist
Has it? I just saw it on Reddit, and though it was new news. I apologize.
Edited by raykoda16 on Mar 29th 2024 at 7:30:24 AM
U.S Army E-sports Discord Server Ban Speedrun Any%
Funny but not helpful
54 is a really weird number to end on
I don’t want to make you readers read more but 55 is a nice round number if you MUST go past 50
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Yeah my take on the secret identity trope is that it doesn't need to die wholesale. But yes more thought put into it and case by case basis. Definitely another element that shouldn't be relied on though for status quo sakes.
One factor that I can appreciate isn't even just maintaining a loved one's safety, but putting one in a situation where they have to be party to the deception.
But still not perfect.
The Armor Wars from Iron Man? Mind you haven't read as much of it compared to Spider-Man, but the whole firing "himself" publicly is probably the best moment I can think of regarding shellhead's id. Otherwise, he is still associated with Stark, thus a secret identity just seems like a forced trend when the F4 avoided the trope. Barring some solo Torch stories in Strange Tales which yeah was pretty flimsy.😅
Yeah though, take the death of Gwen Stacy. She never was brought into the secret (permanently if you recall Peter revealing his id to his friends when sick), but the Green Goblin didn't care to verify that fact when targeting her.
Definitely a major weak point of Case Closed (Detective Conan).
Funny but not helpful
I do like the nerve of Iron Man’s secret identity being pretending to be his own employee and how he can fake his death and then Tony just “hires” a new pilot
While the Avengers are wondering hey c’mon it’s still just you Tony why aren’t you admitting it to us Tony
I think the modern thing where Tony is public about being Iron Man is good too and I don’t want a Spider-Man or Daredevil contrived situation to put the genie back in the bottle.
Iron Man lives with his consequences
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Yeah, exactly. Iron Man gets good stories both with and without his secret identity, and they didn't do ridiculous bullshit to reset the status quo; his character and situation grew and evolved organically. Contrasting that with Spider-Man selling his marriage to the devil and Daredevil doing some kind of reality warping bullshit I barely even remember to justify them having secret identities again despite it doing nothing to improve the stories. Which was especially egregious with Daredevil because Matt had been outed for over a decade by the time they did the reset, long enough that him being publicly known as Daredevil but still insisting he wasn't had become a beloved running gag.
Funny but not helpful
Purple Children, I think
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
I've seen some people get a little sceptical about Wells' run ending at that number, citing that it is labelled 'A climax' and not 'THE climax' and that there is still Tombstone to resolve as well as Paul.
I'm of the opinion Tombstone doesn't need an extra six issue arc to tie things up with him, and Paul I feel may just end up being written out in the Jackpot/Black Cat mini since he's caught up in the blackmailer's schemes.
I don't know, maybe I just want Wells to take the demotion and not get to end on a milestone issue.
Edited by Zarius on Mar 29th 2024 at 8:02:05 AM
Funny but not helpful
That’s fair enough and I respect your wishes. My number brain is furious though at the untidiness
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
I also tend to get annoyed when runs end on untidy numbers. But beyond that, that sort of thing happening tends to be a sign that either things are not going good for a book or a housecleaning soft reset is incoming.
Edited by immortaleditor on Mar 29th 2024 at 8:07:16 AM
My last post got thumped (sorry), so here it is again without the thing that got me thumped.
I don’t want to make you readers read more but 55 is a nice round number if you MUST go past 50
Hey, the sooner Wells packs it up, the better. Besides, I have a suspicion that they'll gussy up #55-60 as some kind of event/inititative a la Spider-Man Beyond but hopefully it won't have the crud that was setting up the Wells run. (*Chilli Heeler Glare at Chasm and Rabin*)
And on that note, if editorial gets the boot alongside Wells, let me just think this loudly: DON'T MESS WITH US OVER PETER/MJ. USM has already put ASM to shame before it even got published, Married Peter, Spider-Dad, and Spider-Fam have audiences, so get your heads out of your butts and let Peter grow the f**k up!
Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Mar 29th 2024 at 11:38:48 AM
Funny but not helpful
I will forever judge Ben for the edgy nothing that Chasm is as a codename
Go back to name school, drama llama
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
To be fair he does have severe brain damage and memory problems
I recall recently a number of creators have said they’d love to write Spidey but don’t want to be caught between the wrath of the fans on one hand and the editors on the other. So is it possible that the Wells run’s… difficulties result from this, like, Wells isn’t actually all that interested in the character, but he was just the only one willing to play ball?
Just a hypothesis I came up with.
It's pretty much an Open Secret at this point that the only writers who stay on Spider-Man in the long term nowadays are the ones willing to follow the editors whims and let said editor ghost-write. Dan Slott bluntly stated recently that part of why Nick Spencer's run ended the ways it did was because Spencer wanted to undo OMD and wasn't playing ball with the editors.
Edited by immortaleditor on Mar 29th 2024 at 9:01:13 AM
Slott actually said that? Have a link? Surprised they let that slide if so.
I sadly don't have a link but it was in the CBR forums where Slott often hangs out (i.e., gets into flame wars with fans).
If nothing else, the amount of creatives openly talking about having refused what is normally one of the most prestigious assignments in Western comics certainly implies being a Spider-writer is an… unpleasant experience…
Funny but not helpful
A weekly release schedule also sounds like hell
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
What would happen if nobody wanted to write Spider-Man?
The Protomen enhanced my life.
Funny but not helpful
There's a lot of people who want to break into comics.
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Black costumes for everyone in May's variant covers
40 years since its debut. Which is terrifying.