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Spider-Man General Discussion

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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?).

     Original Thread OP 
Since everyone likes talking about him. I know little about him(Ironically,I got nearly all I know about him from a Batman thread),but he's apparently important so I made this thread. Enjoy.

Edited by MacronNotes on Jul 10th 2023 at 10:58:13 AM

slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#29076: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:02:23 AM

[up][up] That has more to do with Gwen herself being a popular character.

And also a consequence of the Spider-Verse movies going all in on the Spider-Verse setting at the expense of Miles developing a supporting cast beyond his immediate. Gwen, Peni, and Spider-Byte are like the only women he interests with in those films, all spider-people.

Its like saying Batman is a popular romantic interest for Wonder Woman. Which it is technically true since those are very high-profile characters together, but if you ask fans of the character especially WW fans they would prefer the character to get with their own love interests instead of another superhero.

Edited by slimcoder on Jul 25th 2023 at 10:05:45 AM

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
FKJ10 Since: Mar, 2012
#29077: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:03:13 AM

We all know the reason for the Gwen v Spider Byte controversy

Miles x Peni? Nah Latin Twitter is just having fun making surprisingly wholesome comics of the two.

[up]Nah for Batman it's Catwoman that has the eternal hold on the caped crusader. Going all the way from the Adam West Era to the Matt Reeves Batman.

Closest WW has is the DCAU but Bruce ended up alone by choice with only his son Terry at his side.

Frankly the Spiderverse movies focused on only the important supporting caste for Miles, his family. Even Ganke is best off for side gags considering the story they are telling.

Edited by FKJ10 on Jul 25th 2023 at 10:08:36 AM

slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#29078: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:16:25 AM

Wonder Woman is the one who suffers there. While Batman's personal romances are valued in his own stories, Diana's own stuff in her comics gets downplayed to focus more on her interacting with Superman and Batman.

The latest WW anniversary issue is a good sign of that as characters like the Wonder-Girl's get only a single page interacting with Diana, while Bats and Supes gets like ten pages of aggressively romantic framed paneling with Batman and Superman (despite Superman being married).

Spider-Verse's focus on the multiverse stuff means any individual mythology Miles can develop is knee-capped. Unlike Peter who has a good deal of characters in his supporting cast from various scenarios, Miles doesn't have the opportunity for any of that. If Peter was in Miles place then the only relationship of his that would show up would literally just be Aunt May. tongue

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
FKJ10 Since: Mar, 2012
#29079: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:24:03 AM

Simply because WW has never been a money maker like Bats and Supes. As before the DCEU it was always movies involving those two or spinoff characters of their supporting caste

Even Superman can't compare to Bats overwhelming popularity.

And honestly no even in the short time the Spiderverse movies focuses on the two most important of Peter's side cast. May and MJ while alluding to his past tragedies CPT Stacy and Gwen. Miles' family is given ample screen time as this story is about them. Adding anymore side characters would dilute things and make it feel bloated like Spider-Man 3 or TASM 2.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#29080: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:30:40 AM

I mean, the fans of DCU Wonder Woman are still fans of Wonder Woman. So Batman/WW is still a fandom of Wondy fans.

It's just a very specific incarnation.

Mind you, I don't see any reason that giving Miles a muggle girlfriend is superior to embracing chemistry people like.

(And superheroes always have Vague Age - people complained that Kitty Pryde was a teenager in Excalibur dating Pete Wisdom but, in fact, she was meant to have aged to her twenties)

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Jul 25th 2023 at 10:31:54 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#29081: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:37:17 AM

Betty Brent is supposed to be Peter’s age which raises the question of why she was working a full time job instead of being in school and the answer is Jameson hired her because she needed a hand after a family tragedy and labor laws can’t stop him and maybe didn’t exist I dunno

[up] With Kitty Pryde Ellis assumed she’d aged up to her 20s and later writers did not run with that assumption

Edited by Bocaj on Jul 25th 2023 at 1:38:08 PM

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#29082: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:40:10 AM

They didn't.

Then they did.

Was it Astonishing where her age up finally stuck?

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#29083: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:41:55 AM

Comic book time makes fools of us all but Ellis specifically

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#29084: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:42:24 AM

[up][up][up] I think teens joining the workforce were more common in that time period. So Betty being Peter's age isn't too out of place.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Jul 26th 2023 at 1:42:35 AM

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#29085: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:44:03 AM

Spectacular just ran with her being an adult that Peter was trying to hound into dating a teenager until Aunt May stopped by and said “hey, no.”

Good call, Aunt May

Edited by Bocaj on Jul 25th 2023 at 1:44:25 PM

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
HamburgerTime Since: Apr, 2010
#29086: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:45:42 AM

Incidentally Slott confirmed just a few days ago that the most common fan guess for Marvel’s floating timeline - 4 real years equals one Marvel year - is correct. He said Bailey became Spider-Boy at age seven around the start of Slott’s run in 2011, and he’s now ten. 3 = 12. 1 = 4.

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#29087: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:47:29 AM

So the entire marvel universe has been going about 15 years since FF #1?

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#29088: Jul 25th 2023 at 10:50:11 AM

So, since Peter is consistently said to have been 15 years old when he became Spider-Man, this means he's now officially 30 years old instead of being an eternal twentysomething?

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#29089: Jul 25th 2023 at 12:30:03 PM

They might let that one slide!

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Cortez from Parts Unknown (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#29090: Jul 25th 2023 at 12:31:57 PM

Heck in Across the Spiderverse Miles' mom brings up that Gwen is obviously older than her son.

But in that case they're both in high school,so probably not much older.

Edited by Cortez on Jul 25th 2023 at 5:46:27 AM

lycropath Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
#29091: Jul 25th 2023 at 12:34:56 PM

15 months difference, so a little over a year.

slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#29092: Jul 25th 2023 at 12:35:22 PM

That line is more a mother being overprotective of who her son dates, along the lines "Look at that hussy taking advantage of my sweet baby boy".

Just like how a fictional dad will try to uncover any possible flaw real or not in his daughter's beau, a fictional mother will do the same to any girl her son has an interest in.

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
Joshbones Since: May, 2015
#29093: Jul 25th 2023 at 3:05:00 PM

My only real memory of Miles and Gwen together is that when he tried to tell the Champions he had a girlfriend in another dimension they all thought he was making it up.

In general, though, Miles should date someone unconnected to Peter and Gwen should date her MJ.

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#29094: Jul 25th 2023 at 3:09:56 PM

I mean there’s chemistry between Spider Gwen and her MJ. Like the chemistry of throwing pure sodium in a lake

Wasn’t MJ dating Glory Grant or something?

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Cortez from Parts Unknown (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#29095: Jul 25th 2023 at 4:07:51 PM

Yeah, though occasionally there were also hints that MJ might have feelings for Gwen.

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#29096: Jul 25th 2023 at 4:25:52 PM

I mean, it’s fine with me if Spider Gwen’s supporting cast gets the kind of focus to sell that relationship

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#29097: Jul 25th 2023 at 4:36:58 PM

Gwen-Miles is weird in that it really divides the fanbase. People either love it (like me) or hate it.

Personally, I wish we had more superhero-superhero relationships.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#29098: Jul 25th 2023 at 4:49:35 PM

We're not really lacking for them? Sue/Reed. Luke/Jessica. Tony was just dating Patsy and now he's getting married to Emma. Carol is dating Rhodey and Jessica. And so on.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#29099: Jul 25th 2023 at 4:56:02 PM

Yeah uh super-hero marriages are pretty much the norm now.

You'll find more people complaining how insular superheroes have become since they only have friendships and relationships with other heroes.

It's why the recent Steve Roger's run originally received praise at the start for having Steve interact with the common man and bringing back something of a civilian cast at least for a bit.

Edited by slimcoder on Jul 25th 2023 at 4:57:08 AM

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
Nofix from Over there Since: Jan, 2015
#29100: Jul 25th 2023 at 4:56:24 PM

I'm completely neutral to the Miles/Gwen romance, but I will say the amount of fanart I've seen of Miles/Penny is usually pretty cute and wholesome.


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