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.
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- 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
Isn't Paul's whole thing that he was tricked by his father, and had genuinely no idea what his dad's plan was? I did see a screenshot of that moment from the MJ and Black Cat mini that people compared to the Nuremberg defence, and from what I can recall, the comparison is so ridiculously overblown as to be a deliberately bad-faith reading.
I do get the impression that there was actual potential for Paul to be an interesting and compelling character. Lean into his overwhelming sense of guilt at the role he played in the destruction of his world, and the conflict between his desire to help people and do better, and his fear that trying to help will lead to him making more mistakes that make things worse.
This would mean giving him some actual focus as a character, not just as MJ's boyfriend but as his own person. It would've meant major changes to how the entire run was handled. I think the best approach would've been to not drag out the whole mystery for so long, to have given him and MJ more scenes together early on that demonstrated a close, affectionate, and supportive relationship, and to have given him some scenes with Peter, with initial tension that eases over time.
A story where Paul helps Peter out with some sort of emergency - maybe Paul has to disable some sort of device while Peter keeps a villain busy - also would've been needed. Paul isn't sure he can disable the thing and worries about making it worse, and Peter assures him he's got it, and then with the threat dealt with they have a talk about Paul's feelings of guilt.
He's not an inherently bad character, and there were ways of writing him well, that would make readers sympathize with him, and even like him. Wells just didn't make the room to do that, because he had other stories he wanted to focus on more.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.Yeah. Paul exists just to keep the two apart, and nobody was interested in actually doing anything with him.
As for his culpability in what his dad did, meh. He did help, and no-one's buying the he didn't know excuse. I ain't gonna defend him on that.
He is what his is, it's too late to change or fix that, no one would care if they tried and would probably just continue to demand he dies painfully, so at this point we can only wait for that to happen.
But a character should always be made for a purpose beyond roadblock to characters we like more.
One Strip! One Strip!Voiced panels from The Spectacular Spider-Men #5, with Josh Keaton as Peter, Hammerhead, and Mentallo, Zeno Robinson as Miles, and Andrew Kishino as Arcade.
I'm taking a look at the October solicits
They are being super vague with Wells' last edition of ASM, not revealing plot details other than it being a double-sized issue and promising a tease for Joe Kelly's new arc "Eight Deaths of Spider-Man"
Spectacular Spider-Men is also vauge, hinting an old evil is rising and a new arc will begin from it.
Spider-Boy doesn't even have a cover or a plot-detailed solicit.
And Strazynski gets to play with Cap, Spidey and Thor all in one issue!
Edited by Zarius on Jul 26th 2024 at 1:41:17 AM
Apparently holding back October's Spider-Boy for a reveal of a new Spider Girl
unrelated to Spider-Girl
I’ve been thinking that reading the latest edge or end or whatever spider-verse book
I’m cool with Bailey though. He seems alright
Forever liveblogging the AvengersViz announced
Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man crossover to start on the same day as Ultraman X Avengers
Edited by jormis29 on Jul 26th 2024 at 2:26:16 AM
Marvel really can't stop beating that horse! Spider-Family in general and Spider-Girls in particular. My knee jerk reaction is negative, in part because X-Men already have a Spider-Girl, who is clearly the best one. The rationalist in me says "wait and see". No, the rationalist is thinking of the many ways Marvel's going to botch it. My sense of fair play is whispering "wait and see".
Buldogue's lawyerYeah that clone that Superior Spider-Man subdued with the help of the X-Men in Avenging Spider-Man.
Otto also had a completely relatable reaction to all the crazy lore the X-Men have.
"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"She turned up again in X-Men Unlimited and was remarkably sensible. I hope she's now living her best life on Krakoa.
At least partly because she'd now be 15 years older due to the timey-wimey situation at the end of the Fall of the House of X arc, and I like the idea of a Gwen clone who's significantly older than Peter.
Is it weird to say I really don’t like the baggy clothes and street wear style costumes on spider-people? Civvie Spandex works for some characters, put to me Spider-People should always be skintight spandex onesie, regardless of race or gender.
It's gonna be fun on the bun!Woah, did that come out wrong? because all I meant is You Don't Look Like You, and the baggy cloths throw off the clasic Spider-Man look, like just slapping a spider on some clothes doesn't make you a spider-person. There's a whole asthetic to it. I'm also not a fan of the armored looks all that much either.
Edited by GateStarX on Jul 26th 2024 at 8:01:32 AM
It's gonna be fun on the bun!Sorry, that was at the spider girl with gwen tusk thing. I didn't notice that the conversation had moved on.
Forever liveblogging the AvengersSo here's the details on "The Eight Deaths of Spider-Man"
Doom, now Sorceror Supreme, discovers that each year Stephen would have to deal with a God and his scions and prevent from bringing about the end of the world, so Doom tasks a new champion, Spidey, to challenge these gods with the assistance of eight extra lives and a suit full of sorcery!
I knew cats have nine lives, didn't know spiders did too! :P
Also my theory on the new Spider-Girl is that since Bailey's a long-lost hero, she's his long-lost sister.
The Protomen enhanced my life.Please PLEASE include Mephisto.
I will unironically shill for Doom if he gives Spider Man the power to beat the shit out of Mephisto.
Edited by RedHunter543 on Jul 28th 2024 at 3:17:46 AM
"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"

I wonder how many war crimes Paul has committed.
Edited by chino514 on Jul 25th 2024 at 4:27:26 AM