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
Peter Parker Spider-Man sure
has
died
a lot, especially in What If? (Marvel Comics).
Has Miles died at all yet?
The Protomen enhanced my life.Reading What If Spider Man House Of M, two different realities where Peter brought House of M's Gwen back to the real reality. Things fall apart quickly in both—in the first story it's cause Gwen is a living time paradox and destabilizes reality with her presence, while in the second it causes conflict between Peter and MJ and he developed his own Goblin personality because, according to the caption boxes, "having to choose between the two women he loved was more than Peter's fragile mind could take."
The Protomen enhanced my life.In the end he got impaled on his glider to save MJ from something he caused, and his son Richie inherited his powers but wasn't sure about the whole 'responsibility' thing.
The Protomen enhanced my life.
Can he recharge his powers from Electro or a power line or something?
"Shay's not gonna last a minute. The fans won't accept her, and Marvel will only push her for so long before the next writer for ASM has their own ideas." You're right about Marvel only giving her until the next run, which is part of the problem, they're not actually willing to let Peter have a healthy long-term romantic relationship right now.
As far as the fans go, the vast majority just want fun stories. If a romance is well-written and shows why the two people are a good match for each other, then the fans will enjoy it and accept it. Assuming that people on the Internet are The Fans is a mistake. They're a small portion of the overall fan base, and hey! Even they have different opinions! There are people on the Internet who are thoroughly enjoying Wells' run, because different people have different tastes and art is subjective.
I just hate this idea that people online represent The Fans. "The Fans want this! The Fans don't want that!" None of us actually knows what The Fans want, because we're talking about tens of thousands of people who all have their own tastes and preferences and opinions! So acting like all those tens of thousands of people will always automatically reject, completely and without any hesitation, any and all love interests for Peter other than MJ, is frigging ridiculous. Most of them don't actually think that hard about it! Sure, they might prefer MJ, but if he's dating someone else, most will just shrug and get on with it, because at the end of the day, it's just a story.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.
Carlie, from what I understand, was handled rather poorly, and came about not long after OMD, a story that I suspect actually did bother a very large portion of the fan base. There's also the issue that, you know, tens of thousands of readers and only a small number actually voiced their opinions anywhere.
It's been long enough since OMD that I feel most readers are mostly over it, and wouldn't automatically reject a new love interest, as long as she was written well. That, of course, is always going to be the sticking point. The truth is, romance can be really tough. Even for people who have a lot of experience writing it, sometimes, a romance just doesn't click. And superhero writers don't always have that much experience writing romances.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.As you say, it's 17 years. There are a growing number of Spider-Man fans who weren't old enough to read OMD at the time and don't remember the previous status quo.
They'll be aware of it from stuff read later, sure, but their starting point won't be a married Peter and MJ. Things like Ultimate and the Spider-Verse films establish that as an option, but not the only option.
Edited by Mrph1 on Aug 15th 2024 at 9:04:31 AM
Hence the "They'll be aware of it from stuff read later, sure"
Yes. But there is a lot of Spider-Man history. And the perspective of those who grew up during the 20-year Spider-Marriage (1987-2007) is likely to be different to those who are dipping into the whole 60+ year history and see the marriage as one era, possibly the best era, but not the era and default status quo.
Edited by Mrph1 on Aug 15th 2024 at 9:39:17 AM
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"those who are dipping into the whole 60+ year history and see the marriage as one era, possibly the best era, but not the era and default status quo"
When multiple adaptations tap into concepts like marriage and kids, or co-habiting with MJ, like the games, like Spider-Man TAS, like Across The Spider-Verse, then no, for anyone curious about those, for anyone reading up on the comics, it pretty much is THE era, the last era where anything grew and developed, any point after that isn't really 'history', it's an alternate timeline where they didn't marry or had children. It's false, it's insincere, there's no point in investing in any of it, it's a cheat.
Readers aren't stupid, when they read OMD, they usually realize how much of a con every other era is, and they gravitate more to stories that highlight Peter and MJ's relationship and marriage, and recommend books like Ultimate Spider-Man. It's not just AN option, it's THE option, and you see it reflected in the videos of many Gen Alphas on tik tok and Youtube, reaching millions of audiences and educating them.
Edited by Zarius on Aug 15th 2024 at 2:14:44 AM

Can we train Venom to attack Paul?