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.
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- 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.
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Edited by MacronNotes on Jul 10th 2023 at 10:58:13 AM
In a sense, it kinda makes pairing MJ with Peter after Gwen died pointless.
Since they'd be so obsessed with keeping Peter young, that letting them get married became a source of contention for them.
Edit: I do wish they'd just let the two of them be a couple again.
Like everyone has said, they have Miles to fill in the young Spider-Man niche.
Like, it's the reason all these shows about Peter being a teenager again are useless. Why do we need Teenage Peter when we have Miles.
Am I sad that we'll never get The Spectacular Spider-Man again at least partly because of that (though there are a hundred of other reasons)? Yes, but Miles is great, so it makes sense to use him, and let Peter and MJ be together.
Edited by HandsomeRob on Aug 9th 2022 at 8:10:13 AM
One Strip! One Strip!
He needs to be doing WHAT to Mephisto?
Edited by RedM on Aug 9th 2022 at 8:08:17 AM
The very best, like no one ever was. Check out my Spider-Man fanfic here! [1]Stan was all about changing things from where I stand.
Stan was all about whatever was good for business.
It was, of course, purely his decision to make Peter grow up against all the naysayers, because Peter's college years are some of his most iconic.
It is also Stan's decision that Peter - or other heroes - should not meaningfully progress, leading to the illusion of change, which has allowed them to continue the stories for many decades.
The decision to have Peter age in more-or-less real time for their first few years of publication) was likely made when they had no idea how long these comics were gonna go on for. I once saw someone post a letters column from back in the 70's, and even then you had editors (it may have been Stan) reflect that letting Peter graduate high school may have been a mistake.
Marvel has had plenty of chances to have their "young, hip, and datable" Spider-Man, from Ben Reilly to Miles, alongside the happily married Peter, and they've taken basically none of them. We just kind of have to accept the fact that the company is run by idiots and that nothing will ever improve.
This is why I've read manga for most of my life. At least there it's only most things that will never improve.
So here's my wild crazy, could-be-so-off base theory about the goings-on in ASM
I get the feeling the kids are going to stick around much longer than Paul will.
This could be what Cebulski meant by approaching Peter's relatability more 'delicately' at C 2 E 2, and why they pitched a series to De Matteis that explores what he and MJ cope with expecting a child
I think Marvel want MJ and Peter to be parents to Paul's kids, but they don't want to commit Peter and MJ to each other just yet. MJ will look after the kids with Peter and presumably Felicia's help, but will retain her independence of Peter for a while longer, ultimately falling in love with him again. Then, just when it looks like we'll get the two raising a family together, either Paul comes back or the true mother of Paul's kids resurfaces to take the kids back, and Peter and MJ are left on their own again but have gained considerable experience parenting kids, so they 'grow' and progress without Marvel having had them marry or have kids of their own again...and then it's left to the next writer if Peter and MJ stay together or not
I've never actually read The Other storyline, so I have a quick question: Does Peter's powers (and by extension, other Spider-people's) come from their connection to the Spider-Totem, or does their connection to the Spider-Totem come from their Spider-powers?
Because the first seems like a lame Chosen One retcon, while the latter is at least a serviceable retcon, in my eyes, to tie together so many different Spider-Men and Spider-Women.
https://gizmodo.com/spider-man-s-prisoner-ankle-monitor-1977-crime-stan-lee-1849346834
Yeah the Spider-Totem along with Mephisto is one of the worst additions to Spidey lore.
There is a reason why the Spider-Verse movie went with the better message of anyone can be Spider-Man as well as taking out the Morluns and Spider-Totem aspects of the story with the Kingpin.
"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"Mm, I disagree. I actually really like the Spider totem stuff, it let them tell some fresh stories with Peter and added a new spin on things.
Peter doesn't end up agreeing with all the destiny stuff, anyhow - he literally beats Morlun the first time by jacking himself up with radiation, while defying the idea that he's a "pure" totem that Ezekiel and Morlun think he is.
It's not without its flaws, but I think being able to add something new to his mythos after 40 years of serialization is pretty good for him.
And it's helped introduce others characters and plot elements from there.
Sure, ITSV doesn't go with totem stuff, but that's probably more a combo of being focused on Miles (who hasn't had much to do with that stuff) and that the story doesn't work as well as a first instalment.
The mephisto stuff does suck tho
Further examination of ASM#7
More diffusion of the current status quo...MJ is appreciative of Peter's apology and is about to tell him the truth of how she feels when there's a convenient interruption from Paul. Mary Jane also gives Peter a warm smile as she glances back at him when she and Paul depart, almost like she's relieved
Edited by Zarius on Aug 10th 2022 at 8:28:24 AM
"Stan’s synopsis for the Green Goblin had a movie crew, on location, finding an Egyptian-like sarcophagus. Inside was an ancient, mythological demon, the Green Goblin. He naturally came to life. On my own, I changed Stan’s mythological demon into a human villain…I rejected Stan’s idea…A mythological demon made the whole Peter Parker/Spider-Man world a place where nothing is metaphysically impossible."
Spider-Man is usually better off when they stick to the "science run amok" theming, or just regular people misusing science for their own ends. Even the Clone Saga knew that much. Bringing in demons to ham-fistedly enforce such a major change was always going to feel out of place, even if OMD was well-written and hailed as a modern classic.
Ah right, the original green goblin idea... I think Ditko's idea was a little too narrow to truly hold up - Spider-man doesn't exist in his own world, he exists in one where magic, demons and gods are real and interacting with them is pretty much inevitable as a superhero.
Like, of all the issues with OMD and Peter making a deal with the fucking devil, the supernatural element is probably the least concern.
Edited by Saiga on Aug 11th 2022 at 5:05:17 AM

Really this whole thing with Spider-Man is the principle of the thing
They don't want him married fine, but all this shit about saying he always needs to be young and fucking Mephisto is just insulting
As others said the Mephisto deal is an albatross hanging over the franchise's neck. It always there preventing you from fully enjoying things.
Edited by slimcoder on Aug 9th 2022 at 7:58:59 AM
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."