Joe Quesada discusses One More Day on Twitter

[Frontier]

Opinions differ on that, clearly. Whereas no one disputes it in the case of Clark and Lois.

Superman/Wonder Woman fans would care to disagree .

[Prof. Warren]

And the Spider-franchise had moved on since Wolfman had worked on them, since Larsen had worked on them, and (barring the end of the world) will move on from Slott working on them. But it's Stan's vision that stands the test of time. He, Ditko, and Romita established who these characters are. They are who matter.

But Stan isn't writing the books anymore. And I doubt if he's even bothered to read the books much at all since he stopped writing them in the early '70s. While his views on who Peter is will always be important, his views on the current events in the books and where all the supporting characters are and who they've become are not as informed as those of the many people who have run with the baton that Stan handed off years ago.

[Prof. Warren]

Superman/Wonder Woman fans would care to disagree .

Well, hard luck for them! Also, that's a pretty small segment of the fanbase, I'd say.

[Miles To Go]

Well, hard luck for them! Also, that's a pretty small segment of the fanbase, I'd say.

I concur. Their bitterness is so great I was kind of relishing what they made of her interactions with Supe in Justice League

[squirecam]

BTW, this is what Gerry had to say...

https://www.geekcrusade.com/news/ger...part-ii/10705/

I was very influenced by the original introduction of Mary Jane into the Spider-Man universe, as it was told by Stan and Steve Ditko. [This was] so enticing and very unusual at the time – they built up this character of Mary Jane over a period of several months, where she was on the periphery of Peter’s life. We knew that May Parker had a friend Mrs Watson, that that person had a niece [and they] wanted to set Peter and the niece up, and Peter was ducking it because ‘Oh my God, she’s probably a dog, I don’t wanna be anywhere near her’ (laughs). So there was a sense for several months, that these people’s lives were intertwined before they ever actually met. So that always intrigued me. What if they had never actually bumped into each other? Was there any other way that they might have known each other? So I sort of kept that in my mind.

When I came back to Marvel in the late 80s, my editor at the time Jim Salicrup, was telling me about these new projects, and one of the things we talked about was the possibility of doing a graphic novel. I at that point was not as interested in writing the big superhero battles and struggles. In fact, I was probably never all that interested in it. I loved it, but what I really liked was the stories that were about the characters, their personal lives.

So as we were talking over what to do for a graphic novel, I said, what I’d really like to do is something about Peter and Mary Jane, and their lives before they actually met, and try to see, why were they perfect for each other. I wanted to see if there was a way to explore each of their backgrounds and show that they were kind of made for each other in some perfect way, that it was inevitable that they were going to be together. I’d taken a lot of heat for killing off Gwen Stacy, but it was because I honestly felt that Mary Jane was more…more right for Peter as a character. And Parallel Lives was sort of my effort to make that case.

So the Guy that killed Gwen knew that MJ was the right fit for Peter.

[Kevinroc]

But Stan isn't writing the books anymore. And I doubt if he's even bothered to read the books much at all since he stopped writing them in the early '70s. While his views on who Peter is will always be important, his views on the current events in the books and where all the supporting characters are and who they've become are not as informed as those of the many people who have run with the baton that Stan handed off years ago.

You're essentially trying to argue that the words of later creators (many of whom aren't involved with Spider-Man at all these days, and haven't been in many years) are more important than Stan's. And that is not a view point I think is shared among many in the Spider-Man fandom.

[squirecam]

Opinions differ on that, clearly. Whereas no one disputes it in the case of Clark and Lois.

The DC fans know it to be true without DC editorial input.

The MARVEL UNIVERSE actually has an in-universe story specifically establishing that MJ is the one and only for Peter. It cannot be denied, because its the whole story premise.

[Prof. Warren]

So the Guy that killed Gwen knew that MJ was the right fit for Peter.

Conway definitely preferred MJ to Gwen. That's a valid viewpoint for him to take but it doesn't make it impossible for others to hold different opinions.

You're essentially trying to argue that the words of later creators (many of whom aren't involved with Spider-Man at all these days, and haven't been in many years) are more important than Stan's. And that is not a view point I think is shared among many in the Spider-Man fandom.

The viewpoints of the creators who worked on the books at the time are more valid to me than that of Stan's. Simply because Stan didn't work on those stories and likely didn't read them. It doesn't diminish Stan's importance to say that his thoughts on the core of the characters is more valid than the specifics of later storylines that he didn't participate in or read.

The DC fans know it to be true without DC editorial input.

The MARVEL UNIVERSE actually has an in-universe story specifically establishing that MJ is the one and only for Peter. It cannot be denied, because its the whole story premise.

It was the premise of OMD and was valid at the time in order to justify the premise but it doesn't mean that it's still true. It's easy enough for another writer to say that someone else has come along that is Peter's real true love.

Also, whatever OMD stated on behalf of Peter and MJ, many fans would still insist that Peter never had a greater love than Gwen. Point being, there's room to argue when it comes to Peter's love life whereas absolutely no one is going to say that Clark really belongs with, say, Lori Lemaris.

[squirecam]

Conway definitely preferred MJ to Gwen. That's a valid viewpoint for him to take but it doesn't make it impossible for others to hold different opinions.



The viewpoints of the creators who worked on the books at the time are more valid to me than that of Stan's. Simply because Stan didn't work on those stories and likely didn't read them. It doesn't diminish Stan's importance to say that his thoughts on the core of the characters is more valid than the specifics of later storylines that he didn't participate in or read.



It was the premise of OMD and was valid at the time in order to justify the premise but it doesn't mean that it's still true. It's easy enough for another writer to say that someone else has come along that is Peter's real true love.

Also, whatever OMD stated on behalf of Peter and MJ, many fans would still insist that Peter never had a greater love than Gwen. Point being, there's room to argue when it comes to Peter's love life whereas absolutely no one is going to say that Clark really belongs with, say, Lori Lemaris.

The day that Mephisto comes along to take Bobbi from Peter you can give me a call. Until then, pretty sure I have the better evidence.

[Kevinroc]

The viewpoints of the creators who worked on the books at the time are more valid to me than that of Stan's. Simply because Stan didn't work on those stories and likely didn't read them. It doesn't diminish Stan's importance to say that his thoughts on the core of the characters is more valid than the specifics of later storylines that he didn't participate in or read.

It sounds like you place a greater emphasis on continuity than on creators. That kind of thinking has done a lot of damage to the comic book industry.

It was the premise of OMD and was valid at the time in order to justify the premise but it doesn't mean that it's still true. It's easy enough for another writer to say that someone else has come along that is Peter's real true love.

Also, whatever OMD stated on behalf of Peter and MJ, many fans would still insist that Peter never had a greater love than Gwen. Point being, there's room to argue when it comes to Peter's love life whereas absolutely no one is going to say that Clark really belongs with, say, Lori Lemaris.

Love interests hardly last beyond their own creators these days. There's always a yearning to return to the love interests of the original creators.

(I'm reading the TPBs of Rucka's Wonder Woman Rebirth run and it places a strong emphasis on Steve Trevor, who was Wonder Woman's original love interest. Trevor obviously has been rethought from his original Golden Age incarnation.)

[Prof. Warren]

The day that Mephisto comes along to take Bobbi from Peter you can give me a call. Until then, pretty sure I have the better evidence.

Seeing as Bobbi and Peter have just started dating, I don't think anyone is going to say she's his one true love.

But it is a fun relationship to see develop and, ultimately, no amount of "evidence" either in favor of or against any of Peter's love interests is going to sway anyone who already has their own favorite.

[Prof. Warren]

It sounds like you place a greater emphasis on continuity than on creators. That kind of thinking has done a lot of damage to the comic book industry.

Not on continuity so much as just recognizing that creators who actually worked on specific stories are in a better position to comment on those stories than those who didn't.

If I want to know what was going on during the Stern/Romita Jr. era of ASM, for example, I'd want to hear from them first and foremost and not from Stan.

[Kevinroc]

Not on continuity so much as just recognizing that creators who actually worked on specific stories are in a better position to comment on those stories than those who didn't.

If I want to know what was going on during the Stern/Romita Jr. era of ASM, for example, I'd want to hear from them first and foremost and not from Stan.

If I want the specifics on Hobgoblin, I'd love to hear from Stern.

If I want the specifics on the Black Cat, Marv Wolfman all the way.

But if I want ultimate word on MJ and her place in the Spider-franchise, then I have to cite Stan. And what Stan says supersedes everyone else. He, along with Ditko and Romita, created Spider-Man's world. Absolutely everyone else who followed were just trying to live up to them and what they established.

[Frontier]

Also, whatever OMD stated on behalf of Peter and MJ, many fans would still insist that Peter never had a greater love than Gwen. Point being, there's room to argue when it comes to Peter's love life whereas absolutely no one is going to say that Clark really belongs with, say, Lori Lemaris.

I can't see how that could possibly be given it's been shown that Peter eventually got over Gwen and ultimately loved MJ more then her (no matter how many times writers keep dredging up Clone drama).

Certainly it's impossible to deny that his relationship with Mary Jane developed far more then his relationship with Gwen ever did.

Fans are certainly free to have their own personal ships, I'm sure there are people who ship Clark with Lori Lemaris or Lana Lang just as there are people who probably ship Peter with Betty Brant or Gwen, but none of them ultimately had the history or iconography with the lead of their respective franchise like Lois and Mary Jane do.

[Scott Taylor]

Funny....OMD's WHOLE FREAKING PREMISE is built around the fact that MJ is "the one" for Peter. Not just "someone". Not "one of many". THE one.

Also the premise of OMD, as discussed in the story. Marvel canon is that MJ is the one for Peter. Their coupling was dangerous for the cause of evil. Otherwise, the devil would have left them alone.