Grant Morrison Writing Spider-Man: Yay Or Nay?

[The Red Monk]

Discuss. Morrison already had a go at the X-Men, and his run still remains a point of contention for many X-Fans. What do Spidey fans think?

Here's a bit of info on the proposed 1990's graphic novel by Morrison:

A proposed graphic novel in the wake of the success of Arkham Asylum, with art by Simon Bisley. Morrison expressed a desire to return to the Ditko Spider-Man. "It's not Spider-Man in Arkham Asylum or anything - it's action all the way with things blowing up from page one but it still won't be a great deal like the Spider-Man that everyone is used to"

According to the webchat Morrison gave at Next Planet Over in 1999, the story was to begin with an attack by Mysterio, resulting in Spider-Man waking in a parallel world where Aunt May died and Peter never married.

"The Spider-Man of that world is a creepy, skinny Ditko guy, who lives on his own and is shunned by the neighbors." said Morrison, "He only comes alive when he's out on the rooftops leaping about and squirting jets of white stuff over everything. Freud would have loved the story as the creepy but ultimately decent Spider-Man meets his counterpart from a place where Peter married a supermodel and made lots of money. The story was based around that tension and the ultimate redemption of the creepy Ditko character. I'd do something different now."

Mark Millar later suggested that Morrison had also completed scripts for a Spider-Man mini-series to be drawn by his Batman: Gothic collaborator Klaus Janson. Most likely the two stories are variations on the same themes above. Neither the mini-series or the graphic novel ever saw print.

Interviewed about his time at Marvel many years later, Morrison expressed little enthusiasm for tackling Spider-Man, believing that Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and John Buscehe had set the bar for the character so high on the original run that any take on the character would by necessity be in their shadow and largely redundant. He instead preferred to take Lee's 'teenage outsider' template and apply it to revamps of lesser characters like Marvel Boy and supporting players in his X-Men run. Spider-Man remains probably the most significant Big Two super-hero that Morrison hasn't written, with the character not even managing a cameo appearance in any of Morrison's Marvel scripts.

[OlOneEyed]

the story was to begin with an attack by Mysterio, resulting in Spider-Man waking in a parallel world where Aunt May died and Peter never married.

Well, they're already halfway there in the 616!

[Kevinroc]

Morrison doesn't seem that interested in ever doing Spider-Man. I think that answers the question.

[Confuzzled]

I like that Morrison envisioned the creepy thin and anti-social Ditko-version as a parallel to the main Spidey who was happily married. I agree that Ditko Peter Parker and Lee/Romita Peter Parker (AKA current Peter) are pretty much two different individuals. So I'd have loved to see the tension and drama when those two individuals came face to face, as explored by Morrison.

[Cmbmool]

A big fat NAY, I mean Morrison has the habit if stretching the mythos a bit to make the story almost confusing for the reader.

[cyberhubbs]

I wouldn't be opposed to Morrison exploring a world where Ditko-Spidey stuck around. Doesn't necessarily have to include 616 Spidey, either.

But he has no interest in doing such a story, soooooo...

[Tendrin]

Way love the Ditko Spidey. I never liked that he miraculously gained leading man looks, honestly. Peter should've stayed, well... more average.

[Confuzzled]

Way love the Ditko Spidey.

Lol hated that dick. If Ditko had stayed on, the first volume of ASM would've probably been cancelled by 67/68 thanks to his incredibly unlikable Spider-Man and supporting cast.

[Mister Mets]

I'm conflicted. He's done great work with the other top comic franchises, which suggests he should be able to do well with the best. But he also doesn't seem that interested in this character.

[Confuzzled]

I'm conflicted. He's done great work with the other top comic franchises, which suggests he should be able to do well with the best. But he also doesn't seem that interested in this character.

He feels there is nothing more to add as everything about the character has been explained well enough.

[exile001]

He feels there is nothing more to add as everything about the character has been explained well enough.

Which is very interesting as you could definiterly say the same about Batman and he wrote that for 7 odd years. I guess he just isn't interested in Spidey.

[Darthfury78]

Lol hated that dick. If Ditko had stayed on, the first volume of ASM would've probably been cancelled by 67/68 thanks to his incredibly unlikable Spider-Man and supporting cast.

And yet, the powers that be want to bring Spider-Man back to his Steve Ditko era roots, led by Dan Slott and a few other writers as well. Some might not have known(as you pointed out) that if Ditko had stayed on Spider-Man, Peter Parker might have turned out to be a very different character. They tried to bring the Ditko era Spider-Man back around the mid-late 1970's until around the mid-1980's. For example, I do feel that Superior Spider-Man might have been an influence of Steve Ditko's illustration style, as well as the current direction of Spider-Man in recent years by the staff at large. I believe that Dan Slott and Brian Bendis might be a loyal fans of Steve Ditko's work because we do see that influence through their respective portrayal of Spider-Man in recent years in both Amazing Spider-Man and the Avengers, of which Spider-Man acts like an excited high school kid in latter.

[Confuzzled]

And yet, the powers that be want to bring Spider-Man back to his Steve Ditko era roots, led by Dan Slott and a few other writers as well. Some might not have known(as you pointed out) that if Ditko had stayed on Spider-Man, Peter Parker might have turned out to be a very different character. They tried to bring the Ditko era Spider-Man back around the mid-late 1970's until around the mid-1980's. For example, I do feel that Superior Spider-Man might have been an influence of Steve Ditko's illustration style, as well as the current direction of Spider-Man in recent years by the staff at large. I believe that Dan Slott and Brian Bendis might be a loyal fans of Steve Ditko's work because we do see that influence through their respective portrayal of Spider-Man in recent years in both Amazing Spider-Man and the Avengers, of which Spider-Man acts like an excited high school kid in latter.

I disagree as I don't see many similarities between SSM/Ultimate SM and Ditko's take on the character, speaking purely in the context of Peter's characterization. Besides, the point of Superior Spider-Man WAS that what if Spider-Man was someone less idealistic than Peter Parker? So if there were any similarities, it would be more like a parallel scenario like what Morrison had in mind instead of trying to shoehorn 616 Peter into the Ditko mold. And Bendis's Peter Parker is always much more mild than Ditko's version too and the teen soap opera setting of USM was more Romita than Ditko. Slott and Bendis do tend to amp up the "manchild-ness" of Peter Parker but not in the vein of Ditko's manchild, whose social inabilities were of another level altogether.

Late 70s/early 80's was also a natural progression from the Conway era, I feel, not having anything to do with aping the Ditko years in particular.

[Donuts]

Morrison doesn't seem that interested in ever doing Spider-Man. I think that answers the question.

Quoted! Plus, he doesn't like the character, I believe.

[Deniz Camp]

I don't think it's that he doesn't like the character, but rather that he feels he's ill suited for it.

I suppose that depends on your view of his work - he's astonishingly versatile - but I can certainly respect his viewpoint.