Amazing Spider-Man Issue 801 Thoughts

[Dan Slott]

I think the recap of Peter's POV origin was sort of reminiscent of Grant Morrison's famous origin for Superman in All-Star, only with more panels and words.

That's a high compliment (or flattering comparison).
I did mention that in the description in the plot-- but also with the caveat that we couldn't be that pure-and-brief.
For the story to work, it was important that we hit between 7 to 10 very specific beats:
1. Intro to Uncle Ben and his love for Pete.
2. Kids being mean to Pete.
3. Establishing the science demonstration. (We combined 2 & 3).
4. The spider bite.
5. Pete gains amazing spider-powers.
6. He uses them for a TV career/fame/fortune. (We combined 5 & 6).
7. *Spidey lets the robber escape* - And we needed the line about "all you hadda to do was TRIP him" <- The most important panel in the retelling.
8. Pete finds out Uncle Ben got shot by a burglar.
9. Spidey takes out the Burglar.
10. Discovers it was the same man he let get away.
(11. Marcos chose to end on the mask. We didn't need it, but it was a GREAT choice!)

And that's how you got the 9 panels.
If we went the Morrison route and did it in 3, we wouldn't have hit everything we needed for the rest of the issue.
All 9 panels contained information that paid off later in the story-- whether it was obvious at first glance or not.
If we missed any of those 10 beats, we wouldn't be able to call back to them.

Also, the choice to do P.O.V. was a very clever choice on Marcos' part. Though the story was about Spidey, who he is, why he does what he does, and his GREAT effect on every life he saves-- the way the story was being told was focusing on ONE specific life Spidey saved and following THEM. We, the reader, know that Peter Parker is Spidey, but this is more about a civilian/everyman's interaction with SPIDEY (not Pete). Using the P.O.V. shots was a way of NOT seeing Peter's face anywhere in the issue-- you only ever see him as Spider-Man. For this SPECIFIC tale, it was more important to feel the soul/heart of Peter/Spidey than see his face under the mask.

[blackspidey2099]

That's a high compliment (or flattering comparison).
I did mention that in the description in the plot-- but also with the caveat that we couldn't be that pure-and-brief.
For the story to work, it was important that we hit between 7 to 10 very specific beats:
1. Intro to Uncle Ben and his love for Pete.
2. Kids being mean to Pete.
3. Establishing the science demonstration. (We combined 2 & 3).
4. The spider bite.
5. Pete gains amazing spider-powers.
6. He uses them for a TV career/fame/fortune. (We combined 5 & 6).
7. *Spidey lets the robber escape* - And we needed the line about "all you hadda to do was TRIP him" <- The most important panel in the retelling.
8. Pete finds out Uncle Ben got shot by a burglar.
9. Spidey takes out the Burglar.
10. Discovers it was the same man he let get away.
(11. Marcos chose to end on the mask. We didn't need it, but it was a GREAT choice!)

And that's how you got the 9 panels.
If we went the Morrison route and did it in 3, we wouldn't have hit everything we needed for the rest of the issue.
All 9 panels contained information that paid off later in the story-- whether it was obvious at first glance or not.
If we missed any of those 10 beats, we wouldn't be able to call back to them.

Also, the choice to do P.O.V. was a very clever choice on Marcos' part. Though the story was about Spidey, who he is, why he does what he does, and his GREAT effect on every life he saves-- the way the story was being told was focusing on ONE specific life Spidey saved and following THEM. We, the reader, know that Peter Parker is Spidey, but this is more about a civilian/everyman's interaction with SPIDEY (not Pete). Using the P.O.V. shots was a way of NOT seeing Peter's face anywhere in the issue-- you only ever see him as Spider-Man. For this SPECIFIC tale, it was more important to feel the soul/heart of Peter/Spidey than see his face under the mask.

Thanks for that insightful look into the creative process which went into that story! I know you've said you had it planned for a long while, so I was wondering when did the seeds for the story that eventually became ASM 801 get planted in your head? Was it when you first started on ASM, when you started your solo run, or sometime else along the way?

[Dan Slott]

Thanks for that insightful look into the creative process which went into that story! I know you've said you had it planned for a long while, so I was wondering when did the seeds for the story that eventually became ASM 801 get planted in your head? Was it when you first started on ASM, when you started your solo run, or sometime else along the way?

Halfway into my solo run. I was trying to explain to someone why Spidey does what he does-- and makes the sacrifices he makes to his own personal life. And it was because "Everyday he saves someone else's Uncle Ben." And the thought of him doing that-- and not even knowing he'd done that-- stuck with me.

[oldschool]

Halfway into my solo run. I was trying to explain to someone why Spidey does what he does-- and makes the sacrifices he makes to his own personal life. And it was because "Everyday he saves someone else's Uncle Ben." And the thought of him doing that-- and not even knowing he'd done that-- stuck with me.

Dan, congrats on a very solid run and thanks for sharing that insight. Marcos Martin is easily my favorite Spidey artist of the last quarter century and, much like your "No One Dies" story, I literally cannot envision anyone else helping tell the story you wanted to tell in #801 quite the same way. Congrats again; thx for all the great stories over the years!

[Batman Begins 2005]

I think the recap of Peter's POV origin was sort of reminiscent of Grant Morrison's famous origin for Superman in All-Star, only with more panels and words.

It's a tie between that and the closing pages which legitimately sent chills down my spine. A great issue to bow out on, Dan Slott. Thanks for your run, first Spider-Man run I actively sought out.

[WebSlingWonder]

Halfway into my solo run. I was trying to explain to someone why Spidey does what he does-- and makes the sacrifices he makes to his own personal life. And it was because "Everyday he saves someone else's Uncle Ben." And the thought of him doing that-- and not even knowing he'd done that-- stuck with me.

Mr. Slott:

First off, I loved #801! It was a great way to encapsulate all the good Spider-Man does and how much he means to New York and to the people. I absolutely loved it.

One question: when you had the scene with young Peter saving Ken in the store, he mentions a "last month": was that a reference to your story "Learning to Crawl"? I was a major fan of that story, but I was curious.

In any case, thank you for an amazing run and I'm so excited to read your Fantastic Four!

[Inversed]

I think the recap of Peter's POV origin was sort of reminiscent of Grant Morrison's famous origin for Superman in All-Star, only with more panels and words.

I loved that so much, and for a moment I thought the whole issue was gonna be a POV, which would have been really interesting to see, but the issue's direction did turn out much better anyway.

[blackspidey2099]

Halfway into my solo run. I was trying to explain to someone why Spidey does what he does-- and makes the sacrifices he makes to his own personal life. And it was because "Everyday he saves someone else's Uncle Ben." And the thought of him doing that-- and not even knowing he'd done that-- stuck with me.

Thanks for the explanation! Were you trying to explain it to someone on these forums (or Twitter)? Because that would be hilarious haha. Anyways, looking forward to your Fantastic Four run! I hope to see many Spider-Man guest appearances.

[Hypestyle]

nothing controversial happened? nice.

[Von]

"Everyday he saves someone else's Uncle Ben."

Aggh....that's it right there! Here come the tears again .... *grabs hankie*

[stillanerd]

I had some personal family issues last week which prevented me from getting around to reading ASM #801. Hence why my review for it has come out this week instead. In any case, I thought it was a nice farewell by Dan Slott. Nothing very profound, but still a nice sentiment about what Spider-Man means to others.

Stillanerd Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #801 review

[Dan Slott]

Nice bit of news: ASM #801 was Comic Book Round Up's best reviewed book of the week from last week.
For those unfamiliar with CBRU, it's like the Rotten Tomatoes site but for comics.

They aggregate a wide number of online reviews from around the web to help readers get an objective view-- overall-- for how a book's received.
By using a very wide sampling it helps weed out outliers and the odd review that might have some kind of bias for good or ill.

https://comicbookroundup.com/comic-b...man-(2015)/801

[blackspidey2099]

Nice bit of news: ASM #801 was Comic Book Round Up's best reviewed book of the week from last week.
For those unfamiliar with CBRU, it's like the Rotten Tomatoes site but for comics.

They aggregate a wide number of online reviews from around the web to help readers get an objective view-- overall-- for how a book's received.
By using a very wide sampling it helps weed out outliers and the odd review that might have some kind of bias for good or ill.

https://comicbookroundup.com/comic-b...man-(2015)/801

Well, that's definitely a nice way to close off your run! Congrats!