Are there types of stories that shouldn't be told in Amazing Spider-Man?

[Mister Mets]

In a review of Slott's last issue, a panelist said one knock against the story was that it felt like something that wasn't Amazing Spider-Man. It would have functioned as a back-up in an annual, or as an issue of a Tangled Web style anthology.

This leads to an interesting question. What type of stories are the wrong fit for Amazing Spider-Man? The material may be good, but it's the wrong title. Is there any such story where even if the creative team of ASM wanted to tell it, they should opt for another book?

[Inversed]

I'm interested to know what the story they felt shouldn't have been told. Honestly, unless its something purposefully offensive, I feel any story could be told through any series, as long as there's a good writer to execute it. And I feel that's been the biggest strength of Slott throughout his run, he knows through Spider-Man's history that the character's done almost everything, so he looks outside the box to think of the most interesting and crazy ideas possible and goes for it.

Even when his arc's falter, I feel like it's less to do with the story itself and more how he handles the characters involves, as he'll have a tendency to write them out of character just to advance the plot.

[Frontier]

I hesitate to say that there are stories that shouldn't be told in Amazing Spider-Man, since you can pretty much write any stories you want in the title, but I do think there are stories that fit Spider-Man and stories that don't.

Like, for instance, Spider-Verse. For me, what makes that a Spider-Man story? Sure, there are Spider-Men and Women involved in the story, but the actual main Spider-Man didn't really seem to have any personal or emotional investment in what was going on. There was nothing to really ground or bring the events close to home for Peter, and no involvement or interaction with his main supporting cast to where it would have any kind of impact on his personal life. The less said about the Silk "relationship," the better. So, personally, that doesn't feel like a Spider-Man story to me.

It's also just funny in hindsight to look at Slott's run now that he's writing both FF and Iron Man because it feels like a lot of his run was spent trying to have Spider-Man check boxes that those titles are more known for. Does that mean those were more FF or Iron Man stories then Spider-Man?

[Inversed]

I hesitate to say that there are stories that shouldn't be told in Amazing Spider-Man, since you can pretty much write any stories you want in the title, but I do think there are stories that fit Spider-Man and stories that don't.

Like, for instance, Spider-Verse. For me, what makes that a Spider-Man story? Sure, there are Spider-Men and Women involved in the story, but the actual main Spider-Man didn't really seem to have any personal or emotional investment in what was going on. There was nothing to really ground or bring the events close to home for Peter, and no involvement or interaction with his main supporting cast to where it would have any kind of impact on his personal life. The less said about the Silk "relationship," the better. So, personally, that doesn't feel like a Spider-Man story to me.

It's also just funny in hindsight to look at Slott's run now that he's writing both FF and Iron Man because it feels like a lot of his run was spent trying to have Spider-Man check boxes that those titles are more known for. Does that mean those were more FF or Iron Man stories then Spider-Man?

While the execution I can understand where you're coming from, the actual story itself, "Spider-Man teaming up with other Spider-Men and Women across the multiverse to defeat a group of vampires" is solid enough that you can see it fitting in.

I do think Spider-Verse did have some trouble trying to fit 616 Peter into it. He's the main character, so he has to be the focus, but at the same time, they didn't want to make it so that 616 Peter was "the only Spider-Man that mattered" or "the most important Spider-Man", and give attention to the others too. I would say they found a good approach by saying 616 Peter was the only one to defeat Morlun previously, and then taking up a leadership role basically just so Otto wouldn't.

[Miles To Go]

Try almost everything from the last decade.

[SuperiorIronman]

It's mostly in the stories you want to tell and how you plan to execute them which to be fair, Slott's run did get a little underdeveloped in Volume 3 and well into 4.

[Frontier]

While the execution I can understand where you're coming from, the actual story itself, "Spider-Man teaming up with other Spider-Men and Women across the multiverse to defeat a group of vampires" is solid enough that you can see it fitting in.

That still doesn't really sound like a Spider-Man story to me. It sounds like the 90's cartoon doing Secret Wars or their own Clone Saga, but that was when the show was about to end so they could Jump the Shark like that .

I do think Spider-Verse did have some trouble trying to fit 616 Peter into it. He's the main character, so he has to be the focus, but at the same time, they didn't want to make it so that 616 Peter was "the only Spider-Man that mattered" or "the most important Spider-Man", and give attention to the others too. I would say they found a good approach by saying 616 Peter was the only one to defeat Morlun previously, and then taking up a leadership role basically just so Otto wouldn't.

I think part of the issue was that it was a story designed for SpOck and Slott had to re-work it to fit in Peter.

They made him out to be important because he had actually beaten Morlun and was made the leader, but it felt mostly like lip service for a good portion of the story, especially when it didn't feel like Peter was doing much actual leading.

[Inversed]

That still doesn't really sound like a Spider-Man story to me. It sounds like the 90's cartoon doing Secret Wars or their own Clone Saga, but that was when the show was about to end so they could Jump the Shark like that .

I think part of the issue was that it was a story designed for SpOck and Slott had to re-work it to fit in Peter.

They made him out to be important because he had actually beaten Morlun and was made the leader, but it felt mostly like lip service for a good portion of the story, especially when it didn't feel like Peter was doing much actual leading.

I would still say a story that resolves around Spider-Man reacting to alternate versions of himself from other worlds is still a good idea for a Spider-Man story, even if our Spider-Man himself doesn't play a huge role in the main plot. I mean this isn't even the first time Slott told this story, since it's just an extended version of Shattered Dimensions.

I think the reason it felt that way is because Peter has never really been a good leader unless he has an exact plan or the threat is more personal, examples are like when he and the Avengers fought Doc Ock at the beginning of Big Time, Spider-Island, and Ends Of The Earth.

He only stepped up to the leadership role because all the other leaders were dead, and if he didn't do it, then SpOck would have, and Peter knew that wouldn't help things. Even if the execution wasn't completely perfect, and they probably put too much attention on SpOck, I feel the core ideas were well thought out.

[Huntsman Spider]

Since Frontier brought up Spider Wars, that worked because it was, at its core, a story about who Peter Parker/Spider-Man was at his core, best represented by the compare/contrast between him, the villain of the story (Spider-Carnage), and one of his ostensible allies (multibillionaire armored Spider-Man). Spider-Carnage was a version of Peter who had been so thoroughly broken by the losses and tragedies in his life that he wanted to die, and more importantly (and dangerously), he was willing to take all creation and reality down with him as revenge for his misery and pain. Armored Spider-Man was a version of Peter who had lost nothing in his life, gained a lot --- billions of dollars, the love and admiration of nearly everyone around him, a still-living Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and a lovely fiancée named Gwen Stacy --- and as a result of having lost nothing in his life, he was an arrogant, overconfident jackass who endangered his fellow Spider-Men with his reckless stunts and got himself taken out of the fight as well.

Oh, and his world's Wilson Fisk was still a crime lord plotting against him in the guise of Peter Parker's lawyer, who eagerly signed up with Spider-Carnage when he thought it was going to net him complete control of Peter's wealth and resources (albeit shared with Spider-Carnage in what he assumed was a partnership, not simply Spider-Carnage exploiting his greed to get closer to his goal of annihilating all reality). In the end, the whole thing boiled down to a confrontation between "our" Peter, Spider-Carnage, and the still-living Uncle Ben of the Armored Spider-Man's reality, who managed to reach the tragically wounded and hurt Peter inside Spider-Carnage's maniacal shell and remind him of who he really was and stood for, culminating in Spider-Carnage obliterating himself to end the threat of the Carnage symbiote, much to "our" Peter's sorrow, though at least he got to have a moment with Uncle Ben.

Plus, there was the scene with Stan Lee himself at the end, and Spider-Man confiding in him that after everything he'd been through, everything he realized he could have been and become, he actually liked himself and his life and wouldn't change either. While Stan was surprised at that, saying that Spider-Man definitely wasn't the same character he'd been writing for years, Spider-Man's simple yet profound response was, "Well, Stan, we all have to grow up sometime, I suppose. Even us characters of fiction." That, to me, perfectly encapsulates Spider-Man's growth and development as a character and why setting it back just to have some illusory, nostalgic ideal of "the good old days" doesn't work and never will.

[Frontier]

I would still say a story that resolves around Spider-Man reacting to alternate versions of himself from other worlds is still a good idea for a Spider-Man story, even if our Spider-Man himself doesn't play a huge role in the main plot. I mean this isn't even the first time Slott told this story, since it's just an extended version of Shattered Dimensions.

I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad idea for a Spider-Man story, so long as it feels like one, which I didn't think Spider-Verse did for the reasons I stated.

Honestly, I think the Shattered Dimension levels did a better job of delivering Spider-Man stories for each Spider then Spider-Verse did.

I think the reason it felt that way is because Peter has never really been a good leader unless he has an exact plan or the threat is more personal, examples are like when he and the Avengers fought Doc Ock at the beginning of Big Time, Spider-Island, and Ends Of The Earth.

With that in mind I don't see why he would be portrayed as milquetoast a leader as he was throughout most of Spider-Verse, although, as I mentioned, he didn't have much personal investment in the story.

He only stepped up to the leadership role because all the other leaders were dead, and if he didn't do it, then SpOck would have, and Peter knew that wouldn't help things. Even if the execution wasn't completely perfect, and they probably put too much attention on SpOck, I feel the core ideas were well thought out.

I wasn't criticizing the ideas in this case, but purely the execution.

[Mister Mets]

I'm interested to know what the story they felt shouldn't have been told. Honestly, unless its something purposefully offensive, I feel any story could be told through any series, as long as there's a good writer to execute it. And I feel that's been the biggest strength of Slott throughout his run, he knows through Spider-Man's history that the character's done almost everything, so he looks outside the box to think of the most interesting and crazy ideas possible and goes for it.

Even when his arc's falter, I feel like it's less to do with the story itself and more how he handles the characters involves, as he'll have a tendency to write them out of character just to advance the plot.

I might've been unclear in my first post (it's been edited for clarity.) It was a reference to a criticism of Amazing Spider-Man #801, Slott's last issue. The reviewer felt that it wasn't the right fit for Amazing Spider-Man, as it didn't feature Peter Parker or tie into any of the earlier stories from the title.

[Scott Taylor]

I don't feel comfortable with considering back-up stories to be second rate. Kid Who Collected Spider-Man actually was a backup story, iirc, just stuck in there in an issue that wrapped up a larger story. Some of the so-called backup stories in annuals have been my favorites.

Calling it a back up story in feel just seems like a back-handed way to insult the story and by proxy the writer.

Funny, too because the very first, cherished appearance of Spider-Man was in a backup story.

[Arsenal]

I think the odd one shot story about how Spider-Man saves random people’s and seeing from their perspective how it impacts their lives going forward fits Spider-Man type story pretty well.

[comicscollector]

Spider-Man stories with computer art.
I am looking at you Spider-Man:Quality of Life limited series.

[Mister Mets]

I don't feel comfortable with considering back-up stories to be second rate. Kid Who Collected Spider-Man actually was a backup story, iirc, just stuck in there in an issue that wrapped up a larger story. Some of the so-called backup stories in annuals have been my favorites.

Calling it a back up story in feel just seems like a back-handed way to insult the story and by proxy the writer.

Funny, too because the very first, cherished appearance of Spider-Man was in a backup story.

That is an excellent point that from the beginning, Spider-Man has been unconventional.

I don't think the idea is that a story that shouldn't be told in ASM is second-rate. The claim is that it's just the wrong place for a particular story.

I do disagree on even that. Modern pop culture has conditioned audiences to accept that a title will have off-beat stories. "The Boy Who Collects Spider-Man" was great, but that was published during Assistant Editor's Month, since they didn't think it would be a good fit for a standard issue. It's shame they had to wait on it, and it's worth considering all the other stories that might never have been told because there were too many hurdles with doing anything out of the ordinary.