Spider-Man: Life Story By Chip Zdarsky & Mark Bagley

[Miles To Go]

maybe GRR slipped chip some story notes

Well if "The Bells" did feature in one of the more classic Symbiote stories...

[boots]

Well if "The Bells" did feature in one of the more classic Symbiote stories...

a venom reaction vid for that ep is needed. bells! fire! all his favorite stuff

[Miles To Go]

a venom reaction vid for that ep is needed. bells! fire! all his favorite stuff

"The Bells" was a SHOCKKEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[blackspidey2099]

I disagree. All this issue proved is that there is no levity or upswing and each issue focuses on suffering. What kind of edgelord wants to read this misery for three more months? A modern classic has it all, not just the same flavor.

I think issue #1 was plenty lighthearted enough. Issues 2 and 3 have been a lot darker, but there's nothing to suggest that things won't take a brighter turn in the 2000s. If anything, the dark tone of these stories reminds me a lot of the 80s Spider-Man stories, many of which were a lot more gritty than current Spider-Man.

[Miles To Go]

I think issue #1 was plenty lighthearted enough. Issues 2 and 3 have been a lot darker, but there's nothing to suggest that things won't take a brighter turn in the 2000s. If anything, the dark tone of these stories reminds me a lot of the 80s Spider-Man stories, many of which were a lot more gritty than current Spider-Man.

In the 80s, MJ stuck by Peter.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

In the 80s, MJ stuck by Peter.

Sue Storm stuck by Reed in the 70s too, so Zdarksy at least is playing fair. And Parker Industries didn't exist in the '80s. Obviously once comic book time kicked in to slow down the aging of the characters which happened in the '70s and 80s so on, there's going to be divergences from the actual comics publication history and so on.

[Vortex85]

In the 80s, MJ stuck by Peter.

They also didn’t have kids in the 80s and they were newly weds then. The series has a lot of changes and it can’t show everything with the limited number of issues so it has to skip over a lot.

Peter was gone a lot in the 90a causing strain on relationship and on the 00s they separated for a while after MJ was kidnepped. I can see this as a play on those times.

[David Walton]

I thought the split was well done. There were clearly marital stresses building to that moment. Peter was absent for the birth of their children because he was offworld. He refused to put Aunt May in a home, but forced MJ to carry the burden, and their kids were endangered by that choice. He was so lost without crimefighting that he became addicted to the symbiote and then asked MJ to be responsible for (potentially) killing him should it reach that point.

And to be fair, Peter had reasons for making the decisions he did, too. He wants to help people and he felt being Spider-Man was the best way to do that. He wasn't oblivious to the potential problems, as he saw how Reed had pushed everyone away. He genuinely tried to find a balance but just couldn't make it work in spite of his best efforts and something had to give.

[AngelJD]

spoilers:

What the hell again why is Peter life is full of misery! I am starting to wonder if each issue is trying to top the previous one in terms of despair for the Hero. Since I believe Clones are coming back next issue and since its the 90s I could see Peter finding out that a clone of him makeup with MJ and started raising the kids and he had no idea about it but I fully expect MJ to marry someone else. Kraven last hunt was done neatly surprised Black Cat wasn't in this issue maybe she will be in the next one she could possibly be his next girlfriend I don't know. But I am expecting Aunt May to not be alive

end of spoilers

I want to ask first if the name Claire means anything for Peter and MJ in any multiverse?

spoilers:

I agree the past two issues has been depressed and not just for Peter but for many others in the cast suffering. I can see it not just from the writing but from the art style. The colors are not bright but each page in issue 2 and 3 it seems is either washed out colors looking, grays, or at night/dark locations that feels cold. Also Peter's choice of not getting May help in a form of a nurse or other hurts not just himself, MJ, and their babies but also is a disservice to May as well. May is suffering and a danger to herself and others due to stuff outside of her own control and mind. One day we might have to make hard choice for our own parents suffering the same way and then our kids might have to consider for us depending on circumstances. It's something we will have to consider what we will do when the time possibly comes. Peter doesn't have the time to balance both fatherhood, Spider-man duties, and watching over Aunt May. He does have money it seems so a nurse that can care for her I think would be a prime choice for Peter as he can't do it himself nor force MJ to with her own time towards the kids and whatever MJ might have going on. Now maybe Helen and Ben might reappear in the next issue. The writer might be inspired by the clone tales that happened during the 90's. However let's say instead of causing problems they try to help instead. We know for a short time 616 Ben took the reigns while Peter focused on family. Maybe in the early 90's like January 1990 Ben and Helen might meet Peter agian at May's funeral. Maybe Ben being a good brother and Helen caring for Peter tells him to take a break being Spider-man to get his personal/family life back in shape. Peter takes his brother's advice and Ben watches over NYC while Peter finds MJ and becomes a father. At small time skip happens in the same issue to December 1999 and and the Parker family and Reilly's are having a New Millennium Eve Party together which Uncle Ben and Aunt Helen then reveals they are going to have a girl of their own as Helen is pregnant and they decided she will be named after Helen's late sister Gwen (setting up 2010's possible Spider-Gwen and Miles Morales somehow) Overall I hope some brightness returns and breather before we get to the 2000's with all the darkness that will surely bring for Parker and the families/cast)

end of spoilers

[Yvonmukluk]

In the 80s, MJ stuck by Peter.

spoilers:

Yeah, but that was 616 where Aunt May was still comfortably living independently, the alien costume saga had already happened and they didn't have two kids in the mix. MJ grew up the child of an unhappy marriage - I feel like in this context her making the decision to ensure her kids don't grow up in that sort of environment makes sense. Peter was retiring from being Spider-Man when baby May was on the way in 616, and in RYV Peter & MJ were a team (also I dunno how it worked in the ongoing, but Peter had retired from being Spidey till Annie was something like 8 in the Secret Wars series). In the MC2, the majorly traumatic events in the marriage (Kraven's Last Hunt, Venom etc.) had happened long before she was born. Whereas this was a perfect storm of terrible circumstances, that were largely self-inflicted on Peter's part. He could have afforded to get May proper care, even if he didn't want to put her in a home, and then left MJ to take care of her & the kids. He knew the symbiote was dangerous, but he used it anyway over MJ's objections. Like many of the tragedies in Peter's life, he played a role in things falling apart. He even says as much.

end of spoilers

I want to ask first if the name Claire means anything for Peter and MJ in any multiverse?]

I think in this case it's a case that MJ didn't want to name her after May in this context, since Peter wasn't there to provide input, and her relationship with May is strained (as opposed to 616/MC2, where May was a dearly departed surrogate mother figure).

[Miles To Go]

spoilers:

Yeah, but that was 616 where Aunt May was still comfortably living independently, the alien costume saga had already happened and they didn't have two kids in the mix. MJ grew up the child of an unhappy marriage - I feel like in this context her making the decision to ensure her kids don't grow up in that sort of environment makes sense. Peter was retiring from being Spider-Man when baby May was on the way in 616, and in RYV Peter & MJ were a team (also I dunno how it worked in the ongoing, but Peter had retired from being Spidey till Annie was something like 8 in the Secret Wars series). In the MC2, the majorly traumatic events in the marriage (Kraven's Last Hunt, Venom etc.) had happened long before she was born. Whereas this was a perfect storm of terrible circumstances, that were largely self-inflicted on Peter's part. He could have afforded to get May proper care, even if he didn't want to put her in a home, and then left MJ to take care of her & the kids. He knew the symbiote was dangerous, but he used it anyway over MJ's objections. Like many of the tragedies in Peter's life, he played a role in things falling apart. He even says as much.

end of spoilers.

spoilers:

And the fact he allowed this much to pile up is not consistent with who he is, or how other versions of him have acted. He would never have allowed things to get this worse for himself or the others he cares about. Every action could have been avoided if the plot had served the characters, not the other way around. The day has finally come where people are perfectly OK with MJ having enough and it sickens me. Her likeability hinges on her being durable enough to sustain her and Peter through anything...and now she can't, and it's being praised. The fans have finally caved. It's OK to give up.

end of spoilers

[WebSlingWonder]

spoilers:

And the fact he allowed this much to pile up is not consistent with who he is, or how other versions of him have acted. He would never have allowed things to get this worse for himself or the others he cares about. Every action could have been avoided if the plot had served the characters, not the other way around. The day has finally come where people are perfectly OK with MJ having enough and it sickens me. Her likeability hinges on her being durable enough to sustain her and Peter through anything...and now she can't, and it's being praised. The fans have finally caved. It's OK to give up.

end of spoilers

You seem highly upset, which is unusual because you literally praised last issue. In fact, I had a similar conversation with someone else last issue about how they too were dropping the book because it wasn't what they wanted.

[Miles To Go]

You seem highly upset, which is unusual because you literally praised last issue.

Heh, I did didn't I? In retrospect I probably should have had more of a problem with that (I disagreed with how MJ was depicted there also I believe), I think it's because I didn't have particular investment in Peter and Gwen so I gave a lot of it a pass.

[Kevinroc]

https://twitter.com/7ThWonderComics/...00495080710144

[Miles To Go]

Looks like Ock may get his "dying wish" in this issue.

And MJ's still about, guess Chip really is treating the two like his own relationship with his ex-wife (and that's in no way a bad thing according to him, the two are best friends and still come through for one another)