Spider-Man: Life Story #3

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I read it. I liked it. I have some doubts and issues about the Watchmen homages and larger political story though but maybe that'll become clearer on re-reading it.

spoilers:

Mashing together Secret Wars with KLH and Venom is a hard thing to do in one go, and doing so essentially twists the meaning of the stories. Venom for instance is the story that marked an intrusion of personal horror into Spider-Man and his family and so on. While KLH is the dark night of the soul that they survive through. Mashing them together essentially brings an additional element of tragedy to that situation but it's grounded and logical. Having the Venom suit bond with Peter, and Peter rising out as Venom is a dark twist to that. This Peter certainly is an interpreted as being a highly flawed individual certainly from the second issue forward. Now he's a deadbeat dad, who puts his senile Aunt over his two babies. Missing out the birth of those kids of course substitutes for the missing two weeks early in that marriage and it basically is the catalyst for MJ leaving with the kids. It's more or less Peter B. in ITSV except there he divorces MJ because she wanted kids after May died, while here May is senile and invalid and he's arguably a bigger and less forgivable screwup than Peter B. is. I am of course sad that this take on Peter and MJ separated for now (though they did in 616 before coming back later, so who knows) but I am happy she carried her babies to term at least. I was dreading that when I saw her in preggers in hospital. This is better. Obviously Peter having distant and strained relations with his kids will be the story in the next three issues, and that is definitely an interesting wrinkle in Spider-Man AU stories. There's certainly a lot of thematic commentary that comes through here. I am not able to put it to words yet but maybe by the time the last issues roll out, it will come out. Politically though, I don't get what Zdarsky is trying to do. Russia actually nuking Allentown Pennsylvania should have actually started armageddon. This was something Frank Miller and Alan Moore agreed on. Both Watchmen and TDKR written in the '80s was about the fears of nuclear weapons falling and dropping. So if the bomb actually dropped, then why is nobody doing anything? This might be one part that weakens everything. And more importantly the story has had Captain America as the central hero in the background in the first two issues and he hardly figures here. The art by Bagley is wonderful here.

end of spoilers

[blackspidey2099]

I love how grounded Chip's take on Spider-Man in this series is. This results in a lot of suffering, but everything makes sense, and I never feel like any of the main characters has been written out-of-character to get to where he's going. Chip has outdone himself on this series, and I honestly think we're seeing a modern classic in the making.

[Miles To Go]

I love how grounded Chip's take on Spider-Man in this series is. This results in a lot of suffering, but everything makes sense, and I never feel like any of the main characters has been written out-of-character to get to where he's going. Chip has outdone himself on this series, and I honestly think we're seeing a modern classic in the making.

I'm, not going to sugar coat it. It's a train wreck and the main characters ARE being written OOC.

[NC_Yankee]

I'm, not going to sugar coat it. It's a train wreck and the main characters ARE being written OOC.

Life Story is a train wreck. Stuff I did not like down through the years. Sins Past: Check. Clone Saga: Check. Pathetic Peter: Check: Sacrifices for Aunt May: Check. Breaking up Peter and MJ: Check. I bet the ending will feature losing to Mephisto instead of an ending like Renew Your Vows or even Requiem. Compared to Chip, Dan Slott is Spencer.
Why? At least Slott gave us Renew Your Vows and was not responsible for Sins Past or the Clone Saga.

[Snoop Dogg]

I hope this series ends with 67 year old Peter sad and alone in a shriveled up tight Spider-Man suit covered in spaghetti sauce stains trying to web swing but then breaking his hip before Miles Morales saves him and then drops him into the middle of traffic in a pothole full of water while Jonah loudly cackles from his hospital bed.

[WebSlingWonder]

Life Story is a train wreck. Stuff I did not like down through the years. Sins Past: Check. Clone Saga: Check. Pathetic Peter: Check: Sacrifices for Aunt May: Check. Breaking up Peter and MJ: Check. I bet the ending will feature losing to Mephisto instead of an ending like Renew Your Vows or even Requiem. Compared to Chip, Dan Slott is Spencer.
Why? At least Slott gave us Renew Your Vows and was not responsible for Sins Past or the Clone Saga.

Hahahahahaha
Wait....
Ahahahahahahahaha
I'm sorry. The whole story is a trainwreck because it doesn't cater to personal biases?

[NC_Yankee]

Hahahahahaha
Wait....
Ahahahahahahahaha
I'm sorry. The whole story is a trainwreck because it doesn't cater to personal biases?

Personal biases? Of course I have a bias. I found Life Story to be depressing ( almost as bad as Leaving Las Vegas or Jacobs Ladder). What Chip did with Sins Past really sticks out. Why? I never heard of any justification for that story ( unlike OMD or even the Clone Saga), but here it is brought back. I will not be buying the next issue that is for sure.

[Von]

I'm, not going to sugar coat it. It's a train wreck and the main characters ARE being written OOC.

This couldn't possibly have anything to do with his take on Peter and MJ .......

Nah that would be totally OOC for you.

[Spidey_62]

This series is great and that's all there is to it. Sometimes life has its bumpy roads and ups and downs and screw ups. Peter Parker screws up like we do. It makes sense that all this stuff would take a heavy toll on a Peter who is starting to slow down, these are some of the biggest events in his life (from the character's publishing history) right in this issue, plus the real world events taking place. Will it not be a more interesting story to see him find his way back again as he gets older?

[NC_Yankee]

This series is great and that's all there is to it. Sometimes life has its bumpy roads and ups and downs and screw ups. Peter Parker screws up like we do. It makes sense that all this stuff would take a heavy toll on a Peter who is starting to slow down, these are some of the biggest events in his life (from the character's publishing history) right in this issue, plus the real world events taking place. Will it not be a more interesting story to see him find his way back again as he gets older?

Maybe that happens or maybe Peter dies and ends up in Hell, while Mephisto gets the final victory..

[Chubistian]

I really liked this issue.

We have a conflicted Peter about his power and responsibilities and has doubts about how far he should take them and which things he should prioritize.

He's tired of the repition of war; war between countries, war against supervillains, war even with his friends; but he can't stop fighting

That he refuses to take May to an old people's home hasn't got to do with money, he surely could pay for a good place for her to be, but it's painful for him to be separated from the woman that raised him and he feels a comprehensible sense that he would be betraying her. Could he put his priorities in order and fix things with MJ? Sure, but that requires time, and that is something Peter doesn't have, jumping from one problem to another, which has to do with my firsts thoughts about the limits of his power and responsibilities.

As always, I'm eager for the next chapter and Bagley keeps on doing an amazing job with Zdarsky's script

[Miles To Go]

This series is great and that's all there is to it

That's your opinion and that's all there is to it.

Peter Parker screws up like we do.

Not to this extent.

Hahahahahaha
Wait....
Ahahahahahahahaha
I'm sorry. The whole story is a trainwreck because it doesn't cater to personal biases?

There are more problems to this issue than just OOC writing.

Why are you mocking an opinion that differs from yours?

This couldn't possibly have anything to do with his take on Peter and MJ .......

It's his take on everything, but go on, assume you know what I'm thinking. Attacking me for my opinion will do nothing to change it.

[boots]

the great thing about this being a finite series is there’s a defined plot and character arc; everything is leading to something

one hopes

[Jman27]

I posted my thoughts it in the last thread but I am going to repost it here
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 cause I am tired of that lady is this what OMD feel like when he chose her over his marriage?

end of spoilers

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I posted my thoughts it in the last thread but I am going to repost it here
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 cause I am tired of that lady is this what OMD feel like when he chose her over his marriage?

end of spoilers

Issue #1 was fairly lighthearted and positive on the whole. I will add that Zdarsky is putting the entire Marvel universe through the wringer. Look at what Zdarsky did to Reed, and for that matter poor Vision and Pennsylvania, and of course don't think it was an easy or happy choice that Captain America made in #1 going rogue on USA.

And you know it's set in the 80s the age of Watchmen and TDKR, which are both dark takes on superhero stories so its appropriate and look spoilers:

at least Peter and MJ have children, so it's not like it was entirely absent of bright spots

end of spoilers.