How would you rate Tom Talyor's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Series?

[Revolutionary_Jack]

...but I think Peter needs someone he can talk to about all of this that he isn't dating or is not a superhero.

Zdarsky gave him Jonah to do that. And before that, JMS gave him Ezekiel.

...Theresa fits that role.

As a SHIELD agent and super-spy in an outfit and so on, not sure if Theresa fits that role. She's a superheroine in the Maria Hill and Co. mode.

I just think it's too Silver Age-y in the bad sense and too redolent of the Garfield Spidey movies which made a big to-do about Peter's biological family and so on. And ultimately all it communicates is a "lack of connection". Teresa has no connection to Aunt May who is Peter's mother. No connection to Peter's childhood and so on. Peter didn't grow up mourning a lost sister and so on. It just feels random and external to what Peter and his readers always saw as his real family background. Some vague connection to Lee's controversial Annual story about Peter's SHIELD parents, a subplot and story that has always been controversial to begin with and which the way Lee did it, was a one-and-done thing.

I know a lot of people complain about Mary Jane's family background and so on but at least her family history and connections and their distance from Peter's daily life has a proper explanation, reason, and emotional clarity. Teresa just feels random. I don't think anyone at Marvel should have allowed Mark Waid to do that story in Family Business to start with. I have no problems with how Zdarsky used it but as I said, I think eventually you have to write her out and close her out of the story entirely.

[Frontier]

I don't really have any strong feelings for Teresa. I don't really care for Peter having a sister either. Just felt like it was a really sad way to end things for her after everything Zdarsky did.

[WebSlingWonder]

Zdarsky gave him Jonah to do that. And before that, JMS gave him Ezekiel.



As a SHIELD agent and super-spy in an outfit and so on, not sure if Theresa fits that role. She's a superheroine in the Maria Hill and Co. mode.

I just think it's too Silver Age-y in the bad sense and too redolent of the Garfield Spidey movies which made a big to-do about Peter's biological family and so on. And ultimately all it communicates is a "lack of connection". Teresa has no connection to Aunt May who is Peter's mother. No connection to Peter's childhood and so on. Peter didn't grow up mourning a lost sister and so on. It just feels random and external to what Peter and his readers always saw as his real family background. Some vague connection to Lee's controversial Annual story about Peter's SHIELD parents, a subplot and story that has always been controversial to begin with and which the way Lee did it, was a one-and-done thing.

I know a lot of people complain about Mary Jane's family background and so on but at least her family history and connections and their distance from Peter's daily life has a proper explanation, reason, and emotional clarity. Teresa just feels random. I don't think anyone at Marvel should have allowed Mark Waid to do that story in Family Business to start with. I have no problems with how Zdarsky used it but as I said, I think eventually you have to write her out and close her out of the story entirely.

Um, dude...I don't really care that much to psychoanalyze it like that. But okay.
Regardless, I'm for introducing some new and unique characters in Spider-Man's world. To not derail this thread any further, I think new characters can be a good thing, even ones tied to Peter's past (if done well).

FNSM is a fun series that is ancillary to ASM in a good way. I think I'm waiting for that one story that is so strong that it almost overshadows ASM (kind of like "One Small Break" did for PPSM and "Finale" did with SPEC)

[HypnoHustler]

Peter already has “brothers” in Ben Reilly and Kaine. Why not give him a sister to balance things out then?
And now that Zdarsky confirmed they’re siblings, it’d be hard to “close out” her story unless you killed her, which would be hacky and cliche af.

I guess you could put her on assignment in some foreign country.

[WebSlingWonder]

Peter already has “brothers” in Ben Reilly and Kaine. Why not give him a sister to balance things out then?
And now that Zdarsky confirmed they’re siblings, it’d be hard to “close out” her story unless you killed her, which would be hacky and cliche af.

I guess you could put her on assignment in some foreign country.

Exactly, I agree. If we keep Kaine and Ben as his (eerily) biological brothers, then Theresa is in that family too.
In fact, that's a good idea for a Parker family storyline down the line.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Peter already has “brothers” in Ben Reilly and Kaine.

They are clones. Not brothers. Teresa is claiming actual biological descent from Richard and Mary Parker. Huge difference.

Why not give him a sister to balance things out then?

Well Spider-Gwen, Jessica Drew Spider-Woman, and others fulfill that function. As it is Teresa in Zdarsky's run does resemble Ultimate Jessica Drew from the Ultimate comics.

And now that Zdarsky confirmed they’re siblings, it’d be hard to “close out” her story unless you killed her, which would be hacky and cliche af.

Teresa could be a sister of Peter from an alternate universe accidentally stranded in 616 after an experiment went wrong but now...she must go to her timeline. Boom. Problem solved.

[WebSlingWonder]

They are clones. Not brothers. Teresa is claiming actual biological descent from Richard and Mary Parker. Huge difference.



Well Spider-Gwen, Jessica Drew Spider-Woman, and others fulfill that function. As it is Teresa in Zdarsky's run does resemble Ultimate Jessica Drew from the Ultimate comics.



Teresa could be a sister of Peter from an alternate universe accidentally stranded in 616 after an experiment went wrong but now...she must go to her timeline. Boom. Problem solved.

None of that sounded good at all. What is wrong with Theresa being Peter's sister? Seriously? And although Ben and Kaine are clones, they are very very different people from Peter (to the point where Peter, numerous times, calls Kaine "brother" to which Kaine calls him back). So that's moot. Spider-Gwen is not a sister, neither is Jessica Drew, neither is Mattie Franklin, nor Silk, nor Arachne/Madame Web II, nor Araña, none of them. So I don't know where that's coming from, honestly.

To say she comes from an alternate universe would actually make it more complicated and confusing, rather than saying "Hey, my parents had a kid before me. Got lost somewhere, now back." Not perfect, but makes more sense for two SHIELD agents.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

To say she comes from an alternate universe would actually make it more complicated and confusing, rather than saying "Hey, my parents had a kid before me. Got lost somewhere, now back." Not perfect, but makes more sense for two SHIELD agents.

Apparently Teresa Parker is Peter's "younger sister". And not older. Apparently she was a baby they had in Europe but died before they could inform anyone...which strikes me as being supremely thoughtless, callous, and negligent on the part of parents of a newborn. Why would Richard and Mary Parker care so little for their daughter than their son? It raises too many questions. If Ben knew, why did he keep this from May and Peter? Likewise if May knew.

[WebSlingWonder]

Apparently Teresa Parker is Peter's "younger sister". And not older. Apparently she was a baby they had in Europe but died before they could inform anyone...which strikes me as being supremely thoughtless, callous, and negligent on the part of parents of a newborn. Why would Richard and Mary Parker care so little for their daughter than their son? It raises too many questions. If Ben knew, why did he keep this from May and Peter? Likewise if May knew.

Wait a minute: are you saying it's thoughtless that they died before they could tell anyone about their child? That's cold, and not in a funny way.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Wait a minute: are you saying it's thoughtless that they died before they could tell anyone about their child? That's cold, and not in a funny way.

It's thoughtless that they didn't inform Ben and May about their second child the minute Mary realized she was pregnant. If you are government secret agents or spies and have a kid "in the field" or are pregnant and carrying a kid to term for 9 months, you absolutely need to think to make preparations for that kid's future, given the high risk of your profession. Heck it's important to do that in any situation since that's what normal people do.

Richard Parker and Ben have had very close relationships, if he can trust Ben and May to look after little Peter there's no reason for him to not tell them about Teresa. Now on the other hand, if Richard did tell Ben and/or May, those guys look callous for not telling Peter that he could have had a sibling and so on.

[WebSlingWonder]

It's thoughtless that they didn't inform Ben and May about their second child the minute Mary realized she was pregnant. If you are government secret agents or spies and have a kid "in the field" or are pregnant and carrying a kid to term for 9 months, you absolutely need to think to make preparations for that kid's future, given the high risk of your profession. Heck it's important to do that in any situation since that's what normal people do.

Richard Parker and Ben have had very close relationships, if he can trust Ben and May to look after little Peter there's no reason for him to not tell them about Teresa. Now on the other hand, if Richard did tell Ben and/or May, those guys look callous for not telling Peter that he could have had a sibling and so on.

I think the problem is that we don't know that story, so we really can't (and shouldn't) fill in the blanks on a story that otherwise hasn't been told. Should it be told? Yes. Will someone do it? Probably. Not right away, but it could be there. But I wouldn't go so far as to demonize Peter (and Theresa's)'s parents or Ben and May for whatever choices they did/didn't make.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I think the problem is that we don't know that story, so we really can't (and shouldn't) fill in the blanks on a story that otherwise hasn't been told.

I think if you can't answer those questions, then you should remove it and retcon it as extraneous. A good origin, a good retcon, a good addition, works best when this stuff is answered or answerable.

But I wouldn't go so far as to demonize Peter (and Theresa's)'s parents or Ben and May for whatever choices they did/didn't make.

I absolutely would. What reason would Peter's parents have for entrusting Ben with the care of Peter and being so negligent in the care of their second child? It literally makes no sense. Someone targeting their child and so on is valid, but if they can entrust Ben with Peter, they absolutely could have told them about Teresa. Never mind that Richard Parker insisting his wife continue espionage field work while being pregnant is also not exactly the stuff a decent husband would do.

[WebSlingWonder]

I think if you can't answer those questions, then you should remove it and retcon it as extraneous. A good origin, a good retcon, a good addition, works best when this stuff is answered or answerable.



I absolutely would. What reason would Peter's parents have for entrusting Ben with the care of Peter and being so negligent in the care of their second child? It literally makes no sense. Someone targeting their child and so on is valid, but if they can entrust Ben with Peter, they absolutely could have told them about Teresa. Never mind that Richard Parker insisting his wife continue espionage field work while being pregnant is also not exactly the stuff a decent husband would do.

And once again, I have to say: "Give it time." Someone will eventually tell the story. There's no real urgent need to erase Teresa's importance/character in the Spider-Mythos.

[NC_Yankee]

I think the problem is that we don't know that story, so we really can't (and shouldn't) fill in the blanks on a story that otherwise hasn't been told. Should it be told? Yes. Will someone do it? Probably. Not right away, but it could be there. But I wouldn't go so far as to demonize Peter (and Theresa's)'s parents or Ben and May for whatever choices they did/didn't make.

I cannot blame the Parker's. Why? Parents quite often have to make difficult decisions about kids and that is especially true if they have to "Live in the shadows" as spies ofren do. Think of the ending of 'The Americans' where they decided to give away their son, because they knew he would be better off here then in the USSR. I do not watch the 'Shield' TV show. But one way Marvel could give let us know about the Parker's motivation, is having and episode dealing with it. Similar to how the TV show 'Pennyworth' is giving information about the Wayne's that we never knew.

[WebSlingWonder]

I cannot blame the Parker's. Why? Parents quite often have to make difficult decisions about kids and that is especially true if they have to "Live in the shadows" as spies ofren do. Think of the ending of 'The Americans' where they decided to give away their son, because they knew he would be better off here then in the USSR. I do not watch the 'Shield' TV show. But one way Marvel could give let us know about the Parker's motivation, is having and episode dealing with it. Similar to how the TV show 'Pennyworth' is giving information about the Wayne's that we never knew.

Exactly, you're absolutely right. There's an untold story here that can be told. And I think we should give it a chance rather than *erase from continuity*