*MAJOR SPOILERS* The Secret of Spider-Man (2019) #1

[Zeitgeist]

Agreed, this is far off topic

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Okay, this thread is getting a little too real...maybe we can all tone it down a bit with the personal stuff? And get back to the actual issue/story?

I agree. Let's move on.

[bob.schoonover]

Okay, this thread is getting a little too real...maybe we can all tone it down a bit with the personal stuff? And get back to the actual issue/story?

Maybe we should start another thread about whether OMD infects every thread on the board?

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To echo Mets' point before, the marketing for this is so strange. I wonder if Marvel marketing believes* that the spider-progeny are sales-killers or something like that. AU stuff can sell well (Dark Knight III, DCeased, Injustice, you could argue those Starlin Thanos OHCs are AU, etc). Spidey sells fine. High profile creative teams often sell well. I'm kind of left confused and keep coming back to the kids being the problem (to marketing, not to me)

*I don't believe this, but that's pretty irrelevant to the discussion

[Zeitgeist]

Blue text denotes sarcasm

Haha, that's a great idea. I need to start using some of that

[WebSlingWonder]

Maybe we should start another thread about whether OMD infects every thread on the board?

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To echo Mets' point before, the marketing for this is so strange. I wonder if Marvel marketing believes* that the spider-progeny are sales-killers or something like that. AU stuff can sell well (Dark Knight III, DCeased, Injustice, you could argue those Starlin Thanos OHCs are AU, etc). Spidey sells fine. High profile creative teams often sell well. I'm kind of left confused and keep coming back to the kids being the problem (to marketing, not to me)

*I don't believe this, but that's pretty irrelevant to the discussion

It would seem to be the case. I guess for Marvel, they've been trying to avoid Spider-Kids, but keep falling into the same story trap.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Maybe we should start another thread about whether OMD infects every thread on the board?

It would be easier if we didn't have posters making an issue by attacking fellow posters about their actual and presumed opinions.

Stuff like this for instance, is what sends stuff off-topic since a lot of posters are compelled to be defense, apologetic, and retaliatory. Boldness added by me.

Ever get the feeling that people only read Spider-Man for MJ?

Aunt May is "useful" in that she represents the people closest to him that he fights for and that he also keeps safe, not from just the world in general but his world. There's nothing man child about that responsibilty. She also helps enforce the separation between Peter and Spider-Man.

Sometimes I feel like people want Aunt May offed because they see her as some kind of obstacle between Peter and MJ 4eva. It's kind of macabre that people want his mother figure and main living relative taken away from him, tbh.

In the case of the second post, the first paragraph by itself is fine. But the second one is unnecessary and stirring-stuff-up.

It's not like someone else brought OMD into this.


As for what the violet text connotes...I leave that all in your hands.

[Prof. Warren]

The latter. It's utterly absurd to make that case. And as the critic Sean T. Collins pointed out it's not realistic by any stretch:

"The final, fatal, unforgivable flaw, of course, is that it doesnÂ’t even work from a standpoint of emotional realism. Simply put, if you ask any happily married couple to trade away their entire marriage, past present and future, to save the life of a septuagenarian mother figure, no matter how beloved, who probably is just a few years from dying anyway, the answer would be no."
— Sean T. Collins

When you pull in a quote from Sean T. Collins to make your case, you know your case is sh*t.

Also, that quote is insane.

Never, ever, ever would Peter think "she's just a few years from dying anyway" about his Aunt. That is not the mind set of a hero. It's the mind set of a sick individual.

Someone who would make a statement like that is not fit to talk about "emotional realism" because they are very clearly devoid of empathy and feeling, not to mention a moral compass.

Sacrificing an actual life, a living, breathing life - no matter what the age of the person - in favor of a marital union, is not a choice any decent person would make.

If the choice is that one person continues to live but in exchange your marriage ceases to exist but yet your partner will still live on with the potential to still find happiness - maybe even potentially make their way back to you, given the realm of infinite possibilities that the future holds - that's an easy decision.

Peter would make that choice on behalf of a stranger's life, never mind on behalf of May's.

And the "but May was ok with dying" excuse is horrible as well. That's just the out a garbage person would use. That's the out of someone who would pull the life support plug themselves "She wanted this! She told me! Why are we waiting?"

As for "but what about the future? wouldn't May want Peter to be happy and have kids with MJ?"

Well, let's explain this one:

Even if May died, Peter and MJ would not go on to have a family. Because it's comics and Peter and MJ will perpetually be a childless couple in their mid to late 20s.

They will have children in as many AU's as Marvel wants to put out and maybe even in a projected 616 timeline but it's not going to happen in the main books. Never in the here and now. And that's true even if by chance Peter and MJ are ever officially married again. Taking May out of the book would not change that fact. You would just be taking out a major component of Spider-Man's mythology for no good reason. As important as MJ is to Spider-Man, and she is indeed important, ultimately May is the central figure in Spider-Man's supporting cast. She will always be the living reminder of his sense of responsibility. She cannot be permanently removed from his cast, by any means.

EDIT: I see we've moved on from the latest OMD debate prior to my post. Carry on.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

EDIT: I see we've moved on from the latest OMD debate prior to my post. Carry on.

Just so we are on the same page here....

[Zeitgeist]

Stuff like this for instance, is what sends stuff off-topic since a lot of posters are compelled to be defense, apologetic, and retaliatory. Boldness added by me.

In the case of the second post, the first paragraph by itself is fine. But the second one is unnecessary and stirring-stuff-up.

It's not like someone else brought OMD into this.

Didn't we all just agree to move on? What is possessing you to misconstrue my valid posts for an after-the-bell attack, exactly?

First, let's show the context which you decided not to give above. My reply was in response to this post:

Agreed. What kills me is that there is this weird mindset from people that if you somehow prefer MJ in the issues you are somehow not a “real” fan because the title is about Spider-Man. Yes I read my comics for Spider-Man but much like the character “should” have over the years my preference for the character has evolved and changed over the years. I prefer him with MJ in any title. I really don’t see how anyone could ever deny the importance of the MJ character at this point. She is by far the most important character in Spider-man besides ....well Spider-Man. Also unlike another character who’s been around for far too long “coughaunt Maycough” MJ contributes to the growth of the character and adds something to him. At times Aunt May still being around almost seems like a constant reminder that Marvel prefers him as this man child. As cold as it sounds, the old lady has outlived her usefulness at this point lol.

My post, primarily in reply to the bold section, was as follows:

Aunt May is "useful" in that she represents the people closest to him that he fights for and that he also keeps safe, not from just the world in general but his world. There's nothing man child about that responsibilty. She also helps enforce the separation between Peter and Spider-Man.

Sometimes I feel like people want Aunt May offed because they see her as some kind of obstacle between Peter and MJ 4eva. It's kind of macabre that people want his mother figure and main living relative taken away from him, tbh.

What you see as "unnecessary" is a rebuttal to the poster's opinion of Aunt May. I don't see how me saying that Aunt May has value and that I've seen arguments position her in direct opposition to MJ isn't valid at all; it's in fact something you yourself immediately did.

Speaking of, I didn't mention OMD - but you did, when you decided to interjected yourself into this reply:

It's macabre and pathetic that Marvel keep insisting against the emotional current of the stories and the emotional investment of the audience that the life of a 80 year old woman counts for more than a marriage, as what happened in OMD. Which had the side-effect of regressing Aunt May from the best version of herself (JMS' Aunt May) to a caricature of oedipal hang-ups.

So, are you ready to actually drop this yet?

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Didn't we all just agree to move on?

Well, then's let's move on...

I don't get why people complained about Sara Pichelli's art in this. I actually liked it.

[Zeitgeist]

Did they? I thought Sara did great work here also. I was just thinking about her and David Lafuente's 1-2 combo on Ultimate Spider-Man.

[WebSlingWonder]

Well, then's let's move on...

I don't get why people complained about Sara Pichelli's art in this. I actually liked it.

Pichelli typically works with Justin Ponsor (RIP). This is the first time I think I've seen her with a different colorist. Maybe that may have something to do with it.

[Prof. Warren]

I don't get why people complained about Sara Pichelli's art in this. I actually liked it.

Did they? I thought Sara did great work here also.

Pichelli's art was something that didn't really work for me here. It was...ok. But for me, her stuff has been a little off for awhile.

[KROENEN]

I'm hooked enough to want to know where the series goes even if it feels like we've been over this ground several times before. I kind of like the idea that anything can happen here.

[Inversed]

Here's my controversial opinion, I actually kind of like that for once we get to see an Aunt May care for her great nephew, since she's usually dead whenever most Parker kids are born, as well as with a portrayal that's pretty warm and understanding, contrasting the cold and distant Peter. Kind of reminds me of her Into The Spider-Verse iteration.

I will say, I'm not completely against the concept of this story, though I am still on the fence regarding how I feel regarding the bait-and-switch twist. Knowing Abrams, probably should've accepted there to be some kind of catch, and while a Peter and MJ team up from would've been really great to see, we aren't completely devoid of those kinds of stories at the moment, though I do understand if someone were to say the same thing regarding legacy stories, which this is copying from too. (And then there's also the fridging issue which is another can of worms)