OUTLAWED! (March 2020)

[Huntsman Spider]

This is a Champions storyline. Kamala is the leader of the Champions. That's probably the best explanation I can think of compared to Huntsman's well-thought out explanation.

Thanks.

I'm definitely interested to see if that plays out in Miles' ongoing since its one of his classmates. I can definitely see her point of view as well since they're just coming off of the Ultimate Green Goblin attacking their school because he was trying to find Spider-Man (Miles).



Miles' downside is always going to be the fact that since Marvel is pretty hellbent on making Peter a Teenager in other media, he's almost always going to be the teenage Spider-Man they use. Into the Spider-Verse was basically lightning in a bottle. So when it comes to who to promote with the teenage characters, Kamala is always going to be the easy choice because she's both popular and doesn't have that barrier that Miles does.

Your explanation works, too. Marvel is obsessed with keeping Peter Parker as "young and relatable" as possible in the properties it promotes and invests in, since that's how it feels his character should be, so even though Miles is right there for the "young and relatable" paradigm Marvel wants to push with Spider-Man, Marvel won't fully commit to that because Peter Parker and Spider-Man are still synonymous to general audiences, many if not most of whom wouldn't be able to recognize or imagine someone else behind the mask.

All that said, though, since Peter is (or was) the original non-sidekick teen hero, I do wonder what his take on this would be, especially since Jameson in his own series recently called him out in a podcast for going it alone all the time and never seeking help from others or trying to clear the air with the public, media, and/or authorities, which just contributed to the cloud of suspicion around him in-universe. If it was revealed to the public at large that he was a teenager himself when starting out, it could very well be used to strengthen CRADLE's argument against teen heroes, insofar as, "He was never a menace; he was a dumb kid with abilities he didn't understand and who had no business playing superhero without some adult supervision behind him, then maybe his reputation wouldn't be such a mess."

[Chris0013]

Your explanation works, too. Marvel is obsessed with keeping Peter Parker as "young and relatable" as possible in the properties it promotes and invests in, since that's how it feels his character should be, so even though Miles is right there for the "young and relatable" paradigm Marvel wants to push with Spider-Man, Marvel won't fully commit to that because Peter Parker and Spider-Man are still synonymous to general audiences, many if not most of whom wouldn't be able to recognize or imagine someone else behind the mask.

All that said, though, since Peter is (or was) the original non-sidekick teen hero, I do wonder what his take on this would be, especially since Jameson in his own series recently called him out in a podcast for going it alone all the time and never seeking help from others or trying to clear the air with the public, media, and/or authorities, which just contributed to the cloud of suspicion around him in-universe. If it was revealed to the public at large that he was a teenager himself when starting out, it could very well be used to strengthen CRADLE's argument against teen heroes, insofar as, "He was never a menace; he was a dumb kid with abilities he didn't understand and who had no business playing superhero without some adult supervision behind him, then maybe his reputation wouldn't be such a mess."

And that has always been a problem for me with the character. People grow up, they get married, they have kids...It is called life.

[Digifiend]

Who was around to give Peter that adult supervision when he started out? Don't only the Fantastic Four and Ant-Man pre-date him? And they were just starting out themselves.

[Huntsman Spider]

Who was around to give Peter that adult supervision when he started out? Don't only the Fantastic Four and Ant-Man pre-date him? And they were just starting out themselves.

Very good point, not that the logic would matter to a lot of people in-universe.

[Chris0013]

Very good point, not that the logic would matter to a lot of people in-universe.

Looking at the rebirth of the superhero in the 60s with the CCA rules....and then looking at it thru modern eyes you have 2 entirely different stories. Just look at some of the ret-cons that were made. Hank Pym is bi-polar and that explains the issues he had, Bucky was not the plucky teen sidekick but a late teen who had been put thru multiple spec-ops training programs and was a stone cold operator in his own right, and the others.

Not to mention Peter never really told anyone his age....he just did his thing and no one questioned it at the time.

But again...looking at it thru modern eyes what rational adult would want their kid...even a super powered one...putting their life in danger.

[Frontier]

Who was around to give Peter that adult supervision when he started out? Don't only the Fantastic Four and Ant-Man pre-date him? And they were just starting out themselves.

People weren't even all that aware that Spider-Man was a teenager when he started out.

[Snoop Dogg]

Oh yeah, If anything I can get the frustration from Sam fans and fans of the other champions that Kamala and Miles tend to get the most prominence.

Sam is my favorite of the three, but he is also the least popular while the other two have been holding down books for ages. If a focus on them is what it takes to keep the series running so that there will be time for a big story with arcs for Sam and others to be told, that is what should happen.

[Ferro]

why are all the non x-kids such wimps? back in my day you'd lose your hands and be told that it makes characther.
one of your friends got sniped? channel that to destroy a murderous bot.
Dust needs to tell them to walk it off

[mugiwara]

why are all the non x-kids such wimps? back in my day you'd lose your hands and be told that it makes characther.
one of your friends got sniped? channel that to destroy a murderous bot.
Dust needs to tell them to walk it off

Some goons with flamethrowers attack the school?
Ha! We'll just run to safety and hide behind Husk and Kid Omega!

[Digifiend]

People weren't even all that aware that Spider-Man was a teenager when he started out.

I know. That comment you just quoted was a response to this:

If it was revealed to the public at large that he was a teenager himself when starting out, it could very well be used to strengthen CRADLE's argument against teen heroes, insofar as, "He was never a menace; he was a dumb kid with abilities he didn't understand and who had no business playing superhero without some adult supervision behind him, then maybe his reputation wouldn't be such a mess."

What if it WAS known that he was only 15? Then the problem I mentioned comes up - there's barely any other superheroes yet to train him.

why are all the non x-kids such wimps? back in my day you'd lose your hands and be told that it makes characther.
one of your friends got sniped? channel that to destroy a murderous bot.
Dust needs to tell them to walk it off

True, Sooraya was around in the Academy X era before Decimation, so she knows how bad things can get.

Question is, though, is she actually still on the team? All we've seen of her is a variant cover, which also included two characters not established as Champions members.

[Frontier]

Sam is my favorite of the three, but he is also the least popular while the other two have been holding down books for ages. If a focus on them is what it takes to keep the series running so that there will be time for a big story with arcs for Sam and others to be told, that is what should happen.

He also gets the least media push, and probably had the weakest animated debut in Ultimate Spider-Man.

[Huntsman Spider]

He also gets the least media push, and probably had the weakest animated debut in Ultimate Spider-Man.

It also didn't help that he was the most antagonistic and jerkish to Peter in the first season or so of Ultimate Spider-Man, which might have soured a lot of viewers on his character overall and not exactly encouraged them to read his comics. Hell, with relatively few exceptions, the team Peter was supposed to be leading there treated him like crap a lot if not most of the time, and Sam was the worst in that regard. Not that that portrayal of Peter came off looking all that good himself due to some seriously uncharacteristic immaturity on his part, but it still sucked that his team tended more often than not to be jerks to him.

Beyond that, I like Ferro's point that the Champions should be (more) ready for a tough fight, and it would be interesting to see the Academy X kids offer their perspective, given their own experiences with being targeted by the government, albeit just for existing as opposed to their actions.

[mreddie]

Sam was new and was just getting a book when USM started. No one locked down his character just yet till the Wells and later Duggan era. Sam hopefully should be getting a major focus since he is 3rd founding Champ but I feel Ewing might gloss it aside unless Ahmed will push their side. Would be a shock if Nova is the true lead of the new series.

[superheat]

Kamala's law, really! Why does it seem like every young/teen hero story or event revolves around Kamala? Yeah she popular but does she always have to be front and center. Miles is just as if not more popular and a bigger hero with a bigger selling solo yet he is always playing second fiddle to Kamala. But I guess when Marvel chose to make her the face of the young heroes that was to be expected. I hope other teen heroes get more of the spotlight in this event and in general going forward.

Miles is more popular but they don't push him as hard sadly.

[Digifiend]

Yeah, Sam was actually created for the cartoon, that's why he had a gold helmet in the first two seasons (like Richard), before getting redesigned to match the comics later. Don't forget, Sam's creator is Jeph Loeb, the same guy who was in charge of the TV division of Marvel until recently.