End of an Era teased

[Ursalink]

I was there. I read all of that and have been reading Spidey constantly for 30 plus years. Most of those weren't even a direct result of OMD. You likely could have told those stories regardless.

When I say Peter got away with it, I am talking about the direct fallout from OMD. Mephisto gives you something, but it isn't what you expect. In Johnny Blaze's case, Mephisto saved Crash Simpson from cancer in exchange for Johnny's soul. All well and good. But then Crash ended up dying weeks later and it is later revealed Mephisto knew this was going to happen. He just conveniently influenced Johnny to reach out to him. It is basically entrapment. You think you win, but you ultimately end up losing.

In Peter's case, Mephisto said he was only interested in the marriage. Then, MJ made the further stipulation that Mephisto was to leave him alone afterwards. Which he has done. However OMD affected other people in Peter's life such as conveniently bringing Harry back to life. If you realized that you were affected by the actions of someone else, wouldn't you be a bit pissed? It is the same over at DC with Barry Allen and Flashpoint (Which the CW show explored further with other characters being disgusted at Barry for the changes it caused in their lives).

That is my point.

When you make a pact with the devil, there's always a trap to make you lose in all senses. MJ made Mephisto to leave Peter alone, but that doesn't mean he couldn't bother the people around him. What if Mephisto was the one who gave the Kravens the idea to hunt the spiders? Or the one who gave Octopus the idea to switch brains with Peter? You see how entangled is Mephisto current plot against the Avengers, who says he couldn't do something similar against Spider-Man?

[Celgress]

When you make a pact with the devil, there's always a trap to make you lose in all senses. MJ made Mephisto to leave Peter alone, but that doesn't mean he couldn't bother the people around him. What if Mephisto was the one who gave the Kravens the idea to hunt the spiders? Or the one who gave Octopus the idea to switch brains with Peter? You see how entangled is Mephisto current plot against the Avengers, who says he couldn't do something similar against Spider-Man?

I tend to agree. If Mephisto hasn't found some way to indirectly mess with Peter & co. without technically breaking his "agreement" with MJ he's frankly a moron and should hang up his horns.

Another thing, it has been made abundantly clear Mephisto hates Peter he told both Ben and Otto that he loathes our favorite webhead. This begs the question - "Why did he help Peter save Aunt May (something Peter desperately wanted)?" Sure, he got the marriage but it seems OOC if the guy detests Peter as much as he does.

[PCN24454]

I tend to agree. If Mephisto hasn't found some way to indirectly mess with Peter & co. without technically breaking his "agreement" with MJ he's frankly a moron and should hang up his horns.

Another thing, it has been made abundantly clear Mephisto hates Peter he told both Ben and Otto that he loathes our favorite webhead. This begs the question - "Why did he help Peter save Aunt May (something Peter desperately wanted)?" Sure, he got the marriage but it seems OOC if the guy detests Peter as much as he does.

Never underestimate the power of Deus (or rather, Diabolos) ex Machina.

The writers had no idea how to make the story they wanted to have happen, so they just used Mephisto.

[Somecrazyaussie]

Actually, I can. True, SOME of the the stories would have happened regardless of the deal, but some others? No. Let's see:

+ "New Ways to Die" and "Dark Reign": It would have been worse for Peter and MJ, actually. With his secret identity exposed, he would surely had to leave the country to keep MJ safe. And even that MIGHT not be enough to escape from a Norman Osborn who controls the world.

+ "The Gauntlet" and "The Grim Hunt": I think a married Peter could have been trapped into a worst situation in this one, actually. What if Kraven's wife would have wanted to kill the Spider's mate in retaliation for Kraven's death?

+ "Spider-Island": With a married Peter, I believe the Spider-Virus would have actually kept stable in MJ, making her a stable new Spider-Heroine without the consequences of turning into a werespider. After all, in this "reality", she stayed more time close to Peter.

+ "Superior Spider-Man": This could actually have been avoided, because a married MJ would have realized "Peter" was an imposter; she would have called for help from the Avengers and undo the old switcheroo. And without the Superior Spider-Man, many more changes could come later.

+ "Spider-Verse" and "Spider-Geddon": These stories could have happened in a very different way if the Superior Spider-Man actually never happened. Not to mention how a married Peter and a potential Spider-MJ would have been affected by this. In fact, without the Superior Spider-Man, maybe the "Spider-Geddon" never happened, as Otto was never capable of stealing the Inheritors' cloning technology; allowing them to escape.

+ "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy": This story might have happened with Ben Reilly going nutso after , but without the Superior Spider-Man and with a married MJ, things would have been different.

+ "Go Down Swinging": No Superior Spider-Man, no Parker Industries, no cure against the Goblin Formula. Therefore, even if Norman Osborn attacked again, it wouldn't be like this story.

+ "Absolute Carnage": It might happen, but maybe without Norman Osborn possessed by Carnage and all the stuff that came from it.

The events leading up to OMD happened BECAUSE the writers knew that the retcon was coming. It is why they had Peter reveal his identity to begin with.

- Norman being in control would have added another layer of danger for Peter and Mary Jane. But Norman would go after Spider-man no matter what. The last few years have proved it with him cropping up time and time again. OMD benefited them there because it caused Norman to forget who Spider-man was. If he had known, Peter's life would have been harder. Then again, Norman made every hero's life a nightmare during that period.

- The Gauntlet/Grim Hunt has its genesis in KLH. OMD has no ties to it and doesn't need to happen for that story to be told.

- Spider-verse/Spider-geddon goes back to Morlun's first appearance and The Other. Again, OMD doesn't play into it.

- The Clone Conspiracy needed certain threads in place to be told the way it was, yes. But it is a story that, again, could be told without it. The whole point of it was to bring back characters who had been killed off wholesale. It is a convenient "get out of jail free card" in the Spidey mythos. In fact, since Norman was behind the second clone saga, I wouldn't be surprised if the Harry running around isn't a clone.

- Absolute Carnage has no links to anything but the Carnage and Venom stuff over the years.

[Somecrazyaussie]

When you make a pact with the devil, there's always a trap to make you lose in all senses. MJ made Mephisto to leave Peter alone, but that doesn't mean he couldn't bother the people around him. What if Mephisto was the one who gave the Kravens the idea to hunt the spiders? Or the one who gave Octopus the idea to switch brains with Peter? You see how entangled is Mephisto current plot against the Avengers, who says he couldn't do something similar against Spider-Man?

He could. But that story hasn't been told yet. Until then, it is reaching.

[Somecrazyaussie]

Never underestimate the power of Deus (or rather, Diabolos) ex Machina.

The writers had no idea how to make the story they wanted to have happen, so they just used Mephisto.

Which is stupid because it, essentially, involved time travel. Making sure a inconsequential event occurred differently. Still, it is what it is.

[Somecrazyaussie]

I tend to agree. If Mephisto hasn't found some way to indirectly mess with Peter & co. without technically breaking his "agreement" with MJ he's frankly a moron and should hang up his horns.

Another thing, it has been made abundantly clear Mephisto hates Peter he told both Ben and Otto that he loathes our favorite webhead. This begs the question - "Why did he help Peter save Aunt May (something Peter desperately wanted)?" Sure, he got the marriage but it seems OOC if the guy detests Peter as much as he does.

Mephisto has been running around making devils left and right for the last few years - Ben, Otto, the antics he got up to over in Damnation and the recent Ghost Rider run. The groundwork was being laid for a big Mephisto level event. I am sure of it. He definitely would have had a major role in the stuff teased in Ghost Rider.