Spider-Man 54 Discussion

[NC_Yankee]

This issue didn't work for me. It feels like a brutal fill-in. I think this whole story could have been done in an issue or two.

The Entire LR series was unnecessary (unlike HR). I said it before and I say it again. This could have been done with just Peter versus Norman ( Norman as Kindred), or use just those two and add MJ and Harry and force Norman to kill Harry. Either would have been preferable to this story. I am projecting some kind of meh ending like ( Harry as Kindred was) or a Clone Saga style WTF convoluted ending.

[Vortex85]

The Entire LR series was unnecessary (unlike HR). I said it before and I say it again. This could have been done with just Peter versus Norman ( Norman as Kindred), or use just those two and add MJ and Harry and force Norman to kill Harry. Either would have been preferable to this story. I am projecting some kind of meh ending like ( Harry as Kindred was) or a Clone Saga style WTF convoluted ending.

That sounds more boring and less imaginative to me. I gravitate to stories that are not straightforward though.

[Huntsman Spider]

It was just a stupid and dangerous decision making a deal with the devil. As Dr. Strange says... did he really think there'd be no consequences for this? Did he really think this would help Aunt May? May's soul in danger now of going to hell... not to mention MJ's soul. Maybe Peter didn't think of all that... but he should have.

That's a good point as well. He didn't just damn himself, he might well have damned both the women he loved most. Hell, Mephisto made it clear, at least in Spider-Man/Deadpool by Joe Kelly, that he wasn't done with Peter yet and regarded the marriage to Mary Jane as more of a "down payment."

[Jman27]

i do know that May wouldnt want Peter to do a deal with Mehipsto to save her life. If i want anyone to learn about omd its her

[Huntsman Spider]

i do know that May wouldnt want Peter to do a deal with Mehipsto to save her life. If i want anyone to learn about omd its her

Hell, The One Above All, a.k.a. God, tried to help Peter see that she was at peace and ready to reunite with (Uncle) Ben, but no . . . so, yeah, I could see her being severely disappointed in Peter for that deal, even more so than when she found out he "plagiarized" Doctor Octopus in the first issue of this run.

[tv horror]

During the Spider-Girl run did we not see how Peter's life would have turned out if he never made the deal? On the other hand maybe it is because of the deal that all these multi Universe events are happening.

[Pattern_Maker]

During the Spider-Girl run did we not see how Peter's life would have turned out if he never made the deal? On the other hand maybe it is because of the deal that all these multi Universe events are happening.

Didn't Aunt May die naturally though in the MC2? The reason the deal with Mephisto came about was that Fisk hired someone to assassinate her and Mary Jane and May was the one shot.

[Jness]

Look, I get it, making a pact with the Devil is many things: a stupidity, an irresposability.... But in Peter's case, I can't see it as a sin.

LOLLLLL all right, I see someone needs to brush up on their theology a bit. =)

[Lukmendes]

That's a good point as well. He didn't just damn himself, he might well have damned both the women he loved most. Hell, Mephisto made it clear, at least in Spider-Man/Deadpool by Joe Kelly, that he wasn't done with Peter yet and regarded the marriage to Mary Jane as more of a "down payment."

Even without that story, in OMD itself Mephisto implies that taking the marriage is just step one, to eventually get Peter's soul in a way Mephisto would prefer:

https://i.imgur.com/tUYbEKy.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zOgryUl.png

Hell, The One Above All, a.k.a. God, tried to help Peter see that she was at peace and ready to reunite with (Uncle) Ben, but no . . . so, yeah, I could see her being severely disappointed in Peter for that deal, even more so than when she found out he "plagiarized" Doctor Octopus in the first issue of this run.

That's not how it happened, as TOAA only says that Peter has worth since he saved so many people, and to have faither, it's Sensational#39 that implies this when Peter talks with aunt May via Madame Web.

Like I pointed out before, Sensational was surprisingly optmistic right before OMD, issue#39 has aunt May telling Peter trying to accept she's going to die, issue#40 has TOAA talking to Peter so he tries to have faith, and the Annual has that story that is at its core "Peter and MJ love each other very much", I'm pretty that reading that, then going directly into OMD, only made the impact worse for people who read Sensational.

During the Spider-Girl run did we not see how Peter's life would have turned out if he never made the deal? On the other hand maybe it is because of the deal that all these multi Universe events are happening.

Spider-Girl happened in a world where Peter retired during the Gathering of Five, and I think the "May" they found was Mayday instead of aunt May, so yeah, the big change happened a lot earlier, and OMD never happened there, as Peter's secret identity was still a secret.

[Huntsman Spider]

Even without that story, in OMD itself Mephisto implies that taking the marriage is just step one, to eventually get Peter's soul in a way Mephisto would prefer:

https://i.imgur.com/tUYbEKy.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zOgryUl.png



That's not how it happened, as TOAA only says that Peter has worth since he saved so many people, and to have faither, it's Sensational#39 that implies this when Peter talks with aunt May via Madame Web.

Like I pointed out before, Sensational was surprisingly optmistic right before OMD, issue#39 has aunt May telling Peter trying to accept she's going to die, issue#40 has TOAA talking to Peter so he tries to have faith, and the Annual has that story that is at its core "Peter and MJ love each other very much", I'm pretty that reading that, then going directly into OMD, only made the impact worse for people who read Sensational.



Spider-Girl happened in a world where Peter retired during the Gathering of Five, and I think the "May" they found was Mayday instead of aunt May, so yeah, the big change happened a lot earlier, and OMD never happened there, as Peter's secret identity was still a secret.

Thanks for the clarification and correction on those pre-OMD Sensational Spider-Man issues.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

... the Annual has that story that is at its core "Peter and MJ love each other very much", I'm pretty that reading that, then going directly into OMD, only made the impact worse for people who read Sensational.

Matt Fraction did in fact write the Annual as a pre-emptive protest against OMD.

Considering you did such a good job for Sensational Spiderman Annual #1, what do you think of MJ and Peter Parker’s relationship?


FRACTION: It was sort of dirty pool because I knew One More Day was coming. But I took the shot and it was great.

I don’t know if Peter Parker was the best marvel character to be married, and I understand both sides of the argument. When his marriage with MJ worked, it worked very well, but sometimes it seemed like people didn’t know what to do with MJ. Way too often MJ would be relegated to hostage or obstacle. Too seldom did she play the role of supporter, friend or nurturer. I thought it was possible to do all of that, and maybe it’s a cheap shot, but I took it.

http://www.herebegeeks.com/comics/3-...matt-fraction/

For those who don't know, "dirty pool" basically means cheap hustling tactics, or cheating, or being wily and tricky...in this context, it's Fraction admitting that he used his first chance to writing Spider-Man as a deliberate way to undermine the direction he knew editorial was going towards.

He also wrote a story that's an all-time great, significantly better than any run that followed.