Spider-Man 54 Discussion

[NC_Yankee]

I agree with you 100% on that OMD was a test, Peter was facing the next step of life, having to say "good-bye" to his parental figure and he couldn't due it. It's part of his growth as a human being, growing up, getting married, having kids and sadly saying good bye to our older relatives it's just part of life. And sadly Peter couldn't handle the idea of letting go of Aunt May since he already "failed" Uncle Ben.

Peter had several failures. 1: Uncle Ben. 2: Gwen. 3: Jean. 4: Captain Stacy. 5: Saving Norman. 6: His fight against Silver Surfer. To name a few. But OMD/BND was different. It was like the Clone Saga. A failure on the part of Marvel because they did not trust Peter to actually grow up because they felt it would cost them money.

[Dzika_Sowa]

I should be super excited... Yet I'm really bored by this story. Pete, just confess already whatever this is, and let's get over with it.

[Spidey_62]

I should be more excited reading this story getting near the final chapter but the fact that I'm not is pretty bad. Honestly the contents for Last Remains overall has been strong but it's just the damn snails pace it's going which brings it down. Like I've said before and as others have said, I feel like we get the short end of the stick faithfully following this stuff issue to issue when it's so clearly written to pad out for a collection. Yeah, I can see this being more satisfying sitting down and reading it all in a trade. Issue to issue, though? No...

All the .LR issues that have all the side stuff going on I think hampers the story because if you're just reading this and not the .LR issues then you're just like Peter going "what, the Sin-Eater's still running around? What? Morlun? Morlun vs. Sin-Eater? My friends are ok now but the Sin-Eater is about to shoot them all?" I'm just not a fan of so much other stuff happening in the tie-in issues but then seemingly coming all to a head with this next issue in the main book.

Basically nothing new was accomplished this issue again, we get Peter dying a bunch of times but we've already seen Harry do that to Peter 2 issues ago, and more of Harry teasing Peter to fess up about something bad he did which he's been doing for the last 2 years.

[Glio]

I love this. Harry is a sadist but he's like when the teacher doesn't want to give you the answer, he wants you to come to it by yourself.

[Dzika_Sowa]

If this confession isn't about making a deal with Mephisto, I'm going to be truly disappointed. That's the only payoff I can think of that would make me satisfyed.

I mean, we got a story about Harry, being a demonic entity, bringing back the Sin eater. Talking about Peter's sins, killing the hero of this book and making him go to hell like 9 times.

What else could this big confession be? Not doing the laundry? The deal is the biggest sin of Peter (and MJ). They had a pact with the devil of Marvel universe.

I think there still is a big chance of all of this leading to OMD. After all, when Kindred kills Peter, the latter goes to hell, right?
Why would Peter go to hell? He's a good guy. Oh wait, the deal with the devil.

[Huntsman Spider]

The bolded emphasis on "You tried to bargain. Make a deal with the devil" immediately followed by that "The same mistakes" comment, along with all the commentary about Pete arrogantly making big decisions for everyone else ... That tells me that Harry is definitely talking about OMD. My biggest beef with OMD all these years -- over and above even the awful writing from conception to execution; even over and above what it did with Pete and MJ's marriage -- is that it marked the moment Peter Parker/Spider-Man failed.

Responsibility is supposed to be his thing. Over and over, it has been drilled into the stories all these years. That's been his big thing since the very first issue with the character. And yet, when it came time for him to accept the unintended consequences of his decisions, he chose to let a sadistic demon alter reality, affecting an untold number of other people's lives in an untold number of ways -- just so that he wouldn't have to face responsibility!

Thematically, OMD was the most important moment in the character's history since the death of Uncle Ben. Maybe even more than the death of Gwen Stacy was. And when that moment of truth came, Pete failed the test.

So, yeah, to me, everything Kindred is saying -- every drawn-out issue, every drawn-out page, every drawn-out panel or word balloon ... it's all channeling the frustration of someone who loves Spidey and felt let down by what OMD had him do. OMD was the reason I stopped reading Marvel Comics for several years, and the reason I still meander back and forth on whether I even care to read new issues of Spidey. I have to have good stories recommended to me and be convinced that they're worth my time.

That editorial decision by Joe Quesada is the single biggest blight on the history of Marvel. The berating being laid upon him and the torture Pete has been undergoing in these past few issues, as gruesome as it is to see, is somewhat cathartic for a fan of the character who has never recovered from the disappointment of OMD.

Maybe I'm building myself up to another disappointment in being so certain this is about OMD, but I don't believe so. This has got to be it: the moment Pete acknowledges responsibility for his damaging choices and again strives to be the best version of himself.

This, 100%.

Peter had several failures. 1: Uncle Ben. 2: Gwen. 3: Jean. 4: Captain Stacy. 5: Saving Norman. 6: His fight against Silver Surfer. To name a few. But OMD/BND was different. It was like the Clone Saga. A failure on the part of Marvel because they did not trust Peter to actually grow up because they felt it would cost them money.

Exactly.

[Spidey_62]

If this confession isn't about making a deal with Mephisto, I'm going to be truly disappointed. That's the only payoff I can think of that would make me satisfyed.

I mean, we got a story about Harry, being a demonic entity, bringing back the Sin eater. Talking about Peter's sins, killing the hero of this book and making him go to hell like 9 times.

What else could this big confession be? Not doing the laundry? The deal is the biggest sin of Peter (and MJ). They had a pact with the devil of Marvel universe.

I think there still is a big chance of all of this leading to OMD. After all, when Kindred kills Peter, the latter goes to hell, right?
Why would Peter go to hell? He's a good guy. Oh wait, the deal with the devil.

It absolutely has to be, I'm antsy and all the suspense is killing me lol. Spencer knows we know what he's been hinting at as he gets pretty meta often (even in this issue with Peter saying how everybody could guess it's Harry any time some mysterious figure shows up. Reminds me of Gaunt in the Clone Saga everybody originally hinting and planning at that being Harry) so I'm hoping that rings true as it did with the hints to Kindred's identity. He said in the interview he wanted to play fair with the clues and have it be what it looks like it is.

[federicodettofred]

The devil Harry was alluding to was his father in Ravencroft or Harry himself when Peter exchanged his life in exchange for Kindred releasing the Order of the Web and saving Miles. When Harry said that, he actually created a very crappy backdoor out of this being about OMD. I don't think Spencer is going there. All along, I've suspected this story will set up THE OMD story down the road.

Uhm, they literally made an entire issue as a creepy remake of Brand New Day, showing Harry and Peter talking about "that day" and "hell and the devil"... This is obviously One More Day. I mean, that is basically the only thing we know for sure. If it's not, the entire Last Remains make no sense at all.

[RD155]

More dragging and dragging on.

I mean...what is the point of this issue? Again there’s pretty much no progression. Like it’s been said time and time again, this story will probably read much better in trade. As it stands now, it’s just way too slow. I’ve just grown completely tired of the constant “I have answers but wait until next issue” story going on here.

Really disappointed as I was looking forward and so excited for this entire story. As each issue passes by though, my interest just dies a little more.

[RD155]

I should be more excited reading this story getting near the final chapter but the fact that I'm not is pretty bad. Honestly the contents for Last Remains overall has been strong but it's just the damn snails pace it's going which brings it down. Like I've said before and as others have said, I feel like we get the short end of the stick faithfully following this stuff issue to issue when it's so clearly written to pad out for a collection. Yeah, I can see this being more satisfying sitting down and reading it all in a trade. Issue to issue, though? No...

All the .LR issues that have all the side stuff going on I think hampers the story because if you're just reading this and not the .LR issues then you're just like Peter going "what, the Sin-Eater's still running around? What? Morlun? Morlun vs. Sin-Eater? My friends are ok now but the Sin-Eater is about to shoot them all?" I'm just not a fan of so much other stuff happening in the tie-in issues but then seemingly coming all to a head with this next issue in the main book.

Basically nothing new was accomplished this issue again, we get Peter dying a bunch of times but we've already seen Harry do that to Peter 2 issues ago, and more of Harry teasing Peter to fess up about something bad he did which he's been doing for the last 2 years.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Completely agree.

I want to love this story but Spencer has made it virtually impossible. You could have just combined the last couple of issues into one and basically not missed anything.

[xpyred]

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Completely agree.

I want to love this story but Spencer has made it virtually impossible. You could have just combined the last couple of issues into one and basically not missed anything.

I often sit here and debate whether I should reply to some posts or not because some people are so passionate about these issues that it almost seems futile to even get a word in edgewise. I think you may be the only user I can reply to that doesn't make it feel like a chore to be on this site. With that said, I agree with you completely.

I've been reading Spider-Man comics since 1993. I have seen some really crappy points (the 1998 relaunch) and I have loved specific eras that others have hated, such as the Dan Slott era. I don't want to sit here and hate. I don't want to sit here and be a negative Ned. I have generally enjoyed Spencer's run for the most part. I have a lot of going on in my life so I do not really recall the early arcs or the fine details of each arc so I cannot sit here and act like every arc has either been uncut diamonds or a heaping pile of crap in a desert on the hottest day of the year. However, I cannot defend this arc at all. The decompression absolutely makes this book like a chore to read and I say that as someone who enjoys stories about Norman and Harry Osborn and anything Green Goblin related for the most part. I understand we cannot be given answers immediately and i respect that... hell i lived through the 90's clone saga and actually liked it and liked it even more when the Osborn Journal came out. But seriously Harry keep droning on and on about knowing **** but not saying **** is just stupidly annoying.

[SplinteringHeart]

But..but, if I saw it right Harry just killed Peter (and brought him back), about six times! Shades of what happened to Ben Reilly, but even so, Peter's been killed, several times..as easy as that! I can't accept/take that..what possessed Spencer to do that? I don't know..

[PCN24454]

But..but, if I saw it right Harry just killed Peter (and brought him back), about six times! Shades of what happened to Ben Reilly, but even so, Peter's been killed, several times..as easy as that! I can't accept/take that..what possessed Spencer to do that? I don't know..

Maybe he wants Peter punished for his mistakes.

[SplinteringHeart]

I mean, after all these years, all the adversity come through, he's offed so easily..and what, that's just the way it is, just like that never mind..

[wleakr]

I'm not sure how a person can confess without knowledge of what they should confess to? And even if they "confess", what is gained from the act?

Pretty obvious that Kindred will not be a wrapped up storyline with issue 55. However, I see no satisfying way in which to bottle this up to continue the battle another day. My guess is Dr. Strange intervenes to save the day and temporary banish the threat.