CBR think piece: Best and Worst of Dan Slott's Spider-Man comics

[Somecrazyaussie]

I remember back in the day, when Slott was writing She-Hulk and the Thing and thinking how much I wanted to see him on Spider-Man. I think that as with a lot of other fans, that Slott should have ended after either Superior Spider-Man or Spider-Verse. I think that the editorial interference on Spider-Verse affected Dan Slott greatly and after that it seemed like he had ideas but they were either poorly executed, he lost interest in them or in the case of Parker Industries both things seemed to happen. It's sad as I think that Spider-Island is an awesome story as is the original Renew Your Vows. Superior Spider-Man was also very good and really high-lighted at least to me that it is Peter himself not the powers that makes Spider-Man an amazing character.

Superior really should have been when he left. Although, as you said, the original Renew Your Vows was excellent. For me, the Spidey and Human Torch Mini right up to Superior was a incredible run (Alpha was crap).

[Somecrazyaussie]

Interesting article. Like many of you, I would go a different route. I loved most of Slott’s run, and there wasn’t too much I didn’t like. Sometimes I felt the ending to some stories felt rushed. While I particularly loved Superior Spidey and maybe I need to reread it, I thought the last arc felt a bit rushed as I read it. The Clone Conspiracy felt a little convoluted if I remember right. And yeah, I really didn’t care for Alpha, but even Slott has gone on to say that was a good bit of editorial coming down on him to make the story longer.

Loved Ends of the Earth by the way! And a lot of the smaller stories that lead up to Superior. Dying Wish had me sweating! It was great. Anywho, I’m going back to reread it all soon enough.

Superior was definitely rushed. Originally it was supposed to a much shorter in length and was going to start at, I believe, the end of Ends Of The Earth and run until #700. Then it changed and Slott held it over until #700 and for Marvel Now. Then, when Amazing 2 was about to come out, Marvel wanted Peter back.

[NC_Yankee]

I do get that some stuff never seems to go away in terms of "oh, that was bad" (Clone Saga is still remembered as an all-time low and people still aren't over OMD). However, I guess since Slott's run reset everything at the end, I wonder how much of it will remain a sore point as time goes on (it's not like it exactly impacts future issues the way OMD has affected everything since it was published)?

Not sure if that makes any sense, but there it is.

I understand that Slott’s run has not had the same lasting effect as OMD ( although he certainly bears some responsibility for BND), and I doubt his run will be remembered like the terrible trio of JMS stories ( The Other, Sins Past and of course, OMD), but from top to bottom it was a failure. The exceptions are. 1: Spider Island. 2: Ends of the Earth. 3: RYV. 4: 801.

[Sparko]

Superior was definitely rushed. Originally it was supposed to a much shorter in length and was going to start at, I believe, the end of Ends Of The Earth and run until #700. Then it changed and Slott held it over until #700 and for Marvel Now. Then, when Amazing 2 was about to come out, Marvel wanted Peter back.

I remember that now. And all for the most dud of a Spidey movie for me at that point. I wanted to like that movie, but damn it was like Spider-Man 3 part 2. Just too much.

[WebLurker]

I understand that Slott’s run has not had the same lasting effect as OMD ( although he certainly bears some responsibility for BND), and I doubt his run will be remembered like the terrible trio of JMS stories ( The Other, Sins Past and of course, OMD), but from top to bottom it was a failure. The exceptions are. 1: Spider Island. 2: Ends of the Earth. 3: RYV. 4: 801.

Haven't read enough of Slott to have an informed opinion on what his best/worse was, but I think I understand what you're saying now.

[Darthfury78]

I understand that Slott’s run has not had the same lasting effect as OMD ( although he certainly bears some responsibility for BND), and I doubt his run will be remembered like the terrible trio of JMS stories ( The Other, Sins Past and of course, OMD), but from top to bottom it was a failure. The exceptions are. 1: Spider Island. 2: Ends of the Earth. 3: RYV. 4: 801.

If only had Slott added The She-Hulk as reoccurring guest in ASM, then his run would be remembered fondly. I think that any writer who gets to write ASM should bring their previous work(from other Marvel series) with them in their stories. Had Slott brought some of his She-Hulk cast and characters into ASM, it might had been better received....

[Kaitou D. Kid]

Putting aside Spider-Man/Human Torch for a minute, Spider-Gwen and the Spider-Verse concept are in hindsight the most successful things to come out of Slott's run. I don't think he saw it that way at the time, but the idea there can be more than one Spider-Man can partly be traced to him. He arguably also made it easier for a lot of people to accept Miles Morales, even if it was just by proxy. That and he tied the 'multiple Spider-People' idea to JMS' take on Spider-Man pretty decently. It doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere. So props to Slott for all of that.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Putting aside Spider-Man/Human Torch for a minute, Spider-Gwen and the Spider-Verse concept are in hindsight the most successful things to come out of Slott's run.

Spider-Gwen wasn't Slott's creation. The credited creators for Spider-Gwen was writer Jason Latour (recently disgraced), Robbi Rodriquez (who designed the costume), you can also add Rico Renzi the colorist (who created the distinct look of the Spider-Gwen comics which is in my view the real reason why the character succeeded as she did).

Slott originally disagreed with their take on Spider-Gwen. He had proposed a Gwen who would essentially be the Gwen of ASM#122 (i.e. long beige coat, headband, but with a Spider-Mask on her face and web patterns arond her costume...but Latour and Rodriquez went rogue on him, and that ended up becoming the most popular thing that came out of Spider-Verse, as opposed to Silk who Slott was prepping for stardom.

I don't think he saw it that way at the time, but the idea there can be more than one Spider-Man can partly be traced to him.

If we want to trace it, the idea of "more than one Spider-Man" can be traced to several people:
-- The Clone Saga (which is also when the word "Spiderverse" sans hyphen, appeared in print for the first time during Maximum Clonage), started the idea of multiple Spider-Man.
-- You had the Fox Show by John Semper which did multiple Spider-Man in the final season where Peter visits many alternate dimensions. Also the Spider-Man Unlimited show to some extent.
-- Peter David created Miguel O'Hara, Spider-Man 2099, chronologically and publication-wise, Spider-Man's first legacy hero, and he debuted in 1992 (not 1999 as you might assume given the "100 years in future" concept). Miguel and 616 Peter crossed over and interacted with one another in comics.
-- In video games you had SHATTERED DIMENSIONS (on which Slott worked and where he got the germ of the concept of Spider-Verse from some of the ideas developers told him wouldn't work with their gameplay), also Spider-Man: Edge of Time.
-- Bendis created and debuted Miles Morales, the most popular legacy hero of Spider-Man, and wrote the crossover Spider-Men in 2012 (Spider-Man's 50th Year Anniversary). This had 616 Spider-Man cross over into another dimension and universe and that was the first time it happened (616 Peter and Miguel is more a case of "past meets future" then going into another parallel dimension).

So as far as 616 comics goes, Bendis did it first (and did it better). That's why the creators and producers of ITSV in all their interviews and speeches have never once mentioned Slott's name, but always give diligence to Stan, Steve, Bendis, and Pichelli.

He arguably also made it easier for a lot of people to accept Miles Morales, even if it was just by proxy.

Miles Morales had a prominent part in Hickman's SECRET WARS 2015 (the biggest crossover event of the last decade) and Bendis wrote Spider-Men in 2012 so it was Bendis and Hickman who did that, not Slott. All Slott did with Spider-Verse was consolidate a lot of existing stuff.

[Kaitou D. Kid]

Spider-Gwen wasn't Slott's creation. The credited creators for Spider-Gwen was writer Jason Latour (recently disgraced), Robbi Rodriquez (who designed the costume), you can also add Rico Renzi the colorist (who created the distinct look of the Spider-Gwen comics which is in my view the real reason why the character succeeded as she did).

Slott originally disagreed with their take on Spider-Gwen. He had proposed a Gwen who would essentially be the Gwen of ASM#122 (i.e. long beige coat, headband, but with a Spider-Mask on her face and web patterns arond her costume...but Latour and Rodriquez went rogue on him, and that ended up becoming the most popular thing that came out of Spider-Verse, as opposed to Silk who Slott was prepping for stardom.

I knew she debuted in a Slott book but didn't know that. I stand corrected then.

If we want to trace it, the idea of "more than one Spider-Man" can be traced to several people:
-- The Clone Saga (which is also when the word "Spiderverse" sans hyphen, appeared in print for the first time during Maximum Clonage), started the idea of multiple Spider-Man.
-- You had the Fox Show by John Semper which did multiple Spider-Man in the final season where Peter visits many alternate dimensions. Also the Spider-Man Unlimited show to some extent.
-- Peter David created Miguel O'Hara, Spider-Man 2099, chronologically and publication-wise, Spider-Man's first legacy hero, and he debuted in 1992 (not 1999 as you might assume given the "100 years in future" concept). Miguel and 616 Peter crossed over and interacted with one another in comics.
-- In video games you had SHATTERED DIMENSIONS (on which Slott worked and where he got the germ of the concept of Spider-Verse from some of the ideas developers told him wouldn't work with their gameplay), also Spider-Man: Edge of Time.

I said he deserves part of the credit for it, not that he is the master architect of it.

The previous crossovers you mentioned all fall under two groups: crossovers with Peter Parker versions only that were poorly received (the clones are technically still Peter Parker), and crossovers with Peter Parker versions only that were well received (like in Spider-Man TAS). The emphasis there is on it still being Peter Parker, with some slight variations here and there (the two video games you mentioned crossed over a bunch of Peters + Miguel).

Up until Spider-Verse (moreso the movie but also the comic to a great extent), multiple versions of Spider-Man crossing over that 1) weren't Peter Parker and 2) more importantly got people excited to see more of that wasn't a thing. Threads like "Make your own Spider-Verse version of Spider-Man, could be Peter or anyone else", which I think I see on at least one forum wherever I go on the internet, wasn't a thing. All of that marks a change in the culture from where we were pre-SV.

-- Bendis created and debuted Miles Morales, the most popular legacy hero of Spider-Man, and wrote the crossover Spider-Men in 2012 (Spider-Man's 50th Year Anniversary). This had 616 Spider-Man cross over into another dimension and universe and that was the first time it happened (616 Peter and Miguel is more a case of "past meets future" then going into another parallel dimension).

So as far as 616 comics goes, Bendis did it first (and did it better). That's why the creators and producers of ITSV in all their interviews and speeches have never once mentioned Slott's name, but always give diligence to Stan, Steve, Bendis, and Pichelli.

Miles Morales had a prominent part in Hickman's SECRET WARS 2015 (the biggest crossover event of the last decade) and Bendis wrote Spider-Men in 2012 so it was Bendis and Hickman who did that, not Slott. All Slott did with Spider-Verse was consolidate a lot of existing stuff.

Initially yes, ITSV was just going to be a Peter and Miles story, but the directors claim they got more and more excited and decided to go big or go home by doing the Spider-Verse concept.

Bendis' Spider-Men story was better written than Spider-Verse, but I am talking merely about what story had the stronger impact instead of which story was written better or which should have had a stronger impact. The 2012 crossover at the time was interpreted by some fans as a good crossover but a one-time thing, and by others as a story Bendis was using to prop up Miles. If you told that story today, I don't think Peter meeting a Miles from an alternate universe would be interpreted as either of those.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I knew she debuted in a Slott book but didn't know that. I stand corrected then.

Spider-Gwen debuted in "Edge of Spider-Verse #2" that was a miniseries satellite title intended to expand the event.
https://www.marvel.com/comics/series...der-verse_2014

Each issue was written by a different author showcasing each Spider-Persona (to use the term the ITSV producers and marketers use to define each variation), none of them by Slott.

I said he deserves part of the credit for it, not that he is the master architect of it.

No you are right, I get that. Slott helped make the Spider-Crossover into a kind of lasting sub-franchise in comics, i.e. every year or two years you have had titles or two dedicated to the Spider-Verse since it first arrived.

If you told that story today, I don't think Peter meeting a Miles from an alternate universe would be interpreted as either of those.

That assumes there would be a market for different Spider-People crossing over without the precedent of the success of Miles Morales. Miles on his debut was an immediate success and embraced right away, getting press coverage and everything.

Without Miles Morales and his big success, and his presence in Spider-Verse who knows if the event would do as well as it did.

I mean Slott himself hints at it when he talks about the germination of Spider-Verse:
https://twitter.com/DanSlott/status/1099802025603280896

[Kaitou D. Kid]

That assumes there would be a market for different Spider-People crossing over without the precedent of the success of Miles Morales. Miles on his debut was an immediate success and embraced right away, getting press coverage and everything.

Without Miles Morales and his big success, and his presence in Spider-Verse who knows if the event would do as well as it did.

I mean Slott himself hints at it when he talks about the germination of Spider-Verse:
https://twitter.com/DanSlott/status/1099802025603280896

True. The pillar history of Spider-People goes something like this: Peter Parker -> Miguel O'hara (lowkey) -> Miles Morales -> Spider-Verse

[Ursalink]

If I can, I would like to comment my opinion about these stories:

1º) Worst - "Dying Wish": DEFINITELY!!

2º) Best - "Spider-Verse": I love this one, but considering other stories in the list, I would have put this one some places down.

3º) Worst - "Superior": I would have put this story as the top of the worst, but it's true that the first place is for the story that allowed this to happen.

4º) Best - "Spider-Island": I would have put this one as the best of the bests, and my favourite part was Mary Jane getting Spider-Powers and fighting alongside Peter. I just can't believe they didn't allow her to keep them!!!

5º) Worst - "Alpha": I don't really hate this, but as far as I see, it was a waste of time and effort.

6º) Best - "Spider-Man and the Human Torch": I like this story too, but cosidering others from the list, I would have put this one in the lowest place of the best ones.

7º) Worst - "Power Play": I don't actually hate this one, it was quite good as far as I see. The best part was definitely MJ using the Iron Spider's armor; but I think it should be mentioned too the scene where Spidey, MJ and the Regent had that feeling of "Deja Vu", hitting a curious link to "Renew Your Vows" and its story.

8º) Best - "Renew Your Vows": Sorry, but this story deserves a higher place. I would have put it as the second best, surpassed only by "Spider-Island". (I really like Mary Jane with Spider-Powers).

9º) Worst - "Dead No More": Sorry, but I actually like this story. I admit it left a lot of cliffhangers, but they could be explored for potentially interesting stories in the future. I think this one deserves a better place than being with the worst stories.

10º) Best - "Goblin Nation": I would have put it a place higher between the bests, as this one put and end to "Superior" and brought us the one true Spider-Man.

[Aura Blaize]

Spider-Island was amazing. I liked Spiderverse and Go Down Swinging as well. As for Superior, I loved the premise, but I think I would put that in the "worst" column only because I feel other writers did it much better than Slott did. Other writers would write SpOck as someone who, for all of his ego, was actually TRYING to do the right thing. Then you'd go back to the main title and Slott wrote him as essentially a supervillian playing Spider-Man. Compare Superior vol 1 to Vol 2.

Aside from those stories, I'm rather meh on Slott overall.

[Zeitgeist]

Best: Amazing Spider-Man 655, all of Superior Spider-Man