Has Spider-Man become Marvel's poor man version of Batman?

[CrimsonEchidna]

Yeah to go back to the original question, no.

I get people who have nostalgia for the good old days when the Spider-Man comics were limited to only Peter and his supporting cast, but comics themselves have evolved past that. And that's not limited to just the Spider-Man line either. You see it across both Marvel and DC with their efforts to create new characters that can become marketable and part of their mythos. And this is a direct consequence of superhero comics, in general, being married to the concept of a "frozen timeline."

[NC_Yankee]

Yeah to go back to the original question, no.

I get people who have nostalgia for the good old days when the Spider-Man comics were limited to only Peter and his supporting cast, but comics themselves have evolved past that. And that's not limited to just the Spider-Man line either. You see it across both Marvel and DC with their efforts to create new characters that can become marketable and part of their mythos. And this is a direct consequence of superhero comics, in general, being married to the concept of a "frozen timeline."

Both sides of the debate can be correct. Eddie, Felicia and Miles do not need to be in a Peter book, they sell well enough on their own, and Cindy and Gwen ( Ghost-Spider) are heading in the same direction. Those people who want those characters have them. Others such as myself who prefer Peter, MJ and the classic Spider-Man rogues gallery can have that as well. What is the problem?

[PCN24454]

No, Spider-Man has always been a poor man's Superman.

[Frontier]

Yeah to go back to the original question, no.

I get people who have nostalgia for the good old days when the Spider-Man comics were limited to only Peter and his supporting cast, but comics themselves have evolved past that. And that's not limited to just the Spider-Man line either. You see it across both Marvel and DC with their efforts to create new characters that can become marketable and part of their mythos. And this is a direct consequence of superhero comics, in general, being married to the concept of a "frozen timeline."

I get it from a franchise/marketing perspective. It happens to every major Superhero franchise on some level or another.

I think the issue is, at least for me, how they've yet to really make it work narratively within the overall framework of the franchise, to where stuff like Last Remains doesn't involve people complaining about how jarring and useless the other Spiders feel in a Peter story or how the last two Spider-Man cartoons basically became Spider-Team shows and anybody in Peter's supporting cast ends up on the backburner and the writers don't really give Peter or other Spiders their due as protagonists. Even the Marvel Action comic with them as the three leads only occasionally shows them interacting with anyone that's not one of the "Spidey's."

Insomniac was basically able to do it right by giving Peter and Miles their own games.

[CrimsonEchidna]

Both sides of the debate can be correct. Eddie, Felicia and Miles do not need to be in a Peter book, they sell well enough on their own, and Cindy and Gwen ( Ghost-Spider) are heading in the same direction. Those people who want those characters have them. Others such as myself who prefer Peter, MJ and the classic Spider-Man rogues gallery can have that as well. What is the problem?

So far in Spencer's now 60+ issue run the other Spiders appeared in a single arc and even then primarily in the side .5 issues. Even back with Slott's near-decade-long run the number of arcs they'd guest appear in in Amazing was rather limited. There was Spider-Verse and Clone Conspiracy. I guess you can count that Regent story Going Down Swinging but both cases had them immediately get taken off the table. So people who just really want it to be Peter and his supporting cast, I mean they're already getting that like 95% of the time. At worst, we've just never seen a Peter-only cartoon since Spectacular.

[Frontier]

So far in Spencer's now 60+ issue run the other Spiders appeared in a single arc and even then primarily in the side .5 issues. Even back with Slott's near-decade-long run the number of arcs they'd guest appear in in Amazing was rather limited. There was Spider-Verse and Clone Conspiracy. I guess you can count that Regent story Going Down Swinging but both cases had them immediately get taken off the table. So people who just really want it to be Peter and his supporting cast, I mean they're already getting that like 95% of the time. At worst, we've just never seen a Peter-only cartoon since Spectacular.

Yeah, and their use in those stories generally wasn't very good.

I'm just not sure if we can expect the franchise to keep them so isolated with the marketing expectations there to use them, which is probably why the other Spiders were forced into Last Remains to begin with when they really didn't add much to the story. And the marketing expectations is why the modern Spider-Man cartoons keep having to try and work around using them in the story. Because there's now this expectation that they have to appear or be relevant.

[NC_Yankee]

So far in Spencer's now 60+ issue run the other Spiders appeared in a single arc and even then primarily in the side .5 issues. Even back with Slott's near-decade-long run the number of arcs they'd guest appear in in Amazing was rather limited. There was Spider-Verse and Clone Conspiracy. I guess you can count that Regent story Going Down Swinging but both cases had them immediately get taken off the table. So people who just really want it to be Peter and his supporting cast, I mean they're already getting that like 95% of the time. At worst, we've just never seen a Peter-only cartoon since Spectacular.

Dan Slott created Cindy Moon so that is not quite accurate ( ps. We also know what he thought about MJ). Felicia showed up as well ( although he did a bad job with her).

[NC_Yankee]

Yeah, and their use in those stories generally wasn't very good.

I'm just not sure if we can expect the franchise to keep them so isolated with the marketing expectations there to use them, which is probably why the other Spiders were forced into Last Remains to begin with when they really didn't add much to the story. And the marketing expectations is why the modern Spider-Man cartoons keep having to try and work around using them in the story. Because there's now this expectation that they have to appear or be relevant.

I do not watch cartoons ( Spider-Man included), so I am no expert in them ( I am a sports and movie guy). But I certainly do not want to have Amazing become a “Bat Book.” Why? There is only so much you can compress into a comic, and who would lose space in Amazing if you put Ghost Spider or other characters there more? Peter and MJ that is who. I guarantee Spider-Man and the bad guys ( or girls) space would not get cut. The only way that does not happen is if you want Amazing to be $5:99 per issue. They are already increasing the $5:99 per issue route with Kingpin, Chameleon and in July Star:

[Uncanny Mutie]

Considering that Spider-Man in terms of merchandise makes more than Batman, his PS4 game outsold Arkham City as the bestselling superhero game of all time (even though it's a Platform Exclusive), and that Spider-Man comics continue to sell very well and in the top 10 every month far more consistently than Batman comics have (Tom King's later run sold very poorly and had a really steep drop).

...considering all that, I am not quite sure "poor man's version" makes any sense because it implies Batman to start with is somehow bigger than Spider-Man when evidence suggests the opposite.

Marvel after all is the industry leader in comics sales and it's been that way for a long long time. Spider-Man is their biggest character and that's true for a long long time.

Exactly. Silly thread/question...

[Frontier]

I do not watch cartoons ( Spider-Man included), so I am no expert in them ( I am a sports and movie guy). But I certainly do not want to have Amazing become a “Bat Book.” Why? There is only so much you can compress into a comic, and who would lose space in Amazing if you put Ghost Spider or other characters there more? Peter and MJ that is who. I guarantee Spider-Man and the bad guys ( or girls) space would not get cut. The only way that does not happen is if you want Amazing to be $5:99 per issue. They are already increasing the $5:99 per issue route with Kingpin, Chameleon and in July Star:

That was one of my problems with the Marvel's Spider-Man cartoon where it felt like Peter was spending so much time with other heroes or people who would end up becoming heroes instead of having a normal supporting cast.

[PCN24454]

That was one of my problems with the Marvel's Spider-Man cartoon where it felt like Peter was spending so much time with other heroes or people who would end up becoming heroes instead of having a normal supporting cast.

Something that was a carry-over from Ultimate Spider-Man and somehow done worse.

[Orbus]

That was one of my problems with the Marvel's Spider-Man cartoon where it felt like Peter was spending so much time with other heroes or people who would end up becoming heroes instead of having a normal supporting cast.

I never watched it and from clips I've seen it doesn't seem like my thing but you could make the same argument for some comic runs even some acclaimed ones. JMS for example really only had his supporting cast be MJ and Aunt May and when he joined the Avengers he spent more time with them.

[NC_Yankee]

That was one of my problems with the Marvel's Spider-Man cartoon where it felt like Peter was spending so much time with other heroes or people who would end up becoming heroes instead of having a normal supporting cast.

Thank you for that bit of information. It does not surprise me in the least.

[Frontier]

Something that was a carry-over from Ultimate Spider-Man and somehow done worse.

Yeah, in USM we would go several episodes without Peter even taking his mask off or appearing out of the Spidey suit at some point because he was leading the SHIELD Academy or his latest team of the season.

I never watched it and from clips I've seen it doesn't seem like my thing but you could make the same argument for some comic runs even some acclaimed ones. JMS for example really only had his supporting cast be MJ and Aunt May and when he joined the Avengers he spent more time with them.

Granted in that run we got more normal, "downtime" Peter with his relationship with his family and his teaching job before the shift with the Avengers and then Peter being on the run.

[Darthfury78]

I don't see anything wrong with adding Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter, and the Black Widow to Peter's circle of supporting cast. There is so much potential that could be flushed out. I feel that Spider-Man is at the point where he should not be limited to just his supporting cast and rogue galleries. Instead, there should be a circulation of other Marvel characters who would fit in his world. For example, Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter, and Black Widow could add a depth to Peter's story line and character that we have yet to see..

The same also applies toward Jennifer Walters and Tigra as well...