Aunt May needs to know Peter’s identity again

[Minerboh]

I doubt fans would get over OMD so soon even if Marvel undoes it (And conveniently lets Spidey keep his secret identity) lol.



She had an alright moment in ASM#18 with her speech about Parkers not giving up, but uh, yeah, that was the one time, she's mostly just annoying back then lol.



Making Hydra Cap to begin with was a far bigger risk lol.

Plus, even if he wanted to, Marvel editorial just won't mess with OMD, they respect it too much.



I mean, the whole situation is their fault, make a stupid story, fans will whine about it, keep dangling it once every few years and make fans hope they'll undo or acknowledge it, they don't do either, and fans will have more reasons to whine lol.

It's Marvel's fault to begin with, they're the ones constantly poking at that wound with a stick covered in salt, so it's no wonder fans will keep having reasons to remain butthurt.

I red that Spencer's original plan was for HydraCap to be the real Cap and changed his mind after the reactions this story caused.
As for the rest of your takes, I agree.
Buuuut, I do think that we should let OMD rest in it's ashes. Who knows, maybe a non reaction is the best reaction.

[TinkerSpider]

I red that Spencer's original plan was for HydraCap to be the real Cap and changed his mind after the reactions this story caused.
As for the rest of your takes, I agree.
Buuuut, I do think that we should let OMD rest in it's ashes. Who knows, maybe a non reaction is the best reaction.

Nah. OMD deserves all the loud derision it receives and more. Staying quiet just gives Marvel what it wants.

[Lee]

If someone has strongly disliked a series for over 14 years, it's probably best for them to read something else instead. If someone's enjoyment of a series is dependant upon one particular element, and that element is no longer present, then they can always drop the series and jump back in should that element ever return.

[Matt Rat]

maybe a non reaction is the best reaction.

A non reaction doesn't make money.

[TinkerSpider]

If someone has strongly disliked a series for over 14 years, it's probably best for them to read something else instead. If someone's enjoyment of a series is dependant upon one particular element, and that element is no longer present, then they can always drop the series and jump back in should that element ever return.

First of all, no one said anything about dislike, and certainly nothing about dependent. One can recognize Marvel broke the inherent concept of the series by making Peter an irresponsible and hopelessly stupid chump who falls for the lies of a supervillain who is explicitly known for lying and continue to make their opinion known — and still very much enjoy, say, most of Nick Spencer’s run or Chip Zdarsky’s limited series or Tom Taylor’s Friendly Neighborhood, etc.

Second, aren’t we lucky there is no such thing as the reading police and each individual can make up their own mind how and when they want to spend their leisure time. If someone takes pleasure in hate reading, that’s their prerogative. The reader creates the terms on how they engage with the material, not the creator nor the intellectual property owner. Unless one is someone’s personal physician, then that person has no standing to declare what is “best” for someone else when it comes to reading a comic book. (And JM DeMatteis agrees reading is in the eye of the reader: https://twitter.com/JMDeMatteis/stat...sogYywGHG0UHWQ)

Third, Aunt May should at least be aware that Peter is keeping something from her - as Wells established in his first issue - for her current characterization to be believable and not break suspension of disbelief (and now we’re finally back on topic again )

[Lee]

I couldn't imagine spending 14 years reading a comic series I greatly disliked and complaining about it online multiple times a week. The simplest solution to the problem ("I don't like Spider-Man comics these days") is to stop reading them and maybe read something else instead.

I completely understand sticking with a series in the hopes that it will get better, but if someone truly thinks that Spider-Man comics are worthless garbage until One More Day is undone, or they really dislike a particular writer's work, then just skip it until those circumstances change.

If you continue to buy the comic, then you're telling Marvel that it's worth your money and they profit from it. If you read it through Marvel Unlimited or check it out from the library, then you're telling them that it's popular. If you read it through other means, then you're just wasting your own time on something you know you're going to hate.

Informed opinions and constructive criticism are great. If somewhere serves bad coffee, then feel free to leave a review or tell your friends. But if you go to that same place every day, order your least favourite drink on the menu, then proceed to complain about it every single time, at that point your bad experience can't be blamed on the café.

[TinkerSpider]

I couldn't imagine spending 14 years reading a comic series I greatly disliked and complaining about it online multiple times a week. The simplest solution to the problem ("I don't like Spider-Man comics these days") is to stop reading them and maybe read something else instead.

That's awesome you personally can't imagine. You go, man!

But you aren't every single reader.

Perhaps the problem is coming to a fan message board and expecting every single person to engage with the material in only one way? That's definitely a guaranteed recipe for frustration.

Informed opinions and constructive criticism are great. If somewhere serves bad coffee, then feel free to leave a review or tell your friends. But if you go to that same place every day, order your least favourite drink on the menu, then proceed to complain about it every single time, at that point your bad experience can't be blamed on the café.

We're talking about the concept of One More Day. That's a very bad story on nearly every measurable level that fundamentally breaks the character of Peter Parker. That isn't going to change. It's perfectly reasonable for people to point out that until Marvel allows the story to be retconned, the character will always be tainted by editorial interference - even as people continue to check out the new material. It's not a binary. Two (or more) ideas can be simultaneously held by one person at one time.

And again, if someone want to hate read, that's up to them. It's really no one's business how other people peaceably spend their leisure time. One could argue being on a comic book message board in the first place is a waste of time, resources, and brain power.

Do you have anything to say about Aunt May, as that's the topic of the thread? I continue to assert Well's depiction is a step in the right direction.

[Lee]

People are absolutely allowed to willingly spend their free time doing things they hate, then telling the Internet how much they hate their hobby, every day, for 14+ years.

I'm suggesting an alternative: reading comics they like, instead. People are free to not take my advice! I think their lives would be happier and more fulfilling if they read comics they liked instead of comics they hate. Maybe sharing their enthusiasm for the things they like on the Internet, bringing more people into the fold, building a fun and positive community. It's just a suggestion! Nobody has to do this!

But ultimately...

Nah. OMD deserves all the loud derision it receives and more. Staying quiet just gives Marvel what it wants.

...no amount of posts on messages boards or Twitter are going to get Marvel to change course on this. It doesn't affect them whatsoever. They are absolutely 100% committed to an unmarried Spider-Man.

The readership had its opportunities to send a message. If Brand New Day had absolutely tanked, if Amazing Spider-Man suddenly became one of Marvel's worst selling comics, doing cancellation numbers, then that would have raised alarm bells. But it continued to sell well enough and turn a profit.

The next big opportunity was with the Renew Your Vows ongoing series. If the readership saw to it that it consistently outsold Amazing Spider-Man, that could have given Marvel pause. But it didn't, and it eventually ran its course over a couple of years.

It just wasn't a big enough issue for the buying audience, and Marvel has no reason to change course on this decision that was very important to them. They weathered through the transition, when the controversy was fresh, so angry posts about it in 2022 aren't going to change any minds.

Maybe they'll have Aunt May re-learn Spider-Man's secret identity. And she'll probably end up getting amnesia again a few years later, as I expect will happen with Jonah Jameson. I think anyone expecting big permanent changes for Spider-Man, and for the series to keep on moving forward without any retconning, back-pedalling and resetting, is just setting themselves up for disappointment.

[TinkerSpider]

People are absolutely allowed to willingly spend their free time doing things they hate, then telling the Internet how much they hate their hobby, every day, for 14+ years.

Awesome! Glad to see you agree people are absolutely free to do whatever makes them happy! Yes, happy as the antithesis of love isn't hate; it's indifference. A fan who is outraged is still a fan. Just ask Tom Brevoort.

I'm suggesting an alternative: reading comics they like, instead. People are free to not take my advice! I think their lives would be happier and more fulfilling if they read comics they liked instead of comics they hate. Maybe sharing their enthusiasm for the things they like on the Internet, bringing more people into the fold, building a fun and positive community. It's just a suggestion! Nobody has to do this!

And maybe hate reading is fulfilling to them! Maybe it's fun to figure out why a story by, say, Slott, is so poorly crafted! Maybe they can take lessons from looking at what they don't like so they can avoid it in their future endeavors/future reading! Maybe they enjoy discovering other fans who share their opinions on what makes a good story and what doesn't! Maybe they find that community to be highly positive and fun and engaging because after all, they aren't the ones being criticized (and reviews are for readers, not authors)! Maybe they enjoy the give and take and being in community that thinks only in lockstep would be the antithesis of joy! Maybe they don't like some aspects of the current Spider-Man and are vocal about their displeasure, but they do like other aspects and are just as vocal about their pleasure!

...no amount of posts on messages boards or Twitter are going to get Marvel to change course on this. It doesn't affect them whatsoever. They are absolutely 100% committed to an unmarried Spider-Man.

No one is saying they think they will force Marvel to do anything. I'm saying Marvel put out a bad story that broke the character and his world, they better be prepared to hear about it ad infinitum until and/or if they ever come up with way to repair the character.

It's also very interesting you seem to think all the antithesis toward OMD is due to the marriage. How about making Peter Parker a highly irresponsible villian who put his own selfish desire above the well-being of all of humanity, both living and those in Mephisto's kingdom? He STRENGTHENED Mephisto. He gave Mephisto exactly what he wanted - and maybe more, as the end of Nick Spencer's run suggested. He trusted a supervillain expressly known for lying, making Peter a gullible and stupid chump as well.

I, personally, don't care about reinstating the marriage. In fact, since Marvel has mostly employed male Spider-Man writers who can't seem to fathom that a romantic partner needs to be fully fledged character in her own right and isn't just a two-dimensional prop (miss me with the whole "Aunt May/MJ make Peter's life easier" BS argument - women are not here on this planet to make men's lives easier, people) - I'd rather Mary Jane (and Felicia, and any other established coded-female character in Spider-Man's orbit) are just written out until the current crop of Boomer/GenX writers age out. Let those writers create more cardboard cutouts to act as arm candy like Lien/Lian and keep the established female characters away from additional active harm and character assassination. I, again personally, was thrilled Bendis brought MJ over to Iron Man. I understand others may not have shared my enthusiasm for MJ in Iron Man, and that's perfectly great!

There are some Boomer/GenX writers who do understand the assignment, like the aforementioned Bendis and Nick Spencer and Tom Taylor and Chip Zdarsky, plus J.M. DeMatteis, Jed MacKay, JMS and Gerry Conway among others, but they seem to be the exception as to who gets to write Spider-Man and not the rule, especially in the 21st century. It's rather sad Marvel appears to have such a regressive opinion of women when it comes to Peter Parker's life, but we already discussed readers can't make Marvel do anything. *shrug*

At least Well's initial characterization of May as knowing something is up but giving Peter space to hold his secrets is a step in the right direction. Will it be retconned at some point? Of course (which is also an argument for why not having May know or why not let Peter and MJ be in a longterm committed relationship, since we all know the status will change again someday? Again, there are no bad retcons, just bad retcon story executions). I think people here are all very well aware this is comics, but thanks for pointing it out

[Matt Rat]

They are absolutely 100% committed to an unmarried Spider-Man.

Only they aren't.

We've had married stories after OMD. We'll have them again. You're free to say they won't 'count', but with the multiverse's importance, yes, everything counts, all stories are true.

We've had numerous callbacks to OMD, the story that removed the marriage, even before Spencer. The marriage lives in Marvel's heads rent free, the fan demand for the marriage likewise, leading them on with that carrot is 14 carrot gold for their sales.

[Lee]

In the core Marvel comics universe.

[FFJamie94]

At this point, I think it's best to just let the marriage go. It's been 14 years since it ended, there have been People who were born after the marriage and started reading Spider-Man comics in that time. The only People who care about it aren't the audience that Marvel is going to listen to, they'll buy Spider-Man no matter what or are a small margin of an audience that listening to them isn't worth Marvel's time.
It sucks, but wanting it back will only hurt more. The best you can do right now is either vote with your wallet, or enjoy the stories you do enjoy. Otherwise you get something like Spencer's run, a run which I do actually like (even if I have issues) but spent so much time trying to fix what the writer didn't like about Spider-Man that he forgot to add his mark on the mythos.

The marriage will either come back or it won't, and if it does, there's nothing stopping Marvel from undoing it again.
Comics are just like that, and it's why I enjoy them for the nonsense they are.
I like a married Peter, it's what I grew up with and it's what I find more interesting.
But also it's been a decade and a half, if I let that hurt me, then I'm missing out on a decade and a half worth of stories.

[TinkerSpider]

At this point, I think it's best to just let the marriage go.

BUT MUH MARRIAGE!!!11!!!!! is a straw man and a misdirection. Not a single person in this particular thread has called for an reinstatement of the marriage. Instead, someone came into the thread to lecture how the marriage will never happen again. O...kay? Not sure why they felt the need to take the conversation in that direction, but, sure, whatever.

This thread is about Aunt May. OMD was originally brought up only in relation to how it affected her character.

I've learned telling people to "get over it" and "let things go" is, in fact, the easiest and surest way to ensure this very conversation will continue to be played out ad nauseam. Case in point, the current thread drift occurred when someone else said, "get over it."

And frankly, Marvel loves the marriage crowd. They print money with every MJ variant cover. They knew teasing a retcon of OMD would bring people back to the book and lead to numerous articles in the comics press. They adore referencing OMD in 616 because it gets people talking.

Trolling the marriage crowd isn't nice, but it gets Marvel noticed. Look at giving Slott a Peter/MJ "enduring love" (uh huh. I'll believe it when I read it) story in Amazing Fantasy 1000. Why did that story get a short description when most of the others in the anthology did not? To salt that wound for buzz.

[Matt Rat]

In the core Marvel comics universe.

In the core Marvel comics universe, stories requiring the legacy of the marriage to be explored via the divergent realities have mattered to the overall plot post-OMD.

At this point, I think it's best to just let the marriage go

There is a Wedding Album trade coming out the same month as the anniversary.

Marvel themselves won't let it go, so why should we?

it's been a decade and a half

And the marriage hasn't been out of print since 2007 if you know where to look. Even with the newspaper comics in reruns, it's STILL the marriage years. And Dark Ages wasn't too long ago.

Core continuity? That's just a variant of Spidey also. They all are, they're all variants. The original story ended 14 years ago, the real timeline hasn't come back. If you think we should let the marriage go, you're basically telling us to let Spider-Man in general go.

[phonogram12]

How Marvel uses the marriage in stories:



And I find fan reaction every bit as entertaining as anything, quite frankly.