The Problem With Spider-Man Comics Today

[Minerboh]

Oh for Goodness sake...
Name me one franchise from the big two that doesn't suffer a similar problem. Hell, even Image begins to have tremors after Walking Dead's ending.
I would say the entire industry suffers from a crisis but I do not want to appear sour.

[Hoodj]

Its as I said, like the Simpsons specifically Homer, Peter Parker alongsode the Hulk and Xmen, are timeless archetypes first and characters second, coasting off the arcetypical concept of their narrative and concept of being either ironic unconventional protagpnosts meaning to represent a endless nature pf being misery and failure prone forever so they can stay endlessley appraling to new audiences each new era instead of a specifical development tied tp the past, i think if Spiderman got married and had childrenz hed be stagnant as a Superhero without his famous struggle as a Superhero with serious stakes to protecting his loved ones, hed just be another typical Superhero fantasy with a natural family life like Superman or the Flash.

The problem is that Peter isn't allowed to do anything new or stuff that's happened in Alt Universes that isn't brought into the 616.

SHAKE THINGS UP!! Have him grow to the age of 35 and act like it. Make Peter/MJ/Felicia a committed relationship. Have Mayday be born. Have her learn and grow from her own mistakes and be the representative of what young Peter was instead of always resetting Peter to young Peter despite being in his 30s.

Essentially the biggest problem in Spider-Man comics is they repeat formulas till those formulas get bland, and then they do something "big" and then reset things back. Things that always have an intriguing start, and then eventually folds into itself.

If you're going to do something, don't do the same circle of things. Peter and Felicia are together? Okay, commit to that. Do something different than what was going on before. Commit to them being serious with one another both in costume and OUT of costume. Don't treat it like a distraction or fishook. Commit! Peter and Mary Jane are together? Okay commit to that, actually let them start a family so you don't keep getting to 'reset things'. You're hinting at Peter, Felicia, MJ being a thing ever since Jean/Wolverine/Scott became a thing? Alright commit to that! Work with all three dynamics in a committal way, showing how all the characters have grown and how that both blends with their hero lives and their non-hero lives. Have Mayday be born. Have Felicity be born. Start building them up to be part of a Young Avengers team or something going forward, and let them be the ones that share the traits of a Young Peter or young character on the come up and have the heroes that are experienced help them through and grow.

Instead of Making Spider-Man a grown man whom is a seasoned hero in Spider-Man #30 and then a manchild who acts like an 18 year old in Spider-man #35. Make Spider-Man a grown man whom is a seasoned hero in Spider-Man #30 and still a grown man whom is a seasoned hero in Spider-Man #35 and save the kid stuff for the actual kid, like Mayday. Have Mayday represent the "Peter we all grew up with" with some perks and identity of her own. If the writers are so nostalgic for the "Peter they all grew up with" then take that time and energy into a 616 Mayday and translate those emotions into that, and see if it reaches this generation the way it reached them. Think of everything Into The Spider-verse did right with Miles and Peter. Now imagine a comic like that with Peter and Mayday before she gets her own 616 solo series. Connect someone to Peter that people and kids are going to relate to and connect with and let that be where you want to do these "Spider-Man makes mistake" stories instead of having Peter repeat the same "Responsibility" mistake over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and-

interesting, well as much as i want to agree with you I cant. Spidey must be rooted in being a underachiving unsung hero with constant heavy handed karma and constantly being a living incarnation of "what couldve been", its his a signature platonic mark as a iconic character. The Flash is what you need to look into because The Flash is pretty much Peter Parker without the angst and grim realistic nature. Seriously what your decribing is basically Wally West but with Spider powers instead of god level speed.

[HypnoHustler]

Oh for Goodness sake...
Name me one franchise from the big two that doesn't suffer a similar problem. Hell, even Image begins to have tremors after Walking Dead's ending.
I would say the entire industry suffers from a crisis but I do not want to appear sour.

Your post is confusing. What are you frustrated about? The fact this problem is so prevalent, or the fact it’s just being discussed in the context of Spidey?

[Matt Rat]

Spidey must be rooted in being a underachiving unsung hero with constant heavy handed karma and constantly being a living incarnation of "what couldve been"

"What could have been" applies more to things that have never seen print or been realized elsewhere. Everything we desire Peter to become has come to pass I don't know how many times now in other continuities . Depending on it all to happen to the core version is an unhealthy fixation.

The best thing to desire for the core version is a long overdue vacation, alas when we took a break from Peter, we got Beyond. and many didn't like that, so we can't even get that right.

[Frontier]

With how interconnected the Marvel universe is supposed to be, there is no reason why Peter, and any other hero for that matter, hasn't formed a proper network to protect civilian friends and family from villain attacks.

Maybe if SHIELD were active but Marvel Heroes aren't that involved in each others' lives.

[Minerboh]

Your post is confusing. What are you frustrated about? The fact this problem is so prevalent, or the fact it’s just being discussed in the context of Spidey?

Ι am frustrated because we are acting as if the issues the spider line has been struggling with are not met in other books.

[HypnoHustler]

Ι am frustrated because we are acting as if the issues the spider line has been struggling with are not met in other books.

So? This is about Spider-Man. Other forums can be used to discuss the problems of other books/characters.

[Lukmendes]

With how interconnected the Marvel universe is supposed to be, there is no reason why Peter, and any other hero for that matter, hasn't formed a proper network to protect civilian friends and family from villain attacks.

In-universe there's no good reason for that yeah, out of universe, it's to prevent other characters to take over franchises lol.

Like as much as X-fans can bitch and whine about how other heroes do nothing to prevent mutants from being fucked over by racists and the government, they'd probably get annoyed if the Avengers or F4 showed up every other issues to help instead of allowing X-Men to solve that by themselves.

So yeah, everybody is a moron so other franchises don't take over each other much, this is a thing that happened even in the more """"realistic""" Ultimate, where despite Shield being everywhere, they didn't do much with the likes of Spidey.

Oh for Goodness sake...
Name me one franchise from the big two that doesn't suffer a similar problem. Hell, even Image begins to have tremors after Walking Dead's ending.
I would say the entire industry suffers from a crisis but I do not want to appear sour.

Just because others are having problems doesn't mean that we should ignore that Spidey is among 'em, specially considering that we're getting worse quality after Spencer at least tried to write some characters properly.

Its as I said, like the Simpsons specifically Homer, Peter Parker alongsode the Hulk and Xmen, are timeless archetypes first and characters second, coasting off the arcetypical concept of their narrative and concept of being either ironic unconventional protagpnosts meaning to represent a endless nature pf being misery and failure prone forever so they can stay endlessley appraling to new audiences each new era instead of a specifical development tied tp the past, i think if Spiderman got married and had childrenz hed be stagnant as a Superhero without his famous struggle as a Superhero with serious stakes to protecting his loved ones, hed just be another typical Superhero fantasy with a natural family life like Superman or the Flash.

It's not like a family prevents struggle, why do people talk about it like that? Spidey as a family man is only stagnant if he's written to be stagnant.

And hell, if this BND style of writing is any hint, if he doesn't have a family he's stagnant too.

I'm not saying he has to become a family man to stop being stagnant, specific status quo are nothing but tools, Spidey is not inherently better or worse if he's dating MJ or anyone else, it all depends on the writer, 'cause if we had less DeMatteis and more Zeb Wells back when the marriage was going on, people wouldn't look that fondly back to it.

interesting, well as much as i want to agree with you I cant. Spidey must be rooted in being a underachiving unsung hero with constant heavy handed karma and constantly being a living incarnation of "what couldve been", its his a signature platonic mark as a iconic character. The Flash is what you need to look into because The Flash is pretty much Peter Parker without the angst and grim realistic nature. Seriously what your decribing is basically Wally West but with Spider powers instead of god level speed.

Spidey being only about misery is revisionism, considering that while he never achieved that much, at times he was happy enough with his life even though he struggles, it's stuff line BND that exaggerates this "Spidey is a loser who can't achieve anything ever because otherwise he's not relatable™ anymore".

Maybe if SHIELD were active but Marvel Heroes aren't that involved in each others' lives.

Even when Shield was around it still didn't really happen lol.

Ι am frustrated because we are acting as if the issues the spider line has been struggling with are not met in other books.

Nobody here is talking like only Spidey is being fucked over.

This is the Spidey parts of these forums, so we get to talk about Spidey, and Spidey fans aren't going to other parts of the forum and say how everyone else has it good besides Spidey, characters like Diana have their own dedicated forums for them to talk and complain about the characters, and at least a character like Black Panther, who doesn't have a dedicated forum, has a dedicated thread for it.

[marhawkman]

With how interconnected the Marvel universe is supposed to be, there is no reason why Peter, and any other hero for that matter, hasn't formed a proper network to protect civilian friends and family from villain attacks.

This was the angle some characters advocated in Civil War... and something that some characters do in fact use in Marvel.

[Huntsman Spider]

This was the angle some characters advocated in Civil War... and something that some characters do in fact use in Marvel.

Indeed, it was one of the potentially redeeming incentives for registration. If not for the part where they were largely being written as overreaching jackbooted @$$hats willing to stab erstwhile friends and allies in the back for the sake of security . . .

[marhawkman]

Indeed, it was one of the potentially redeeming incentives for registration. If not for the part where they were largely being written as overreaching jackbooted @$$hats willing to stab erstwhile friends and allies in the back for the sake of security . . .

Hmmm which reminds me of how Civil War briefly ponder what RW law would think of super-heroes who are masked vigilantes. Short version: you're all criminals! Legally the whole deal of "we don't know who you are" is a major problem.

[Minerboh]

So? This is about Spider-Man. Other forums can be used to discuss the problems of other books/characters.

True but in order to treat a systemic condition you should pay attention in finding the core of the problem.
And I cant find why I can't remark this just because this is Spider-Man's senction.

[Minerboh]

In-universe there's no good reason for that yeah, out of universe, it's to prevent other characters to take over franchises lol.

Like as much as X-fans can bitch and whine about how other heroes do nothing to prevent mutants from being fucked over by racists and the government, they'd probably get annoyed if the Avengers or F4 showed up every other issues to help instead of allowing X-Men to solve that by themselves.

So yeah, everybody is a moron so other franchises don't take over each other much, this is a thing that happened even in the more """"realistic""" Ultimate, where despite Shield being everywhere, they didn't do much with the likes of Spidey.



Just because others are having problems doesn't mean that we should ignore that Spidey is among 'em, specially considering that we're getting worse quality after Spencer at least tried to write some characters properly.



It's not like a family prevents struggle, why do people talk about it like that? Spidey as a family man is only stagnant if he's written to be stagnant.

And hell, if this BND style of writing is any hint, if he doesn't have a family he's stagnant too.

I'm not saying he has to become a family man to stop being stagnant, specific status quo are nothing but tools, Spidey is not inherently better or worse if he's dating MJ or anyone else, it all depends on the writer, 'cause if we had less DeMatteis and more Zeb Wells back when the marriage was going on, people wouldn't look that fondly back to it.



Spidey being only about misery is revisionism, considering that while he never achieved that much, at times he was happy enough with his life even though he struggles, it's stuff line BND that exaggerates this "Spidey is a loser who can't achieve anything ever because otherwise he's not relatable™ anymore".



Even when Shield was around it still didn't really happen lol.



Nobody here is talking like only Spidey is being fucked over.

This is the Spidey parts of these forums, so we get to talk about Spidey, and Spidey fans aren't going to other parts of the forum and say how everyone else has it good besides Spidey, characters like Diana have their own dedicated forums for them to talk and complain about the characters, and at least a character like Black Panther, who doesn't have a dedicated forum, has a dedicated thread for it.

True. Thing is I never said ''ignore the problem'' but ''see the whole picture''.

[Kaitou D. Kid]

Oh for Goodness sake...
Name me one franchise from the big two that doesn't suffer a similar problem. Hell, even Image begins to have tremors after Walking Dead's ending.
I would say the entire industry suffers from a crisis but I do not want to appear sour.

Thing is, while Marvel is mishandling a lot of characters, Spidey feels the most stagnated as a character.

Dude is in the same age range as Johnny Storm and the OG X-Men (give or take a few years), and the FF have a teen Franklin and Valeria while the Original Five X-Men have a bunch of younger mutants they're mentoring. They "act their age" in their main titles more than Spider-Man does in his own current main title.

Spider-Man's world now has Miles Morales and a bunch of other Spider-heroes, and Peter used to be a teacher, so in theory he should be in a similar position, but since BND he hasn't.

[CrimsonEchidna]

The problem with Spider-man stories is that there was a story fifteen years ago that people didn't like and refuse to get over no matter how many times they resolve it.

That's because OMD was a half-measure reboot that didn't actually go all the way. I don't pity Marvel for constantly doing damage control over the story when it was entirely a problem they created for themselves.