Can there be a "One Bad Day' style line of one-shots for Spider-Man?

[Mister Mets]

The "One Bad Day" line of Batman one-shots has an excellent concept. Top tier talent tell self-contained stories in which major Batman villains go further than before, with the idea of doing for those guys what the Killing Joke did for Joker. So Tom King and Mitch Gerauds did a Riddler special. John Ridley, an Oscar-winning screenwriter, teamed up with Giusepe Camuncoli to do a Penguin story.

Is something like this feasible with Spider-Man?

It seems to me there are a few knocks against it.
A big part of Spider-Man's appeal is that things change for the character issue by issue, so his most acclaimed stories are typically part of larger runs. The main exception would be Kraven's Last Hunt, although that creative team had previously worked on the character, and DeMatteis would return for three later runs and assorted other projects.
"One Bad Day" is a vehicle for popular talent to return for one story, but we've got that in the Spider-Man comics, with Zeb Wells & John Romita Jr on Amazing Spider-Man, Dan Slott & Mark Bagley on Spider-Man, and Joe Kelly on mini-series and a fill-in arc of Amazing Spider-Man.
There's a precedent for a series of Batman one-shots based on an acclaimed story. It doesn't work as easily with Spidey. A "Fearful Symmetry" line of TPB-length stories might be too much content. A "Nothing Can Stop..." line of books adds up pretty quickly. You can't really have a line of one-shots based on "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" with supporting cast members getting murdered.

But I've figured out a way it could work, which I'll share a little bit later.

[bob.schoonover]

I think it'd be worthwhile to try. There are any number of marquee Spider-man villains who haven't had a highlight appearance in quite awhile. We can debate relative quality, but, for example, Mr Negative had a two-parter during Spencer's run and a reasonably important role in Conway's Spiral arc in ASM right before Secret Wars, and that's about it in the last 10 years - he's appeared in other stories, but they aren't "Mr Negative stories." Even at a lower tier of name recognition, Spencer's various Sinister teams all have plenty of people that could use a good story, maybe even one that launches them to a higher level of prominence (Carolyn Trainer is my first thought here, but I'm open to anything). Maybe if we're back to two different titles we'll cycle through villains a bit more quickly, but there really aren't that many Spider-books on the shelves right now (especially compared to Batman) to effectively keep all the villains in the limelight.

[Mister Mets]

My approach for a mutli-writer crossover in which several of Spider-Man's enemies up their game would be to repeat one that had been successful in the past: The Gauntlet.

A Gauntlet 2 could easily be adapted for the current publishing schedule.

Amazing Spider-Man would feature a few stories by Zeb Wells (or if you prefer- a new writer) with major villains roughing up Spider-Man as part of a larger plot.

The Slott/ Bagley ongoing can tie into this, since they could easily do a tie-in story focusing on their preferred bad guy(s). If there's another ongoing monthly title, it could easily connect to this as well. Standalone 40 page stories by respected creators could be published as annuals for any ongoing Spider-Man title.

A really impressive creative team might get a one-shot that connects to this.

There could be a Miles Morales connection. Maybe an A-list villain targets Miles just to make Peter feel guilty, so there could be a Miles Morales TPB connecting to it all.

The story could be resolved in a crossover to make it so that it's not just an Amazing Spider-Man story. If we're going to have monthly titles, crossovers make sense as a once a year thing.

So, in practice here's how it could work. Let's say we're aiming to start September 2023. Let's assume Amazing Spider-Man will be at #33, Spider-Man will be at #12, Miles Morales Spider-Man will be at #10 and a secret yet-announced Spectacular Spider-Man monthly title will be at #6. The villains can be swapped with others.

September 2023
Amazing Spider-Man #33-34: The Gauntlet II begins with Dr. Octopus
Spider-Man #12: Gauntlet II kicks off here with Spider-Man VS Swarm as counterprogramming by Slott and Bagley.
Spectacular Spider-Man #6: Gauntlet II kicks off here with a longer Chameleon story
Prelude one-shot by Gerry Conway with Tombstone, if he's the big bad.

October 2023
Amazing Spider-Man #35-36: The Gauntlet II continues with the Spider Slayers
Spider-Man #13: Gauntlet II's Spider-Man VS Swarm story continues.
Spectacular Spider-Man #7: The Chameleon story continues.
Miles Morales Spider-Man #11 kicks off a tie-in story as an A-lister (let's go with Kraven's clone son) is hired to target Miles.
Kraven prelude one-shot to pad out the inevitable Miles Morales TPB.

November 2023
Amazing Spider-Man #37-38: The Gauntlet II continues with the third chapter of the Spider Slayers story, and a standalone prelude setting up Hobgoblin.
Amazing Spider-Man Annual: Standalone with Mysterio by a new creative team
Spider-Man #14: A new Gauntlet II arc pits Spider-Man VS Electro
Spectacular Spider-Man #8: Chameleon is revealed to be a new supporting character.
Miles Morales Spider-Man #12 continues the tie-in story.

December 2023
Amazing Spider-Man #39-40: The Gauntlet II continues with the Hobgoblin
Spider-Man Annual: Standalone with Adrian Toomes by a new creative team.
Spider-Man #15: Gauntlet II's Electro arc continues
Spectacular Spider-Man #9: New reveals with the Chameleon.
Miles Morales Spider-Man #13 continues the tie-in story with Kraven.

January 2024
Amazing Spider-Man #41-42: The Gauntlet II continues with the Hobgoblin
Spider-Man #16: Gauntlet II's Electro arc ends.
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual: Standalone with Juggernaut by a new creative team
Spectacular Spider-Man #10: Gauntlet II's Chameleon arc ends.
Miles Morales Spider-Man #14 concludes the tie-in story.

February 2024
Crossover with the master villain (Tombstone to tie into what Wells is doing?) in Amazing Spider-Man #43-44, Spider-Man #16, Spectacular Spider-Man #11 and Miles Morales Spider-Man #15

March 2024
Crossover with a villain who gained power in the aftermath of the last arc (Norman Osborn to tie into what Wells is doing?) in Amazing Spider-Man #45-46, Spider-Man #17, Spectacular Spider-Man #12 and Miles Morales Spider-Man #16

There are a few logistics questions.
Should a Gauntlet follow-up exclude villains who are recently in the book (IE- Tombstone and Norman Osborn?) Part of the appeal of the original was that the major villains had largely been out of commission for a while. On the other hand, it makes sense to tie into the larger story.
Should a Gauntlet II exclude the villains who were profiled originally? That would be Electro, Vulture (technically, it was Red Vulture), Sandman, Rhino, Mysterio, Lizard and Kraven.
If you have a story about Spider-Man pushed to his limits, the stories should flow into one another pretty well. But it's a bit complicated when it's published out of order. For example, a five issue arc in a monthly title would come out around the same time as ten issues of Amazing Spider-Man so how do you make the main title accessible while still suggesting Peter went through hell in Spectacular Spider-Man #6-10? I think it's doable, as long as editors keep close track of what happens in each story and how it affects Peter, and writers drop hints in a way that ties it all together but is accessible to new readers.

The other strategy would be a Fearful Symmetry line of mini-series.

[exile001]

On reading your first post I immediately thought that was kinda the point of Gauntlet, too.

I think a huge missed trick in US comics in general is the way villains are often a bit 2D and their goals a bit unbelievable (or just reduced to kill the hero). Not everyone needs to be hugely multifaceted and relatable, but having extra depth would help almost any villain (arguably more than a miniseries or, god forbid, ongoing).

Look what Geoff Johns did for Captain Cold in just one issue during his first Flash run!

I'd definitely buy series of those for Spidey villains. Preferably a mix of the big names and smaller types.

One Bad Day has been fun so far but I bet even a casual fan could name the villains getting books. I'd argue you could do so much more with Firefly, Ratcatcher, Killer Moth, Ventriloquist, that kind of level, or even more obscure villains who just need one good showing.

[Sr. Bungle]

On reading your first post I immediately thought that was kinda the point of Gauntlet, too.

I think a huge missed trick in US comics in general is the way villains are often a bit 2D and their goals a bit unbelievable (or just reduced to kill the hero). Not everyone needs to be hugely multifaceted and relatable, but having extra depth would help almost any villain (arguably more than a miniseries or, god forbid, ongoing).

Look what Geoff Johns did for Captain Cold in just one issue during his first Flash run!

I'd definitely buy series of those for Spidey villains. Preferably a mix of the big names and smaller types.

One Bad Day has been fun so far but I bet even a casual fan could name the villains getting books. I'd argue you could do so much more with Firefly, Ratcatcher, Killer Moth, Ventriloquist, that kind of level, or even more obscure villains who just need one good showing.

I was thinking just the same a couple of days ago

[Mister Mets]

On reading your first post I immediately thought that was kinda the point of Gauntlet, too.

I think a huge missed trick in US comics in general is the way villains are often a bit 2D and their goals a bit unbelievable (or just reduced to kill the hero). Not everyone needs to be hugely multifaceted and relatable, but having extra depth would help almost any villain (arguably more than a miniseries or, god forbid, ongoing).

Look what Geoff Johns did for Captain Cold in just one issue during his first Flash run!

I'd definitely buy series of those for Spidey villains. Preferably a mix of the big names and smaller types.

One Bad Day has been fun so far but I bet even a casual fan could name the villains getting books. I'd argue you could do so much more with Firefly, Ratcatcher, Killer Moth, Ventriloquist, that kind of level, or even more obscure villains who just need one good showing.

I think embracing the Rogue spotlights from Geoff Johns' Flash run would be a great idea.

These can be decent stories, that elevate the bad guys.

And because for one issue the spotlight isn't on Peter Parker, it's something that can be done to avoid scheduling conflicts. As a practical matter, it's often convenient for fill-in issues. It could also be used to avoid spoilers. So if there are major status quo changes in a four issue arc of Amazing Spider-Man, a villain spotlight issue of Spider-Man published in the same time means we don't have to explain whether this is Peter Parker before that story or after that story.

The current writers have done this kind of stuff in the past. Zeb Wells has written mini-series about bad guys, and Dan Slott wrote several villain spotlight issues in Amazing Spider-Man.

[exile001]

The current writers have done this kind of stuff in the past. Zeb Wells has written mini-series about bad guys, and Dan Slott wrote several villain spotlight issues in Amazing Spider-Man.

I was pretty hyped for Wells on Spidey due to his Carnage and Carnage USA miniseries.

That... has not worked out as I'd hoped. Lol.

[Huntsman Spider]

I was pretty hyped for Wells on Spidey due to his Carnage and Carnage USA miniseries.

That... has not worked out as I'd hoped. Lol.

Sadly, though considering those were written after "Shed" in BND . . . and Carnage USA also included the murder of a child, if my recollection of that was accurate . . .

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Yeah because Spidey's rogues are the most remarkable in Marvel outside of the X-men.

So solo oneshots feel practical.

[exile001]

Sadly, though considering those were written after "Shed" in BND . . . and Carnage USA also included the murder of a child, if my recollection of that was accurate . . .

I don't hate Shed as much as everyone else around here, I'm more indifferent to it after everything else in the BND era.

If child murder is Wells' trope, that's fine I guess. I don't think villains shouldn't kill children because, y'know, they're villains, but if that's his big recurring "shock and awe" go-to it's always going to have diminishing returns. I guess his thought process is that killing an adult is essentially meaningless in Marvel/DC these days with how common it is, but offing kids is still a bit taboo.

It's a bit edgelordy but it's not unfiltered Ennis levels of gross to me.

[Sr. Bungle]

Sadly, though considering those were written after "Shed" in BND . . . and Carnage USA also included the murder of a child, if my recollection of that was accurate . . .

A pretty cruel one too

[Sr. Bungle]

A pretty cruel one too

Lots of children killed in the BND Punisher issues written by Wells too

[Huntsman Spider]

I don't hate Shed as much as everyone else around here, I'm more indifferent to it after everything else in the BND era.

If child murder is Wells' trope, that's fine I guess. I don't think villains shouldn't kill children because, y'know, they're villains, but if that's his big recurring "shock and awe" go-to it's always going to have diminishing returns. I guess his thought process is that killing an adult is essentially meaningless in Marvel/DC these days with how common it is, but offing kids is still a bit taboo.

It's a bit edgelordy but it's not unfiltered Ennis levels of gross to me.

Fair enough, though the reason "Shed" left such a bad taste or aftertaste in so many fans' mouths wasn't just the child murder --- it was specifically Curt Connors, who had been built up for years as a sympathetic figure in very unfortunate and harrowing circumstances, losing control of those circumstances to the point he killed (and even partially ate) his own child, who was also a character the fans had been familiar with for years.

[Mister Mets]

I don't hate Shed as much as everyone else around here, I'm more indifferent to it after everything else in the BND era.

If child murder is Wells' trope, that's fine I guess. I don't think villains shouldn't kill children because, y'know, they're villains, but if that's his big recurring "shock and awe" go-to it's always going to have diminishing returns. I guess his thought process is that killing an adult is essentially meaningless in Marvel/DC these days with how common it is, but offing kids is still a bit taboo.

It's a bit edgelordy but it's not unfiltered Ennis levels of gross to me.

Legitimately, it's one of my favorite Spider-Man stories.

You could just do a one-shot about a particular villian.

Sure, but there's often more excitement when something is part of a series.

That way if a one-shot takes off it helps related projects.

[exile001]

Fair enough, though the reason "Shed" left such a bad taste or aftertaste in so many fans' mouths wasn't just the child murder --- it was specifically Curt Connors, who had been built up for years as a sympathetic figure in very unfortunate and harrowing circumstances, losing control of those circumstances to the point he killed (and even partially ate) his own child, who was also a character the fans had been familiar with for years.

I totally get that. I wasn't reading at the time (BND was the absolute worst) so found out about it when it was mentioned during Slott's run. The shock value was kinda lost on me.

I read Gauntlet onwards years later, and I still can't understand why Kraven needed to be resurrected or why doing so needed to kill off so many other characters. I'm not going to pretend I care about Mattie Franklin (from the another worst Spider-man era) but she and her fans deserved much better than that death.