If you were in charge of the comics (non Spider-marriage edition)...

[Coop]

If you were in charge of the Spider-Man comics, what would you like to see?
Peter stepping up in his hero career and assuming some responsibility as one of NY's most senior and effective heroes. He'd ask more of himself and more of his allies to really step up. He'd use the skills that make him a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to build up superhero communities. Especially with other Spider-Characters. He and MJ would be together and she would be involved in the hero stuff in some capacity. Team ups would be frequent and Spidey would direct a network of NY heroes. This would naturally force the villains to band together and we'd play around with unexpected villain pairings. OMD would be addressed and resolved definitively via a conflict with Mephisto. There would be a lot of symbiote stuff. I would be careful about multi-issue mysteries as well. There wouldn't be one pressing concern upon which the book hinges or falls upon. The stories could escalate and loop in on each other but there wouldn't be one overreaching villain.

What type of writers and artists would you seek out?
New blood to Spider-Man but senior writers haven't done many Spider-Man stories welcome. I'd go big. Morrison or Hickman. Both have the big ideas, character chops, ability to tell a lot of story with few pages, and an approach to comics that's additive but not destructive. Morrison has a knack for creating new villains and Hickman has a knack for writing existing ones. That would give a good balance. In a dream world, I'd get them both on board with a multi-year plan. I'd get people with distinct styles for a Venom and Miles book. I would go for a more comedic touch on the Miles book. More impulse/young justice meets My Hero Academia. Youthful, it's about the fun of being a teen hero. Venom would be a Croneberg like body horror energy. Military installations. Forced symbiosis. Horrifying transformations.

Artistically, for the core two books, I want kinetic art with light bright color. Bruno Redondo, Patrick Gleason, Pepe Larraz rotating. Marte Gracia colors. I'd like Babs Tar on Miles. Keep Hitch on Venom.

What books would you publish?
Amazing - It's the Peter centric book. It's told from his POV exclusively as much as possible. Web of - This is Spider-Man team-up. Both with other spider characters and with characters who operate in New York. Peter takes on a leadership role in this book. Miles - The Miles book would be tied into the overreaching story as well. Miles would be a part of Peter's crime fighting community but the book would be focused on fun stories with big emotions, lots of power of friendship. Venom - It's creepy, it's not nice, things are not going well for anyone. Eddie Brock. Flash Thompson. Cletus Cassidy. Scarlet Spider - The clones are back in New York and they're staying. The volatile relationship between Ben and Kaine reaches a head and the fallout lands right on Peter's doorstep right as he's trying to get his house in order. Ben and Kaine would both be heroes and both be operating as the Scarlet Spider. Ben is over the chasm situation but it could resurface and a new and different way. Kaine is over the whole degeneration thing.

What approach would you take to villains?
Mix of old a new. No new iterations of old villains. Big use of Hobgoblin. Unexpected team ups. New villains would be crime related, as would the focus of the book. Very little Norman Osborn. Mephisto would become a player in the book in a way that puts him at the disadvantage. Definitely have Carnage around for a few stories and reorient him as a Spider-Man villain again and a major one given his seniority. New villains would be introduced at a decent clip and depending on how good the stories with them ended up being would determine if they appeared again.

Should the book connect to what's going on in the rest of the Marvel Universe?
No more than necessary.

How often would there be guest-starrs?
Frequently.

What would you like to see in the supporting cast?
Peter, Ben, Kaine, Jonah, MJ, Janine, Aunt Mary, Jessica Carpenter, Miles, Robbie

[NC_Yankee]

If you were in charge of the Spider-Man comics, what would you like to see?
What type of writers and artists would you seek out?
What books would you publish?
What approach would you take to villains?
Should the book connect to what's going on in the rest of the Marvel Universe?
How often would there be guest-starrs?
What would you like to see in the supporting cast?

And because there are so many threads about whether to bring back the marriage, whether Peter & MJ should reconcile, and so forth, we really don't need to hash that out here. Let's pretend the Editor-in-Chief has a clear vision that you won't be able to override. If you want to say what your preferences on that are, it's fine to mention once but this is more about the other decisions.

Leaving aside the MJ/OMD/BND controversy.Here are some things I would like. 1: No more homeless and jobless Peter. 2: More adult stories. I know Spider-Man is supposed to be about youth, but there is Miles for the teenagers and under. 3: Speaking of Miles I would like to see Peter as a mentor to him. 4: I like “Fish out of Water” stories. Think Tulsa King. The Santeria story was a great modern day comic that took Peter out of his comfort zone. Maybe a story with him alone in the south or south west? Meeting new people ( good and bad alike). 5: Peter get his PhD and get to use his science skills more. He does not need Norman or Stark to make costumes for him.

[Daibhidh]

I would like to see Peter graduate and get his doctorate. It would be nice to see him doing research and teaching at Empire State, but I think the best use of him overall would be back as science editor or freelance science writer for the Bugle. The Bugle has better story hooks than any science based company or university setting, and it would make use of his established supporting cast. That said, while Peter shouldn't be one bad day away from homelessness money should be tight and feel a bit precarious. If he's at Empire State it should be as an adjunct not as someone with tenure.
Robbie ought to know Peter is Spider-man again. He knows he shouldn't use Peter as a cheap superpowered bodyguard for his reporters but from time to time he feels he has to. Betty Brand works as the main reporter opening up stories. (She should probably know Peter is Spider-man since that means we can cut those awkward sequences where Peter has to remember an appointment and comes back as Spider-man.)
Use Teresa to provide story hooks with SHIELD that the Daily Bugle doesn't provide.
Much as I like it when MJ's acting career is successful, I think it would be easier to find stories using her if she became a lawyer. I think law as practiced in popular culture is a better fit for her personality than other options. There are already investigative reporters in Peter's supporting cast and there are already investigative reporters who are superhero love interests.
I don't mind much about villains. On the one hand, Peter's got one of the best standing rogues galleries in comics. On the other, it really depends on what stories the writers want to tell.

I think there should be two Avengers teams: one classic Avengers centered on Janet van Dyne, Pietro, Wanda, the Vision, and Clint, whose members are allegedly full-time with support from Steve and Tony; and one Justice Team of Avengers, with Thor, Peter, Tony, Steve, Natasha, T'Challa, Carol, and, say, Kamala, which would in theory be a part-time team that comes together only when there's a crisis (every five months, real time).
I'd like to see MJ interacting more with superheroes, in particular Carol and Janet. I think MJ works well when she can offer affectionate snark on the superhero life from the sidelines.
Peter should be treated as one of the most experienced heros in the Marvel Universe, with a particular strength in improvising cunning plans when the team is down at half time. (The flip side is that he isn't good at sticking to pre-agreed plans.)

My feeling is that three monthly comics with separate authors and artists worked better than having a flagship coming out twice a month with a supporting title. The flagship coming out twice a month seems to be a lot of work for one author and artist and sometimes the quality feels a bit rushed.

[Mister Mets]

Some more thoughts...

His ideal job seems to be something that fits his backgrounds in science and journalism. It's a great story engine for the Spider-Man comics. The trick is to figure out what works with the character's history, since he would be pretty much blacklisted from the media, given the time he faked a photo while working for Jonah, and the way his doctorate was publicly dismissed as a fraud. The way to square this circle might be something outside of traditional media, although that has the potential problem of aging poorly.

I think the comics should reflect what's going on in the rest of the Marvel Universe. When it comes to guest starrs, I'd be open to what the writers want to do. If someone doesn't like guest starrs, it's fine by me. If someone wants ocassional team-ups, it's fine by me. I wouldn't want to go overboard. Amazing Spider-Man shouldn't be Marvel Team-Up. There would also be less team-ups in the main titles if Spider-Man's the lead of a Marvel Team-Up title.

I don't think Marvel Team-Up works as an ongoing series, but I would be open to it bringing it back as a thirteen issue mini-series, either with a different artist for each arc (a formula that worked well in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up) or with a consistent creative team, which seems like a great opportunity for an A-list artist.

If Spider-Man's in the Avengers, that should be reflected in the main title.

Readers should have a sense of the sequence of Spider-Man stories, so it would be a priority between readers being able to follow one title (especially Amazing Spider-Man or a mini-series) but everything should make sense for someone who is a hardcore fan and buying every book. I like the idea that Peter Parker would wake up in an issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, still sore from events in an Avengers story the previous day.

[Daibhidh]

If Spider-Man's in the Avengers, that should be reflected in the main title.

This never seems to be a problem that Captain America or Iron Man writers bother themselves with. If they want to ignore the Avengers they ignore the Avengers.

[Huntsman Spider]

I would like to see Peter graduate and get his doctorate. It would be nice to see him doing research and teaching at Empire State, but I think the best use of him overall would be back as science editor or freelance science writer for the Bugle. The Bugle has better story hooks than any science based company or university setting, and it would make use of his established supporting cast. That said, while Peter shouldn't be one bad day away from homelessness money should be tight and feel a bit precarious. If he's at Empire State it should be as an adjunct not as someone with tenure.
Robbie ought to know Peter is Spider-man again. He knows he shouldn't use Peter as a cheap superpowered bodyguard for his reporters but from time to time he feels he has to. Betty Brand works as the main reporter opening up stories. (She should probably know Peter is Spider-man since that means we can cut those awkward sequences where Peter has to remember an appointment and comes back as Spider-man.)
Use Teresa to provide story hooks with SHIELD that the Daily Bugle doesn't provide.
Much as I like it when MJ's acting career is successful, I think it would be easier to find stories using her if she became a lawyer. I think law as practiced in popular culture is a better fit for her personality than other options. There are already investigative reporters in Peter's supporting cast and there are already investigative reporters who are superhero love interests.
I don't mind much about villains. On the one hand, Peter's got one of the best standing rogues galleries in comics. On the other, it really depends on what stories the writers want to tell.

I think there should be two Avengers teams: one classic Avengers centered on Janet van Dyne, Pietro, Wanda, the Vision, and Clint, whose members are allegedly full-time with support from Steve and Tony; and one Justice Team of Avengers, with Thor, Peter, Tony, Steve, Natasha, T'Challa, Carol, and, say, Kamala, which would in theory be a part-time team that comes together only when there's a crisis (every five months, real time).
I'd like to see MJ interacting more with superheroes, in particular Carol and Janet. I think MJ works well when she can offer affectionate snark on the superhero life from the sidelines.
Peter should be treated as one of the most experienced heros in the Marvel Universe, with a particular strength in improvising cunning plans when the team is down at half time. (The flip side is that he isn't good at sticking to pre-agreed plans.)

My feeling is that three monthly comics with separate authors and artists worked better than having a flagship coming out twice a month with a supporting title. The flagship coming out twice a month seems to be a lot of work for one author and artist and sometimes the quality feels a bit rushed.

I like all of this, but the bolded especially sums up where I think he ought to be as a character and a hero by now, along with the flaw of having not yet fully tempered his impulsivity and recklessness from his younger years, though I'd argue that his recklessness and impulsivity comes out mostly in the context of, "Screw the plan, people are in danger right now!"

[Alan2099]

Let me hit you with some ideas. In fact, let me hit you with THE BEST ideas.

Firs off, I think it's time to sweep the Spiderverse under the rug for a while. While we're at it, let's cut a few of the other Spiders. Miles and Gwen go back to their home reality. They can continue to have books as long as sales support them. They're basically be the sole book in their universe like Spider-girl was. Also, Arana and Silk need to go away for a while and Julia needs to ditch the Madam Web thing and be Spider-Woman again. Or at least Arachne.

Peter gets to headline three books. Amazing Spider-man, Web of Spider-man (which should be a bit darker and more serious), and Spider-man and His Amazing Friends! Amazing Friends will basically be the new Marvel Team-up. We can run it as "Amazing Friends" for 6 to 8 months or so, then maybe switch it over to Spider-man and The Human Torch, or Spider-man and Deadpool, or whatever. Each of the books should mostly be doing it's own thing.

It's also time to send Peter back to school. He's working on his ... college... thing... This also gives us an opportunity to add in new supporting cast. Teachers, fellow students, etc.

While Peter is going back to school, he's also going back to work. Time to bring back Jolly JJ and the Daily Bugle staff. Yeah, sure he was black listed, but that only means something until it doesn't. Do you know how many times JJ has been blacklisted? A lot. People often bring up the fact that Newspapers aren't really a big deal anymore, so let's expand things. The Daily Bugle isn't just a newspaper. It's a media juggernaut. It's a website. It's a TV news program (maybe even station). It's big. Jameson though, is an old paper guy at heart and he'll ALWAYS focus on the newspaper side of things first.

Again, this let's us bring in new supporting cast, new subplots, maybe the guy that runs the TV side of the buisness is a backstabber. Maybe he wants to take over. Maybe he's even the new Bigman or Crimeboss. Having a news program in the building also gives us a good excuse for cameos and guest stars. Peter could catch an elevator ride with somebody that's going up to be interviewed.

As for villains, first off, no new symbites. No new Goblins. In fact, I think we can table Norman for a while. He's dead and/or in an insane asylum for the time being. In space.

Who should we use? Lots of people will give you the old "I want a mix of old and new." That's not good enough for me. I want more than just the old and new. I went the inbetweens. I want the characters that have been around long enough to not be new, but haven't been around long enough to be considered old. Give me some of the Brand New Day-ers. Paperdoll, Freak, Overdrive, but not Morlun. Like everybody else though, I do love me some classics. Let's not revamp them though. I want Dr. Octopus being Dr. Octopus. Scorpion being Scorpion. No new gimmicks. No replacement characters.

One gag that's been bounding around my head for years is having Spider-man meet some new foul mouthed character that keeps cussing at him and introduces himself as "The %$#@" While Spider-man keep making jokes that he refuses to fight anyone called that and the guy will never get an action figure or cartoon appearance with that name. So Spidey then decides that he's going to be called "Potty Mouth."

I'm going to end the post here. This is enough for now. I'll post more later, including guest stars, what's going on with Aunt May, and Mary Jane's big movie.

[Huntsman Spider]

Let me hit you with some ideas. In fact, let me hit you with THE BEST ideas.

Firs off, I think it's time to sweep the Spiderverse under the rug for a while. While we're at it, let's cut a few of the other Spiders. Miles and Gwen go back to their home reality. They can continue to have books as long as sales support them. They're basically be the sole book in their universe like Spider-girl was. Also, Arana and Silk need to go away for a while and Julia needs to ditch the Madam Web thing and be Spider-Woman again. Or at least Arachne.

Peter gets to headline three books. Amazing Spider-man, Web of Spider-man (which should be a bit darker and more serious), and Spider-man and His Amazing Friends! Amazing Friends will basically be the new Marvel Team-up. We can run it as "Amazing Friends" for 6 to 8 months or so, then maybe switch it over to Spider-man and The Human Torch, or Spider-man and Deadpool, or whatever. Each of the books should mostly be doing it's own thing.

It's also time to send Peter back to school. He's working on his ... college... thing... This also gives us an opportunity to add in new supporting cast. Teachers, fellow students, etc.

While Peter is going back to school, he's also going back to work. Time to bring back Jolly JJ and the Daily Bugle staff. Yeah, sure he was black listed, but that only means something until it doesn't. Do you know how many times JJ has been blacklisted? A lot. People often bring up the fact that Newspapers aren't really a big deal anymore, so let's expand things. The Daily Bugle isn't just a newspaper. It's a media juggernaut. It's a website. It's a TV news program (maybe even station). It's big. Jameson though, is an old paper guy at heart and he'll ALWAYS focus on the newspaper side of things first.

Again, this let's us bring in new supporting cast, new subplots, maybe the guy that runs the TV side of the buisness is a backstabber. Maybe he wants to take over. Maybe he's even the new Bigman or Crimeboss. Having a news program in the building also gives us a good excuse for cameos and guest stars. Peter could catch an elevator ride with somebody that's going up to be interviewed.

As for villains, first off, no new symbites. No new Goblins. In fact, I think we can table Norman for a while. He's dead and/or in an insane asylum for the time being. In space.

Who should we use? Lots of people will give you the old "I want a mix of old and new." That's not good enough for me. I want more than just the old and new. I went the inbetweens. I want the characters that have been around long enough to not be new, but haven't been around long enough to be considered old. Give me some of the Brand New Day-ers. Paperdoll, Freak, Overdrive, but not Morlun. Like everybody else though, I do love me some classics. Let's not revamp them though. I want Dr. Octopus being Dr. Octopus. Scorpion being Scorpion. No new gimmicks. No replacement characters.

One gag that's been bounding around my head for years is having Spider-man meet some new foul mouthed character that keeps cussing at him and introduces himself as "The %$#@" While Spider-man keep making jokes that he refuses to fight anyone called that and the guy will never get an action figure or cartoon appearance with that name. So Spidey then decides that he's going to be called "Potty Mouth."

I'm going to end the post here. This is enough for now. I'll post more later, including guest stars, what's going on with Aunt May, and Mary Jane's big movie.

Generally liking most of those ideas, though I'd say aside from Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen going back to their original universes, Arana and Silk could be relegated to a "Spider-Man's Tangled Web" side series that focuses more on the characters in Spider-Man's orbit without having them clustered in Amazing. As for Julia Carpenter being Spider-Woman again, sadly not likely to happen as long as Jessica Drew is still around, although getting back the Omega Flight-era costume from Anya and becoming Arachne again would be great for her. If there does need to be a Madame Web at all, just pass it on to Cassandra Webb's granddaughter Charlotte Witter and have that work as a catalyst for her to try to turn over a new leaf, even if she's not necessarily trusted or trustworthy. I do like your gag idea, too, however. Positively hilarious.

[Pav]

If you were in charge of the Spider-Man comics, what would you like to see?
What type of writers and artists would you seek out?
What books would you publish?
What approach would you take to villains?
Should the book connect to what's going on in the rest of the Marvel Universe?
How often would there be guest-starrs?
What would you like to see in the supporting cast?

If you were in charge of the Spider-Man comics, what would you like to see?

A few big things: 1) Using as wide a cast as possible, both in terms of civilians and supers. 2) Re-establishing relationships with those characters and Peter/Spidey. What I mean by that: some characters have been around so long that their initial motivations for, say, hating Spider-Man might seem a little simplistic or without depth. I'd want to make sure that every character's relationship with Peter/Spidey was clear, their motivations realistic, and that any changes from their intial status quo feel like natural progression. 3) An attempt to make every issue feel like a self-contained story rather than merely Part X of Y, yet with each issue leaving the reader dying to read the next.

What type of writers and artists would you seek out?

I'm assuming I'm the writer. Don't worry, I promise I'll do cool things with every character you care an iota about.

As for artists, I'd want anyone who can both capture a "classic" feeling yet can also provide experimental, never-seen-before page layouts. I'd want to experiment a lot with breaking through panels, webbing used as paneling, and all kinds of other crazy stuff.

What books would you publish?

Well, certain books would come and go depending on when into my run on the franchise we're talking. But at any given point, you might see something like this:

Amazing Spider-man ft. Peter
Spectacular Spider-Man ft. Miles
Scarlet Spiders ft. Ben and Kaine
Spider-Man Team-Up ft. Peter and other Spideys
Spider-Man Unlimited, ft. Miles, Gwen and Other Spideys Traversing the Spiderverse
Black Cat and the Prowler
Sinister Web of the Spider-Women
Venom and the Lethal Protectors
Slingers

What approach would you take to villains?

As I said earlier, I'd want to make the motivations of every villain clear: why do they do what they do? why do they hate (or not hate) Spidey or Peter? I'd try to provide modern motivations for any character relationships than might need strengthening or re-establishing, while making sure that those new aspects of the character still feel classic and respectful to past iterations and stories. (For an example, I think the modernish Rhino stories have often done an excellent job at re-establishing why he does what he does.) Also -- and this might be a big leap to take -- but I would have Peter reveal his identity to pretty much every friend he's had from the Ditko days (for in-story reasons) because I think his best antagonists as Spidey are often the people he's closest with as Peter. I would LOVE to establish Liz Allan Osborn, for example, as a major player in the Spidey books -- not as a 2-D character, but as someone with her own wants and goals, someone who cares about Peter but is also willing to be in an antagonistic role if it means being true to what she thinks needs to be done. Similarly, I always felt that Flash's background as bully-become-friend made him the PERFECT Venom, and I would give a lot of attention to the relationship between Flash and Peter. Oh, and one more big thing: one of my major themes would be the profound affect that family has on us as individuals, and I would give many of the major villains "families" of their own, whether literal or otherwise: the Osborns, the Kravenoffs, the Vulturions, the Octopi, certain crime syndicate families -- all of them would be empowering themselves as never before, mostly because Spidey would be doing the same with his Amazing Friends

Should the book connect to what's going on in the rest of the Marvel Universe?
How often would there be guest-starrs?

One of the best things about Marvel is the interconnectedness between their comics. That being said, I'd want my Spidey run to be relatively self-contained. I probably wouldn't be doing much more than lip-service to whatever is happening in the larger MU, mostly because I'd be too busy re-establishing and strengthening the world of Spidey, including recurring guest appearances from Cloak and Dagger, Black Cat, Hobie Brown, the Slingers, certain New Warriors, Sleepwalker, and other characters that belong (or at least feel to me like they belong) in Spidey's corner of the MU.

What would you like to see in the supporting cast?

I'd be promising from the get-go more prominent roles for all the major supporting characters, including Daily Bugle folks like JJJ and Betty Brant, old school chums like Flash and Liz, and even closer relationships between Peter and his super-friends like Hobie and his Clone Bros. I would seriously make it a goal to give every character his or her due, because every reader has their own favorites.

-Pav, who only has twenty-some years of Spidey stories in his head...

[Daibhidh]

With respect to villains, one thing I would try to get rid of as far as possible is Joker Syndrome. It's fine for villains to hate Spider-man and see him as an obstacle to their plans that they've got to get rid of before he stops them. But as far as possible, their overall plans and motivations should not feature Spider-man at all. If Spider-man didn't exist they'd still be just as villainous.
Yes, even Norman. I think that's one of the reasons I find villainous Norman a bit tedious.

[Majesty]

If you were in charge of the Spider-Man comics, what would you like to see?
- Consistent growth in characters and scenarios that won't be forgotten about once a run is over. Establish points in a storyline and important character beats and plot points that aren't forgotten about in another story and make them a part of the bullet points going forward.
ie: If Peter learns something, or grows from something. That remains consistent going forward so that these lessons he learns don't have to be rehashed. Instead of making him constantly learning the lesson, at times he can play the person that learned it and is trying to help the younger generation through it. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man in one breath, mentor to up and coming heroes in another.
- Allow Peter and other characters to still makes mistakes, but he still learns from them and other mistakes he makes are due to character flaws that he will grow from and learn from. Rather than repeating the same mistake over and over and over and over again.
- When relationships and situations are established, they are established for the forseeable future. Growth happens in those relationships. Whether it be with Peter, whether it be with Flash Thompson, Eddie Brock, whether it be whatever Silk does, whether it be what Miles does. They are consistent, established and the characters continue to be developed. No more 10-15 issue runs and then forgotten about.
- Peter's love life is no longer a topic of contention in the comics. He's with who he's with and that's that. There's no drama around that, outside of the usual things faced with living the double life while trying to also hold a stable job, which his partners may also do.
- Start creating a new Rogue's Gallery.
- Keep reformed villains, reformed and work out what roles they serve in the world of Spider-Man now and what his relationships are with them.
- Older Spider-Man villains that never got their time in the or that have been on the sideline doing nothing are brought back to get conclusions to their story.
- Peter goes back to having fun.
- Multiverse hoping is no longer a "Big Event" thing. Open up the door for foes or scenarios that come from other universes to be part of a rogue's gallery. Also enable it for guest star appearances. Guest heroes and guest villains.
- Turn Peter Parker back into a photographer that makes his money taking pictures of Spider-Man and selling them to news outlets through social media under an alias.
- Peter Parker's second job is that of a College Professor helping students both in College as well as being a teacher to the younger Superheroes along with a few others.
- Some characters from alternate universes are brought over into the 616 and can be used to launch comics of their own. ie: Mayday gets a big event and reintroduction in the 616 before her own comic launches. This culminates in her not just seeing the 616 world and how it's different from her own, but also allows Peter to see the world she comes from, the life he's built there, etc. We get 616 and 982 Peter Parker working together in this story as well as other team ups from the 616 and their 982 counterparts, and lovely banter amongst them all. Allow Peter(and others) to make self referential humor about the person they've become in other universes and allow it to be funny.
- Allow some other Spider-Characters to get some shine to help lead into their own side stories of their own adventures that don't have to do with Peter Parker or having him primarily in them. (like Silk for example).
- All and all make fun be the most important element of the story. Peter can suffer from time to time, but he's at his best being Spider-Man when he's having fun.


What type of writers and artists would you seek out?
I'd write, but I'd also seek out the advice of writers that have written some of my favorite Spider-Man stories, or those recognized as the best stories. Allow those writers to pitch their ideas and get credit for them when stories based around them are written. Surround myself with minds that are better all the things I'm not strong at. Stick with the story ideas but listen to feedback and find where there's flexibility.
As far as Artists go? I'd probably hire artists off the internet, the kind that make beautiful comics and have fantastic artwork. Allow the people that create and make artwork for wonderful comics of their own without all the resources and allow them to do their thing on some official MARVEL properties. Allow the people working on Black Sands to work on a Miles Morales story. Stuff like that. Just try to add more seats to the table along with some established talent on top of it.

What books would you publish? Amazing Spider-Man, Miles Morales and any subsequent spin-offs of those stories. (Mayday, etc) Probably some Gwen stories too.
What approach would you take to villains? New Rogues Gallery as well as some villains that didn't get much attention before. Allow Norman Osborn to remain reformed, allow Otto Octavius to be an anti-hero whom eventually marries Aunt May. Come up with some new kinds of villains and new threats to face. They don't always have to be 'world ending' events. Sometimes they can be events that happen at a ground level. I think what a lot of people forget is that Spider-Man is not JUST a multiverse galaxy level threat kind of hero. A lot of his stories that worked best had to do with what was happening in the neighborhood and the kind of crime that can be considered street level or beneath the surface. Not always an Avengers level threat or something that threatens to break the fabric of space and time.
Give me the stories of a villain that doesn't have superpowers but does what they do because of the situation they're in. Allow Spider-Man to actually fight for the little guy, and those in the same predicaments he was in. Focus on actual neighborhood issues and create villains that may impose no physical threat to Spider-Man, but that he has to stop anyway. Perhaps not always and that creates the duality of the situation.
Sometimes it's the villains without superpowers and without choice that hit the hardest.
Spider-Man is part of the community and it should feel that way. Sometimes he can solve things as Peter Parker College Professor and never have to dawn the tights. Again, make him and others a part of the community and have him deal with community issues. Whether it be at a hero level or on a community and grounded level. Remember the Spider-Man Animated Series episode where he went to see a Make-A-Wish terminally ill girl essentially and it turned into an adventure where he was helped out not just by the little girl but by New York in general and in the end he lets her know his secret identity? Or the moment in Amazing Spider-Man when the Crane operators helped an injured Spider-Man get to the tower because he had saved the son of one of them? More stories like that in between the bigger baddies or the gigantic events. That's where the heart of Spider-Man always has been. He's one of us, he should feel that way. And not in a "Hello fellow Youngsters!" kind of way.


Should the book connect to what's going on in the rest of the Marvel Universe? At times perhaps. But it should remain focused on where Spider-Man is and what's going on in his city.

How often would there be guest-stars? Often enough to where they could have normal adventures as opposed to it always being a multiverse ending event. For example, like I said(for example), allowing 982 Mayday to drop into the 616 from time to time maybe because she wants to spend time with that Peter or see what life's like over there compared to her world. Down home stories like that. Make her occasionally go undercover as a student and attend high school in the 616 or be 'advanced' enough to take some college courses she uses to see him because she wants to. Establish Mayday as smart as well as a jock. You can establish the Peter in 986 as being too busy given everything he juggles perhaps, and allow her to visit the 616 so she can spend time with him in 'a way'. Turn it into some kind of lesson that brings the 986 Mayday and the 986 Peter closer together. Tying into a bigger message to the story while also touching on stuff that is happening in other universes even if we aren't seeing it happen. That's what opening up that multiversal travel for things other than HUGE EVENTS can give you.

What would you like to see in the supporting cast? Peter, Felicia, Mary Jane, Aunt May as is the usual top four. Otto Octavius, Norman Osborne, I'd bring Harry Osborne back, have Flash Thompson involved, Eddie Brock, J Jonah Jameson. The usual. But I'd also have some people appear in and out from the multiverse as supporting characters depending on the story being told. But you try your best to keep each story grounded as best you can unless it's a big event. I'd expand more on this later if I wasn't tired. Maybe I'll come back to it.

[PCN24454]

Why would Peter still be a photographer?

[Huntsman Spider]

Why would Peter still be a photographer?

That's a fair point. Ultimate Spider-Man was smart to lean into his scientific and technological genius by having him work on The Daily Bugle's online infrastructure instead. Could have him do something similar in the mainline continuity, where he's either working for Robbie Robertson at The Daily Bugle firming up the newspaper's website and increasing its online reach via social media and such, or doing much the same for J. Jonah Jameson at Threats and Menaces. He could even serve as the chief cybersecurity personnel for the Bugle or TNM.

[PCN24454]

That's a fair point. Ultimate Spider-Man was smart to lean into his scientific and technological genius by having him work on The Daily Bugle's online infrastructure instead. Could have him do something similar in the mainline continuity, where he's either working for Robbie Robertson at The Daily Bugle firming up the newspaper's website and increasing its online reach via social media and such, or doing much the same for J. Jonah Jameson at Threats and Menaces. He could even serve as the chief cybersecurity personnel for the Bugle or TNM.

I think that Peter would want to have some level of action in in his job. I could see him being a firefighter if the hours weren’t too demanding.

[FFJamie94]

If I was in charge, what I would do;
Lets say by some miracle, the stars align and I become not only Writer of Amazing Spider-Man, but I get free reign on what to do with the Character, here's what I would do.
Issue One
This one would be your typical "Spider-Man" in action story. The first few pages tell the audience what it's like being Spider-Man as he stops a robber. We see a young boy look up to Spider-Man as Spider-Man looks back down on him, relived at saving the day once again and being a Hero to the City (someone who children can look up to).
We then bring in a villain like Shocker, someone who can create an interesting book, but not enough to fill out a major arc. Maybe this plot runs for two issues, we can get a cliffhanger where we think Spider-Man is in trouble, but he comes around in the end and saves the day.
For the first 10 issues or so, we just have minor but fun adventures while building up the supporting cast. Maybe we get an issue where Jonah is at the Bank and Rhino attacks, and we get a buddy action issue where Jonah and Spider-Man team up. Maybe even have an Aunt May team-Up where Someone has stolen money from the Shelter she helps at and it's up to her and Spidey to get it back. Small adventures that allow the supporting cast room to breath but also allow Spider-Man to win in the action. Playing to their strengths (maybe May just slaps a criminal so hard, he gets knocked out as he was about to attack Spider-Man, something silly like that). In the background however, the Jackal is back, and we get some scenes with Norman Osborne. It's setting up something, but what that is won't be revealed yet.

Instead issues 11-14 (or 15) will be the first big arc, one that puts in place one of the themes in the run. A new Villain is introduced, (I haven't got a name or any ideas for powers), he fights Spider-Man and is of course, beaten in the end. The new villain gets unmasked and it's just some guy. He gets taken away. At the end of the issue we learn who he is, he is the Kid we saw in issue 1, but this time, we see it from his point of view. He isn't looking up at Spider-Man, Spider-Man is looking down at him.

Then we get an arc or two which are again, smaller but this time there is a rather somber tone. Rather than the fun hijinks and whacky team-ups, Spider-Man is fighting more aggressive villains alone. Maybe there's a three part arc where he fights Ock (or maybe even Lizard in a tragic horror story).

Issues 20-25 will be the next big arc, the cap off to the Norman and Jackal plots. As it turns out the Norman we've seen since the Clone Saga is in fact a clone. The real Norman is dead and the one that's been alive is just the Jackal's secret scheme. He blames Norman for the death of Gwen as much as he blames Spider-Man, and bitter at how he never got to kill Norman himself, he cloned him and watched as the two tore each other's lives apart. Norman will keep dying and being brought back, never knowing the circumstances of the previous one's death.
In a fit of rage and psychotic anger, Norman prepares to kill Jackal once and for all. But is stopped by Spider-Man. The two battle and the glider kills Norman like it did back in ASM 121, and he turns to dust.
Elsewhere, a new Norman wakes, the knowledge that Spider-Man has beaten him once again and he plans his revenge.

Issue 26 is a quiet issue, serving as a loose epilogue of the previous arc where Jackal is taken to Ryker's. Here, we are given a therapy session of our new villain. We see the events of issue 1 played out from his point of view.
Needing money, his Dad ended up as a small time petty crook. One day, on his way Home from School, he saw his Dad rob a Bank, and Spider-Man came to save the day. From that point on, his Dad got six months in Jail and his family life fell apart. Kicked out for not being able to pay rent, he spent some time in May's Homeless Shelter. He eventually got kicked out of School for not turning up.
However, he was smart, very smart, and he built himself his own suit using materials he would find in the aftermath of big battles. He swore vengeance on Spider-Man for tearing apart his life.

The rest of the run would play out with smaller arcs mixed in with the build up to the return of the Green Goblin and the return of the new villain. Maybe there's an arc where there's a riot at Ryker's and the street level Characters go in to stop them, in the meantime our new Villain (I'm just going to refer to him as Agent X from now on) escapes and the Jackal also escapes. We get an arc where Spider-Man finds out who Agent X is, and that he is one of the many People whose lives where ruined by him.

The final arc will see the plot threads come together. The Green Goblin returns, no knowledge that he is a clone. He prepares to kill Spider-Man once and for all. At the same time, our new Character is also planning his assault on Spider-Man. During his time at Ryker's, Agent X and Jackal had struck up a friendship, with the Jackal learning Agent X has a personal vendetta against Spider-Man. He planned for the Green Goblin to return and for Agent X to strike at the same time. However, what he didn't count on was that both Agent X and Green Goblin want to kill Spider-Man themselves, leading to a three way battle between them.
The battle gets to a point where Spider-Man tells GG that he is a clone created by the Jackal so he can die. This awakens the memory of him waking up in a lab, believing it was his lab. Spider-Man pleads to not let the Jackal win and to be his own Person.
GG goes after the Jackal and Spider-Man tries to stop him, but Agent X gets in the way. They fight until Agent X learns that GG is going to kill the Jackal, his friend.
They go to stop GG where Agent X tries to tackle him, but GG is too strong. In the end, Spider-Man tells him that he doesn't have to live his life as the GG or as Norman, that he has his own life and he can be whoever he wants to be. That where he comes from doesn't define him and that a clone can be just as human as himself. That although its our pasts that make us who we are, who we are is dependant on how we deal with that.
GG takes off his mask, and decides to not kill the Jackal, but the Jackal kills him instead.
Agent X, seeing as how he saw Spider-Man try to save his "friend", sees that he was wrong, and sees that he was just as manipulated as Norman was. He fights the Jackal and helps Spider-Man clear the devastation he helped cause. He decides to live his life as a Hero, one born out of trying to do the right thing.

We get two epilogues, one has Peter go to visit a random criminal he put away in an earlier issue (the team up with May) ,and try to find out more about him and listen to him.
In the other, we have Norman wake up in a dark lab, angry because he was beaten by Spider-Man again...

Supporting Cast
Obviously May and Jonah will have a major role in this era. May being the emotional foil to Jonah's fun anger. Their arcs will also have their own themes. May tries to help People because she could have been in that position before, and she instead has a sympathetic feel for them. She doesn't want things to get violent, but she will protect those around her if she feels it's necessary.
Jonah's arc will pit him being stuck in what's the right thing. He sees the World around him changing, seeing every event from the birth of the Fantastic Four until now. It will see him seeing that he wasn't always right, believing Spider-Man to be a menace when does indeed help People. It will see him for how much he has grown.
If Marvel would allow it, I'll have MJ and Peter being dating, possibly living together. MJ however feels the external force of Spider-Man does indeed get in the way of their relationship. That she loves Peter because she gets to see him under the mask, someone who is just as afraid as she is of losing him as he is of losing her. Their rocky relationship is down to her not being able if she can handle it, and she loves that he is Spider-Man, but sometimes the nature of it scares her. They want to be together, but every time she feels herself getting close, the spider pulls her away. But she also doesn't know if she would love him if he wasn't Spider-Man. Does the idea of her dating a hero thrill her or scare her? Her arc will explore these internal questions and doubts she has about herself.
As for Peter himself, he'll have a stable job. I like the idea of him working at the Baxter Building, it gives him a chance to stretch those scientific muscles, plus it ties into ASM #1 where he wanted to join the Fantastic Four.

Will Spider-Man be part of the greater Universe?
The answer to this is of course, yes. With him working at the Baxter Building, Reed will be a sort of secondary supporting Character. Someone who turns up every now and then to give off his Prescence.
Other characters will appear in the battle of Ryker's and maybe there's a few cameos at the end with the destruction of New York. Agent X's costume itself is a mixture of different suits he picked up along the way, whether it be Iron Man's or Sentinels. Everything comes together to create a Character who is at their core, the heart of the Marvel Universe.
Agent X himself is inspired by a Character from a completely forgotten comic in which a member of SCUDS takes stuff from fights in New York as he plans some vengeance on Spider-Man. The issue is Spider-Man Unlimited #14).

Anyway that's my plan.
Again, if the stars align and I get that call, well... now you know how it goes...