Amazing Spider-man 25 Preview

[Sr. Bungle]

Imagine if you will that the Thor book spent months hyping up a major character death that was supposed to be the big emotional climax of their major arc. And then the character that was killed off was Felicia Hardy, who barely appeared in that book let alone had a fleshed out interpersonal relationship with Thor.

It's not a matter of "well it's okay if it were MJ" so much as you literally scooped up a character who has no involvement with your character or buildup just to kill them off so your story would have more stakes.

spoilers:

"Well Kamala was an intern for Norman Osborn"

end of spoilers

And Zeb Wells preceeded to do piss all with that plot element because instead he dangled the mystery of Paul and MJ's relationship and Chasm.

To be fair both those things were underdevolped AF too

[Frontier]

There's just so much wrong with this.

spoilers:

Killing off a popular and fan favorite character so out of the blue, in a title they have nothing to do with, in a plot role that made little sense and where she wasn't even written all that well, all possibly for the sake of movie synergy.

end of spoilers

[Majesty]

I know the original intention was for Kamala to always be a Mutant, but she couldn't so they made her an Inhuman instead.

They picked a heck of a time to decide to change it to the original intent

[Xenon]

It's a tricky thing. I've tried to "get over it" when it comes to the treatment of certain characters that mean a lot to me over the years, but it rarely ever works. Some days it's better off than others, but it can often be in the back of your mind. And no matter how much you try to rationalize it or convince yourself it's not nearly as important as you may find it to be, least of all in any way consequential to your daily life, but it rarely makes a difference. Which is even more ironic if it's someone like me who otherwise hates being obsessive about things. This run truly got on my nerves in a way I did not anticipate. And not only it's not even slightly better now than it was a year ago, it's only gotten so much worse in every single aspect. But yeah, I know what you mean, gotta keep the faith that at least something will change for the better in the future.

i never "really" get over it, and it's one of those things that bothers me if I think about it, kinda like Sins Past when that was still canon. But I stopped reading ASM as soon as this run began because I knew it would bother me too much and I'd get no enjoyment out of it until the Paul/MJ thing was resolved. At the time I expected some answers pretty quickly, maybe not answers I liked, but answers enough I could enjoy the book, so I didn't drop it from my pull list. I only started payinga ttention when they finally got to the story, and it looks like i'll retreat away from the book again until they address it again. I can't get any enjoyment out of it when they mess up such a crucial part and so it's better if I just don't think about it. But it does bother me if I think about it. Like this will negatively impact my Spider-Man 2 playthrough because that will make me think about the comics, haha. Really hoping there's some good revelations and not just this.

You're not implying that these people are actually being smart for doing this. The non-Bat wedding was a bait and switch too and look how that turned out for them.

Man....that was a gigantic waste of time.

Real or not, this has got to be one of the stupidest things I have ever seen from Marvel and that's saying something.

There's just so much that is wrong with it.

It's actually impressive how bad it is. I wish I could enjoy it but they hurt me with other stuff too much. =(

I never realized how real Peter and MJ feel to me until this run. Like, it truly took seeing them both at their worst, dragged so deep through the mud that it hurts just thinking about them to remind me. It's like they're old best friends, and seeing them go through this is just too painful to ignore or pretend isn't happening. I almost think Wells went to a psychiatrist and asked how he could trigger fans the most.

I especially hate the implication Paul sticks around, because to me that reads that we're supposed to take issue 25 and it's story at face value. Which would mean the romance being real, and that awful hospital scene with MJ not giving two shits about Peter could very well be how she's meant to seriously feel now. It's a horrible thought to have. I know it's one page of 40, but I get the sinking feeling all my worst fears are being confirmed by this one image.

This run has had the same effect on me that OMD did, which is to bolster my support for the Peter and Mary Jane coupling. Growing up I was never an MJ guy, I liked Felicia in the 90s comic, I wasn't that crazy about the Raimi version, and in the comics I loved Gwen. But every time they try and do this **** to her I find myself more supportive lol.

[CaptainUniverse]

Oh God, it's all over YouTube, lol.

[Kevinroc]

Oh God, it's all over YouTube, lol.

Yeah, this thing broke out FAST once it leaked.

[CaptainUniverse]

Yeah, this thing broke out FAST once it leaked.

I don't know what Wells and Lowes' endgame is here. I get they want people to talk about ASM but...why burn so many people in the process?

[TinkerSpider]

That's worked for me with other series/stories in the past, but for some reason I just can't do the same with Spider-man. Normally I can headcanon myself into feeling better but just knowing this is where Spidey is at is always going to bother me until I see it resolved.



I assure you, I've made attempts on all those fronts. I stopped looking at social media/comic sites for a few days. Didn't help. I tried binging my favorite shows/movies and catching up on stuff I'm behind. Didn't help, still can't stop thinking about it. I am working on a web comic (Nothing big, just something more for myself) and have tried pouring myself into that for hours drawing that, and it is still. On. My. Mind.

The only thing that has helped me feel even somewhat better, has been talking about this comic on here. Sure, sometimes I get upset from all the theorizing, but I'd much rather get these negative/anxious thoughts out here than let them keep rattling around my brain. I feel a lot better posting on here, engaging with you all and seeing I'm not alone in this.

That's what message boards are for - to find like minded people with whom you can discuss your hobbies, and never feel bad about coming here to express your thoughts and emotions.

And here's the thing: we've been conditioned by the last decade or so of social media to crave the hit of dopamine a new message or a "like" or a comment brings us. Social media was designed to be addictive and there are studies that have shown it has impacted our brain structure. So while perhaps for some going cold turkey can work, it's also fine to find support and an accepting space to talk about our fandom even as we try to find ways to wean ourselves off something that causes pain.

I agree this run has been particularly affecting, more so than past runs that were easy to handwave or outright ignore. IMO, it's because the mystery box structure promised there would be some great reveal that would make the anxiety and playing on our emotions/desires worthwhile. That there is a greater story at work, and if we just keep the faith, this nerve-wracking ride would pay off and all would make sense. And now it looks like even that spark of hope has been extinguished.

I will say listening to Sal at ComicsPop was helpful in providing a new frame for me. He's a very thoughtful comic reviewer who loves comics, and his thoughts have helped clarify mine. Here's him talking about how ASM 20 and how cynical it was (start at 1:10:16) and how we're only going to get more of the same if people keep buying and tweeting about because Marvel wants us to stay angry. They LOVE the angry tweets. They even encouraged the anger, by saying Wells would have to stay home from cons.

And then he talks again about the cynical rage bait of this run again here (start at 1:01:48).

Seeing the comics through Sal's eyes and having my own thoughts validated has helped. As he says, Marvel wants us to be mad; and they want us to be even angrier next issue. And I can either give Marvel that power over my emotions and headspace, or I can see through the manipulation for what it is (and while I'm still holding out until I read the entire issue before passing final judgment, on the surface this is one of the most nakedly banal rage bait for the sake of rage bait with zero care about telling a story that it's been my displeasure to come across) and not let them win, for lack of a better word.

You deserve better. We all do. The characters definitely deserve more respect and regard from their caretakers. And it's more than okay to be upset about watching a franchise you are invested in so badly wreck itself, on what feels like on purpose.

But I'm choosing not to let them have my mind space. Quite frankly, they can't afford my brain LOL and I'm not going to let them live rent free. I'll continue to point out just how egregriously and objectively terrible by many standards of storytelling this run is as a piece of writing, because it's fascinating to me how anyone who calls themselves a storyteller thought this was anywhere near approrpriate for publication, but that's an intellectual exercise. Any investment I felt for Peter Parker is gone. Slott's run went a long way to distance me from the character, because Slott wrote him as a perpetual manchild action figure who never learned, never grew, was never affected by anything he went through. Spencer, sadly for me, brought me back. And now Wells is helping me see that Marvel only sees Peter Parker as a cardboard object to cynically drive sales of multiple variants; he's not a character and probably never will be as long as the current editorial stays in place. I don't know how Spencer got the book for three years, but he was obviously the exception and not the rule.

[Spider-Tiger]

This run has to be the most transparent rage bait I've ever seen on this title.

[Kevinroc]

I don't know what Wells and Lowes' endgame is here. I get they want people to talk about ASM but...why burn so many people in the process?

This run is just built on outrage to spur engagement. That's all they have. It's so nakedly transparent.

[hoth82]

1. If the intent was to kill her off so she just come back and have ties to the X-Men/Mutants, why? Does everything in the 616 have to match the MCU now?

2. How long are Paul and presumably the kids going to stick around? The villain for this run has seemingly been defeated and they’re still here. Marvel can’t really be trying to make this a permanent situation?

[Frontier]

1. If the intent was to kill her off so she just come back and have ties to the X-Men/Mutants, why? Does everything in the 616 have to match the MCU now?

2. How long are Paul and presumably the kids going to stick around? The villain for this run has seemingly been defeated and they’re still here. Marvel can’t really be trying to make this a permanent situation?

Can't wait for MJ's Superhero series featuring her, Paul, and the kids .

[Johnny]

There's just so much wrong with this.

spoilers:

Killing off a popular and fan favorite character so out of the blue, in a title they have nothing to do with, in a plot role that made little sense and where she wasn't even written all that well, all possibly for the sake of movie synergy.

end of spoilers

The reasoning could be it happens in their flagship title and it could give her the most attention. The question is why do it in this specific issue that served as the 50th anniversary of the murder of a core Spider-Man character. If they wished to "repeat the history" somehow, surely there was a better way than to disrespect a popular character who's had essentially nothing to do with neither the events in the book, nor Peter Parker in general. Doesn't even matter that she'll be back in no time, the way they went about this is just farcical.

[Johnny]

Sidenote, on that leaked page MJ looks far more emotional after the death of someone she barely seemed to have known, than she ever did in that appalling hospital scene where she treated her long-time former lover like an actual stranger she had little interest to even talk to.

[CaptainUniverse]

Sidenote, on that leaked page MJ looks far more emotional after the death of someone she barely seemed to have known, than she ever did in that appalling hospital scene where she treated her long-time former lover like an actual stranger she had little interest to even talk to.

Maybe the kids also bit the big one? That would explain why she and Paul are so sad.