All stories are designed for the audience to engage with emotionally.
When Bambi's mom was killed you were supposed to feel sad. That wasn't Walt Disney attacking the audience.
All stories are designed for the audience to engage with emotionally.
When Bambi's mom was killed you were supposed to feel sad. That wasn't Walt Disney attacking the audience.
True, but Bambi's mom was setup to die, MJ is setup to be Peter's one true love, so when fans are excited and the rug is pulled out from under us, we are supposed to be upset. Then they say they hope the story makes up for it, which I don't think the majority of fans feel it has... so yeah, a mission unaccomplished at this point for the Spider Office. I don't see that likely changing by the end of this run. It has gotten too much negative feedback to change the perception of this being seen as a "good run" for the majority of fandom. The "fridging of Kamala Kahn" has pretty much sealed it's fate.
Boy I had not read that letters page before and...yikes. This run is just a failure, what a bad job.
All stoires don't have the kind of contentious history that this relationship has betgween editorial and the fandom. They even recognized this fact back in ASM1 as Vortex pointed out.
And yes, Bambi's mom was a weapon to hurt you with. In that case, it was to hurt you with a purpose that ultimately most people found fulfilling. But ASM25 and 26 are so poorly done that they do not make up for any hurt they caused at all.
Do you know what's a real problem?
Because of all of this hate, all this discourse around Paul makes him bigger, than he actually is. I literally see people outside of comics fanbase asking, who the hell this guy is. And because of that I wouldn't be suprised if Marvel finds the way to keep him, just because people talk a lot about him, lol.
"The Enigma Force is not a tool to be manipulated by mortals. The Enigma Force comes to those it deems worthy. What temerity, what arrogance, makes you think you are worthy? Have you not all made mistakes? Unforgiveable ones?" - Captain Universe
"Call me an Avenging Angel, Baron, come to safeguard Earth...call me CAPTAIN UNIVERSE!" - Ray Coffin
"You're my heart, Mary Jane Watson...you're my jackpot." - Peter Parker
Idunno, even if they pull the twist on him being gay, I just can't help but feel the ship has sailed on people ever not hating this guy. He could have been a total gentleman and never touched MJ (I seriously doubt it from everything issues 25 and 26 told us) but at this rate the hate is there. Not gonna undo it. He's either headed for a grave, or obscurity after this run. Plus, his character is intrinsically tied to the assisination of Mary Jane's characterization. So yeah, he gotta go, and he gotta go like right freakin' now.
Paul, much like Peter/Felicia, is on a time-limit. Be it him becoming a villain, heroic sacrifice, killed for shock value or just written out of the story and never mentioned again. He's a character who only exists to provoke the fanbase. When he's finished serving that purpose, he'll be gone.
This run has really divided the Body Paul-atic of Spider-Man fans.
(dear Lord, comics have finally driven me insane!!)
In the end, the only lasting "impact" this run has will no doubt be the introduction of the stupendous Paul. We all know Ms. Marvel's death won't last nor likely will MJ's powers. Talk about a lack-luster legacy...
"So you've come to the end now alive but dead inside."
There's some truth to this, but his name is mud. Like I can see a guy like Slott wanting to pull him out of the toy chest but most people will likely want to avoid him completely without significant change.
That's also entirely possible. He might just be too toxic to save even with recontextualization. But that's the only way I see for him to have any chance of being anything but hated and likely eventually killed (even if he survives this run someone will circle back around and kill him superfluously later).
You are also on time out. >=[
I guess I'm on an island on this one, and even I'm a little conflicted but I actually kind of like her powers. i think the unreliability is what makes it work for me. You'd have to be stupid to try and fight crime regularly with that powerset, but there's a part of me that likes the idea she has a whopper to pull out if threatened (and becaues it's ureliable it doesn't stop them from still putting her in danger).
I'm not discussing the content of the story.
I'm discussing the difference between "Spider-Man's girlfriend broke up with him, that makes me sad" and "Spider-Man's girlfriend broke up with him, I am being attacked".
To be attacked requires an attacker. Zeb Wells has discussed his motivations for writing this story, and they didn't involve attacking people.
I think that if someone feels personally attacked by comic book characters having relationship drama, they need to take a step back and put things into perspective.
Likewise you probably aren't supposed to cheer or feel giddy when Bambi's mom is killed (or children in this case.) This run isn't exactly hitting the emotional beats that the writing seems to be aiming for. It's provoking a reaction based on a meta-disagreement between editorial and the readership.
What's more incredible here is not the "one true love" bit, but that they call Mary Jane his wife! Are the different Marvel offices really that disconnected? Or maybe.. just maybe... we're getting closer to re-instating the marriage?
Paul was created for one reason...and one reason only...to be the obstacle to the popular pairing. He was a plot device and not a genuine character...and as such he was always going to be hated. Literally the only thing he can be described for is being in the way of Peter and MJ.