Is it time for Spider-Man to "grow up"?

[Matt14teg]

I don't know. I think market research might be a bad thing when it comes to creative writing.

I think it can be a good tool if used right for sure, the problem is leakers will always probably happen. However, it could be great in workshopping ideas of characters that people wanna see in comics. If a market research can find little holes where people are searching for comics, you can definetly push some cool concepts. I mean the videogame industry does it all the time, hell dc kind of did that in the past with Jason todd in that vote.

[WebLurker]

It's worth considering if one side getting what they want robs the other side of entry points to the series.

Wait, what?

[marhawkman]

With that series, you did experience his growth.

It's different coming into in the middle, especially before the modern trade market and digital options made it so that the highlights are readily available to new readers.

I didn't actually see it in proper order though. It was on sat morning TV and I didn't even see it every time it came on. I didn't NEED to see every episode in sequence to like it.

[godisawesome]

I don't think she did anything wrong, and it certainly doesn't seem that Peter thinks she did anything wrong.

It's interesting to consider how this guy getting what he wants could have implications later.

I started becoming a Spider-Man fan in the 90s. I'm not sure I'd have been so interested in a series about Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy as not so young parents.

It's worth considering if one side getting what they want robs the other side of entry points to the series.

See, you say that… but then a post later you immediately supply the refutation:

It's different coming into in the middle, especially before the modern trade market and digital options made it so that the highlights are readily available to new readers.

Marvel, in the period of their greatest growth, when finding specific back issues was difficult and time consuming, still steadily aged Peter before anyone at DC made acknowledging the passage of time a common occurrence. Even with the “every comic is someone’s first comic” era in full swing, Marvel was confident (and rightly so) that they could have Peter be a character growing from issue to issue, and growing closer and closer to one particular love interest over the other, even if that meant new readers would have to pick up context clues for that stuff… probably because even the most conservative and paranoid creator realized that new readers were more Likely to be hooked by the comic format and adventure genre, regardless of whether they knew what was going on in the civilian subplot.

Nowadays, when any new reader is all but guaranteed to be brought in by movies or TV show, and to have easy access to the “right” starter stories, we weirdly have an editorial that will throw out (bullshit) reader accessibility issues for why OMD was good… while still depending on new readers to pick up (for example) Eddie Brock showing up with a non-Venom symbiot and just roll with it, or some (bullshit) M. Night Shyamalan “torn apart by magic and MJ being written as a caricature of a bitchy ex-girlfriend” plotline.

I didn't actually see it in proper order though. It was on sat morning TV and I didn't even see it every time it came on. I didn't NEED to see every episode in sequence to like it.

Yeah, I think most fans of serialized storytelling at some point entered a series they love in a weird, middle spot, likely mid-plot development, and were just fine picking up the context clues if they cared about that stuff, and just rolling with the adventure regardless if they didn’t.

I mean, it’s unlikely that every kid who fell in love with Avatar: The Last Airbender ever watched an entire season all the way through when they first watched it. About the only stuff that required “you have to see this!” advertising was the third season’s major events, which worked fine when we all know probably most of that audience had still probably only caught about 80% of the episodes.

[Mister Mets]

See, you say that… but then a post later you immediately supply the refutation:


Marvel, in the period of their greatest growth, when finding specific back issues was difficult and time consuming, still steadily aged Peter before anyone at DC made acknowledging the passage of time a common occurrence. Even with the “every comic is someone’s first comic” era in full swing, Marvel was confident (and rightly so) that they could have Peter be a character growing from issue to issue, and growing closer and closer to one particular love interest over the other, even if that meant new readers would have to pick up context clues for that stuff… probably because even the most conservative and paranoid creator realized that new readers were more Likely to be hooked by the comic format and adventure genre, regardless of whether they knew what was going on in the civilian subplot.

Nowadays, when any new reader is all but guaranteed to be brought in by movies or TV show, and to have easy access to the “right” starter stories, we weirdly have an editorial that will throw out (bullshit) reader accessibility issues for why OMD was good… while still depending on new readers to pick up (for example) Eddie Brock showing up with a non-Venom symbiot and just roll with it, or some (bullshit) M. Night Shyamalan “torn apart by magic and MJ being written as a caricature of a bitchy ex-girlfriend” plotline.



Yeah, I think most fans of serialized storytelling at some point entered a series they love in a weird, middle spot, likely mid-plot development, and were just fine picking up the context clues if they cared about that stuff, and just rolling with the adventure regardless if they didn’t.

I mean, it’s unlikely that every kid who fell in love with Avatar: The Last Airbender ever watched an entire season all the way through when they first watched it. About the only stuff that required “you have to see this!” advertising was the third season’s major events, which worked fine when we all know probably most of that audience had still probably only caught about 80% of the episodes.

I disagree with the idea that previous issues showed steady growth. It was more in fits and starts. You'd have occasional issues where something happens, but it wasn't steady. The wedding was quite sudden, but it's not like you were sure how much further Peter was in college in Amazing Spider-Man #100 (or 150) than he was in #50.

Even if it's easier to catch up on Spider-Man's adventures now, the new readers should be able to appreciate new comics as an entry point.

So, what would be compelling about Peter Parker growing further?

Let's assume the people calling for Peter to grow up get what they want. Peter and MJ get back together. Baby May is found. Peter starts a stable job.

A kid walks out of a movie theater showing the next Spider-Man film in December 2025. He's picking up Amazing Spider-Man #991.

Right now, I'm trying of dramatic series that are hits with young male audiences where the protagonist has a young family. It's kinda limited to DragonballZ.

[The tall man]

yeah that Peter got no time for anyone bs

It would be great to have that Peter back, but the Pete of now is too much of a cuck, simp and doormat to ever be mad at or hold MJ accountable for anything. I guarantee it MJ showed up at his door he would take her back no questions asked, despite how she has treated him. As was said, Peter has no backbone when it comes to MJ, he will forgive and move on because in his eyes she can do no wrong. Sad but true.

[witchboy]

It would be great to have that Peter back, but the Pete of now is too much of a cuck, simp and doormat to ever be mad at or hold MJ accountable for anything. I guarantee it MJ showed up at his door he would take her back no questions asked, despite how she has treated him. As was said, Peter has no backbone when it comes to MJ, he will forgive and move on because in his eyes she can do no wrong. Sad but true.

Even though he supposedly only loves her like a sister now?

[Matt14teg]

Even though he supposedly only loves her like a sister now?

More like lowercase love lmao

[Lee]

I disagree with the idea that previous issues showed steady growth. It was more in fits and starts. You'd have occasional issues where something happens, but it wasn't steady. The wedding was quite sudden, but it's not like you were sure how much further Peter was in college in Amazing Spider-Man #100 (or 150) than he was in #50.

Exactly. There's no timer on Marvel comics, things just happen when the writers/editors want them to happen. When ASM #27 came out the readers had no idea that Peter's high school graduation was just around the corner. Nobody would have batted an eyelid if he didn't graduate high school until #100. How much time had passed between Peter starting college in #31 and Stan's final issue, #110? None, because the stories didn't operate on that logic. When was Peter's 21st birthday? He didn't have one.

[Tears4Fears]

Peter does not necessarily have to be married to grow and mature as a person. The writers at Marvel can still show character growth in other ways. One way would be for Peter to establish better balance in his life between work, time spent with family and friends, building a meaningful relationship with a significant other, and his business as spider-man. It would be great if Peter came to realization that it's not a realistic goal to be spider-man 24/7 because of his strong internal sense of responsibility. Crimes and murders happen every minute of every day regardless of whether spider-man swings into action or not. He can't be everywhere all the time stopping a crime or murder from occurring. This constant crazed and panicked response will ultimately lead to significant health problems such as anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. It also leads to poor impulsive decision making where Peter puts himself in harm's way and needs another superhero to bail him out of a life-threatening situation. Actually, this has happened time and time again in recent years. Peter does not seem to learn from these past experiences. Perhaps he should take a more careful and methodical approach to crime fighting where he puts more time into studying his villains' motivations and intentions and even spies on his villains in order to get a better sense of their overall plan as well as better sense of his surroundings and how he can use these elements to his advantage before jumping into a fight. This may lead to him winning more fights without the intervention of other superheroes. Another way to make Peter more mature is to have him come to the realization that he needs to stop with the constant joking and juvenile behavior when he is spider-man since other heroes and villains just become annoyed by this behavior and don't take him seriously, which ultimately makes him look like the joke.

[Golden Guardian of Good]

With Miles Morales becoming more and more popular, I agree, its time for Peter Parker to grow up and finally marry MJ(for good). Miles Morales comfortably secures the "teenage Spider-Man" concept. This is why I am no longer against mantles. Comic books need to stop being afraid to take risks...

[Golden Guardian of Good]

Marvel writers and editors won’t let him grow up. When he had grown up, had a family, Marvel writers freaked out because they said people can’t related to Peter and this wasn’t there Spider-Man forgetting all of us readers who followed the book for almost 20 years with Peter married because they didn’t want to write the marriage.

Marvel writers/editors kill me with this "relatability" crap. We just want GOOD stories. And also starting to think that Marvel plan just isn't good at writing relationships. And yea we literally grew with Peter.

[Garlador]

Even if it's easier to catch up on Spider-Man's adventures now, the new readers should be able to appreciate new comics as an entry point.

I think Ultimate and Miles both serve as far superior entry points than a comic over 800 issues long that still banks heavily on storylines and characters from over 30+ years ago. Marvel wants their cake and to eat it too, but then you realize that certain characters exploded in popularity during an era they keep trying to ignore or downplay.

Meanwhile, I find it hilarious how X-Men comics barely even try to have “entry points” because everything is so convoluted and crazy 100% of the time. I tried to explain Cable’s origin to my wife yesterday and her eyes glazed over.

[Alex_Of_X]

With Miles Morales becoming more and more popular, I agree, its time for Peter Parker to grow up and finally marry MJ(for good). Miles Morales comfortably secures the "teenage Spider-Man" concept. This is why I am no longer against mantles. Comic books need to stop being afraid to take risks...

Is Peter marrying MJ a risk, or is Miles securing teenage Spider-Man a risk?

If anything, married Peter and MJ are a known commodity. The very opposite of risky

[Matt14teg]

Is Peter marrying MJ a risk, or is Miles securing teenage Spider-Man a risk?

If anything, married Peter and MJ are a known commodity. The very opposite of risky

In regards to the teenage replacement spiderman.An interesting hypothetical risk editorial could do, with movies like secret wars coming in 2027 & the ultimate line confirmed having a return. Would there be interest if they replaced 616 peter with his ultimate counterpart slipping in from the Ultimates universe similar to what Miles did. A snappy title headline could really be made for "SPIDERMAN DIES" for hyping secret wars as an event. They could then explore a younger displaced peter parker navigating being a spiderman in an entirely different dimension, you can create new relationships if he's still in highschool or college generate new villains & side characters. You could even explore the run with mcu synergy, have him be a struggling spiderman adjusting to a world where doesn't have aunt may//a majority of his old side cast. The only thing is would fans accept a deceased 616 peter parker.