Spencer - Era Discussion

[Frontier]

What did Peter actually accomplish in the run?

For your second point, that’s honestly why I put quotations around grounded. It felt like there were a lot Scooby Doo plots. They hype up supernatural stuff and then it becomes relatively mundane. It comes off worse because it feels more fantastical than if it was just genuine magic in the first place. Foswell Jr. was really jarring even by comic book standards.

He stopped multiple Supervillains, redeemed Kraven, helped avert a 2099-based apocalypse, etc.

I mean, there are a lot of Scooby plots in Spidey...the amount of times a Goblin's been unmasked to be somebody Peter knows...

[Jman27]

Peter also beat Carnage-Norman

[Daibhidh]

They hype up supernatural stuff and then it becomes relatively mundane. It comes off worse because it feels more fantastical than if it was just genuine magic in the first place.

The supernatural stuff in Spencer's run was genuine magic. If you looked at Kindred and thought that is a supernatural villain with demonic centipedes as minions, that's exactly what Kindred was. Whether Spider-man should be dealing with supernatural villains who use demonic centipedes as minions is an open question, but given that he forgot about his marriage because of a deal with a demonic entity complaining about supernatural villains in Spider-man is shutting the door after the ship is let out of the bag.

[PCN24454]

He stopped multiple Supervillains, redeemed Kraven, helped avert a 2099-based apocalypse, etc.

I mean, there are a lot of Scooby plots in Spidey...the amount of times a Goblin's been unmasked to be somebody Peter knows...

So business as usual?

Kraven was especially annoying since he just got replaced with an exact copy.

[Mister Mets]

I reviewed every issue.

The first half (up until #43) was excellent.

But then the Kindred saga just went on too long. With all the tie-ins, the Sins Rising/ Last Remains arc is 20+ issues, and really unsatisfying.

And I just don't like some of the supernatural connections to Spider-Man stories, like Sin-Eater having mystical powers and Norman Osborn selling Harry's soul to Mephisto.

[Alex_Of_X]

Venom was baller.
Black Car was baller.
ASM...was. I think the admittedly lovely first issue pulls some wool over audiences' eyes. A 74-issue encore for an uneven period of Spidey, wrapped up in, at times, lovely art. Spencer/Ramos/Ottley/Lowe have all done better elsewhere.

[Jman27]

Venom was baller.
Black Car was baller.
ASM...was. I think the admittedly lovely first issue pulls some wool over audiences' eyes. A 74-issue encore for an uneven period of Spidey, wrapped up in, at times, lovely art. Spencer/Ramos/Ottley/Lowe have all done better elsewhere.

I feel like it needs to be reminded that Venom has to be treated separate from Spencer run due to him not setting up the status quo for it. But he play support for it during the absolute carnage event

[Frontier]

Venom was baller.
Black Car was baller.
ASM...was. I think the admittedly lovely first issue pulls some wool over audiences' eyes. A 74-issue encore for an uneven period of Spidey, wrapped up in, at times, lovely art. Spencer/Ramos/Ottley/Lowe have all done better elsewhere.

I'm not sure about that the way I hear about him on the X-Titles .

[TinkerSpider]

Spencer's ASM 25 and ASM 60, among other issues, are exponentially better crafted, more resonant, and have far more to say about the characters than anything in the current run.

I hope someday we get the oral history of what happened to the end of Spencer's run, and why the current run feels like a very pointed middle finger aimed at that run.

[your_name_here]

I’m surprised so few people like the Sins Rising storyline. I thought it was great and the best Peter and Norman had been in years.

[exile001]

He lost his job as DB science editor through plot armour. He shut down Parker Enterprises through plot armour. Stopped working at the DB as a photographer through plot armour before that.

...that's actually the opposite of plot armour.

[Daibhidh]

I’m surprised so few people like the Sins Rising storyline. I thought it was great and the best Peter and Norman had been in years.

Yes, I liked it. I can see why people wouldn't though, at least in so far as it's a bit grim and it looks like Peter doesn't really get a win. But I think that's ok when it's applied at an appropriate point in the overall arc rather than just splashed around like 90s grim dark is the hot new thing.

[Jman27]

I’m surprised so few people like the Sins Rising storyline. I thought it was great and the best Peter and Norman had been in years.

oh no sin rising was great I love the team up between Peter and Norman

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[FFJamie94]

I’m surprised so few people like the Sins Rising storyline. I thought it was great and the best Peter and Norman had been in years.

I thought it was fine, it had a good set-up but the plot of Spider-Man not letting Sin Eater get rid of his sins was kind of silly, just let Norman get rid of his sins.

I will admit, it's made me more forgiving of Norman in later issues, with the panel of him being upset over the death of Ms Marvel not offending me as much as others.
However it's kind of a silly arc, but one I'm okay with as it's more silly in a very comic way.

[charliehustle415]

I agree with the notion that Spencers' run felt like 80-90% clean-up of mistakes or bad retcons of past stories rather than being able to truly stand on its own even if for the most part I agreed with stuff that was being "fixed."

Yet at the same time, Spencer did a great job writing Peter, MJ, and when they were in the spotlight the supporting cast and the characters actually felt like themselves and like they weren't being strung along by editorial (well, until later).

Spider-Man was actually an effective Superhero and felt like he actually mattered to the stories he was involved with and he struggled without being a total, ineffectual, loser.

The whole "Boomerang as Peter's" roommate probably depends on your opinion on Fred, but I thought it was a fun dynamic.

Also the Sinister Syndicate with all the female Spider-Villains is probably one of the most novel concepts Spencer introduced in his run.

I do agree the run started to lose steam around 2099/diving deep into the Kindred stuff. I'm not sure how much of that was editorial but it felt like Spencer was starting to lose the story a little right up until the ending.

As for the satellites:

FNSM is Tom Taylor in his element...writing fun, cute, stories with heart and quips, but not very consequential. There were a few standout issues.

Amazing Mary Jane - A great spotlight for Mary Jane spinning off of a great use and build up to her in ASM, and a series that deserved to go on for a few more issues or to at least finish it's second arc instead of being canceled mid-series. Compared to how they've been handling the build up to MJ as Jackpot, it was handled wayyy better.

Black Cat - Just a really fun and great spotlight for Felicia and diving deeper into her character, relationships, and niche in the MU and making her more than just Spidey's thieving ex-girlfriend who pines after him.

It truly felt like a denouement for Slott's run and that's a good thing.

Pete after going through his multiple heroing adventures finds his place in his corner of NYC. He and MJ are on the mend, his friends and family are a huge part of his life, and he makes new friends. I mean Boomerang gave his life for Peter.

This run showed how much of a great guy Pete is and that he can get a villain to fight by his side given enough time.

I really loved this run and the art was top notch.