Absolutely... But most of the modern editors force what THEY want, still not what is best for the character. Which isn't any better. A lot of fans actually want some stupid stuff, but when those fans are the people calling the shots, and they still want stupid stuff... Well...
Oh, absolutely. I mentioned that in my previous longer post, that is no objective best. That said, there are some decisions that the vast majority just think are bad.
That is one of the reasons I've started to prefer head canon and individual stories, rather than desperately clinging to full comic canonicity. As far as I'm concerned, Peter is still married, bit I can still appreciate the new stories.
pretend you’re an editor. pretend you’re an editor who, through supreme effort of will and a magic crystal, has somehow managed to put aside what you personally want to do with spider-man (he should grow a beard…and ride a spider-push bike annnd eat kale for power)…how do you determine what the majority wants?
and once you do…how do you track this over the years?
how do you avoid becoming a choose-your-own adventure service rather than writing from professional integrity?
I'm not saying it is easy, or that I yet have the answers... I'm mostly just identifying what I view as the problem. Maybe not the most constructive of criticism, but there you have it.
But I think I got distracted from another point I wamtednto focus on. The idea they should write things that are better for the character. This is a tough zone. Because, as we discussed, there is no definitive objective better. However, it is clear that they put aside artistic integrity to write their own stories. I dont always agree with an authors view of what is good for a character, but I can appreciate it, but I have no patience for soneone who ignores that ideal entirely.