Tom Brevoort on why Marvel won't undo One More Day

[Darkspellmaster]

You know the thing about being an editor in comics seems to be very different then being a editor for a book publisher. Comic editors usually come from inside the business, usually they're writers themselves, and in a lot of cases they don't want to give up the creative end of it and want some control over what's going to happen. It gets worse the higher up you are because you want to build the universe the way you see it. I've seen several incidents of this nature here in the states and outside in other countries.

The thing is, the editors role is to push the best out of the writer and the artist. They're supposed to guide the best stories, and help the character grow. Serials have to have growth in them or else they become static. It might take years (see comic strips) or weeks (manga weeklies) to get to that point, but still it's important for that character to change. I think the main thing with Spider-man is that the editorials figure that if they keep him static they can always use him for marketing, the problem is that, it makes for a boring character. It's one of the reasons why some kids shows go off the air, because kids don't want to see a character that doesn't grow or change. They need the character to mature.

[boots]

You know the thing about being an editor in comics seems to be very different then being a editor for a book publisher. Comic editors usually come from inside the business, usually they're writers themselves, and in a lot of cases they don't want to give up the creative end of it and want some control over what's going to happen. It gets worse the higher up you are because you want to build the universe the way you see it. I've seen several incidents of this nature here in the states and outside in other countries.

to a degree. i’ve seen editors on franchise books (not too different in nature to how super hero comics work) act in similar ways. in general, a magazine or novel editor or script editor will work on a few genres or industries which you would think results in their input being more broad (depending on the individual editor’s micro management/ego). super-hero comic editors are definitely more insular- super heroes tend to be all they know.

I think the main thing with Spider-man is that the editorials figure that if they keep him static they can always use him for marketing, the problem is that, it makes for a boring character.

the “illusion of change” that marvel champions (and i have some sympathy for).

contrast with alan moore’s take- which is way more writer’s writer. but the man is a purist who seems happy for commercial concerns to burn. seems to be what a few fans want too.

It's one of the reasons why some kids shows go off the air, because kids don't want to see a character that doesn't grow or change. They need the character to mature.

or kids grow up.

or the show changes too much (transformers in the 80s lost its audience).

for my money, i think cartoons are doing the right thing now creatively and commercially. have a certain interpretation of a series run for a while, let it wrap up. reboot for the next generation. you avoid all the issues in super hero comics that we love to argue about.

[cyberhubbs]

I've never heard of kids needing characters to grow.

Really, that's more of an adult concern. Well, as adult as some of us get.

[ViewtifulJC]

kids will continue to consume the same shit over and over again, lol

that's why Batman will always be the same age he is after 75 years of publication

[cyberhubbs]

I don't think we'll ever see Mickey Mouse's grandchild front and center.

[boots]

I don't think we'll ever see Mickey Mouse's grandchild front and center.

after they bring grandson back from the dead to inherit the mantle of the mouse.

there was tiny toon adventures, but buggered if i can remember any of the characters.

[cyberhubbs]

I'd be down for a rebellious grandson with a bunch of piercings and tattoos. Wants to rock out with his punk band, do his own thing, in the process giving the middle finger to the Magic Kingdom's nepotism.

...Which I have no idea how Disney would begin to market that in their favor. But eh.

[boots]

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god save the wicked queen

[Kevinroc]

The new Kingdom Hearts looks so interesting.

[cyberhubbs]

Moshpit Charge, the most powerful of his attack moves.

[JBatmanFan05]

What I think I would have done and what Marvel should just do (possibly in Secret Wars):

No devil deal framework, just a story that retcons the marriage out and shows how continuity events happened without Peter getting married. A retcon with no in-story frame to set it up. MJ and Peter can date or not or whatever.

My idea might be kinda harsh and have a rip off bandaid kinda nature to it, but that's what I would have done. Achieve ends without the means of the devil deal.

[Den]

The medicine may not taste good, but if it makes you better, then you need to take it.

If that was medicine, it was like trying to cure a sniffle with nuclear waste. Side effects of Mephisto-zan included out of character behavior for Pete and his loved ones, abrupt regression, extreme selfishness despite even wishes of your beloved Aunt's soul, possible spiritual damnation of a beloved hero, and continuity covered in fecal matter in an attempt to claim nothing else was changed but the marriage.

They wanted to undo the unmasking? I don't blame them. It was a stupid move that I knew they couldn't have stick. They want to undo the marriage? I don't like it, but okay. But the MEANS by which they undid it? Toxic.

They need to undo the Mephisto involvement (And no, one moment in time did not cut it) whether they restore the marriage or not

[SickAlice]

Given the Battleworld map, and today's Spider-man addition for that matter, wouldn't the likely chance stand that 616 Peter (presuming he is located on the Manhattan portion) come to know of what happened anyways or in the least from his perspective see what appears to be a different canon where him and M.J. were together and something inside him snaps into place? Likewise for Mary Jane of course. In short: " Oh look I'm married to Mary Jane over there...and over though I'm married to Mary Jane and about to make a deal with Mephisto that changes all that...wait a tick? "

[Venomous Mask]

They wanted to undo the unmasking? I don't blame them. It was a stupid move that I knew they couldn't have stick. They want to undo the marriage? I don't like it, but okay. But the MEANS by which they undid it? Toxic.

They need to undo the Mephisto involvement (And no, one moment in time did not cut it) whether they restore the marriage or not

This. The worst part of OMD wasn't the end of the marriage or the regression in Peter's character, it was the absolute mutilation of continuity simply in order to undo one small part of Peter's life that the writers didn't like. While I don't agree with them, I very much sympathize with the people who say that the modern Spiderman world isn't 616 but rather "Mephistoverse," an aberrant alternate dimension.

[SpiderOrange]

A thought: If OMD didn't happen, could they have still pulled off 30+ issues of SSM? The series works because everyone has to suddenly forget that Peter isn't acting like Peter, but if MJ is married to the guy... I wonder how that would have looked or how the stories might be different.

This question came to mind after another poster wrote that SSM revived sales after they began declining after OMD.