Spider-Man Problems That Got Fixed

[Mister Mets]

A while back, I argued that a major problem with the Spider-Man comics is a lack of self-contained TPBs where new readers can find a story with a complete beginning, middle and end. I thought there was a bad comparison to Batman who had accessible TPBs like Year One, Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, Haunted Knight, The Long Halloween, Absolution, The Cult, Arkham Asylum, Strange Apparations, Faces, Broken City, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? and Gothic.

Recent years have seen the addition of a few self-contained Spider-Man TPBs like Learning to Crawl, Family Business and even Amazing Spider-Man 700.1-700.5 (collected as "Peter Parker: The One and Only.") While Batman's going to have a larger selection for a variety of reasons (the focus on Peter's private life means that more Spider-Man stories will be a part of larger runs) I think there's now a passable selection of good self-contained Spider-Man stories for new readers. It's essentially a problem that fixed itself.

Is there anything that bothered you about the Spider-Man comics (or films or whatever) that ended up getting resolved anyway?

[jackolover]

I don't know if it got fully resolved, but Harry Osborn appeared suddenly again in the Spiderman books, with Brand New Day, and that portended a brand new universe, where one change caused all these shifts in narrative. Now if BND didn't happen, I wonder, would Harry have returned anyway, and if he wouldn't, isn't there a price to pay for Harry's inclusion the MU? For instance, BND happened just before the Secret Invasion, so is there a possible link from Harry's return to the Skrulls picking that moment to attack when they did? (There is a mystery surrounding why Norman Osborn anticipated the Skrull Captain Marvel, like he already knew he was coming). Was Harry's return another catalyst for Dark Reign? The list goes on.

[William300]

Unfortunately no. One More Day is still canon (for now). Same with Sins Past.

[jackolover]

I was more just looking at the incident of Harry Osborn, rather than the morality of OMD. It kind of changed reality at that moment. If it didn't effect anything outside the Spiderverse, then that's different. But how could it not?

[William300]

I was more just looking at the incident of Harry Osborn, rather than the morality of OMD. It kind of changed reality at that moment. If it didn't effect anything outside the Spiderverse, then that's different. But how could it not?

It's a bad retcon. It's why I haven't read 616 Spider-Man in a long time. It's what happens when you erase so much continuity. I mean Marvel could have at least used OMD to retcon Sins Past, but no somehow they thought it's a good thing that Gwen remains a cheating girlfriend who sleeps with amoral business men.

[Gordonstar]

It's a bad retcon. It's why I haven't read 616 Spider-Man in a long time. It's what happens when you erase so much continuity. I mean Marvel could have at least used OMD to retcon Sins Past, but no somehow they thought it's a good thing that Gwen remains a cheating girlfriend who sleeps with amoral business men.

So? A lot of women do that tbh just like men.

Anyway getting rid of Ben as the real Peter was great.

[Agent Z]

So? A lot of women do that tbh just like men.

Anyway getting rid of Ben as the real Peter was great.

And it's criticized every time it happens. I'm not sure what your point is.

[Mister Mets]

It's a bad retcon. It's why I haven't read 616 Spider-Man in a long time. It's what happens when you erase so much continuity. I mean Marvel could have at least used OMD to retcon Sins Past, but no somehow they thought it's a good thing that Gwen remains a cheating girlfriend who sleeps with amoral business men.

OMD would not have been able to fix that, though. The retcon they did end up changing the circumstances around the wedding, which occurred several years after the death of Gwen Stacy. Even if Gwen's affair with Norman had been erased, it wouldn't have changed what Sins Past suggested about her character. Granted, as far as she was concerned Osborn was probably a decent man (who had saved her life at least once.)

[Gordonstar]

And it's criticized every time it happens. I'm not sure what your point is.

It's because you want every character wholesome good. Or just have petty hate for great stories.


Gtg

[William300]

OMD would not have been able to fix that, though. The retcon they did end up changing the circumstances around the wedding, which occurred several years after the death of Gwen Stacy. Even if Gwen's affair with Norman had been erased, it wouldn't have changed what Sins Past suggested about her character. Granted, as far as she was concerned Osborn was probably a decent man (who had saved her life at least once.)

OMD shouldn't have brought Harry Osborn back to life either but it still did. It was a retcon brought on by a demon changing history. They could have retconned anything. Also, in the flashback Gwen even told Osborn that she knows how horrible he treats Harry, but she still slept with him anyways.

[William300]

It's because you want every character wholesome good. Or just have petty hate for great stories.


Gtg

No, because it destroyed a relationship that everyone loved. It completely tainted a tragic death. I can't feel story for Gwen getting killed because it was her fault, Peter felt guilt for that for years only for it to turn out that the Goblin attacked her not because of her relationship with Peter, but because she broke off her relationship with Osborn.

[Agent Z]

It's because you want every character wholesome good. Or just have petty hate for great stories.


Gtg

Please point to the part in my post where I said such a thing.

[Gordonstar]

No, because it destroyed a relationship that everyone loved. It completely tainted a tragic death. I can't feel story for Gwen getting killed because it was her fault, Peter felt guilt for that for years only for it to turn out that the Goblin attacked her not because of her relationship with Peter, but because she broke off her relationship with Osborn.

This stuff happens in real life, minus the goblin stuff but you know what I mean.

Plenty of men marry or date imperfect women or liars in history.

[William300]

This stuff happens in real life, minus the goblin stuff but you know what I mean.

Plenty of men marry or date imperfect women or liars in history.

And so that makes it ok for them to destroy a relationship that we liked? I don't understand why you think we need to accept it. Do you expect us to like that they destroyed one of our favorite relationships?

[Gordonstar]

Don't expect you to like it. But that's the point of the story, you not always going to like what happened. Many readers in the past hated when Conway killed Gwen but Marvel moved on and even put many hate letters in the garbage.