Dan Slott Killed Peter Parker - This Time For Good

[gwangung]

Would it be too much to suggest that a) Peter Parker would have been a successful person if the spider hadn't bitten him, but b) he never would become a CEO type because being Spidey allowed him to develop the aggressive skills needed to be a business success. Peter, sans spider bite, may have become rich if he lucked into a good deal, based on his science skills (but maybe not; he might have gotten cheated with work for hire contracts), but Peter Parker/Spider Man had the exact skills needed to build a business overnight.

[Scott Taylor]

I'm thinking Mean Black Cat will eventually return him to loserville.

[jimishim12]

I'm thinking Mean Black Cat will eventually return him to loserville.

In thinking Spiderman will not only reform her but have her as a business partner as one of his managers for his theft division.

[Mister Mets]

Excellent thread. I especially like how you discussed how you connected with Peter as a character, as it shows the perspective you're coming from. Peter hasn't developed from one type of character to another. It's not a progression; it's swapping one character out for another with bridging the gap between the two.



And you know this how?

Due to a combination of statements Slott has made on the topic, plus my knowledge of the history of the series and what I've read about the the comics industry, I have made an educated guess, as evident by the use of the qualifier "probably" (IE- More likely than not.)

[Zeitgeist]

I'm sorry, we're going to need sources and citations before we let you do any of that free thinking there, Tex.

[VolcanikTiger86]

We may not know how much of Dan Slott’s run was dictated to him or if he was solely responsible for the events which have led to Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 but there is one thing I can say with certainty… he just might be Peter Parker’s most formidable enemy and he is winning. In a series littered with other writer’s attempts to do away with the status quo (i.e. the Clone Saga, ‘One More Day’, etc.) the latest ‘revision’ has done what no one has been able to do before. That is to kill Peter Parker.

Dan Slott has done this before. Most recently during the Superior Spider-Man run. I personally enjoyed the series, but Peter was dead. We always knew he would be back but upon his resurrection the Peter that came back wasn’t our Peter. He hasn’t been our Peter for years. And now, with this new doppleganger traipsing the world as a billionaire inventor with a superhero bodyguard, Peter Stark...sorry... I mean Peter Parker, is gone.

Does it really matter? After all this is a comic book right? Of course it matters. Peter Parker was more than a costumed hero. For the first few decades he represented what it felt like to not be the popular guy. I wasn’t popular as a kid. I wanted to be. Who doesn’t? For a few hours though, I could lose my childhood, teenage, and young adult anxieties in the pages of a book whose protagonist felt like I did. He had money troubles, girl troubles, guilt, and the lack of confidence many of us face on a day to day basis. When he put on the costume it was the only time he felt in control of his life. He cloaked his nervousness with humor in the midst of battle but there was a demeanor there he never had in his ‘real life’. The character was as much an escape for him as it was for us. He was heroic. He saved lives in the panels and the young lives that eagerly devoured them. When he took the mask off his worries returned. His problems were our problems. He was smart, intelligent, awkward, caring, kind, and clumsy. He was not Flash Thompson nor would ever be. And every once in awhile he got the girl but mostly because they came to him. He had just as hard a time approaching girls as many of us do at his age.

That Peter is gone. We are now supposed to believe that awkward young man who only wanted to turn back the hands of time to stop a burglar is now a confident billionaire. A billionaire that SHIELD turns to at the same time the paparazzi's cameras flash. Even Jonah has lost his bite. Spider-Man is no longer a public menace or the hero who selflessly swings from building to building with the sole purpose of saving all of the Uncle Ben’s in the city. He is now someone with a gadget for every occasion and a confidence that rivals that of Captain America. Even his jokes fall flat. It’s not because they aren’t there. It’s because the fears and anxieties they once hid are long gone. And so is Peter.

Unless Peter wakes up from it all to find he’s been dreaming all along there is no coming back from this one folks. Peter is finally dead and I for one miss him greatly.

PS - Dan, if you ever read this, I admire your knowledge of the past and your ability to mine it for connections. You simply failed to understand Peter.

Could you please adjust this post as this is your opinion and we don't need to agree with it (because I don't) thank you

[Dog]

Nah, I don't want it to stick around. I just don't think there's enough to point to it not being meant as the norm.

Pointing out all the other major status quo shifts that were clearly meant to be temporary isn't enough? Observing how comic books operate after 60 years of publishing isn't enough?

[cyberhubbs]

Pointing out all the other major status quo shifts that were clearly meant to be temporary isn't enough? Observing how comic books operate after 60 years of publishing isn't enough?

If it's temporary, can't quite complain that Slott has killed Peter Parker for good.

[Rick Dean]

Could you please adjust this post as this is your opinion and we don't need to agree with it (because I don't) thank you

Unfortunately no. This is how forums work. Posts such as mine are obviously opinions. I've never asked you to agree with me. I would only ask for your opinion whether it be to disagree or agree. But if you would like I will add the disclaimer... "This is Rick Dean and I approve this message."

There.

[Dog]

Rick, IN YOUR OPINION, has this development RUINED your CHILDHOOD? Have you considered how you'll explain this to your own children, either today or in the future?

[Rick Dean]

Rick, IN YOUR OPINION, has this development RUINED your CHILDHOOD? Have you considered how you'll explain this to your own children, either today or in the future?

It is irrevocably ruined. I've been choking on the dust that was my happy childhood for months. Thanks for asking.

[Dog]

It is irrevocably ruined. I've been choking on the dust that was my happy childhood for months. Thanks for asking.

Oh, I couldn't possibly eat all this. After the Gwenpool thread ...

But still, I have no self-control and must ask ... does it feel like Slott and Lowe personally SLAPPED you in the FACE?

I'll start watching my diet after the new year. I swear.

[Phantom Roxas]

I think the fact that Peter's a worldwide success points toward it not being the norm. And none of the status quos being all that permanent lately, whether folks wanted them to be or not. Kinda hard to see how you would consider it being permanent, honestly.

Sorry, correct me if I'm wrong here, but when you say Peter's success points to it not being the norm, my reason for agreeing with you would be that I understand it because the norm is that Peter is supposed to fail rather than be a success. Though I'm not sure if that's why you think it, and… how to put this? I'd like to agree with you, but not if we have different reasons. It just feels like I would still be missing the point you're making. That said, you're right about the changes in status quos, and that's part of what's been going on from the first phase of Marvel NOW! to All-New All-Different Marvel. So if it is temporary, I'd give it until the next phase of these line-wide relaunches.

[Rick Dean]

Oh, I couldn't possibly eat all this. After the Gwenpool thread ...

But still, I have no self-control and must ask ... does it feel like Slott and Lowe personally SLAPPED you in the FACE?

I'll start watching my diet after the new year. I swear.

If by SLAPPED you mean 'surprised me' and by FACE you mean 'with their inconsistency' then I would have to say yes.

[jimishim12]

Sorry, correct me if I'm wrong here, but when you say Peter's success points to it not being the norm, my reason for agreeing with you would be that I understand it because the norm is that Peter is supposed to fail rather than be a success. Though I'm not sure if that's why you think it, and… how to put this? I'd like to agree with you, but not if we have different reasons. It just feels like I would still be missing the point you're making. That said, you're right about the changes in status quos, and that's part of what's been going on from the first phase of Marvel NOW! to All-New All-Different Marvel. So if it is temporary, I'd give it until the next phase of these line-wide relaunches.

Who says he has to fail again?