Is Spider-Man the most consistantly well written comic book character ever?

[manymade1]

Nothing escapist, at least not in the beginning, about a teenager whose fit of irresponsibility/pique cost him one of the few people he loved and who loved him back and resulted in him having to bear the weight of being the man of the house and providing for his mother (figure) on top of being scorned and rejected in both his civilian and heroic identities, with no friend or confidante to rely on for support. Yeah, web-slinging and performing all other sorts of death-/physics-defying acrobatics above the New York City streets would be awesome as hell, but the responsibility and other burdens that came with that wouldn't be something any sane person should want. The escapist elements came in when later writers started playing up the "geek/nerd made good" angle for Peter Parker, particularly concerning his love life and the respect and admiration he began to accrue from his civilian and heroic peers, and the overall setting became less bleak for him as a character.

I'd have to disagree with that. Even given the countless responsibilities and burdens Peter faced in the early Lee/Ditko days, the Spider-Man comics always had a sense of fun and escapism to them. I think that's the big reason why Spider-Man is as popular as he is today. Spider-Man had a Saturday morning cartoon vibe before Saturday morning cartoons were even popular. Heck, even in dark moments such as Gwen Stacy's death and Harry's drug use, Spider-Man was still one of the lighter titles.

[Huntsman Spider]

I'd have to disagree with that. Even given the countless responsibilities and burdens Peter faced in the early Lee/Ditko days, the Spider-Man comics always had a sense of fun and escapism to them. I think that's the big reason why Spider-Man is as popular as he is today. Spider-Man had a Saturday morning cartoon vibe before Saturday morning cartoons were even popular. Heck, even in dark moments such as Gwen Stacy's death and Harry's drug use, Spider-Man was still one of the lighter titles.

True enough. Perhaps I misspoke. I was merely trying to say that there was a lot more to Spider-Man, as a character and a series, than escapism. Now, it definitely wasn't dark for dark's sake like a lot of works in comics and other media can get or have gotten, but it wasn't as if life was a bed of roses for Peter himself or anyone associated with him. Interesting point about Saturday morning cartoons, though, because the Saturday morning cartoons based on Marvel Comics characters back in the 90s were surprisingly heavy stuff --- lots of action and bright costumes, but also a lot of stories of human trauma, struggle, hardship, and loss filtered through the lens of outlandish superpowers and costumes and personalities. That actually sounds a lot like classic Marvel, come to think of it.

[manymade1]

True enough. Perhaps I misspoke. I was merely trying to say that there was a lot more to Spider-Man, as a character and a series, than escapism. Now, it definitely wasn't dark for dark's sake like a lot of works in comics and other media can get or have gotten, but it wasn't as if life was a bed of roses for Peter himself or anyone associated with him. Interesting point about Saturday morning cartoons, though, because the Saturday morning cartoons based on Marvel Comics characters back in the 90s were surprisingly heavy stuff --- lots of action and bright costumes, but also a lot of stories of human trauma, struggle, hardship, and loss filtered through the lens of outlandish superpowers and costumes and personalities. That actually sounds a lot like classic Marvel, come to think of it.

Ah, I see what you were saying. Yeah Spider-Man has always been way more than just escapism, but I think it's that quality that's always made him one of the more popular superheroes.

[jimishim12]

Ah, I see what you were saying. Yeah Spider-Man has always been way more about escapism, but I think it's that quality that's always made him one of the more popular superheroes.

Agreed, Spidey has always had that "wish fufillment" aspect of him that allows him to be the character he is, he's really a simple character to not only relate to but be imaginative towards. Like Naruto or Finn the Human. Thats why I hate him being a groupie in teams instead of his own star in team ups.

[RD!]

No he's not, especially lately. I'd say Dick Grayson. Daredevil's been written reasonably consistently, too.

[manymade1]

No he's not, especially lately. I'd say Dick Grayson. Daredevil's been written reasonably consistently, too.

DD is definitely up there. He has Lee, Miller, Bendis, Brubaker, and Waid. Mainstream hero wise, I think he has the highest amount of well regarded runs.

[Johnatellodi]

Honestly, I have trouble finding 616 Spider-Man runs that I truly enjoy.

I love Ultimate Spider-Man but wish there were more "original Spider-Man" runs that I could add to my shelf.

[Mister Mets]

One key point in the original post is that even during the dreck, there was good stuff.

When Dennis O'Neil was on Amazing Spider-Man, Roger Stern was on Spectacular.

While Mackie and Byrne were on ASM, Peter Parker and Chapter One, there was also Webspinners and Slingers.

[SpiderNerd]

To be honest I think this question is just a matter of personal opinion. It really just depends on if you personally like most of the comics or vice-versa.

Personally, I'm not that hard to please when it comes to Spidey. I tend to like the majority of his comics, but there are eras that I don't particularly enjoy. My favorite run will always be the original Stan Lee era, but I also very much enjoy the Roger Stern/Tom Defalco ASM period in the 80's, as well as the DeMatteis/Buscema Spec run of the early 90's.

[LifeIsILL]

Sure I know posting this in this forum will lend to some bias, but its something I've considered. Spidey has always seemed to be blessed by great writers through nearly all of his history. With very few exceptions there really isn't an era of Spidey where you can find a stretch of boring or bad writing.

I haven't enjoyed anything after Clone Saga. The only story I liked was Back in Black, Civil War tie-ins and Ultimate Spidey run. Most of what I read was mediocre to absolutely dreadful childish crap. And this includes Book of Ezekiel, The Others, The Hunger, American Son, New Ways to Die, Character Assassination, Dying Wish, Ends of the Earth etc...and all of Superior Spider-Man was awful to me, if I was a reviewer I would probably give every issue of Superior a 1 out of 5, with a few exceptions here and there.

And now to answer your question. Daredevil just crushes Spidey in terms of consistency, so does Batman and Batgirl, even Superman and Flash has been more consistent for the last 15 years. Iron Man has been way better too.

Nope thats either daredevil or punisher.

You mean MAX Punisher right? Non-Max Punisher is nothing to write home about.

[nose norton]

I think Daredevil might be the most consistently well written title at Marvel. Spidey's rough periods are really rough. Not helped by often having multiple titles during the same period of time.

DD rough periods are also really rough, but otherwise agreed.

[Moral_Gutpunch]

i'm currently writing a retrospective blog starting from ASM #1 from all the way back in the 70's.

It's sarcastic and has swearing, but I do try to make as many comments about character and storytelling when I can. So far I'm on the tenth issue and he's already all over the place; petty, altruistic, the common sense of a doorstop, intelligent, uses the last amount of violence, absolutely wails of people, nonchalant, angry all the time, friendly, standoffish, etc.

[Huntsman Spider]

i'm currently writing a retrospective blog starting from ASM #1 from all the way back in the 70's.

It's sarcastic and has swearing, but I do try to make as many comments about character and storytelling when I can. So far I'm on the tenth issue and he's already all over the place; petty, altruistic, the common sense of a doorstop, intelligent, uses the last amount of violence, absolutely wails of people, nonchalant, angry all the time, friendly, standoffish, etc.

So he's a typical teenager. His hormones (and emotions) are all over the place.