Meat and potatoes Spidey

[Prof. Warren]

Especially due to the almost pacifist nature he is often portrayed to share, a well written Peter would explore ways to be responsible outside of punching people. I don't think Peter has ever wanted to spend the rest of his days as a superhero. And that's another reason why this status quo, eaturing Peter doing his best to ACTUALLY make an impact by working to solve problems like global warming and alleviate poverty, is much greater than anything before.

While I don't know if I'd call his current status quo "much greater than anything before" I do think it has far more merits than some are willing to give it credit for. I love "meat and potatoes" Spidey, where he's the lovable loser, always struggling to make ends meet and never quite living up to his considerable potential - mostly due to his responsibilities as Spidey. However, I do think it was time to move on from that. When I re-read issues from, say, the mid-'80s now and see Peter still broke, still hustling JJJ for pic money, still dealing with whether or not to stay in college, I realize that there was a stagnation to the character that existed for decades. It didn't bother me at the time and I still enjoy revisiting those stories but the lack of progress jumps out at me now.

Even after the character had been around for 25 years, he was still stuck in that eternal holding pattern between adolescence and adulthood. And it was that way because the powers that be at Marvel believed that if Peter ever truly got his act together, it would destroy the appeal of the character. And yet it always rubbed me the wrong way that Peter was portrayed as having so much scientific acumen - enough to develop a innovative adhesive when he was a teenager - but writers never did much with that potential.

I like the Parker Industries status quo because it finally shows Peter being all he can be. And yet for all the trappings of the corporate world that surround him now, he's still recognizable as Peter Parker. He still struggles with his responsibilities, he still makes imperfect choices. I know Parker Industries won't last forever but I think there's plenty of juice left in that status quo right now and I hope that whatever comes after it isn't just as simple as "well, he's back to being broke." He doesn't have to remain the head of a global empire but I'd be bummed if he fell too far back down the ladder.

[WebLurker]

While many readers hate what One More Day did, it was initially meant to bring Spider-Man back to a more iconic status quo...

I honestly doubt that. We're taking a twenty-year setting here. Whole generations of readers introduced to a different setting. A setting that had been used for inspiration for pretty much all of the adaptations that most casual fans were introduced to the characters through. I don't think the unmarried years really quite match up there.

Also, for a lot of us who hate OMD, it didn't revert a status quo, it destroyed part of the foundation. It was like changing Spider-Man so he doesn't use webs, or making his motif be that of a butterfly or something.

...so a post-OMD book can still fit the "meat and potatoes" description. Parker Industries will remain a part of Spectacular, although it seems it'll be in the background.

Still not interested.

[Metamorphosis]

While I don't know if I'd call his current status quo "much greater than anything before" I do think it has far more merits than some are willing to give it credit for. I love "meat and potatoes" Spidey, where he's the lovable loser, always struggling to make ends meet and never quite living up to his considerable potential - mostly due to his responsibilities as Spidey. However, I do think it was time to move on from that. When I re-read issues from, say, the mid-'80s now and see Peter still broke, still hustling JJJ for pic money, still dealing with whether or not to stay in college, I realize that there was a stagnation to the character that existed for decades. It didn't bother me at the time and I still enjoy revisiting those stories but the lack of progress jumps out at me now.

Even after the character had been around for 25 years, he was still stuck in that eternal holding pattern between adolescence and adulthood. And it was that way because the powers that be at Marvel believed that if Peter ever truly got his act together, it would destroy the appeal of the character. And yet it always rubbed me the wrong way that Peter was portrayed as having so much scientific acumen - enough to develop a innovative adhesive when he was a teenager - but writers never did much with that potential.

I like the Parker Industries status quo because it finally shows Peter being all he can be. And yet for all the trappings of the corporate world that surround him now, he's still recognizable as Peter Parker. He still struggles with his responsibilities, he still makes imperfect choices. I know Parker Industries won't last forever but I think there's plenty of juice left in that status quo right now and I hope that whatever comes after it isn't just as simple as "well, he's back to being broke." He doesn't have to remain the head of a global empire but I'd be bummed if he fell too far back down the ladder.

Eh, it shatters the whole "illusion of change" thing, the very reason they sent the marriage years down a black hole, and unimaginatively reset Peter to "broke / living wit Aunt May / taking Bugle pix" loser status to begin with.

Parker Industries is a berserk 180 in the other direction, and it's no better.

The gadget for every moment, the Spidey-as-bodyguard Iron Man rip, the spider-vehicles that belong on a Toys-R-Us shelf, the Uncle Ben foundation, the pimping of the Apple-like web-ware crap, making Peter an internationally recognized mogul with ties to Spider-Man--it makes the character unrecognizable now. This is "What If?" territory that has become a very tedious, overlong status quo.

All because TPTB at Marvel are under the same impression as certain fans that he can only either be a broke loser in the gutter, or Steve Jobs by way of Tony Stark. And that's a false dichotomy.

To me, his web-shooters / gadgets / scientific prowess was never nearly as interesting as his basic power set, which has become an afterthought, just like his former supporting cast.

At this point, Peter may as well die or become de-powered so someone else can step up and actually be Spider-Man now.