Thread Drift: Will One More Day ever be reversed?

[Conn Seanery]

For some people that's enough. (I mean, if he just cycles through girlfriends, one could argue that the series is in a rut right there.)

Yeah, but from a storytelling standpoint which "rut" has more potential? No matter your preference, I think you have to grudgingly give it to a single Peter there. Even if it's by a nose.

I prefer the married status quo despite not being married, much less ever having a girlfriend. Not universal, maybe, but I'm not sure that readers need his circumstances to directly reflect theirs to enjoy a specific setup. Usually, when I hear fans arguing for their position, it has more to do with what they think is a better fit for the character, not "I want him to be like me." (By that reasoning, why make Spidey an Iron Man knockoff, since most readers aren't rich corporate moguls?)

As I mentioned, I was talking in terms of appealing to a broader audience. Obviously we can all enjoy stories of people whose life situations are different than our own.

[Scott Taylor]

As for why readers should care about stuff, the moment readers start learning about how sausage is made, they're going to have a different relationship with the series. Ignoring discussions about what's going on behind the scenes would be a major step towards caring about the results again.

Marvel was undoubtedly a little too open about their business motivations behind OMD. No one wants to hear that their favorite character is just a line on the ledger and the story decisions are being made simply to increase that bottom line. We all want to imagine that great creative minds are trying to tell the best stories they can and entertain the reading public to the maximum extent possible.

People have differing ideas about what "OMD reversed" would look like. I get the feeling that most people think it means a return to the marriage. But thats not how I view it.

[WebLurker]

Yeah, but from a storytelling standpoint which "rut" has more potential? No matter your preference, I think you have to grudgingly give it to a single Peter there. Even if it's by a nose.

Afraid I can't since I think the single Spider-Man gets staler (as far as his love life's concerned). And it's more by by a hand width than a nose.

As I mentioned, I was talking in terms of appealing to a broader audience. Obviously we can all enjoy stories of people whose life situations are different than our own.

Okay, I understand, even if I'm not sure I agree.

[Conn Seanery]

Afraid I can't since I think the single Spider-Man gets staler (as far as his love life's concerned). And it's more by by a hand width than a nose.

Couldn't disagree more, I don't even think it's close. An unattached or unmarried Peter by default has more of a story/sub-plot potential than a married Peter does. But while I do think that's a fact everyone needs to accept, I don't expect people entrenched in their preference of a married Peter & MJ to do so.

To be clear, I'm not invested in either. Married, dating, single, Peter's relationship status has no bearing on my enjoyment of the comics.

[DieHard200904]

Eh, Peter will just make a deal with the devil again. That's right kids, Marvel's flagship character is allowed to make deals with the devil, but not allowed to be married, and they will again come up with an....."allegedly good reason" for why it was done.

The big question is why doesn't he see a "final destination" style death for Aunt May right after his deal with Mephisto? Why doesn't he become another Ghost Rider?

[squirecam]

I can think of at least 3 specific things we could do in the book tomorrow (NOT MJ or marriage related) that would cause a boost in sales-- and that we WON'T do. (And, no, I won't tell you what those are.)

Because there are battles you fight and there are wars you win.

There are elements of this job which are about brand management. I could go into how and why this works, but I'm not going to.
There are factors at work here that are not taken into consideration by fans.
There are things fans don't even add into their "math" when they think about outcomes that they'd like (like, in this case, reinstating the marriage).
Yes, everyone who works in comics IS a fan. No one falls into the job of writer or editor or editor-in-chief by accident.
Everyone who works in comics does this because we dearly love it.
But there are aspects to this job where if you approach it PURELY as a fan and DON'T take those factors into account-- you will NOT survive. You will NOT get certain assignments. You will NOT reach certain levels or positions. You will NOT get to affect the changes you would like. And because of that, there are some changes/choices/concepts that WILL NEVER HAPPEN. Not oh-maybe-someday-the-right-person-will-end-up-in-the-right-place-and-THEN-it'll-happen! NO. NEVER. Again, it's about fighting battles vs. winning wars.

Some days I wish the MJ-marriage-fans could understand the amount of water I had to carry-- and the political mine fields I had to dance through-- to GET Renew Your Vows to happen. THAT was a longshot. And THAT was in an alternate reality. You are NEVER getting that close again. (And, BTW, you're welcome.)

Marriage fan here. Never liked OMD and thought it was a poor out. In reality, the "best" way was for Pete and MJ to walk off the stage and let Ben be Spidey. The problem being that Marvel had to insist that "Ben" was the real spidey, instead of the Wally West/Barry Allen arrangement. Both equal. Both compelling.

As to RYV, I agree with you. That's the closest you will ever get to bringing back the marriage. MAYBE...SOMEDAY.... Peter and May will have a conversation about her mother which will lead to Pete and MJ remembering the deal. IMHO, if it never gets at least recognized its a stain upon the book. And making the deal...they probably would choose not to get remarried.

But I do thing fans of the marriage should give you significant props for doing RYV. Had it not been for you, marriage fans would have nothing.

[squirecam]

I think there could be a run or a storyline that resolves OMD. Or one that gives Spidey a win over Mephisto. But the end result of that story would still NOT be the reinstatement of the marriage. That's never happening for many, many, many ironclad, set-in-stone reasons.

Yeah. This I would want to read.

[Iron Man Unit 007]

Dealing with the devil/Mephisto was one of the worst things that they could have had Spidey do. Mephisto was initially considered to be the solution to the Clone Saga but the "powers that be" at the time decided that Spidey and the occult do not mix.

Then years later in a final effort to end the marriage, Joe Q states that a divorce would "age Peter and make him unrelatable to the fans", yet a deal with the devil/Mephisto is okay?

Such stupidity.

[Scott Taylor]

What I don't get is why Marvel is so scared of doing marriage stories. If single status is so much better from a story standpoint, why would the powers that be so against something like RYV happening? Doesn't really add up. RYV should really crash and burn if the married status quo is so inferior (and it kind of is, which one could say proves the point.)

[Iron Man Unit 007]

What I don't get is why Marvel is so scared of doing marriage stories. If single status is so much better from a story standpoint, why would the powers that be so against something like RYV happening? Doesn't really add up. RYV should really crash and burn if the married status quo is so inferior (and it kind of is, which one could say proves the point.)

Yet Reed and Sue were married for years in the Fantastic Four

[Spiderfang]

Yet Reed and Sue were married for years in the Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four isn't one of the "Big 3" Superhero titles (e.g. Superman, Batman, Spiderman) though, just like the Marvel Heads know that making the canon (616) Spiderman anyone other than Peter Parker will be suicide for the title, they learned this during the 90's Clone Saga, with Mile Morales and again with Superior Spiderman.

[Alan2099]

Spider-man and the Fantastic Four are apples and oranges. Spider-mna is about Spider-man. It's a solo character. He's your average guy just trying to do the best he can with the powers he has.

The Fantastic Four is a team. Not just a team, even in the early days, they were family. Reed and Sue's romance was there from the very beginning. Reed and Sue have to be in the book regardless, as they are the classic team members. Having them married doesn't change anything major. It only helps cement what was already there.

Mary Jane didn't appear until much later in the Spider titles and wasn't even the main romantic interest for most of that time. She cannot participate in most of Spider-mans' adventures and making her do so changes the entire premises of the book.

[WebLurker]

Couldn't disagree more, I don't even think it's close. An unattached or unmarried Peter by default has more of a story/sub-plot potential than a married Peter does. But while I do think that's a fact everyone needs to accept, I don't expect people entrenched in their preference of a married Peter & MJ to do so.

To be clear, I'm not invested in either. Married, dating, single, Peter's relationship status has no bearing on my enjoyment of the comics.

Fair enough. You like what you like and don't what you don't.

[boots]

What I don't get is why Marvel is so scared of doing marriage stories. If single status is so much better from a story standpoint, why would the powers that be so against something like RYV happening? Doesn't really add up. RYV should really crash and burn if the married status quo is so inferior (and it kind of is, which one could say proves the point.)

except i don't think the argument has ever been "you can't tell good stories with a marriage", as that is clearly untrue. it's just that the unmarried status quo is a more flexible and open ended base to work from.

and it's somewhat about the type of stories rather than the quality

[Confuzzled]

Lol this thread has sucked all the activity out of the rest of the Spider-Board.

Well, I'm obviously a Marriage Fan but I'm really just a bigger fan of MJ and want her to be prominent across multiple media content. So as long as I'm getting the latter, I can be satisfied with RYV serving my need for the former.