Thread Drift: Should Spider-Man Get Older?

[Lee]

Maybe I’m misremembereing something but in skim reading my earlier comments I do not see me ever saying anything to the effect of:


“"super fast aging and progress"

That's what I replied to in the first place. You said:

And iut’s no conicience that was the era where Peter’s aging and progression started to really slow the Hell down compared to the rapid speed of the first say 28 issues.

Are you telling me that you just typed an essay long response and couldn't even remember what you were arguing against to begin with?

I stand by my point. There was no rapid speed aging and progression in the first 28 issues. Not in the way you mean it.

[Spidercide]

That's what I replied to in the first place. You said:



Are you telling me that you just typed an essay long response and couldn't even remember what you were arguing against to begin with?

I stand by my point. There was no rapid speed aging and progression in the first 28 issues. Not in the way you mean it.

No. I am saying I forgot specifically saying those words and didn't notice them in skim reading pages of posts from days ago.

But in looking at what I wrote I stand by it. However I was when writing that speaking in the context of Peter being younger and aging across years as opposed to every issue not even representing a month of time in his life.

The progression thing though is true no matter what. Stand by your point if you wish. It doesn't change the facts. ASm #1 Peter Parker is not identical to ASM #28 Peter Parker. I do not know how else to communicate that to you right now.

[Mister Mets]

One point may be that change occurs in spurts rather than carefully and subtly.

The passage of time isn't that clear for the first two years. Then Peter graduates high school, and kicks off college in the space of four issues.

Later big moments would include the Death of Gwen Stacy, his graduation, dropping out of Grad School, and getting married, all of these occurring relatively quickly with limited build-up.

[Lee]

Exactly.

Marvel characters don't age steadily or intentionally, only in milestones. Graduations and babies, mainly.

[Conch22]

My understanding of the characters age in the books is he is perpetually hovering between his mid to late 20s, depending on the writer. He's as much of a young adult as he can be as a college graduate. Has there been an issue involving his ten year highschool reunion? Probably not, because it would display the distance from him being teenaged too much. Peters middle name may as well be Pan, as his perpetual youth is ingrained in the brand.

They could age Miguel O'hara up, but Peter will bounce between having his life together and struggling with the relatable problems of young people who are trying to find their place in the world.

Aged Peter is something there's been interpretations of in MC2 and Spiderman Reign, as well as others I'm probably forgetting.
If Marvel operated its reboots in a Crisis fashion like DC, I could see them doing an arc of aging Peter in real time like Constantine, then doing a reset.

Maybe that will be a thing someday, but Marvel distinguishes itself in part through its soft rebooting and maintaining the bare bones of its universe and despite Secret Wars being the closest they've come to a crisis level, I'm doubtful they'll go all the way.

[DieHard200904]

My understanding of the characters age in the books is he is perpetually hovering between his mid to late 20s, depending on the writer. He's as much of a young adult as he can be as a college graduate. Has there been an issue involving his ten year highschool reunion? Probably not, because it would display the distance from him being teenaged too much. Peters middle name may as well be Pan, as his perpetual youth is ingrained in the brand.

They could age Miguel O'hara up, but Peter will bounce between having his life together and struggling with the relatable problems of young people who are trying to find their place in the world.

Aged Peter is something there's been interpretations of in MC2 and Spiderman Reign, as well as others I'm probably forgetting.
If Marvel operated its reboots in a Crisis fashion like DC, I could see them doing an arc of aging Peter in real time like Constantine, then doing a reset.

Maybe that will be a thing someday, but Marvel distinguishes itself in part through its soft rebooting and maintaining the bare bones of its universe and despite Secret Wars being the closest they've come to a crisis level, I'm doubtful they'll go all the way.

I agree with this. It seems generally that Marvel isn't preoccupied with continuity enough to reset their universe, and not wanting to pull a hard reboot on Spider-Man is apparently behind their decision to stop his relationships in 616 from lasting forever, because they don't want to pull hard retcons on his age.

[xpyred]

Have you ever watched the Simpsons?

Ugh... The Simpsons: a show i loved as a child and enjoyed from 1989 until around 1999 when i was going through puberty and would have rather watched WWF and it's adult thmese rather than the same boring stories and over use of Homer Simpsons. The simpsons is a show rich with a huge town full or many characters and the only thing viewers get is another dumbass Homer episode. It's tedious and a chore to watch.

To play devil's advocate here in regards to Peter aging; if marvel was serious about these legacy characters, then they need to push Miles more. By that I mean, they need to do with Miles what they did with Peter since the 70's; give Miles another book with someone who is NOT BENDIS!!!Seriously, Miles had aged about two years since he appeared in 2011 and yet it feels like nothing has happened to the character outside of his uncle dying and his mother dying and returning. if you want Peter to age, you have to accept the fact that Miles will not be the young spider-man so many people want. The only way i can accept Miles is if we get an entirely new voice to write the character and Marvel stays serious about pushing him. I enjoy Dan Slott on Amazing because we have a different take on Peter which so many of you seem to hate. But i would rather read "Mark Zuckerberg" Peter Parker than to see Peter go back to living with May or any roommates who disappear within a year or two anyhow.

Of course, this is my opinion and you can all down vote, disagree or ignore me but i stand by in my belief that Miles would probably be more well received if he had also writers taking a crack on him. This doesn't mean that Miles needs four books a month all to himself. But if we are getting Spectacular Spider-Man soon, why can't we have something like Marvelous Miles Morales: Spider-Man with another writer? It would favor both Peter and Miles and also favors readers who are getting older and still want to relate to Peter.

[Scott Taylor]

Other writers have written Miles, but only as a supporting character. He tends to be fairly single-note in those attempts. I get the feeling that Marvel on the whole isn't as committed to Miles so much as Bendis is committed to Miles, and keeps pushing him.

Most telling to me is all the story beats they are borrowing from Miles and applying to Peter, in Homecoming. That shows a real lack of commitment to the character and his backstory. It ruins chances for him to be truly separate from Peter.

[Mister Mets]

Ugh... The Simpsons: a show i loved as a child and enjoyed from 1989 until around 1999 when i was going through puberty and would have rather watched WWF and it's adult thmese rather than the same boring stories and over use of Homer Simpsons. The simpsons is a show rich with a huge town full or many characters and the only thing viewers get is another dumbass Homer episode. It's tedious and a chore to watch.

To play devil's advocate here in regards to Peter aging; if marvel was serious about these legacy characters, then they need to push Miles more. By that I mean, they need to do with Miles what they did with Peter since the 70's; give Miles another book with someone who is NOT BENDIS!!!Seriously, Miles had aged about two years since he appeared in 2011 and yet it feels like nothing has happened to the character outside of his uncle dying and his mother dying and returning. if you want Peter to age, you have to accept the fact that Miles will not be the young spider-man so many people want. The only way i can accept Miles is if we get an entirely new voice to write the character and Marvel stays serious about pushing him. I enjoy Dan Slott on Amazing because we have a different take on Peter which so many of you seem to hate. But i would rather read "Mark Zuckerberg" Peter Parker than to see Peter go back to living with May or any roommates who disappear within a year or two anyhow.

Of course, this is my opinion and you can all down vote, disagree or ignore me but i stand by in my belief that Miles would probably be more well received if he had also writers taking a crack on him. This doesn't mean that Miles needs four books a month all to himself. But if we are getting Spectacular Spider-Man soon, why can't we have something like Marvelous Miles Morales: Spider-Man with another writer? It would favor both Peter and Miles and also favors readers who are getting older and still want to relate to Peter.

Who does Marvel have who is bigger than Bendis (who also happens to be Miles' creator)? Anyone else would probably be a demotion.

[RD!]

I think he is getting older.

In the JMS era he read like a late 20s guy. BND Peter read like an early-mid 20's guy. Thus the never changing 'Peter is mid 20's' status quo. But now, and since Superior really, he reads like a (very) early 30's guy. I'd say Peter is 31. Though his age goes up and down a bit, next status quo change might make him read like he's in his 20's again.

[Venomous Mask]

Only if the rest of the MU has to do the same.

[Spidercide]

Yes Spider-Man and the MU as a whole should be allowed to get older. It doesn't have to happen in real time though If Peter is 30 and you figure he shoudl retire at 40 then you could make that happen 30-50 years from now if you wanted.

Aging and progression are intrinsic to the DNA of the Marvel Universe.

Not allowing it to happen literally breaks the universe and the characters in it, condemning them to a slow and painful creative death. There is a reason why Ultimate Peter Parker who aged just one year in about 10 years was killed off and his replacement Miles Morales has in fact aged quite a bit from his inception. One is more viable than the other and it ain't the one who's stuck in time.

They aren't like the DC characters who were not created with character development and continitu or progression (and thereby a passage of time) in mind.

I hear the cries of if they do that Spider-Man will someday become too old to be viable.

Sure...except again that'd be decades from now.

At the point where it wouldn't be viable you either

a) legacy him and allow Miles or his kid or somebody else (preferably someone established a decade or two in advance, ala Dick Grayson becoming Batman)

b) reboot him

c) Legacy him but then do the equivilent of an Ultimate title, something set out of continuity that tells his story from scratch whilst the mainstream universe version goes on

d) Stop publishing him. Marvel and Disney can survive without a Spider-Man comic book series not on the stands. If the replacements are good characters built up properly they'll be able to hold the old as well as new audiences.

[BlitheringToot]

I've always been a supporter of the sliding timescale. Keep Peter perpetually "mid-to-late 20s" without ever saying, specifically, HOW old he is (i.e. no high school reunions). I'd personally put him at about 28 right now––which, what a coincidence--is my own age! What are the odds of that?

The only characters who really HAVE to be tied to a certain era are the WWII guys, and they all have excuses for looking young--Captain America and Bucky were put on ice, and Magneto was not only literally de-aged at one point but can also use the whole "my mutant ability draws power from the primal electromagnetic forces of the earth and, uh, that keeps me rejuvenated" excuse if need be.

[Mister Mets]

I think he is getting older.

In the JMS era he read like a late 20s guy. BND Peter read like an early-mid 20's guy. Thus the never changing 'Peter is mid 20's' status quo. But now, and since Superior really, he reads like a (very) early 30's guy. I'd say Peter is 31. Though his age goes up and down a bit, next status quo change might make him read like he's in his 20's again.

Yeah, it doesn't exactly stay consistent.

[SpideyCeo]

It not like his personality is gonna get as old as his age. Peter is always gonna be a goody two shoes nerd goof who acts like an angsty teenager. Even when hes more confident hes still a dogged snuck who let's the world walk over him because his woody Allen self sees life trying to punish him.