OMD, 10 Years Later--Was It Worth It?

[WebLurker]

Withholding key information until One Moment in Time was clearly intentional. There were some advantages for Marvel.

It gave them more flexibility to change direction if One More Day had really flopped (if the Spider-Man books had fallen to where the X-Men were pre-Blue/ Gold.)

It also allowed the creative team to build the new status quo rather than spend time on the aftermath of a story that was going to be controversial, and where every development could be seen as a provocation.

I think it was also a bit of a distraction for the critics. Any energy spent figuring out and debating the mechanics of the retcon meant less focus on a reversal.

Given that there's still a notable percentage of the fanbase that is still angry over the decision in and of itself ten years after the fact, I don't think Marvel succeeded in that.

[Starrius]

If that was it's main purpose then it failed miserably IMHO. OMIT was worse than OMD in a lot of ways and again relies heavily on all the characters acting OOC in order to fit the plot that Quesada and his fellow gatekeepers wished to project and cement with his new Mephisto Verse continuity. It also was a sad attempt at trying to get the disgruntled fans to forget about what came before OMD and just accept the new BND Mephisto universe timeline. 10 years later and it's still a major bone of contention within the fanbase that has no inkling of letting up until the turd that is OMD is resolved.

I totally agree with you about OMIT. It's pathetic, and it didn't make me forget pre-OMD.
I am reading a lot of pre-OMD comic books.
My new facebook fan page for Peter and Mary Jane has pre-OMD comic pages posted.
I am not going to be posting any Mephisto-verse stuff except for Spider-Island which shows hints of real Peter and Mary Jane.
The main Spider-Man stuff is Mephisto-Verse. Peter and Mary Jane are just Mephisto-verse shadows of themselves. The real ones are in Renew Your Vows which is the only ongoing Spider-Man comic series that I care to read.

[Scarlet Spider-Man]

At this point, reversing OMD might be the only thing that can bring people back to Spider-Man. Sales are pretty much in freefall.

[Miles To Go]

At this point, reversing OMD might be the only thing that can bring people back to Spider-Man. Sales are pretty much in freefall.

Yeah, it's getting to the point where you wish Slott's rant about the marriage lockstep was just another version of his ''I can't work with Ben Reily goo'' hyperbole from last year...but given I've learned lately RYV apparently will still be going strong for sixteen issues well into next year, it's looking less likely it'll come over to the core book, they obviously are happy with continuing that book as it is and thus ensuring the marriage stays in it's corner.

[Mister Mets]

If that was it's main purpose then it failed miserably IMHO. OMIT was worse than OMD in a lot of ways and again relies heavily on all the characters acting OOC in order to fit the plot that Quesada and his fellow gatekeepers wished to project and cement with his new Mephisto Verse continuity. It also was a sad attempt at trying to get the disgruntled fans to forget about what came before OMD and just accept the new BND Mephisto universe timeline. 10 years later and it's still a major bone of contention within the fanbase that has no inkling of letting up until the turd that is OMD is resolved.

Do you really think fans would be less upset now if we had gotten the One Moment in Time explanations before Brand New Day?

[WebLurker]

Do you really think fans would be less upset now if we had gotten the One Moment in Time explanations before Brand New Day?

I can only speak for myself, but I don't think it would've changed much. The thing is, the point of contention for most people is now how Marvel went about scrapping the marriage, but whether it should've been done in the first place. In my case, there is no way OMD could've been made for me to work. I never wanted it gone in the first place, it's part of Spidey 101 to me, and there's nothing good I can see that came of it.

(Long story short, I don't think there was any way Marvel could carry out the OMD agenda without any kind of pushback from the readers.)

[Timmyb52]

I can only speak for myself, but I don't think it would've changed much. The thing is, the point of contention for most people is now how Marvel went about scrapping the marriage, but whether it should've been done in the first place. In my case, there is no way OMD could've been made for me to work. I never wanted it gone in the first place, it's part of Spidey 101 to me, and there's nothing good I can see that came of it.

(Long story short, I don't think there was any way Marvel could carry out the OMD agenda without any kind of pushback from the readers.)

The thing is Marvel/Quesada never put serious research into what they were doing when they did OMD and decided to get rid of the marriage. They never asked the fans what they wanted and just bowed down to Quesadas own personal desires for the character and the book.OMIT was only done to try and silence the outcry coming from disgruntled fans...and if it wasn't for that same outcry Quesada never would have even bothered with OMIT. It doesn't matter if OMIT would have been done before OMD because it would have still delivered the same lame story that we got after OMD.It would have changed nothing.

[Mister Mets]

The thing is Marvel/Quesada never put serious research into what they were doing when they did OMD and decided to get rid of the marriage. They never asked the fans what they wanted and just bowed down to Quesadas own personal desires for the character and the book.OMIT was only done to try and silence the outcry coming from disgruntled fans...and if it wasn't for that same outcry Quesada never would have even bothered with OMIT. It doesn't matter if OMIT would have been done before OMD because it would have still delivered the same lame story that we got after OMD.It would have changed nothing.

The impression I've had is that OMIT was always planned to come out at some point after the first year. The Marvel top brass was pretty open about the idea that there would be explanations but that there would be a wait for that.

Then it was more of a matter of when to schedule the story, before or after the Gauntlet, a roughly year-long mega-arc. In terms of scheduling, they put a story about Peter and MJ's relationship between two action-heavy stories (the end of Gauntlet, and the end of the Brand New Day era.)

[dragonmp93]

Do you really think fans would be less upset now if we had gotten the One Moment in Time explanations before Brand New Day?

You know, it's really amusing that the initials actually spell the word omit.

[Divine Spark]

Should have just divorced him.

[dragonmp93]

Should have just divorced him.

But a divorse is a grown up thing; and the point of separating them was to make him younger.

[Miles To Go]

Should have just divorced him.

The reason we got OMD was because even Quesada thought divorce was beneath Peter and MJ.

Besides, there would have still been publications going at the time showing how strong Peter and MJ were as a couple [as parents in Spider Girl, and as a couple in the newspapers], so it would have just made the core universe characters look even worse off if they were the ones to give up when no other ongoing version has. At least with OMD and MJ's speech, the HOPE of a love overcomes all ending keeps older and even newer readers interested in the marriage and its significance, rather than dismiss it as a depressing failure for the world's greatest superhero. The quest to one up the devil can lead to one of the best creative pay offs in the future.

Look at the acclaim Spidey/Deadpool got for acknowledging Mephisto in Peter's world and using him to try and influence the characters.

[WebLurker]

The impression I've had is that OMIT was always planned to come out at some point after the first year. The Marvel top brass was pretty open about the idea that there would be explanations but that there would be a wait for that.

Then it was more of a matter of when to schedule the story, before or after the Gauntlet, a roughly year-long mega-arc. In terms of scheduling, they put a story about Peter and MJ's relationship between two action-heavy stories (the end of Gauntlet, and the end of the Brand New Day era.)

Yeah, wasn't there something of OMD being the first part of a trilogy and OMIT being part two? (I recall some theories that RYV the miniseries was going to be the third piece back when it was announced. It might even be, if you look at it the right way.

However, there are no shortages of breakdowns of the stories plot holes online, which does raise the question of how well OMD was planned out in the first place.

But a divorse is a grown up thing; and the point of separating them was to make him younger.

Since OMD left Spidey the exact same age, I don't think it made him younger at all. Fine if they wanted a single Spidey over a married one, but OMD had no affect on his age.

[dragonmp93]

Yeah, wasn't there something of OMD being the first part of a trilogy and OMIT being part two? (I recall some theories that RYV the miniseries was going to be the third piece back when it was announced. It might even be, if you look at it the right way.

However, there are no shortages of breakdowns of the stories plot holes online, which does raise the question of how well OMD was planned out in the first place.



Since OMD left Spidey the exact same age, I don't think it made him younger at all. Fine if they wanted a single Spidey over a married one, but OMD had no affect on his age.

I wasnt talking about his age.

[Timmyb52]

The impression I've had is that OMIT was always planned to come out at some point after the first year. The Marvel top brass was pretty open about the idea that there would be explanations but that there would be a wait for that.

Then it was more of a matter of when to schedule the story, before or after the Gauntlet, a roughly year-long mega-arc. In terms of scheduling, they put a story about Peter and MJ's relationship between two action-heavy stories (the end of Gauntlet, and the end of the Brand New Day era.)

IMHO...that was just a story they put out there to try and silence the criticism they were gettting from disgruntled fans why it took so long to get explanations for OMD. OMIT is so badly done and handled that it shows it was written quickly and with little attention to providing real logical answers...it just added an extra layer of stink to an already huge turd called OMD.I don't believe anything Marvel says...they just spout out false promises and hyperbole.