Worst Spider-Man Writer

[Masked Guy]

I still fault JMS for the story. His original idea to have Peter as the father to 2 adult children is not better than the printed version. It still requires a massive retcon to Gwen Stacy's history and a huge betrayal by MJ for knowing Gwen had kids and never telling Peter ever after Gwen was dead and they were married. And if JMS felt that the story doesn't work with Norman as the father, then maybe he could come up with a different story idea instead of writing what he feels is a flawed version. And lastly, if JMS felt that it should be wiped from continuity, maybe he shouldn't have put it in continuity to begin with.

JMS was not an indentured servant. He has freewill. He came up with the initial plot for Sins Past. He could have written something else. It's not like Joe Quesada held his children hostage unless he agreed to write it. I just find it annoying that JMS has no problem doing work for hire, but turns around and blames the publisher when the stories he wrote are poorly received.

Believe it or not, I actually do agree that Peter being the illegitimate father of Gwen's children was a bad idea (though it would have been better than what we actually got). And yes, I will concede that JMS isn't completely blame-free as he still wrote the story, but I still fault editorial in this instance more that the writer himself. It's pretty similar to the moronic "robot parents" revelation in Life-Theft; a story that was forced on David Michelinie (a usually good writer) by editorial.

[Rincewind]

Mackie's run from 1999-2000 was undeniably terrible, but I thought he did do some solid stories in the 1990s, so there is that. Aside from maybe one or two annuals, O'Neil never did anything worthwhile with Spider-Man in my opinion. I've never cared for Madame Web's character, so I don't really consider that much of an accomplishment. And as for his run never being outright bad, have you ever read Mud-Thing (Amazing vol. 1 #217-218)? It's horrendous.

Mackie's work on Peter Parker, Spider-Man was much better than his run on Amazing. But I dislike his Amazing run more than any other writer.
I read the Mud Thing story (where Sandman and Hydroman got fused together). It struck me as forgettable rather than outright awful. And O'Neil did write Amazing Annual #15, a legitimately great story. The defeat of Doc Ock using the Bugle printing press was a classic moment.

[Masked Guy]

I don't mind the CEO angle. It's obvious that sooner or later PI will go bankrupt or Peter will lose control of the company. This is just a temporary setting. And I do like to see how Peter acts in this new setting. Peter may be in an environment more suited to Tony Stark, but Peter is still Peter in how he acts and not a Stark clone.

A lot of the supporting cast has not been seen in the PI storyline. But I put that down more to the decline of print news than the setting. I would like to see The Daily Bugle enter into the story more as an online news organization.

My biggest gripe with Parker Industries (which has actually been addressed by the comics themselves recently) is that Peter himself has had almost nothing to do with the creation and success of his own company; it was all Dr. Octopus. In fact, Peter has actually been shown to be a very incompetent CEO by ducking out of multi-million dollar board meetings just so he can keep a session with his "protegee" (Miles Morales) and consistently mismanaging his resources. Even the other employees and characters have constantly pointed out how poorly he has been managing his company throughout the volume.

[Rincewind]

I mean i had my fair share of bad runs with Spider-Man, but at least i can found some good things among then (including Slott), but with Kavanught i can't think of one.

I still rank Kavanaugh above McFarlane because McFarlane was given a brand spanking new title with tons of marketing. Kavanaugh was given a pre existing ancillary title that was never high profile.

[Masked Guy]

I agree. Michelinie first few years were fantastic. He brought back Doctor Octopus as a formidable enemy. He created Venom, arguably the last iconic Spidey villain. His run with McFarlance emphasized the fun aspect of Spider-Man and the honeymoon stage of Peter-Mj. After McFarlane left and Larsen came on, he still had some epic storylines like Return of the Sinister Six. The cutoff point for me would be issue #350. It was a great Block Fox/Dr. Doom story and and great sendoff for Larsen. After that, Michelinie's run went downhill.

Yes, Michelinie should have left sooner.

[Rincewind]

Believe it or not, I actually do agree that Peter being the illegitimate father of Gwen's children was a bad idea (though it would have been better than what we actually got). And yes, I will concede that JMS isn't completely blame-free as he still wrote the story, but I still fault editorial in this instance more that the writer himself. It's pretty similar to the moronic "robot parents" revelation in Life-Theft; a story that was forced on David Michelinie (a usually good writer) by editorial.

The difference is that the robot parents was the editor's idea that was going to happen no matter who the current writer was. Sins Past was JMS's idea. It was written because JMS wanted to write the story. It's only after the backlash that JMS blamed others. Even if JMS wrote the story exactly how he originally envisioned it, the story would still be bad.

[Masked Guy]

Mackie's work on Peter Parker, Spider-Man was much better than his run on Amazing. But I dislike his Amazing run more than any other writer.
I read the Mud Thing story (where Sandman and Hydroman got fused together). It struck me as forgettable rather than outright awful. And O'Neil did write Amazing Annual #15, a legitimately great story. The defeat of Doc Ock using the Bugle printing press was a classic moment.

Amazing Annual #15 is the only legitimately good Spider-Man story O'Neil did in my opinion. I still stand by Mud-Thing as being a truly terrible tale and the rest of his run was really just a big bore.

[Masked Guy]

The difference is that the robot parents was the editor's idea that was going to happen no matter who the current writer was. Sins Past was JMS's idea. It was written because JMS wanted to write the story. It's only after the backlash that JMS blamed others. Even if JMS wrote the story exactly how he originally envisioned it, the story would still be bad.

I can't say for certain since we'll never really know, but there was a high chance that Sins Past wouldn't have worked in its intended form either.

[Mister Mets]

I've noticed that whenever there is a discussion about JMS three things remain consistent:

1. "He wrote the marriage and aunt May better than anyone" - perhaps, but he wrote the book for 5+ years, there should be a little more to say in support..
2. Just about every bad/controversial storyline is blamed not on JMS but JQ or other "editorial" interference, which I rarely hear as an excuse for any other writer's tenure
3. The Other does seem to be disliked by most and pinned on him

I also don't think editorial interference is an adequate explanation.

The original idea for Sins Past was pretty terrible, and he could have said no to doing the story at all.

His main objection to One More Day isn't about the things that bother detractors (Mephisto, the removal of the marriage, Peter making a sacrifice to save Aunt May) but a preference for more widespread changes, back to before the death of Gwen Stacy.

[Masked Guy]

I also don't think editorial interference is an adequate explanation.

The original idea for Sins Past was pretty terrible, and he could have said no to doing the story at all.

His main objection to One More Day isn't about the things that bother detractors (Mephisto, the removal of the marriage, Peter making a sacrifice to save Aunt May) but a preference for more widespread changes, back to before the death of Gwen Stacy.

JMS has stated that he did in fact dislike all of the above elements of One More Day during his infamous argument with Steve Wacker:

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/12...-steve-wacker/

[RD!]

I can't find a 'worst'. Even the guys who wrote stories I hated still did some good sfuff.

He's probably been written badly in a mini series or another characters ongoing, but no core writer has ever been bad in my opinion. I'd really need to scan the archives to find my worst

[Uncanny Mutie]

JMS for the following reasons:

1. Spider Totem attempt at retroing the best origin story in all of comics
2. Sins Past - no further comment warranted
3. Pete as a teacher - dumb
4. abandonment of the best supporting cast in comics
5. other than Morlun, no memorable villains in 5+ years of writing
6. revealing Pete's identity
7. The Other - admittedly this wasn't all JMS but I believe he was the guiding force behind it. new powers - Spidey can stick to walls with his back, makes a cocoon and has Wolverine-lite claw..c'mon man
8. no significant supporting character created - at least Slott has Anna Marie if nothing else

Totally agree. I came here to say JMS for all the reasons you listed (thanks for saving me the trouble, lol). Techically speaking, there is nothing wrong with his actual writing ability, but his ideas and stories were so ridiculous and far off base that I HAVE name him as worst Spidey writer.

[Masked Guy]

I can't find a 'worst'. Even the guys who wrote stories I hated still did some good sfuff.

He's probably been written badly in a mini series or another characters ongoing, but no core writer has ever been bad in my opinion. I'd really need to scan the archives to find my worst

That is an unusually positive outlook for a fan. Most seem to have at least one writer whose work they really dislike.

[Masked Guy]

Totally agree. I came here to say JMS for all the reasons you listed (thanks for saving me the trouble, lol). Techically speaking, there is nothing wrong with his actually writing skills, but his ideas and stories were so ridiculous amd far off base that I HAVE name him ad worst Spidey writer.

Wow, a lot of negativity for JMS. I always got the impression that his Spider-Man run was popular overall.

[oldschool]

I think most would agree his first year or so was fantastic. Very few people would argue that "Coming Home" and the few stories that followed it were the best Spidey had been for years at that point. But, not long after, JMS entered an extended period where he refused to use any classic villains and frankly the title suffered for it: Shathra, Charlie Weiderman and Digger just aren't Vulture, Sandman and Venom.

I also think that, while JMS inarguably wrote the most mature Peter Parker and best aunt May overall, his writing felt a bit too mature and stodgy at points. Where Slott's current work suffers from forced humor, JMS could've used a few more laughs here and there. His run just became a bit too obsessed with a mystical bent that just never seemed to be a good fit for Spidey. Just my take on it.