New Interview - Steve Wacker:

[ben_reilly_s_s]

NRAMA: Early on, Joe Q and you said that timelines would be filled in and questions would be answered. Do you think that, one year after the change, they've all been answered? What's left, in your view, to be addressed in terms of the change itself?

SW: I think using the word “timelines” is misleading here. There’s only one timeline. We still have two big questions left to answer, though: what happened the day of the Peter/MJ wedding and how did Spidey’s secret identity get put back into the box. Those are big set pieces coming up later in the year.

What about When did She Leave?
What about What Made her finally leave?
What about If she was living the entire time with Peter, how does she not know He's Spider-Man?

there are many other questions.....

Full Interview:
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/010909-Wacker.html

[ben_reilly_s_s]

NRAMA: Finally for this time out, we're on the cusp of a new year of Spider-Man stories, and although we'll be chatting with you and/or the creators once a week from here on, let's hit with the teases of what 2009 holds for Spider-Man - villains? Friends? Foes? Allies? Stories? Romance? Nervous breakdown of creative team and/or editorial staff?

SW: I’ve mentioned things like Vulture, Doc Ock, Sandman, Flash Thompson and a big wedding later in the year, but this week I’m mostly excited about the cover I just got in for #596...unfortunately it spoils the ending of “Character Assassination,” so hit me again in a few weeks.

They just gotta slap us right in the face, don't they.....
A major wedding to some character, while they just got rid of THE major wedding of the main character.....*SMASH*

[Venom 1988]

Originally Posted by ben_reilly_s_s

What about When did She Leave?
What about What Made her finally leave?

I wouldn't really count these two as separate questions(besides we know roughly when she left anyway) but yes we still need the answer to this. I wish they would release a story explaining what happened in the 100+ gap between OMD and BND. It would probably explain SO much.

What about If she was living the entire time with Peter, how does she not know
He's Spider-Man?

Uh nothing changed in the past regarding his identity, she still knew who he was then. And based on the paper doll arc, I think its a safe bet that still knows who he is.

PS. I'm digging the art in the Spidey/Wolverine story.

[The Joker]

Doc Ock's returning this year? Well, I may just be tempted to buy my first Spidey comic in nearly 2 years

[Spider-ManHero12]

Cool and interesting interview. It's good to see old Villians returning and that we are finally going to get some answers.

[CaptainStacy]

Originally Posted by Joker

Doc Ock's returning this year? Well, I may just be tempted to buy my first Spidey comic in nearly 2 years

I hope Slott writes that one!

[Spider-ManHero12]

Originally Posted by CaptainStacy

I hope Slott writes that one!

I second that.

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by CaptainStacy

I hope Slott writes that one!

If his interview in Wizard is anything to go by, then he will be. He said there was "Huge Doc Ock stuff" happening this year.

Yay!

[iloveclones]

Some really good pics by Martin and JRJR.

Wacker's a funny guy, with a great perspective.

[JerseyJoker]

I think when he mentions about the weddings, its going to cover the "when she left", what made her left and those questions too.

[imdaly]

Originally Posted by JerseyJoker

I think when he mentions about the weddings, its going to cover the "when she left", what made her left and those questions too.

I think she left during the 100 missing days before BND, but to answer the when and why before we know exactly what happened on the wedding day would spoil that reveal. There's a rhyme and reason for the order and timing for when they are answering our questions.

[Jack O Lantern]

Originally Posted by ben_reilly_s_s

What about When did She Leave?
What about What Made her finally leave?
What about If she was living the entire time with Peter, how does she not know He's Spider-Man?

there are many other questions.....

Full Interview:
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/010909-Wacker.html

I think it's possible/likely that those three questions will be answered in the same story as the identity one.

[ben_reilly_s_s]

Another question pops into mind:
Did everyone forget, or is it that now no-one ever knew Spider-Man's identity?

[Venom 1988]

Originally Posted by ben_reilly_s_s

Another question pops into mind:
Did everyone forget, or is it that now no-one ever knew Spider-Man's identity?

Everyone forgot, due to something Peter and someone else did during the 100+ day gap. People still knew in the past, they just don't know now.

[ben_reilly_s_s]

Double post.....sorry

[Styleshift]

I haven't had much free time to post lately, but I will comment on this.

NRAMA: Early on, Joe Q and you said that timelines would be filled in and questions would be answered. Do you think that, one year after the change, they've all been answered? What's left, in your view, to be addressed in terms of the change itself?

SW: I think using the word “timelines” is misleading here. There’s only one timeline. We still have two big questions left to answer, though: what happened the day of the Peter/MJ wedding and how did Spidey’s secret identity get put back into the box. Those are big set pieces coming up later in the year.

I like how they are still explaining to readers and interviewers that "this is the same time line and the same Spider-man you've always been reading."

It's been a year now. That's really sad.

Nothing against you fellas that dig the reboot if you dig it, thats cool...but ignoring this and saying "IT NEEDED TO BE DONE" is totally disingenuous. Even Steve Wacker hasn't made a comment like that. He's just working with what he was handed out of his love of the character...and I can really respect that.

[Blader5489]

Originally Posted by Styleshift

I like how they are still explaining to readers and interviewers that "this is the same time line and the same Spider-man you've always been reading."

It's been a year now. That's really sad.

They wouldn't have to keep explaining it if some people still weren't being such idiots about it.

[iloveclones]

I don't understand what you think is disingenuous. I've held the position for many years that I thought the marriage was a mistake and should be undone. Now, personally, I would have gone the more realistic divorce route, but I understand why they didn't. What do you think we're not being honest with ourselves about?

Most of us (as if I suddenly became "our" spokesperson) agree that OMD was poorly done, and not the way we would have done it. A lot of us are split as to whether bringing Harry back was necessary, but seing that these are comics, isn't really that big of a stretch. I mean, they could have said he was a mutant, and his return would be almost mandatory. If you're talking about whether it's a separate timeline, that's just a matter of a future explanation and suspension of disbelief.

[Styleshift]

Originally Posted by iloveclones

I don't understand what you think is disingenuous. I've held the position for many years that I thought the marriage was a mistake and should be undone. Now, personally, I would have gone the more realistic divorce route, but I understand why they didn't. What do you think we're not being honest with ourselves about?

Most of us (as if I suddenly became "our" spokesperson) agree that OMD was poorly done, and not the way we would have done it. A lot of us are split as to whether bringing Harry back was necessary, but seing that these are comics, isn't really that big of a stretch. I mean, they could have said he was a mutant, and his return would be almost mandatory. If you're talking about whether it's a separate timeline, that's just a matter of a future explanation and suspension of disbelief.

See there ya go, right on time I might add. I did not refer to the marriage.

Right now I'm speaking about how the time line feels separate from what was going on during Civil war. I didn't skip any comics in between OMD and BND, did you? As of now it still feels that way. A YEAR LATER.

Whether you think they made a reasonable choice with the marriage or not, that's fine. But we still have a whole bunch of topics unaccounted for after a year...and what annoys me is the fact that they keep piling on more secrets.

This isn't a thrilling mystery. It's "ok...we messed up, lets put things on hold while we try to find a way to fix it because we needed to get rid of one thing that fans may or may not have liked about the series."

[stillanerd]

Originally Posted by Styleshift

See there ya go, right on time I might add. I did not refer to the marriage.

Right now I'm speaking about how the time line feels separate from what was going on during Civil war. I didn't skip any comics in between OMD and BND, did you? As of now it still feels that way. A YEAR LATER.

Whether you think they made a reasonable choice with the marriage or not, that's fine. But we still have a whole bunch of topics unaccounted for after a year...and what annoys me is the fact that they keep piling on more secrets.

This isn't a thrilling mystery. It's "ok...we messed up, lets put things on hold while we try to find a way to fix it because we needed to get rid of one thing that fans may or may not have liked about the series."

Exactly. And it's the delay in resolving some of the more unresolved issues created by One More Day which has become an even bigger complaint that the dissolving of the marriage (although the idea of Peter and MJ making a deal with Marvel's version of the devil is still very high on the list of complaints) Because it suggests that, despite their claims, the "braintrust" really didn't have an explanation for why certain things took place such as Harry's resurrection and the restoration of Peter's secret identity until after the fact. Rather, it seemed clear from the get go that One More Day was responsible for this but, due to the backlash, they had to come up with some quick resolutions to this while telling everybody the "wait and see" line.

Sure, certain answers have been provided for, but so far not the most important one--will Peter remember the deal he made with Mephisto? I think if there was some follow-up to that, even if the marriage wasn't restored, it might go a long way in easing people's frustrations that have continued for over a year with the title.

[TwilightPro101]

Originally Posted by stillanerd

Exactly. And it's the delay in resolving some of the more unresolved issues created by One More Day which has become an even bigger complaint that the dissolving of the marriage (although the idea of Peter and MJ making a deal with Marvel's version of the devil is still very high on the list of complaints) Because it suggests that, despite their claims, the "braintrust" really didn't have an explanation for why certain things took place such as Harry's resurrection and the restoration of Peter's secret identity until after the fact. Rather, it seemed clear from the get go that One More Day was responsible for this but, due to the backlash, they had to come up with some quick resolutions to this while telling everybody the "wait and see" line.

Sure, certain answers have been provided for, but so far not the most important one--will Peter remember the deal he made with Mephisto? I think if there was some follow-up to that, even if the marriage wasn't restored, it might go a long way in easing people's frustrations that have continued for over a year with the title.

That's what I'm hoping for at this point.

[imdaly]

Originally Posted by Styleshift

Yessssssss we ssssssshould all believe what Marvel tellsssss usssssssssssss

Because the LAST person you want to go to for answers about a story is the person that is writing the story.

Originally Posted by stillanerd

Sure, certain answers have been provided for, but so far not the most important one--will Peter remember the deal he made with Mephisto? I think if there was some follow-up to that, even if the marriage wasn't restored, it might go a long way in easing people's frustrations that have continued for over a year with the title.

I would assume that if Peter remembered his deal with Mephisto it would torture him and he'd never be able to stop thinking about it and the wife that he lost. The simple fact that he does not think about it at all leads one to believe that he does not remember it at all.

[stillanerd]

Originally Posted by imdaly

I would assume that if Peter remembered his deal with Mephisto it would torture him and he'd never be able to stop thinking about it and the wife that he lost. The simple fact that he does not think about it at all leads one to believe that he does not remember it at all.

Oh, I know that's the situation now. But I think that as long as Peter doesn't remember what reality used to be like and the deal he made with Mephisto--and thus allowing the villain to have a continual victory over the hero--Spider-Man, Marvel's flagship character and their paragon of responsibility, will forever have the stain of capitulating to the demands of evil incarnate and thus One More Day will continue to be the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Even if Peter and MJ's marriage isn't restored after they learn that they were married and that their past has been altered, it certainly would be a giant step in satisfying a lot of readers that have been turned off by the current direction the comics have taken.

And besides, Peter somehow remembering the deal he made with Mephisto would make for some great drama simply because it would torture him that he gave up the love of his life and literally made a devil's bargain to save his aunt--especially if it's revealed that Martin Li/Mister Negative was the one who actually saved Aunt May's life, thus suggesting that Peter and MJ sacrificed their marriage, child, and future happiness for nothing. Not to mention you have Peter questioning what kind of person he really is if he realizes that he has memories which are all lies, that he suddenly remembers doing something that he believes he could have never done in a million years--sort of like Arnold Schawzenegger's character in Total Recall. I think it would be another example of the guilt that is always been part of his character.

[moraldeficiency]

Originally Posted by imdaly

Because the LAST person you want to go to for answers about a story is the person that is writing the story.

What's funny is that's the exact mentality Joey Q had towards JMS when he was writing.

And issue 7 or Iron Man danced around the awkardness, it wasn't for the characters the awkardness comes to the readers when they bring this stuff up. There is a fundamental difference between a mystery and a problem and while cultivating a mystery can build the story up, cultivating a problem has NEVER worked to produce a good result. And since everyone on the braintrust has gone out of their way to distance themselves from OMD saying that was before them, this is a problem Joey dropped on their laps. And it's only taken three years of issues for them to start explaining one minor point to it.

[iloveclones]

Originally Posted by Styleshift

See there ya go, right on time I might add. I did not refer to the marriage.

Right now I'm speaking about how the time line feels separate from what was going on during Civil war. I didn't skip any comics in between OMD and BND, did you? As of now it still feels that way. A YEAR LATER.

Whether you think they made a reasonable choice with the marriage or not, that's fine. But we still have a whole bunch of topics unaccounted for after a year...and what annoys me is the fact that they keep piling on more secrets.

This isn't a thrilling mystery. It's "ok...we messed up, lets put things on hold while we try to find a way to fix it because we needed to get rid of one thing that fans may or may not have liked about the series."

Well, all I see is a lot of feelings. I feel differenly.