Marvel sadly HAS destroyed Spidey over the years...(their main character even!!!)....so, these are my opinions...from someone who has grown up with Spider-man over the long run...
1.) Canceling a series for marketing purposes. Only one Ex: Amazing Spider-Man,....mess up the numbering of their series, rename the series, renumber,....then restart the numbering of the series where once left off, etc....on and on....bad choices that kick us long time LOYAL readers in the butt. It was and is very annoying. ((By the way, they wonder why TPB's sell better now than the comics themselves...the answer my friends is in the above paragraph. The comic makers have long destroyed any incentive in collecting runs of any series...))
2.) Portrayal of Gwen Stacy. I mean, actually reread all of her stories when she was alive and current. There was never ANY indication whatsoever that she was ANYTHING like some tramp who'd sleep with an old man, the father of her friend (Harry), and then get rid of her love-children in another country and lie about it to everyone for years. Not an inkling of anything like that for her character. Seriously....if there was something a writer actually had, and angle or tidbit in her personality that they could twist in that direction, something credible...that is one thing...but when someone just writes something with no respect for past writers, characters or us, out of the blue...it is just for shock value.
3.) Cloning...which essentially made the real Spidey we read about for 20 years really just the "Amazing Adventures of A Fake"...everything i read before didn't matter when they did they-it was just adventures of a clone that i had been reading all those years, they wanted me to believe. Then making us read about the new "REAL" Spider-Man "Ben" for two years of our lives (in real time), only to eventually tell us the new real spidey Ben now is really not real and the Spider-Man we loved and grew up with is indeed REAL. Thanks for wasting our time guys...who didn't see THAT coming?? If you write a story, make it so that it can continue on and matter, like they did in the past...or some sort of elseworlds-those kind of stories CAN be quite interesting....but none of this shock value sell a couple extra comics crap...then months or years later it never happened or mattered. If it will stand the test of time-that can help you decide whether or not it is a good story idea possibly?!?? If you're gonna want to pretend it didn't happen a year later...maybe skip that idea...or put into another format!!??....Unless there is some other strong logic for it.
4.) Dumb new costumes. I mean, again, change IS indeed neato and swell if done right....BUT.....why does Spider-Man need armor and tentacles that make him look like the Iron Octopus!?? This isn't Spider-Ham....heck THAT series was handled better than Spider-Man these days. Seriously...costume changes can be "ok" if done right and not routinely. The Black Costume was real cool in fact. It was new and fresh...and led to a great villian-the costume itself and later Venom/Eddie Brock. There was a new idea, and it didn't just "disappear" as a storyline that didn't mean anything and was pointless.
5.) Origin changes......no longer bitten by radioactive spider...Pete REALLY got his powers from a magical totem pole. This was no "tweak" either...but a total jump into a whole new whacky origin. Let me tell you, really, it is much easier for me personally to relate to the magical totem pole origins over a high school accident and a spider-bite.
6.) Power changes. Let's give spider-man pop out claws...i mean, wolverine sells great and he has claws. Let's also give him ant-man powers-so he can talk to spiders AND his hairy back and arms can help determine the wind and weather. Swell!!! And while we're at it, Spidey's eyes can be eaten completely and they'll grow back thanks to these nifty new magical totem pole powers. Finally!...Pete can fight Mike Tyson without fear. Ear gone??...no prob...Totem pole powers-Activate, in form of ear!
7.) Spidey unmasking.....it is not like Peter's character has ever coincided with anything to do with responsibility. Why would he care if he jeapordized his students, the city, his wife, his family, his friends..etc. Those have NEVER been his concerns in the past when thoughts of his identity came up. I mean, afterall, Iron Man WANTED him to take off his clothes...that explains it. And it's not like Peter in his life has ever had any experience with pressure or stress, that would've helped him with the peer pressure of unmasking on live tv. And we know, Spider-Man has always been willing to do anything in his power to please and impress others like Iron Man. It is a good thing no-one like NFL Super-Pro or Silver Surfer asked him to do something bizarre, or you never know what Spidey would have resorted to at a live press conference! At least the unmasking solves the new Iron Octopus Costume problem...now he doesn't even NEED ANY costume...in fact, it is worthless and pointless to even wear. He can just wear a Spidey Head-band and some sweatpants- this will let his face breathe better too. No, the real reason he unmasked is not because Iron Man pressured him, or because it makes sense for the character like some Marvel employees right now will try and tell us, or because us fans DEMAND THESE "KIND" OF CHANGES...(Doh!!) but because ...it will help SELL Civil War and make MONEY.
8.) Mary Jane. While flushing Spider-Man down the toilet, lets also talk about rumors of getting rid of Mary Jane. I mean, it is not like us readers can associate with married life....(Oy!!).... Why is it that many writers in the 70's on up wrote supporting characters so well (and relationships in general of sorts) and now writers are clueless about how to handle mulitple characters or real life issues such as marriage!? We've already shrunk Spidey's once big supporting cast and whittled it down to squat, why do we need to take another supporting character out too?? Spidey used to be great too, in my opinion, because he had that great supporting cast and little side stories with characters always flowing along. Maybe if we weren't just doing 10 issue runs and starting over new #1's of the same comic title yearly, we'd get somewhere with actual character development?? The problem is, comics now put the writer or the artist's satisfaction first. (and also the stock holders and board of directors.) While this is good and all...comics used to be about the fans first and it was clear back then in the "old days": the customers were #1. A smart business trys to remember that.
Sorry so long, but it is just SO dissapointing to have a character with so much history, and a history you've grown up reading....getting trashed by poor stories that eventually don't matter, were pointless, not respectful and didn't "happen". This is Marvel's MAIN character too..why aren't they busy trashing other characters and histories with stories that mean nothing as they've so thoroughly dissed Spidey's universe. Why isn't there a single writer standing up for Spidey and speaking out against the stupidity??
I mean, DC in the past had some really dippy stories...but would they consider giving Superman pop out claws and have him tell the world he is Clark Kent just because Batman made him wear Bat armor and told him to expose himself on TV!?? (haha...sounds funny) Maybe he is not from Krypton either!! (Powers derived from the magical "He-man" totem-pole, naturally!) DC could make money and redefine their mainstay like Marvel is. Kill off Lois too, but not before revealing she too secretly slept with Norman Osborn, during one of those past Marvel DC Crossover Events.
Sadly, the fact is, i used to be left with a sense of wondering what would happen in the NEXT issue of Spider-Man....Now I'm left with a sense of wondering when they'll "officially forget" or "fix" the current storyline.
Spider-Man was always fun and moving, great to pick up. Now, i find more satisfaction in other superhero comics that haven't been manhandled over the years, that have changed, but with purpose and respect. I've been trying to stick with Spidey, because i have so many great memories reading him...and i sincerely really WANT to enjoy my favorite superhero: Spider-man. It stinks to think I may have to give up reading about my favorite superhero just because higher-ups don't care about him, or what makes him who he is, just so that they can SHOCK people and earn a couple new short-term readers.
