Comics Front Page CNN Net Story: Pete Loses Job

[Meehaul]

CNN, the net version, has on its front page the following story about Pete losing his job. http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/worklife/03/01/spiderman.gets.fired/index.html?hpt=C2 Marvel of course, is doing hand stands over the free publicity. Even though Pete has been fired before, I hope Marvel uses this, and Aunt May's trenchant criticism of him, as a springboard for returning him to grad school. I've had friends work on PhDs for decades, no reason Pete shouldn't still be working on the doctorate with Curt Connors.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

WOw, I'm surprised it's on CNN.com. Awesome, lol. This seems as though it's going to be one hell of an issue, so I'm excited.

 

[Donald Thomas]

Aloha,
Yes, I saw this on CNN.com along with a few other news services. Spidey has arrived in the mainstream pop culture universe.With the first Superman going for 1 mil and the first Batman going for 1.3 mil. we comic book geeks can now just smile at all of the adults who thought this was just kid stuff.
Spidey rules

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Here are a couple other "stories" that managed to break on CNN.com the last couple years.

"Spider-Man Reveals his ID" and "Captain America Shot Dead"

Yeah, those sure lasted.

I give this firing 6 months before Pete lands the same photography job or some other job.

 

[Donald Thomas]

Here are a couple other "stories" that managed to break on CNN.com the last couple years.

"Spider-Man Reveals his ID" and "Captain America Shot Dead"

Yeah, those sure lasted.

I give this firing 6 months before Pete lands the same photography job or some other job.

Aloha,
Maybe not even that long. The idea of JJJ firing Pete is as old as Pete working for JJJ. Remember, this is not the Daily Bugle, this is the mayors office. Pete did something to make JJJ look good and JJJ responded with the firing.What gets me is that if Mr. Fantastic can raise money with his inventions, why can't Peter sell the dissolving glue formula(webbing)? There are now many practical applications for super strong dissolving adhesives where years ago there was not.Why hasn't Peter gone to Mr. Fantastic and worked out a deal regarding the production of web fluid in quantities that will last him for a good while?At this point in time, Peter's poverty really does not make sense.
Spidey rules

 

[USMC]

Agreed, Donald.

Pete's too much of a genius to be out of any kind of job. Even Ben Reilly found employment at a coffee shop.

I always thought the only reason Pete stayed as a freelance photographer was simply because it allowed him the flexibility to do his Spidey-duties.

But given his connections, his intellect, and perseverance... having him suddenly "unemployed" and using it as an actual storyline just seems like the writers trying to make an irrelevant situation relevant for today's readers.

Which can be good. As long as it doesn't last more than a few issues.

 

[Meehaul]

Although, a genius who is consistently late, disappears for days on end, and has suspicious bruises, often finds himself unemployed. Of course, if Pete actually tried to patent "Parker Web, the Amazing Glue that Sticks on Contact, Spreads like Silly-String, but Disappears Without a Trace in a Mere Hour," he'd probably be a wealthy man. And, given the amount Pete gets smacked around, you'd think he'd of created the "Iron Spider" suit himself, or at least rustled up some spider-stingers and armor-plating.

Heck, in a world where everyone seems to have cyborg-limbs, I can't imagine Flash not having legs for too long...but it's the fractured world of comic-bookdom. Not a whole lot makes sense. I know this is heresy, but I had always wished they'd made the webbing organic from the beginning. Apparently, they considered it, but Stan thought it was "too provocative." In any event, I hope this inspires Pete to go back to his graduate studies....

 

[The Lizard]

Pete should work for Dr Connors!

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Have we forgotten he TRIED to sell the web-fluid as a glue before, but the fact it dissolves made it unmarketable. Plus, as said, this is hardly a new development, just another return to the Swingin' 70's status quo.

Only problem is, the 70s comics had better writers.

 

[Dragon]

Uhhh... He's a crime photographer. As long as there's crime, someone will buy photos of it. Can someone say "Idiot Plot" since Roger Ebert can't?

 

[Meehaul]

Fortunately, he doesnt have a supermodel wife to sponge off of anymore.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Pete should work for Dr Connors!

Co-signed!

 

[Meehaul]

I actually like the whole "Pete loses his job" angle in the it reflects what's goinng on in society as a whole. It doesn't matter that he's been fired before, as this is a reflection of the here & now. I dont think comics should represent "real life" in a microscopic way, but I think it's great when the books maintain some social relevancy, whether it's to discuss the Vietnam war in the 60's, drug problems in the '70s, the aftermath of 09/11, or our most recent economic melt down. ASM has commonly been a vehicle to examine relevant social issues. I therefore like the direction its headed. I'm not as keen when Marvel takes a veiled political stance: "killing" Cap. America during the Bush administration and resurrecting him now and moving into the new "heroic" age. Some of this stuff gets a little schlocky, but I do like the fact that Marvel is at least giving a nod towards social relevancy.

 

[Parker756]

I think it really comes down to a secret identity. As long as he wants Peter Parker and Spider-man not to be synonymous, he is always going to be struggling. It's one of the reasons I think many of us are drawn to him. If Peter Parker is to become successful, he needs to devote more time to that life than his alter ego as Spider-man and forgoes his responsibility. If he spends more time as Spider-man, he loses important parts of his life (family and friends). The richer heroes like Mr. Fantastic and Ironman have come to terms with their alter egos being synonymous with their true selves and can afford to capitalize on that. Batman is one of the few I can think of that separates both and is wealthy, but he was wealthy beforehand.

That's my take on it at least. Peter Parker likes his own life and he also likes the outlet that Spider-man creates, but does not want the two to be one and the same. I mean he made a deal with the devil to reinstate this balance when it was offset when he revealed his ID. You could make the argument that he only does that to protect the people he loves (MJ and Aunt May), but then why did his clone Ben Reilly need to have a secret identity?

 

[:eek:]

Haven't read Spider-Man for a long time, but why are CNN writing about Peter losing his job? The "no job/no money" thing has been done countless times already. As for what Peter should work with... I've been thinking what a real person would do. Work as a firefighter would make a lot of sense if you had Spider-Man's powers After all, how many times hasn't Peter saved people from burning houses? And as a firefighter he would be paid to do the stuff he already does

 

[Dragon]

I actually like the whole "Pete loses his job" angle in the it reflects what's goinng on in society as a whole. It doesn't matter that he's been fired before, as this is a reflection of the here & now. I dont think comics should represent "real life" in a microscopic way, but I think it's great when the books maintain some social relevancy, whether it's to discuss the Vietnam war in the 60's, drug problems in the '70s, the aftermath of 09/11, or our most recent economic melt down. ASM has commonly been a vehicle to examine relevant social issues. I therefore like the direction its headed. I'm not as keen when Marvel takes a veiled political stance: "killing" Cap. America during the Bush administration and resurrecting him now and moving into the new "heroic" age. Some of this stuff gets a little schlocky, but I do like the fact that Marvel is at least giving a nod towards social relevancy.

This is just more BS gimmickry, not a reflection of what's happening in society. Even during this economic crisis, while some sectors are failing, others are flourishing. If Peter had already had a job that has suffered major lay-offs during this crisis, then this would make sense. But Peter being a news photographer (And one would think that with today's tech, he'd even be getting video footage). he'll always have product he can sell to someone.

And Spidey was always touched by what was going on in current events, but didn't dip into it. He wasn't drafted during Vietnam (Realistically since he was May's only relative). He didn't abuse drugs, etc. So if the economic crisis caused a rise in crime or The Kingpin or Ock or Osborn were revealed to be behind the collapse, or The Bugle went out of business, Harry went nuts due to losing money...that might work. But this little bit of trickery doesn't, IMO.

At his best, Spidey's stories grew organically. But Spidey's stories haven't done that for a long time.

 

[Meehaul]

Um, the whole news industry is suffering a major downturn, and news photographers are taking a hit because newspapers are increasingly relying on "citizen photographers" and free lancers. Similarly, state and local government is looking for ways of cutting back on non-core personnel. So, I don't see Pete's firing as a gimmick at all.

But that's not the point. The larger issue is economic downturn. If this is simply a "one-off" on Marvel's screen then I'll side on the "gimmickery" idea. If Marvel lets the writers explore the consequences of being laid off, Pete looking for a job, applying for unemployment, feeling frustrated, etc., then it will be more interesting. It's just too early to tell how it will all play out. Same thing with Flash Thompson. I thought Wiseman's story was pretty good. But will Marvel let Flash continue to suffer with the problem of being an injured war vet or will he regrow his limbs or get cyborg limbs or just disappear? It will be interesting to see what happens.

None of these stories really quite grows organically, as Pete is essentially frozen in time. If the stories had really grown organically, Pete would be facing a serious problem with his retirement account, as he'd be roughly 63 now. Flash couldn't even have been in Iraq, given his age--but they're all occupying an arrested time period. I'm just thankful that Pete's not married to a super model living in a posh apartment.

 

[Dragon]

Um, the whole news industry is suffering a major downturn, and news photographers are taking a hit because newspapers are increasingly relying on "citizen photographers" and free lancers. Similarly, state and local government is looking for ways of cutting back on non-core personnel. So, I don't see Pete's firing as a gimmick at all.

But you'll note that I didn't say anything about newspapers. Peter can sell his product to other media outlets as well as papers (Who need exciting imagery to sell papers). And again, as I'd mentioned. Peter can shoot video footage of his exploits, since there are vid cameras that are smaller than his still camera.

And while I may be wrong, I thought Peter was losiing his job as the Mayor's photog, not as a news photog.

None of these stories really quite grows organically, as Pete is essentially frozen in time. If the stories had really grown organically, Pete would be facing a serious problem with his retirement account, as he'd be roughly 63 now. Flash couldn't even have been in Iraq, given his age--but they're all occupying an arrested time period. I'm just thankful that Pete's not married to a super model living in a posh apartment.

i said "at his best" which Spidey hasn't been for a long, long time. Every comic book character is frozen in time, otherwise Batman would be 100 years old. That's not what I meant.

I meant- High school kid with super powers fails to use them, Uncle dies.

Feeling guilty he becomes crime fighter.

His Aunt is alone with no income he takes a job that his life as a crime fighter would support.

He works at a newspaper, has antagonistic relationship with head of the paper. dates girl working at paper..etc. etc..

All developing organically. One situation gives birth to the next. Not- Economic Crisis in real world- let's use it in the comics since we have so little stories to tell.

 

[Meehaul]

He is losing his job as JJJ's mayoral photographer. I was just pointing out that the photog business is generally not a great one to be in at the moment. Fewer outlets are buying photos because they can so easily get them for free from "citizen" photographers. I have a buddy who is a free lancer who's just been getting killed because media outlets have so many sources providing them with pictures.

But like I said, I'm curious as to how this will be treated. It's too early for me to say this is just a gimmick or whether Marvel plans to do something interesting with it. I'm looking forward to seeing how it gets developed. Only time will tell.

 

[imdaly]

A joke was made about this on the "Weekend Update" segment of "SNL" last night.

 

[The Lizard]

But Peter being a news photographer (And one would think that with today's tech, he'd even be getting video footage). he'll always have product he can sell to someone.

Actually, this raises a couple interesting points.

First - Peter should indeed capture video of his Spidey-battles, perhaps by rigging his camera for motion-sensing before a fight.

Second, whenever Spidey starts duking it out in the middle of New York these days, Pete is automatically competing with every New Yorker with a camera phone or digital video recorder who might record the fights and sell or post them first.

 

[Dragon]

Actually, this raises a couple interesting points.

First - Peter should indeed capture video of his Spidey-battles, perhaps by rigging his camera for motion-sensing before a fight.

Second, whenever Spidey starts duking it out in the middle of New York these days, Pete is automatically competing with every New Yorker with a camera phone or digital video recorder who might record the fights and sell or post them first.

That's true, but the news corps will always take professionally shot footage over amateur. The amateur stuff is mostly if its all that's available or shows something new.

But Peter, being a pro and at the center of the action would get better shots.

And since we're speculating on him shooting video- Pete, being the guy who developed webshooters and Spider Tracers, could likely even rig his vid-cam to shoot either regular angles or through his mask lenses, which would be pretty cool.