Comics If you could/had to reset Spidey continuity, where would you start?

[Norman Osborn]

My question then & now is...why did they feel the urge to replace THE MOST FAMOUS SUPER HERO to begin with???

I'm not sure if that's a rhetorical question or not but it was my understanding they wanted to switch "spider-men" because Ben was single...Pete was married...

...again nothing more than an assumption on my part

 

[farmernudie]

^Nope, i was seriously perplexed why they did it at the time....and was still wondering now as i think about it.

Kinda odd, when you think about it, a comic company wanting to rid itself of their flagship hero, and heck, prolly (one of) the most biggest comic book heroes period.

And the way they did it.....they didn't just replace Pete, but made Pete instead a clone, a "copy", a fake......per say.

Still, honestly, baffles me. Not wise at all...imo.

 

[CConn]

ASM #24.

It's all been downhill from there.

 

[Norman Osborn]

^Nope, i was seriously perplexed why they did it at the time....and was still wondering now as i think about it.

Kinda odd, when you think about it, a comic company wanting to rid itself of their flagship hero, and heck, prolly (one of) the most biggest comic book heroes period.

And the way they did it.....they didn't just replace Pete, but made Pete instead a clone, a "copy", a fake......per say.

Still, honestly, baffles me. Not wise at all...imo.

I read the clone saga years after it was written.....so for me it was a little easier to swallow the "Peter was the clone" pill because I knew the status quo would return....but I can understand the venom towards it by people who watched Pete get usurped in real comic book time, unaware if the status quo would ever return...

...what I don't understand is Marvel's all or nothing mentality towards the Clone Saga??...Ok Pete's the clone.....no wait, none of this ever happened?...wtf??...couldn't find a happy medium??

I seriously liked a substantial amount of what I read from the Clone Saga....to me its biggest problem (other than Pete the clone ) was it went on way too long and the writing went to hell....Pete working with Jackal because he found out he was a clone??

I personally think Ben Reiley is a pretty cool character as well as Kaine....and I think Baby May had great story writing potential.....why'd Marvel feel it had to destroy everything from that era just to eradicate one blunder? (Albeit a gigantic blunder)

 

[farmernudie]

WHATIFTALES: I read the clone saga years after it was written.....so for me it was a little easier to swallow the "Peter was the clone" pill because I knew the status quo would return....but I can understand the venom towards it by people who watched Pete get usurped in real comic book time, unaware if the status quo would ever return...

...what I don't understand is Marvel's all or nothing mentality towards the Clone Saga??...Ok Pete's the clone.....no wait, none of this ever happened?...wtf??...couldn't find a happy medium??

I seriously liked a substantial amount of what I read from the Clone Saga....to me its biggest problem (other than Pete the clone ) was it went on way too long and the writing went to hell....Pete working with Jackal because he found out he was a clone??

I personally think Ben Reiley is a pretty cool character as well as Kaine....and I think Baby May had great story writing potential.....why'd Marvel feel it had to destroy everything from that era just to eradicate one blunder? (Albeit a gigantic blunder)

I can go back and read it now too, and have....but i still don't love it...but i can tolerate it now...

In real time, as you mentioned, understandably, i was totally appalled and bewildered as to what Marvel was doing. (taking their main flagship character and negating him to nothing but a carbon copy of what they were now telling us was the real thing all along...) That's why fans dropped the book in droves, as marvel admits freely now in hindsight.

In fact, i am still puzzled to this day the point of axing such a beloved character that way. By far, it's the oddest thing they've ever chose to do with Spider-man. It is hard to top that one. I frankly can't imagine ANY company doing that to their main guy with such a big fan following.

While i can admit, the clone story might've been better, as a tease...a SHORTER tease....but it felt so forced & DRAWN out OVERALL. And i could even learn to deal with them having kept Baby May around...Ben Reilly could possibly have been kept around as a character too, if they hadn't tried so hard to MAKE HIM SPIDER-MAN and PETER PARKER A GENETIC COPY OF HIS NUCLEUS.

Oy. I remember like it was yesterday, having to drop the book i had loved since the beginning, tho i didn't want to, because my hero no longer existed. He was a fake. It was horrible and bizarre. Yet, like i said, i can go back now and read it, and tolerate it, much like cabbage, tho i don't LOVE IT or think overly fondly of it.

But has Marvel ever stated WHY they did it?? Was it really because he was married and they wanted a single guy??

Lately I've kept up with Spidey...and sadly am afraid Marvel is about to do something else very extreme, with their "Maximum Marriage" arc I am guessing is coming at us soon. Not sure why they are so determined to get MJ out of Pete's life. It's ok for them to have her as a friend, a date, a superhero, an amnesic wife...and what-not...but not just his wife...lol...

 

[freemadison]

The "Peter was the clone all along" thing was a screw-up of gargantuan proportions. If they wanted to replace Peter, they should have brought in some completely unknown character into the mix to do so, as opposed to reviving a long-dead and oft-forgotten character to replace a hero alot of fans had put a great financial and emotional investment into.

Now you're deluding yourself. As much as the idea of a clone is unpopular, the idea of replacing Peter Parker with someone COMPLETELY new is rediculous. Kyle Rayner works only because no one really gave a crap about Hal Jordan until he was gone. It was a stale, mediocre title on its last legs. It's also plausible, there's always been millions of Green Lanterns. They're space cops. Earth has like...5 of em. But 1st stringers like Superman or Batman will NEVER be replaced.

That's why Marvel had to go out of their way to state that Ben was indeed the original "Peter Parker" rather than just make him a clone. Spider-man IS Peter Parker. Miguel O'Hara is really an else-worlds type of thing. If Miguel O'Hara had replaced Peter Parker in the 616, he wouldn't have lasted nearly as long as Ben did.

Also, writing Peter out of it all and having "Ben" take over was just a disaster all along. Peter was still around, and we knew he would come back eventually. That's why they didn't just write out Ben. They killed him....3 times. He was stabbed through the back with a Goblin Glider (fatal), Dropped 50 stories (fatal), and he disintegrated into dust (FATAL). For all those who want to give me the "perfect clones don't disintegrate" bull-s***, I offer this: HE WAS DEAD. HE RETURNED TO HIS BASE ELEMENTS AT A GREATER RATE OF DECOMPSITION THAN A NORMAL HUMAN BECAUSE HE WAS A HOME-GROWN HUMAN. So eat it.

Umm...Ben doesn't do that. He's perfect. Do your research.

Now, I know BR had some fans, and that's cool. Then again, Cyborg Superman and NFL Superpro have fans out there as well. It's not called "The Amazing Spider-Clone" or "The Amazing Spider-Exile", it's "The Amazing Spider-Man".

Hank Henshaw is awesome! (is anyone reading Sinestro Corps?)...

A Ben Reilly title would probably sell more than The Hulk and Spider-Girl combined. So many people would come out of the woodwork for that.

 

[freemadison]

But has Marvel ever stated WHY they did it?? Was it really because he was married and they wanted a single guy??

Lately I've kept up with Spidey...and sadly am afraid Marvel is about to do something else very extreme, with their "Maximum Marriage" arc I am guessing is coming at us soon. Not sure why they are so determined to get MJ out of Pete's life. It's ok for them to have her as a friend, a date, a superhero, an amnesic wife...and what-not...but not just his wife...lol...

Maximum Marriage...hahahahaha that's what i'm gonna call One More Day from now on.

If you really want to understand the Clone Saga, whether you liked it or not inconsequential, you should definetely read Life of Reilly. It's a long read, but it's like following a documentary. It's great.

http://www.newcomicreviews.com/GHM/specials/LifeOfReilly/

Here's a quote from former Assistant Editor for Spider-Man, Mark Bernardo:

Mark: Now the truth can be told: the first person to bring up the idea of bringing back the Spider-clone, and having him be revealed as the original, was former WEB OF SPIDER-MAN writer Terry Kavanagh. The subject was broached at my first Spider-Man story conference back in '93. I was the new assistant editor, and we'd just finished the somewhat unsatisfying "Return of the Parents" storyline, and the marching orders we were given by upper management was to come up with something similar in scope to DC's "Death of Superman" storyline, which at the time was breaking sales records left and right. Thus, no outrageous idea was out of bounds. Terry was cajoled into blurting out his clone idea, which first met with groans and indifference, until someone (to my recollection, J.M. DeMatteis) suddenly realized the radical possibilities of such a storyline. Soon, all of our freelance writers were getting excited about the idea, while the editorial staff (myself, Danny Fingeroth, Eric Fein, Mark Powers) were still not quite convinced. The whole idea was almost instantly shot down the next day by Tom DeFalco, then Editor in Chief, until he too started getting excited about it from a writer's standpoint. That's how Tom ended up writing SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, and Tom is also the man who sealed the deal on the Clone Saga. The whole storyline was planned to end in AMAZING #400. As we all know, it didn't quite work out that way.

Andrew: Was the story intended to last as long as it did?


Mark: Emphatically, no. The whole arc was supposed to end in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #400, and leave "Ben Reilly" as the one and only "original Peter Parker" and forge a new beginning. Ironically, the whole storyline, which was supposed to simplify Spider-Man's mythos and ultimately bring him "back to basics" ended up complicating everything beyond what anyone imagined!

 

[Norman Osborn]

I can go back and read it now too, and have....but i still don't love it...but i can tolerate it now...

In real time, as you mentioned, understandably, i was totally appalled and bewildered as to what Marvel was doing. (taking their main flagship character and negating him to nothing but a carbon copy of what they were now telling us was the real thing all along...) That's why fans dropped the book in droves, as marvel admits freely now in hindsight.

In fact, i am still puzzled to this day the point of axing such a beloved character that way. By far, it's the oddest thing they've ever chose to do with Spider-man. It is hard to top that one. I frankly can't imagine ANY company doing that to their main guy with such a big fan following.

While i can admit, the clone story might've been better, as a tease...a SHORTER tease....but it felt so forced & DRAWN out OVERALL. And i could even learn to deal with them having kept Baby May around...Ben Reilly could possibly have been kept around as a character too, if they hadn't tried so hard to MAKE HIM SPIDER-MAN and PETER PARKER A GENETIC COPY OF HIS NUCLEUS.

Oy. I remember like it was yesterday, having to drop the book i had loved since the beginning, tho i didn't want to, because my hero no longer existed. He was a fake. It was horrible and bizarre. Yet, like i said, i can go back now and read it, and tolerate it, much like cabbage, tho i don't LOVE IT or think overly fondly of it.

But has Marvel ever stated WHY they did it?? Was it really because he was married and they wanted a single guy??

Lately I've kept up with Spidey...and sadly am afraid Marvel is about to do something else very extreme, with their "Maximum Marriage" arc I am guessing is coming at us soon. Not sure why they are so determined to get MJ out of Pete's life. It's ok for them to have her as a friend, a date, a superhero, an amnesic wife...and what-not...but not just his wife...lol...

I totally understand where you're coming from, as I said I think the context in which you read the saga plays a huge factor in how it's perceived.....If it's going on while you're just getting into comics, you'll have less an aversion too it and maybe even prefer it, if you read it after the fact, not a problem..you know everything is going to fix itself (like in my case), but guys/girls (in general of course) who've read Spider-man since the 60's 70' and quite likely as late as the 80's, and are reading it as it's published, will have the greatest hatred for it. Heck the freaking "Other" made me drop ASM......what the "Other" does to Pete is minor compared to what the Clone Saga tried to do.....I'm certain if I were reading it while it was current I'd be in the same boat you were in

...as for the "don't get why they did it"......I came back to comics in 2005...was an avid reader throughout the entirety of the 70's.....I used this board as an information center to help me transition back into the spidey mythos......and I can remember wondering who the hell was Ben Reiley as many of the posts I read were negative towards the character....if you can go back to 2005 in this board you'll find a post I made "who is Ben Reiley"...I'm not 100% sure because I was very new to the board and knew absolutely nobody, but I believe a poster called Shinlyle (who is stil here at the board) answered the question initially. My first thought to his reply??..."What an ass this guy is??...I only asked a freaking question, no need to be sarcastic!!....I couldn't even process the idea that this Ben Reiley person was usurping Pete, I honestly believed Shin was screwing with me!!

 

[farmernudie]

Hey Freemadison!!

Thanks for that link about BR.....i've been reading it along, last nite and today...(it is very LONG and i am not done yet)....but i am finding it very interesting, the way it is written in hindsite, with info and their thoughts and all. I have the page open and will continue to read it all till i'm done.

Thanks again!

 

[farmernudie]

WHATIFTALES: I totally understand where you're coming from, as I said I think the context in which you read the saga plays a huge factor in how it's perceived.....If it's going on while you're just getting into comics, you'll have less an aversion too it and maybe even prefer it, if you read it after the fact, not a problem..you know everything is going to fix itself (like in my case), but guys/girls (in general of course) who've read Spider-man since the 60's 70' and quite likely as late as the 80's, and are reading it as it's published, will have the greatest hatred for it. Heck the freaking "Other" made me drop ASM......what the "Other" does to Pete is minor compared to what the Clone Saga tried to do.....I'm certain if I were reading it while it was current I'd be in the same boat you were in

...as for the "don't get why they did it"......I came back to comics in 2005...was an avid reader throughout the entirety of the 70's.....I used this board as an information center to help me transition back into the spidey mythos......and I can remember wondering who the hell was Ben Reiley as many of the posts I read were negative towards the character....if you can go back to 2005 in this board you'll find a post I made "who is Ben Reiley"...I'm not 100% sure because I was very new to the board and knew absolutely nobody, but I believe a poster called Shinlyle (who is stil here at the board) answered the question initially. My first thought to his reply??..."What an ass this guy is??...I only asked a freaking question, no need to be sarcastic!!....I couldn't even process the idea that this Ben Reiley person was usurping Pete, I honestly believed Shin was screwing with me!!

Hey, thanks for the insight...and sharing. I'll see if i can find that post.

I'm currently reading all this hindsight into Ben from that link freemadison gave....interesting...to read their thoughts and opinions on it, looking back.

It really was an odd thing to do to such a "main", longtime hero, beloved by fans. Gutsy, sure.....but not smart...lol....

From what i was/am reading.....they originally mentioned they wanted something shocking to compete with (or SELL big...) like the Death of Superman Arc.....and that is what led to such a whack storyline? I guess you could say it really WAS the death of Spidey, what they did...lol..considering what I've read before from other editors about how the storyline really hurt sales and they lost so many fans. Oh well, live and learn, i guess.

 

[farmernudie]

Tom D.'s mention of Thor and Thunderstrike brings back memories of a major trend (some would call it an epidemic) that was going on at Marvel at that time - namely, taking an established character and creating a "spin-off" version of that character. This spin-off would be very similar to the original character, yet different enough to justify its own existence and, hopefully, its own ongoing title. In addition to Thunderstrike being spun off from Thor, the USAgent was spun off from Captain America, War Machine was spun off from Iron Man, and the Fantastic Force was spun off from the Fantastic Four. So from a business standpoint, it made a certain degree of sense to try to do the same thing with Spider-Man. But creatively? Well, all I'll say is that THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, IRON MAN, and FANTASTIC FOUR are still being published to this day, and all of the spin-off characters are either dead, in limbo, or limited strictly to infrequent guest appearances. There was a major reader backlash to this practice of "duplicating" existing titles, and it's easy to see why: the original versions - the classic Marvel heroes - could no longer be unique or special with other Marvel characters running around who looked similar to them and had similar powers and abilities. It's safe to say that an ongoing SCARLET SPIDER series would have been met with the same reaction, and would have ultimately suffered the same fate as all the other spin-offs.

Hmn.......i had forgotten about all of those....spin-off characters....but that's a good point, to what they were doing too. Hmn.

Marvel was writing lots of similar characters at the time...lol...which is kinda dopey when you think about it and look back at it.

 

[SpideyInATree]

^Nope, i was seriously perplexed why they did it at the time....and was still wondering now as i think about it.

Kinda odd, when you think about it, a comic company wanting to rid itself of their flagship hero, and heck, prolly (one of) the most biggest comic book heroes period.

And the way they did it.....they didn't just replace Pete, but made Pete instead a clone, a "copy", a fake......per say.

Still, honestly, baffles me. Not wise at all...imo.

And there's also the trend that was going on at the time. In all the comic books the heroes were being sort of, "replaced". Superman with the four different Supermen. Batman with Azrael. And, in all honesty, there was a whole hell of a lot of replacement going on during the early to mid-90's.

 

[freemadison]

Hey Freemadison!!

Thanks for that link about BR.....i've been reading it along, last nite and today...(it is very LONG and i am not done yet)....but i am finding it very interesting, the way it is written in hindsite, with info and their thoughts and all. I have the page open and will continue to read it all till i'm done.

Thanks again!

No problem at all. It IS long but it's a damn good read. The Clone Saga actually starts to make sense after a while. t:

Hmn.......i had forgotten about all of those....spin-off characters....but that's a good point, to what they were doing too. Hmn.

Marvel was writing lots of similar characters at the time...lol...which is kinda dopey when you think about it and look back at it.

Yeah, it's funny that they mention that Thunderstrike was outselling Thor for a good while (and it's funny that Tom DeFalco created him, now it makes sense why Thunderstrike's son is the leader of MC2's Avengers)

I was always the kinda guy who was partial to spin-off type characters (my favorite comic characters are Ben Reilly, Spider-Man, Kon-El, Nightwing, Kyle Rayner) but I understand that your primary product (i.e. Thor or Spider-Man) is more important than the spin-off. So i understand the reasoning in not making a Scarlet Spider monthly. It's just I wish he was an important part of the Spider-Man mythos. Which is why I wish he was a supporting character or at least remembered when Spidey reminisces about death or something instead of reimagining Gwen and Uncle Ben getting killed.

Like my favorite DC character is Kon-El (ironically a clone, but that's not why i like him) and one can even argue that he's the DC equivalent of Ben Reilly. They both came about in each companies flagship character's BIG 90's EVENT (Death of Supes, Clone Saga). They even fought each other in Marvel vs. DC because they were both wisecracking clones of the flagship character. But his impact on the DCU is so significant compared to Reilly. He had a relationship with Wonder Girl, he was best friends with Robin, he was a team fixture on Titans, he was Luthor's "son", he had interesting problems like wondering if he had a soul or not, he was a "cousin" to Superman even being raised by Ma and Pa Kent, and ultimately died saving the DCU in Infinite Crisis. Superboy grew past his cheesy 90's image just as Ben Reilly would have transcended past his costumes (although i still think they're awesome, just very 90's) had he survived. Unlike Reilly, Superboy's death was important and is now constantly remembered by the characters.

Not to sound like a broken record but it just really bothers me that Ben Reilly could've really been an important part of the Spider-Man (and Marvel) mythos before Marvel botched it.

 

[farmernudie]

Man that article is LONG...still crackin away at it.

But an enjoyable read none the less.

Still personally not a fan at all, of the Clone thing, nor of Ben Reilly really...but it is very interesting to read about it now...in hindsight, and as a broad scope even to what was going on in the industry too at the time, with gimmick covers galore, editorially, and all that...lol...

 

[TheVileOne]

OK so basically this whole disaster at Marvel is basically the clone saga all over again.

The editors want a single, younger and "back to basics" Peter.

But isn't the outright rejection of the fans over A DECADE AGO indicative that they DO NOT want that. That maybe the fans want to see Peter get older and more mature. And maybe JUST MAYBE they want to see Peter as a married family man? Why is this so horrible?

If I could restart continuity. I guess it would be where the whole clone saga mess and hitting MJ never happened. AND:

-Aunt May STAYS DEAD.
-Mary Jane and Peter *GASP* have BABIES! The Parkers have to deal with Peter's superhero lifestyle and starting a family.
-Gwen Stacy ****ing Norman never happens.
-Norman, Harry, and everyone else stay dead.
-Stacy twins never happen.
-The OTHER and all the dumbass crap in Stracynski's stories never happen either.

Now what's this I hear about Mary Jane currently being a super heroine in disguise right now? Is it really possible that could happen?

 

[freemadison]

But isn't the outright rejection of the fans over A DECADE AGO indicative that they DO NOT want that. That maybe the fans want to see Peter get older and more mature. And maybe JUST MAYBE they want to see Peter as a married family man? Why is this so horrible?

I don't know about that. Even though Ben Reilly was created to have a young, single Peter Parker as Spider-Man again, the reason fans rejected the Clone Saga (and Reilly) is because their Peter Parker was invalidated as a fake. Fans weren't complaining about a single spidey, they were complaining about the fake one.

Now what's this I hear about Mary Jane currently being a super heroine in disguise right now? Is it really possible that could happen?

God i hope not....

 

[3dman27]

OK so basically this whole disaster at Marvel is basically the clone saga all over again.

The editors want a single, younger and "back to basics" Peter.

But isn't the outright rejection of the fans over A DECADE AGO indicative that they DO NOT want that. That maybe the fans want to see Peter get older and more mature. And maybe JUST MAYBE they want to see Peter as a married family man? Why is this so horrible?

If I could restart continuity. I guess it would be where the whole clone saga mess and hitting MJ never happened. AND:

-Aunt May STAYS DEAD.
-Mary Jane and Peter *GASP* have BABIES! The Parkers have to deal with Peter's superhero lifestyle and starting a family.
-Gwen Stacy ****ing Norman never happens.
-Norman, Harry, and everyone else stay dead.
-Stacy twins never happen.
-The OTHER and all the dumbass crap in Stracynski's stories never happen either.

Now what's this I hear about Mary Jane currently being a super heroine in disguise right now? Is it really possible that could happen?

jackpots probably just a lookalike for mj just as firestar was on tv

 

[farmernudie]

Jackpot is what you get when you win 25,000 Pyramid or Jeapordy.

MJ is NOT a superhero.

 

[Eye Doc]

The Clone Saga was just a bad idea period. The premise was flawed from the start. According to their logic, Marvel thought everyone reading the book would just say "oh, the character we've followed since 1975 really isn't Peter Parker. He's just a clone of the real one. Cool!" They deserved every bit of flak they've received for trying to palm off such a lame story. They were pretty much saying that SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, WEB OF SPIDER-MAN, AND SPIDER-MAN never featured the true Peter Parker. To this day it amazes me (no pun intended) that the story ever got approved. To make matters worse, the idea originated with the lguy who came up with the teen Tony Stark fiasco in Iron Man around the same time.....TERRY KAVANAGH.

If Marvel really wanted Peter to be single back then, they should've just knocked MJ off in 93 or 94 or simply had the couple break up. Had they done it, she would've been out of the book for over 10 years by now and we wouldn't now be facing the "One More Day" fiasco.

 

[stillanerd]

The Clone Saga was just a bad idea period. The premise was flawed from the start. According to their logic, Marvel thought everyone reading the book would just say "oh, the character we've followed since 1975 really isn't Peter Parker. He's just a clone of the real one. Cool!" They deserved every bit of flak they've received for trying to palm off such a lame story. They were pretty much saying that SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, WEB OF SPIDER-MAN, AND SPIDER-MAN never featured the true Peter Parker. To this day it amazes me (no pun intended) that the story ever got approved. To make matters worse, the idea originated with the lguy who came up with the teen Tony Stark fiasco in Iron Man around the same time.....TERRY KAVANAGH.

Holy Crap! Terry "the man who gave us FACADE" Kavanagh was also behind "Teen Tony" as well? Geez, it was bad enough that Marvel took him seriously regarding the Clone Saga, considering how this was the guy who killed off Lance Bannon via a "mystery" villain whose identity, to this day, has never been revealed, or cared about.

If Marvel really wanted Peter to be single back then, they should've just knocked MJ off in 93 or 94 or simply had the couple break up. Had they done it, she would've been out of the book for over 10 years by now and we wouldn't now be facing the "One More Day" fiasco.

Or they could have gone with Tom DeFalco's original idea for the 1987 ASM Annual, where instead of getting married, either Mary Jane leaves Peter at the altar after getting cold feet, or Peter is late to the wedding because he gets caught in the middle of a superhero battle and when he does show up, the wedding has been called off (can't recall which of those scenarios he wanted to use). I'm sure that IF "One More Day" a.k.a "Maximum Marriage" (props to farmernudie for that one) erases the marriage, Joe Q will respond to the criticism that it would erase 20 years worth of stories by saying, "Oh no, those stories still count. It's just, because the new reality had Peter and Mary Jane not married, they decided to have a "trial marriage" and live together before tying the knot. But his life as Spider-Man, and especially what happened during Civil War and Black in Black, got in the way of their happiness." And if that's the case, I guess that means that whole baby May incident under this new continuity would mean that, since Peter and MJ weren't married, the baby would've been born out of wedlock. Yeah, I'm sure parents who thought Spider-Man was supposed to be kid friendly will "love" that move, especially since [BLACKOUT]Sins Past[/BLACKOUT] is still fresh.

As for me, if I had to reset continuity, I'd probably not have ASM #28 be the graduation issue and bring in Harry, Gwen, and Mary Jane while Peter is still in High School. Course, you couldn't have Flash going to Vietnam or Peter moving in with Harry subplots but certain things could be the same while certain things would probably be dramatically different. Liz Allen could leave the title in ASM #28 due to moving somewhere else, allowing Gwen to come into the picture. The actual "Peter graduates from high school" story would appear in ASM #100 to act as a milestone event, although it probably get rid of the set-up for the whole "Six Armed Spidey" for later. Gwen, after the death of her father, instead of going to college, goes to the police academy to follow in her father's footsteps in the hopes of bringing down Spider-Man. Flash would then join the army in the new ASM #100 issue as well. Unlike as depicted in "Parallel Lives" Mary Jane didn't always know but gradually put two and two together to figure out Peter was Spider-Man--as anyone observant would. Either this or have it so ASM #195 was not the "Peter almost graduates from college" issue. Basically, it would have to be something along the lines that Peter stays in a high school/college setting for as long as possible. Of course, doing so would probably cause all kinds of headaches, especially if it was a hard reboot.

One thing I'd definately reset would be Venom's origin, especially Eddie Brock being the host. I'm in agreement with Madgoblin's Venom column that Lance Bannon would've been a much better choice, considering how he and Peter were already rivals, were in the same profession, had opposite personalities, and that Lance was also a developed character who had sympathetic traits along with his being an ass. Plus, the fact that he was involved with Amy Powell would've likewise given a tragic element, and we never would have gotten the "Who is FACADE?" mess.

 

[farmernudie]

With some talk and inklings from JQ of a possible Gwen return after this upcoming Maximum Marriage Arc....i am hoping they don't...

a.) Bring back Gwen somehow (not that i din't like her a lot)

b.) Bring Back Gwen as a superhero.


Maybe Spidey will be in a love triangle with Gwen AND MJ....both superheroes...?



That's be stupid.

But JQ said he wants to bring back love triangles to Spider-man, an integral element of good spider-man stories he said.

And it looks like MJ is gonna be a superhero post Maximum Marriage.

And he's also mentioned Gwen....?

And since Mj = "Jackpot"

Gwen will be.........??........

"Necksnapper"?

"The LuvGoblin"?

Please MArvel, let the result of this be a SOLIDIFIED MARRIAGE....and NOT leave us with an amnesic superpowered wife. And/or the return of regular Gwen, or supercharged Gwen.

 

[Norman Osborn]

With some talk and inklings from JQ of a possible Gwen return after this upcoming Maximum Marriage Arc....i am hoping they don't...

a.) Bring back Gwen somehow (not that i din't like her a lot)

b.) Bring Back Gwen as a superhero.


Maybe Spidey will be in a love triangle with Gwen AND MJ....both superheroes...?



That's be stupid.

But JQ said he wants to bring back love triangles to Spider-man, an integral element of good spider-man stories he said.

And it looks like MJ is gonna be a superhero post Maximum Marriage.

And he's also mentioned Gwen....?

And since Mj = "Jackpot"

Gwen will be.........??........

"Necksnapper"?

"The LuvGoblin"?

Please MArvel, let the result of this be a SOLIDIFIED MARRIAGE....and NOT leave us with an amnesic superpowered wife. And/or the return of regular Gwen, or supercharged Gwen.

Please tell me you're joking?.....where did he say this?

 

[farmernudie]

Yeh, from newsarama i think it was..., sometime back, that someone on here put a link to in one of these threads....JQ said "Gwen just might be around after OMD" too....

I think it was the same post where he said something about love triangles being a very important element to spider-man comics...(ha! please!)....one of the reasons he didn't/doesn't like the marriage.

(i am just joking about the Gwen as a superhero part, in speculation, based on the JACKPOT character...tho, nothing would surprise me if MJ is now, or will be a superhero too!)

 

[Norman Osborn]

Yeh, from newsarama i think it was..., sometime back, that someone on here put a link to in one of these threads....JQ said "Gwen just might be around after OMD" too....

I think it was the same post where he said something about love triangles being a very important element to spider-man comics...(ha! please!)....one of the reasons he didn't/doesn't like the marriage.

(i am just joking about the Gwen as a superhero part, in speculation, based on the JACKPOT character...tho, nothing would surprise me if MJ is now, or will be a superhero too!)

Hmmmm I was nervous about her returning to the comics when it was announced that Gwen would be appearing in Spider-man 3......but no matter .....and you heard it hear first...and you can quote me..."Joe Q is not stupid enough to bring back Gwen Stacy"

 

[farmernudie]

Ok......i found it......from comic book resources interview....and i'll quote it here for you...(this is just THAT segment of a long OMD interview...that one in question about GWEN)

Quesada also said one part of “Brand New Day” will be the building of a new supporting cast around Peter, comprised of some familiar characters as well as some new faces, the goal being creating fun, compelling, and relevant characters for today's readership. In the midst of all this, Quesada made reference to Gwen possibly appearing post-“One More Day.” It first appeared as if this was just a tease, but McCann and Quesada paused and had a brief sidebar, leading the audience to wonder whether it was in fact an inadvertent slip of the tongue.