Comics Interviews by Wacker and JMS

[Kirk Langstrom]

the 911 issue - self explainitory

That WAS a great issue, for the most part, but it DID seem a bit much to have meglomaniacs and sociopaths like Doom, Doc Ock, and Juggernaut show up at ground zero at all, much less show up and shed a tear.

Heck, Juggernaut was actually involved with a plot to blow UP the WTC during Spidey's crossover with X-Factor a few years before that...why would he give a damn that it actually fell?

Other than that nickpick though, i did otherwise enjoy that issue.

 

[moraldeficiency]

That WAS a great issue, for the most part, but it DID seem a bit much to have meglomaniacs and sociopaths like Doom, Doc Ock, and Juggernaut show up at ground zero at all, much less show up and shed a tear.

Heck, Juggernaut was actually involved with a plot to blow UP the WTC during Spidey's crossover with X-Factor a few years before that...why would he give a damn that it actually fell?

Other than that nickpick though, i did otherwise enjoy that issue.

I understand, but as seen it wasn't really an issue about the characterizations. I mean technically when it happened was right after May found out he was spider-man and he was badly wounded. The characterizations were meant as a way of showing first who the real heroes were and secondly that this was a time to put aside any differences and lend a hand no matter who you are and what your motive. In comic verse they wouldn't have cared, both have killed more people than died that day, but it wasn't about them and I think the issue was smart in that regard, it was about us and what we were feeling and it couldn't have been better IMO. My sister was in NYC when it happened and I remember exactely every moment of that day, seeing who died and the complete helplessness I felt being where I was. If the villians had acted like villians or fights broke out it would have ruined it for me, I personally needed to see a rise above and deal with what matters moment and it provided that for me. This wasn't a day for villians to be villians and I'm glad JMS didn't go that way.

Oh, I forgot two great issues that deserve a mention. First being the conversation issue that came right after this with Pete and May. It was the first time since her death that she seemed important and relevant, and the silent issue after that was also masterfully done.

 

[Styleshift]

Morlun had SO much potential if he were used properly in his 2nd coming

 

[twilitezoner]

Thanks for posting those.

 

[farmernudie]

Just think if JMS wasn't writing a sloped road to an agenda the whole time, without those EVENTS that all were leading to Joe's ultimate event=reboot.

Let your creators CREATE. And not because you're running the train towards a panic button that erases it all. This new stuff feels recycled more than ever, not new.

And just think if Slott and crew weren't writing the continuing adventures of Joe's agenda!!?

We'd have highly happy fans all the way around and better stories too, if not confined by the restrictions Joe put around dopey 70's Pete.

A lot of us fans are just waiting now for someone to lift Joe's box of restrictions off Spidey so we can have a regualr, in continuity, Spidey who has experience and some sort of (prorated) progression back.

What is MArvel going to do when Slott doesn't want to write THIS spidey anymore. WIth no big name, these BND continuity issues plummet. They'll have lost any draw that they once had with some.

 

[shinlyle]

Really? I think Michelinie, quite frankly, blows Straz out of the water... (no offense, or anything)...

Michelinie contributed Venom to the Spider-Man saga, and despite what that character became, there's no discounting his initial impact, and fan worship to this very day.

Straz gave us Sins Past, The Other, and a bunch of throwaway villains. (not sure what, exactly, his contribution to BND actually IS, as he's currently taking the "Richard M. Nixon" stance in regards to it)...

I'm with you there. Michelinie ruled. That's the writer that was on board when I came onto Spidey, and the stories seemed so fun and imaginative during that run. Honestly, it was the last of the "good ol' days".

 

[shinlyle]

As for JMS's stories, the best ones, for me, were the silent issue, and the issue where Peter and MJ reconciled. It was well handled, and I remember thinking that, "That outs that issue to bed, MJ and Peter are together forever, and we can move on!"

Wow....had I but known.....

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

I'm with you there. Michelinie ruled. That's the writer that was on board when I came onto Spidey, and the stories seemed so fun and imaginative during that run. Honestly, it was the last of the "good ol' days".

Agreed.

 

[Themanofbat]

Really? I think Michelinie, quite frankly, blows Straz out of the water... (no offense, or anything)...

Michelinie contributed Venom to the Spider-Man saga, and despite what that character became, there's no discounting his initial impact, and fan worship to this very day.

Straz gave us Sins Past, The Other, and a bunch of throwaway villains. (not sure what, exactly, his contribution to BND actually IS, as he's currently taking the "Richard M. Nixon" stance in regards to it)...

I've always been on the fence with JMS and Michelinie...

Michelinie wrote some great Spidey stories, but he also wrote some snores as well.... when ASM became a big long running symbiote comic (or seemingly), the book just became prosaic to me...

There's no argument that Mackie comes in last place to me... t: t: t:

 

[Venom 1988]

As for JMS's stories, the best ones, for me, were the silent issue, and the issue where Peter and MJ reconciled.:

Thats probably my all time favorite Spidey issue

 

[Donald Thomas]

I'm with you there. Michelinie ruled. That's the writer that was on board when I came onto Spidey, and the stories seemed so fun and imaginative during that run. Honestly, it was the last of the "good ol' days".

Aloha,
I would have to agree with you on all points.JMS can say however that he brought ASM out of the basement after Mackie.But I 've always like Mich.
Spidey rules

 

[Blader5489]

Thats probably my all time favorite Spidey issue

Not my favorite issue, but damn, that is one great cover.

 

[Spider-Gnome]

Actually considering the original story was pete knocks gwen up, norman finds out and manipulates the situation to get gwen out of the country, effectively steal the kids, genetically mess with them (as norman loves to do) and send them after their "father" all hopped up on hate, yes I kinda like that as the storyline. It stops gwen from becoming an unsimpathetic **** and makes her just a manipulated victim of Norman. It would have given pete a whole new take on responsibility and purpose with the kids. Plus we didn't need more goblins. Now let's take that further and say norman had the jackal mess with gwen to make her think she miscarried and that's what she tells MJ. Now MJ is not a tool but someone that didn't want to tell Pete out of love, same with Gwen. Inject this into the story rather than creepy norman sex and the story isn't nearly the atrocity that we got.


the loki arc - ok, I'm biased with my loki love, but this story was really good. Especially when you just had loki and pete talking and kinda becoming friends. Also this actually dealt with loki's children so extra cool points for reading some of the myths.
the birthday issue - I just loved this issue. And remember the crap that came before this? Pete reliving his past, doc strange, pete saving the world (or was it universe) and finally ben. It just fired on all cylinders.

Your post got me thinking.

Personally, I would be against Pete being the father as well. But, reading your summary, that is a heck of alot better than what we got! Even the part you added about the Jackel. It sounds a whole lot better than the total, out of character, illogical story we got.

I just think the idea of a pregnant Gwen was just bad from the get go, [FONT=&quot]irregardless, of who the father was. Also, the whole [/FONT]accelerated growth thing is just too contrived. Plus if Pete was the dad, Marvel looks totally clueless. We can't have baby May, because it makes Pete too "old." What do you think two adult children do?

You're mention of Loki reminded me. Didn't they make a big deal that Loki owed Pete a favor? If they wanted to go with making the marriage go away, why not have Pete call on Loki to save Aunt May? Loki agrees, but, as we know, he is a god of mischief. Loki has to do something in the past to prevent the shooting incident, and it somehow happens to involve doing away the marriage. He can also allow the whole missing something in their hearts thing. Even this makes more sense and is less deus ex machina. Sigh, missed potential.

The sad thing is, they could use the whole OMD, as a mystery. Slowly things are unraveled. Pete and MJ start noticing things. The whole thing about deals with the Devil is it always goes wrong. But, Marvel will not do this. Joe Q made a comment, before OMD, where he said, what if we said Pete & MJ are not married. Then we make no more reference to them ever being married. Then just ignore it. That's what I think they are doing. Dropping yet another potential build-up and just moving on, no longer to reference, except for the odd inside joke, like whenever Pete rolls his eyes at the mention of clones.

And lastly, you mentioned the birthday issue. Was that the issue with Pete jumping the timeline, including his death in the graveyard by the police? I thought that was going to come back to play to wrap up JMS run, which I assumed was what OMD was heading (when I was hoping all Joe Q's anti-marriage talk was a smoke screen). Again, more missed potential.

 

[kguillou]

Its blatantly apparent that JMS was gearing up towards something big for the finale of his run, but sadly we will never know what that was. 6 years of work for absolutely nothing. For the record, i think marvel would have used the Loki favor thing but unfortunately Loki was sorta dead at the time OMD happened. If Loki was going to be revived it sure as hell wasn't going to be in a Spiderman comic.

 

[shinlyle]

Not my favorite issue, but damn, that is one great cover.

In another rare occurence, Blader and I agree on something.

 

[moraldeficiency]

Your post got me thinking.

Personally, I would be against Pete being the father as well. But, reading your summary, that is a heck of alot better than what we got! Even the part you added about the Jackel. It sounds a whole lot better than the total, out of character, illogical story we got.

I just think the idea of a pregnant Gwen was just bad from the get go, [FONT=&quot]irregardless, of who the father was. Also, the whole [/FONT]accelerated growth thing is just too contrived. Plus if Pete was the dad, Marvel looks totally clueless. We can't have baby May, because it makes Pete too "old." What do you think two adult children do?

You're mention of Loki reminded me. Didn't they make a big deal that Loki owed Pete a favor? If they wanted to go with making the marriage go away, why not have Pete call on Loki to save Aunt May? Loki agrees, but, as we know, he is a god of mischief. Loki has to do something in the past to prevent the shooting incident, and it somehow happens to involve doing away the marriage. He can also allow the whole missing something in their hearts thing. Even this makes more sense and is less deus ex machina. Sigh, missed potential.

The sad thing is, they could use the whole OMD, as a mystery. Slowly things are unraveled. Pete and MJ start noticing things. The whole thing about deals with the Devil is it always goes wrong. But, Marvel will not do this. Joe Q made a comment, before OMD, where he said, what if we said Pete & MJ are not married. Then we make no more reference to them ever being married. Then just ignore it. That's what I think they are doing. Dropping yet another potential build-up and just moving on, no longer to reference, except for the odd inside joke, like whenever Pete rolls his eyes at the mention of clones.

And lastly, you mentioned the birthday issue. Was that the issue with Pete jumping the timeline, including his death in the graveyard by the police? I thought that was going to come back to play to wrap up JMS run, which I assumed was what OMD was heading (when I was hoping all Joe Q's anti-marriage talk was a smoke screen). Again, more missed potential.

Thanks, man.

I agree the baby thing wasn't the best story line ever, but in it's original form I don't think people would become violently ill thinking of it.

Loki was JMS' dues ex machina for OMD in it's original form but like Ky said, he couldn't touch him because he was currently dead or whatever.

I think OMD will be undone in ASM 666.

Yes, that was the issue with pete timeline jumping and getting to talk to ben for five minutes at the end. And JMS did intend to tie some of that into OMD until Joey Q told him what he was writing instead.

 

[The Bruce]

J.M. DeMatteis and Spidey is a mix I will forever hold dear.

 

[Spider-Gnome]

Thanks, man.

I agree the baby thing wasn't the best story line ever, but in it's original form I don't think people would become violently ill thinking of it.

Loki was JMS' dues ex machina for OMD in it's original form but like Ky said, he couldn't touch him because he was currently dead or whatever.

I think OMD will be undone in ASM 666.

Yes, that was the issue with pete timeline jumping and getting to talk to ben for five minutes at the end. And JMS did intend to tie some of that into OMD until Joey Q told him what he was writing instead.

Thanks, moral (and Ky).

Yes, the Sins Past that you related would be better because it removes perhaps the biggest sticking point for fans: Gwen "willingly" gives into passion with Norman. At the very least, Norman should have somehow tricked her, forced himself, or use some goblin device to hypnotize her (hey, maybe tie it into the device Hobgoblin used on Lefty & Ned Leeds!). The best thing would not to have brought up a pregnant Gwen storyline in the first place.

I did not know about Loki. (Me not knowing continuity in Marvel? I guess I'm qualified to write for Marvel! t Seriously, I don't really follow all of the MU. Only what relates to Spider-Man (Civil War, New Avengers, Secret Invasion). When they were planting these seeds, Marvel should have made sure Loki was around or could come back, time something with Thor's return (I also don't know what happened to Thor. All I only know he is gone and he is returning). Loki would make more sense than Mephisto.

I guess you can blame Joe Q and his agenda, if he railroaded what JMS was setting up. I thought the whole The End of Spider-man in that graveyard would lead to something. I'm sure Joe Q was told JMS's plan ahead of time. So, why derail it? Was the marriage that much of a problem? He (and Marvel apparently) seem to be the only ones. So, they turned what could have been an interesting story into the worst event in Spider-Man history.

And as interesting as the issue number you picked for correcting this is, Marvel seems to show no intention of reversing itself.

Here's another idea. Not that I wanted the marriage to end (I certainly didn't) but, wouldn't it make more sense if Pete had to choose to give up his marriage to MJ to save the life of MJ?

 

[kguillou]

Even though this is sort of a bad idea too, what i would have done with OMD is instead of making a deal with the devil, Peter makes a deal with God, or a God or something. Because of Peter's constant selflessness and heroism over the years, "God" decides to give Peter a little break but warns Peter that with every action there comes a consequence, even for a god. Peter and Mj agree because, well, its God how can you refuse? And somehow God erases the Aunt May's being shot and because of that MJ and Peter are separated for some reason, because with every action there is a consequence. Like i said thats still a rough story, but i think it would have been much more memorable and well-received by the fans.

 

[Venom 1988]

Even though this is sort of a bad idea too, what i would have done with OMD is instead of making a deal with the devil, Peter makes a deal with God, or a God or something. Because of Peter's constant selflessness and heroism over the years, "God" decides to give Peter a little break but warns Peter that with every action there comes a consequence, even for a god. Peter and Mj agree because, well, its God how can you refuse? And somehow God erases the Aunt May's being shot and because of that MJ and Peter are separated for some reason, because with every action there is a consequence. Like i said thats still a rough story, but i think it would have been much more memorable and well-received by the fans.

I actually would have liked that

 

[Doc_OCK_4MUGEN]

Using a god instead of Satan's proxy would've been better... I also agree that the bullet that caused this mess should've been for MJ, cause then even the devil makes sense...

 

[Spider-Gnome]

The problem with God doing this is not only are you writing Pete out of character, you're writing God out of character.

It would be better if it was someone like Loki, where Pete is tricked and doesn't know the consequences, or it is MJ who is dying and therefore gives up the marriage to save her life.

Better yet, have no OMD and just let the marriage stand and come up with a real logical solution to the whole unmasked, Aunt May dying thing.

 

[Themanofbat]

Better yet, have no OMD and just let the marriage stand and come up with a real logical solution to the whole unmasked, Aunt May dying thing.

While I didn't like the execution of OMD, it was Marvel's way of getting what they have wanted since the very early 90's... a single Spider-Man. (the proof is the Clone Saga).

So the bottom line is that a single Spider-Man works better in the long run, much like a loner Batman, or the last son of Krypton Superman, or a blind DareDevil, etc...

These are the things that make the heroes we like interesting, be it in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's or the books of today...

And while a married Spider-Man was fun early on, the dynamic of the book lacked something soon thereafter, and while some people would like to see a resolution to the Spider-Man saga, Marvel Comics Inc. would much rather that the character outlives us all... and despite the crappy execution of OMD, Marvel finally has it's flagship character right where they have always wanted him....

Single.

 

[Venom 1988]

The problem with God doing this is not only are you writing Pete out of character, you're writing God out of character

>_>

I'm seriously baffled by this statement.

 

[Spider-Gnome]

>_>

I'm seriously baffled by this statement.

Not to get all theological, but since a marriage is a solemn vow to God, God deciding to take it away from Pete & MJ does not make sense.

Themanofbat, I know the purpose was to bring about a single Pete. I was bringing up that it was a very clumsy apparent agenda driven story. It is the only way to explain the logic of what happens in it.

However, I don't agree that Spider-Man has to be single. Spider-Man was suppose to be how a real person would be if they were a superhero. That is the essence of Spider-Man, not being single. The character is also based on one who grows. He becomes a superhero because he grows, having learned a hard lesson from the death of Uncle Ben. The character grows. He graduates high school. He goes to college. He loses his first real love. He finds love again. He marries. Marriage is NOT an end. We are NOT looking for him to walk off into the sunset. Marriage offers its own unique problems, which apparently, Marvel writers just can't see. The bad stories that have come were not because of the marriage. The bad stories were just bad stories. Now, the two worst storylines in Spider-Man's history (Clone Saga & OMD) are the result of trying to get rid of a marriage that no one seemed to have a problem with!