Brian Bendis has stated between the lines in many interviews that he doesn't want to be an editor because it would require more of a 9-5 office presence and he enjoys "working without my pants at home" in so many words as a writer. Thus, he isn't an editor solely because he does not desire the position, not because Marvel wouldn't offer. Thus, that is why he is something of a "mini-editor" - a writer whose every creation is sacred, every arc is gospel, and whose every storyline move is accepted as Insta-Canon (TM) line wide.
That said, I'm glad Joe Quesada is stepping down in that role, to a degree. He seems to be better off in that creative arena with media things than he is when he has a heavy hand in comics or is asked a direct question at CBR. To be fair, I'd argue Axel Alonso shovels slightly less BS on those CBR columns than Tom Brevoort has lately. Joe Q had the role for ten years and to his credit, was the guy who steered Marvel out of their red ink era and into where they are today. He has his debacles but he basically hands the title of EIC to Alonso in a better position than when Joe got it in 2000.
I wouldn't expect too many status quo changes; I wouldn't enter a betting pool on Spider-Man being remarried. On the other hand, maybe now M-Day can finally come to an end, and the X-Men can return to being a franchise with an actual purpose again? AGE OF X is a distraction as all alternate reality stories are. It may be enough for a chunk of 2011, but the same fundamental issues will remain and have since 2005.
As someone who writes comic news articles, I am somewhat annoyed that I spent hours doing them last night, and here BIG news happens a day later.
