Comics New Interview - Steve Wacker:

[Styleshift]

I don't understand what you think is disingenuous. I've held the position for many years that I thought the marriage was a mistake and should be undone. Now, personally, I would have gone the more realistic divorce route, but I understand why they didn't. What do you think we're not being honest with ourselves about?

Most of us (as if I suddenly became "our" spokesperson) agree that OMD was poorly done, and not the way we would have done it. A lot of us are split as to whether bringing Harry back was necessary, but seing that these are comics, isn't really that big of a stretch. I mean, they could have said he was a mutant, and his return would be almost mandatory. If you're talking about whether it's a separate timeline, that's just a matter of a future explanation and suspension of disbelief.

See there ya go, right on time I might add. I did not refer to the marriage.

Right now I'm speaking about how the time line feels separate from what was going on during Civil war. I didn't skip any comics in between OMD and BND, did you? As of now it still feels that way. A YEAR LATER.

Whether you think they made a reasonable choice with the marriage or not, that's fine. But we still have a whole bunch of topics unaccounted for after a year...and what annoys me is the fact that they keep piling on more secrets.

This isn't a thrilling mystery. It's "ok...we messed up, lets put things on hold while we try to find a way to fix it because we needed to get rid of one thing that fans may or may not have liked about the series."

 

[kguillou]

^^THANK YOU Styleshift, thats exactly it. Nuff said.

 

[Styleshift]

They wouldn't have to keep explaining it if some people still weren't being such idiots about it.

Yessssssss we ssssssshould all believe what Marvel tellsssss usssssssssssss

*drools*

lol.

^^THANK YOU Styleshift, thats exactly it. Nuff said.

Ah...just doin muh job. LOL

 

[Themanofbat]

I guess the problem is i feel like these aren't really "mysteries", they're more like plot holes that should be filled. I mean, i'm a little annoyed that we know very little about this "new world" of peter's, heck we don't even really know what Peter himself knows, since he seems to not acknowledge anything thats been goin on in his life recently. I just feel like we should at least be privy to everything that our protagonist knows, otherwise we the readers are going into this kinda blind, no? I dont mind waiting 1-2 years for mysteries at all, i'm not complaining about menace's identity, the spider-tracer killer or even why peter and mj broke up, but I DO feel important plotholes like "what does peter remember?" or "what does everyone else remember about peter/ spider-man?" should be addressed rather quickly. Everytime Spidey interacts with another marvel character now, it feels awkward because we really dont know what his relationship is with everybody now that nobody knows his identity anymore.

It shouldn't be awkward... Marvel spelled it out pretty clearly since the begining...

NOBODY KNOWS HIS IDENTITY.

Maybe these people once knew, but Spider-Man did something to make them forget, and in Whacker's interview, he states that will be addressed this year.

 

[kguillou]

Yes but you dont understand its not that simple. Peter Parker has had intimate relationships with some of these heroes, such as Tony Stark, Johnny Storm, Daredevil, Black Cat etc. Erasing their knowledge of Peter Parker automatically resets their relationships completely. I mean what exactly is Peter's relationship with Tony now?

 

[stillanerd]

See there ya go, right on time I might add. I did not refer to the marriage.

Right now I'm speaking about how the time line feels separate from what was going on during Civil war. I didn't skip any comics in between OMD and BND, did you? As of now it still feels that way. A YEAR LATER.

Whether you think they made a reasonable choice with the marriage or not, that's fine. But we still have a whole bunch of topics unaccounted for after a year...and what annoys me is the fact that they keep piling on more secrets.

This isn't a thrilling mystery. It's "ok...we messed up, lets put things on hold while we try to find a way to fix it because we needed to get rid of one thing that fans may or may not have liked about the series."

Exactly. And it's the delay in resolving some of the more unresolved issues created by One More Day which has become an even bigger complaint that the dissolving of the marriage (although the idea of Peter and MJ making a deal with Marvel's version of the devil is still very high on the list of complaints) Because it suggests that, despite their claims, the "braintrust" really didn't have an explanation for why certain things took place such as Harry's resurrection and the restoration of Peter's secret identity until after the fact. Rather, it seemed clear from the get go that One More Day was responsible for this but, due to the backlash, they had to come up with some quick resolutions to this while telling everybody the "wait and see" line.

Sure, certain answers have been provided for, but so far not the most important one--will Peter remember the deal he made with Mephisto? I think if there was some follow-up to that, even if the marriage wasn't restored, it might go a long way in easing people's frustrations that have continued for over a year with the title.

 

[Themanofbat]

Yes but you dont understand its not that simple. Peter Parker has had intimate relationships with some of these heroes, such as Tony Stark, Johnny Storm, Daredevil, Black Cat etc. Erasing their knowledge of Peter Parker automatically resets their relationships completely. I mean what exactly is Peter's relationship with Tony now?

No it doesn't... at least, not necessarily...

Obviously, because PETER did something, that just means that THEY have forgotten... he still remembers who they are, so it doesn't simply "reset" their relationships... it sort of brings them to a different level because he still knows who they are while they don't...

Read Invincible Iron Man #7 (which came out last month)... Tony remembers Peter while he worked with Stark, but he doesn't know he's Spider-Man... while that may not answer your question as to "how", it gives you an indication as to "what"...

Civil War made Peter realize one thing that he forgot at that time, and that's the fact that if ANYBODY knows who he is, it puts his friends/family/loved ones in danger... and over the years, too many people were getting to know who Peter was, so he obviously made them all forget, even his close allies, because in these times where "heroes" fight "heroes" due to the SHRA, nobody could have been trusted; hence why he made them ALL forget...

Makes sense to me... I just hope theexplanation to the "how he did it" pans out...

 

[kguillou]

I understand what your saying, but then its not just simply making people forget his identity, its also altering their memories of peter parker all together. Tony Stark must have a distorted recollection of his history with peter parker now as do all the other heroes.

 

[TwilightPro101]

Exactly. And it's the delay in resolving some of the more unresolved issues created by One More Day which has become an even bigger complaint that the dissolving of the marriage (although the idea of Peter and MJ making a deal with Marvel's version of the devil is still very high on the list of complaints) Because it suggests that, despite their claims, the "braintrust" really didn't have an explanation for why certain things took place such as Harry's resurrection and the restoration of Peter's secret identity until after the fact. Rather, it seemed clear from the get go that One More Day was responsible for this but, due to the backlash, they had to come up with some quick resolutions to this while telling everybody the "wait and see" line.

Sure, certain answers have been provided for, but so far not the most important one--will Peter remember the deal he made with Mephisto? I think if there was some follow-up to that, even if the marriage wasn't restored, it might go a long way in easing people's frustrations that have continued for over a year with the title.

That's what I'm hoping for at this point.

 

[imdaly]

Yessssssss we ssssssshould all believe what Marvel tellsssss usssssssssssss

Because the LAST person you want to go to for answers about a story is the person that is writing the story.

Sure, certain answers have been provided for, but so far not the most important one--will Peter remember the deal he made with Mephisto? I think if there was some follow-up to that, even if the marriage wasn't restored, it might go a long way in easing people's frustrations that have continued for over a year with the title.

I would assume that if Peter remembered his deal with Mephisto it would torture him and he'd never be able to stop thinking about it and the wife that he lost. The simple fact that he does not think about it at all leads one to believe that he does not remember it at all.

 

[Venom 1988]

Technically it was MJ that jumped the gun and sealed the deal, not Pete ...

But its really neither here nor there

 

[Styleshift]

Because the LAST person you want to go to for answers about a story is the person that is writing the story.

If only I had some swamp land to sell....
I'm pretty sure if I told you it was the same as regular land you would buy it.

 

[ben_reilly_s_s]

No it doesn't... at least, not necessarily...

Obviously, because PETER did something, that just means that THEY have forgotten... he still remembers who they are, so it doesn't simply "reset" their relationships... it sort of brings them to a different level because he still knows who they are while they don't...

Read Invincible Iron Man #7 (which came out last month)... Tony remembers Peter while he worked with Stark, but he doesn't know he's Spider-Man... while that may not answer your question as to "how", it gives you an indication as to "what"...

Civil War made Peter realize one thing that he forgot at that time, and that's the fact that if ANYBODY knows who he is, it puts his friends/family/loved ones in danger... and over the years, too many people were getting to know who Peter was, so he obviously made them all forget, even his close allies, because in these times where "heroes" fight "heroes" due to the SHRA, nobody could have been trusted; hence why he made them ALL forget...

Makes sense to me... I just hope theexplanation to the "how he did it" pans out...

Actually it does change everything....
Why did Tony Stark let Peter Parker, his wife, and his aunt stay in Avengers Tower?????
Did he forget that all 3 lived with the Avengers?

 

[Venom 1988]

Actually it does change everything....
Why did Tony Stark let Peter Parker, his wife, and his aunt stay in Avengers Tower?????
Did he forget that all 3 lived with the Avengers?

House burnt down and Tony knew Peter.

 

[stillanerd]

I would assume that if Peter remembered his deal with Mephisto it would torture him and he'd never be able to stop thinking about it and the wife that he lost. The simple fact that he does not think about it at all leads one to believe that he does not remember it at all.

Oh, I know that's the situation now. But I think that as long as Peter doesn't remember what reality used to be like and the deal he made with Mephisto--and thus allowing the villain to have a continual victory over the hero--Spider-Man, Marvel's flagship character and their paragon of responsibility, will forever have the stain of capitulating to the demands of evil incarnate and thus One More Day will continue to be the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Even if Peter and MJ's marriage isn't restored after they learn that they were married and that their past has been altered, it certainly would be a giant step in satisfying a lot of readers that have been turned off by the current direction the comics have taken.

And besides, Peter somehow remembering the deal he made with Mephisto would make for some great drama simply because it would torture him that he gave up the love of his life and literally made a devil's bargain to save his aunt--especially if it's revealed that Martin Li/Mister Negative was the one who actually saved Aunt May's life, thus suggesting that Peter and MJ sacrificed their marriage, child, and future happiness for nothing. Not to mention you have Peter questioning what kind of person he really is if he realizes that he has memories which are all lies, that he suddenly remembers doing something that he believes he could have never done in a million years--sort of like Arnold Schawzenegger's character in Total Recall. I think it would be another example of the guilt that is always been part of his character.

 

[ben_reilly_s_s]

House burnt down and Tony knew Peter.

Because he was Spider-Man!!!

 

[Venom 1988]

Because he was Spider-Man!!!

As Themanofbat already said...

Tony remembers Peter while he worked with Stark, but he doesn't know he's Spider-Man...

 

[ben_reilly_s_s]

But then why would he let Pete live in Avengers Tower, It was for Avengers!!!!!?????!!!!

 

[Venom 1988]

But then why would he let Pete live in Avengers Tower, It was for Avengers!!!!!?????!!!!

Christ this is just going in circles

Because Aunt May's freaking house blew up and he already knew Peter.
Yes, the one big reason pre-omd was because he knew Peter was Spidey and Spidey was an avenger. But as of now, that is the canon reason.

 

[farmernudie]

Oy...no matter how much you yell.....spidey's history doesn't make sense now because of all the mindwipes by the devil and the altered history.

Spider-Man lives in a world created by the devil where evil won. Yay. What a hero, what a premise.

 

[iloveclones]

^^So you mean to tell me that throughout the whole 20+ years of peter and mj being together you never once warmed up to their marriage? You dont think that despite the fact that marriage was rushed at first, peter and mj had great chemistry together and became an iconic comicbook couple?

No, like a lot of events, I thought it was kind of cool at first, and liked it in the Michelinie/McFarland era. After the honeymoon era, though, it quickly became apparent (to me) that they were struggling with what do with it. There were certainly stories over the years that I liked (the Spectacular Annual that everyone mentions jumps to mind), but for the most part, they've been few and far between.

As for the "iconic-ness" of the characters: I never thought they were until the 1st movie came out and it was successful. To me, it really had nothing to do with the comics.

 

[iloveclones]

See there ya go, right on time I might add. I did not refer to the marriage.

Right now I'm speaking about how the time line feels separate from what was going on during Civil war. I didn't skip any comics in between OMD and BND, did you? As of now it still feels that way. A YEAR LATER.

Whether you think they made a reasonable choice with the marriage or not, that's fine. But we still have a whole bunch of topics unaccounted for after a year...and what annoys me is the fact that they keep piling on more secrets.

This isn't a thrilling mystery. It's "ok...we messed up, lets put things on hold while we try to find a way to fix it because we needed to get rid of one thing that fans may or may not have liked about the series."

Well, all I see is a lot of feelings. I feel differenly.

 

[kguillou]

The bottom line is Marvel screwed up by having Peter Parker, their flagship hero, make the deal with Mephisto of all characters in the first place. No matter how you spell it, Peter owes this wonderful new life of his to the devil and thats just wrong. Whether you wanna admit it or not, Mephisto's presence will now always be a constant lingering aftertaste in the books now. If Peter had made the deal with anyone else but mephisto, OMD, wouldnt have been nearly as bad. Out of the thousands of superpowered heroes and villains in the marvel universe, you mean to tell me Spider-man couldnt find one that could've done what mephisto did?

 

[shinlyle]

It's good to see guys like Wacker in comics. He is a very humorus and cool guy...I'll bet he's a blast to work with on a day-to-day basis.

I could reiterate my usual diatribe about the timeline being messed up, Spidey being ruined, and how I'm still not going to buy the book, but it doesn't really apply to Wacker. He was handed a giant pile of chicken crap, and told to make chicken salad out of it. He's done a great job so far. He's lured in top talent, kept a flagship book running at 3 times a month for a year, and kept everything from imploding.

He should be commended.

I honestly wish that a) I could get over the status quo to buy this book, and b) I could afford an extra 9-10 dollars a month to get back into ASM. Sadly, I can't, but I hope everyone reading it enjoys it.

I will say that ASM Family is still rockin' pretty hard, even if I only read the Mr and Mrs Spider-Man stories and the reprints (and soon the Spider-Girl feature).

 

[kguillou]

The J.M. Dematteis stories are awesome too! Thats why i buy ASM Family.