OK. Having just read it, here are my problems with BND:
1. Pete getting mugged and letting the guy get away WITH A WEB SHOOTER because he's afraid to compromise his secret identity. Oh, no. Not THIS Peter Parker again! I hated that whole "can't let them know I'm Spider-Man" thing. It's so old school, and really just annoying as hell to see Pete regress into his teen/college antics again.
2. Carlie. Seriously, if they were going to bring a character that looks and acts almost EXACTLY like Debra Whitman, then why not bring in, oh-- DEBRA WHITMAN?!?! I always liked Deb. She seemed a good match for Pete. Why reinvent her?
3. After the mugging, Pete goes to change into Spidey duds, hidden under his street clothes, and then thinks about the fact that he hasn't done it for a long time, and doesn't want to do it because of the risks and the boost to JJJ's paper. Here's my problem with this: If he hasn't been Spider-Man for a long time now, and doesn't intend to be, then WHY IS HE WALKING AROUND WITH HIS SPIDEY COSTUME ON AT ALL?!?! Sure seems like he was planning on it.
4. Thought bubbles are back in force. Oh crap. I hate thought bubbles. They're so silver age. I like my super hero comics to read like I'm watching a movie, not like I'm reading an Archie comic. Having every panel full of characters thinking dialogue is annoying. I don't mind caption panels, but thought bubbles are stupid clutter that end up being abused.
5. From the "Spider-Man: The New Staus Quo" section of the comic:
"Pete has had two great loves in his life." "Mary Jane... Gwen Stacy"
WHAT? What about Felicia? What about Deb? What about Betty? They weren't just girlfriends. He was pretty deeply into them. Did he ever even have his relationships with them, now?
"Harry does not remember that he was ever the Green Goblin"
and apparently, that he was DEAD.
"He still considers Peter his best friend and he still hates Spider-Man with a vengeance."
What? What do you mean "still"? HE WAS DEAD.
"Peter's Secret Identity" "Absolutely no one knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Not Daredevil, not the Avengers, not anyone."
I *really* hate this. With a passion.
So let me get this straight: Everyone's mind has been wiped by THE DEVIL (when Doctor Strange couldn't handle it, or a simple healing spell). Everyone who previously knew his identity has forgotten, and all the printed, film, and computer data that recorded this information has miraculously disappeared. POOF! Now his teammates don't know who he is, and his closest allies don't remember who he is, either.
WHY?!?! I can buy wiping the minds of the general populace, and doing away with the S.H.I.E.L.D information regarding Peter Parker. I can accept the press conference being turned to static. What I cannot accept is that people who previously were Pete's FRIENDS in the superhero community have been robbed of that friendship. Now he's back to being the Spider-Man I read under Jim Shooter's term. He's "Secret Wars" Spider-Man, where all the HEROES think he's a creepy, questionable, outlaw vigilante.
Or, as the comic puts it:
"Thus, to the public, he's considered an illegal vigilante on a good day."
OH, how I hate this. He's apparently one of the handful of heroes who wouldn't give up his identity. I can accept that. What I CANNOT accept is that he'd not share it with his teammates on the New Avengers, at least.
"Web Shooters... Mechanical"
So apparently every moment of "The Other" is gone from history. Not just wiped from memories, but IT NEVER HAPPENED. Peter never died. Gabriel never showed up. Morlun never chased him and killed him. It's GONE.
Next, the whole "Jackpot" thing.
Ugh. Mary Jane as a superhero? What's the point? Just bring back Felicia or something.
Oh, and Harry has had three wives. THREE WIVES. No mention of Liz at all. Just a passing reference to him having three wives and being single/divorced again.
I won't be buying this. I may read a few more issues in the bookstore, but I'll not be giving Marvel my money for this obvious throwback to the 1970s. Screw that. If I want to read about down-on-his-luck unmarried Peter Parker, I'll dig up my old books or grab one of the trade paperbacks.
This is the comic book equivalent of an unnecessary movie remake. The world didn't need a new "Starsky & Hutch", and it doesn't need a remade, retro-but-modern Spider-Man comic.
