Comics Speculation of Spider-Man Storyline for Summer 2007

[Source]

I've heard from a reliable source (To me that is..they have never let me down yet) that the director of the Spider Man Department and other Top Spider Man Official were quoted saying that the problem with the Spider Man books is "Mary Jane" ...that they have gotten off the story that makes SpiderMan great...being an everyman kind of Hero....poor..always the underdog...life beating him down..etc...and now in the present Comics...he is part of the Avengers..with their payroll..a teacher...wife is a successful model..etc..and they feel that in order to get spidey "Back on Track"...they are going to do something for the big Summer Storyline in 2007...that the Head of The SpiderMan Department said "Wont leave a dry eye in the house" and my source says because they think that Mary Jane is the problem..that they are going to kill her off..permanently...or have her cheat on her husband in a way that she wont be in the comics anymore......I am a big Peter and MJ fan...have been for years...and if they think that killing her off is going to get the series back on track they are insane! Mj has too much history in the Spiderman methos and is such an important character to deserve this fate...When they killed off MJ in the past...the fan support and outcry was so great that they brought her back....I'm hoping that this will let people know what they are thinking about doing so that if anyone else feels the same way..we may do something about it before they do this insanely stupid idea..Killing MJ isnt going to undo all the mistakes they have made...it would however destroy decades of established history and beliefs. I trust my source...I trust them completely...I believe this is going to happen unless those of like mind as myself voice our opinion and make ourselves heard.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Yeah, that was kinda revealed a while back. Pissed off posts followed.

 

[Kool-Aid]

Bring Back BEN REILLY!!!!!


thank you, that is all

 

[Citizen_Kaine]

Anyone who knows who Spider Man is, also knows that he's married to MJ, So thats why I doubt Fat Joe's natural assumption, that possible fans who attempting to buy Spidey will see MJ and peace. More likely they'll pick up ASM, see Spidey dressed in some fruity red and yellow costume with bone claws, and decide to read Mark Millar's "101 reasons why I hate America" (Ultimates 2) instead.

 

[stillanerd]

I've heard from a reliable source (To me that is..they have never let me down yet) that the director of the Spider Man Department and other Top Spider Man Official were quoted saying that the problem with the Spider Man books is "Mary Jane" ...that they have gotten off the story that makes SpiderMan great...being an everyman kind of Hero....poor..always the underdog...life beating him down..etc...and now in the present Comics...he is part of the Avengers..with their payroll..a teacher...wife is a successful model..etc..and they feel that in order to get spidey "Back on Track"...they are going to do something for the big Summer Storyline in 2007...that the Head of The SpiderMan Department said "Wont leave a dry eye in the house" and my source says because they think that Mary Jane is the problem..that they are going to kill her off..permanently...or have her cheat on her husband in a way that she wont be in the comics anymore.

You know something, that last part sounds EXACTLY like the kind of "solution" they're going to go for. Think about it. Rather than kill her off and make fans angry at Marvel for killing off a popular supporting character (like what happened when they tried it the last time) make the fans hate her to the point that they want to see her gone. Her having an affair behind Peter's back would do exactly that.

I can see it now: some guy seduces MJ while she's working on one of her plays. She succumbs. She feels guilty because she still loves her husband, but feels he's too busy putting himself at risk being Spider-Man to pay attention to her. Then the guy she has the affair with has learned, possibly through some "evidence" that MJ has, that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. He sells this info to one of Peter's enemies in the hopes of having MJ all to herself (and of course the villain kills him). This of course is how Peter learns of the affair and, after beating the villain, finds it very hard to forgive MJ for her betrayal--more than that because her affair almost cost him his life, her life, and the life of his beloved Aunt May. MJ gives Peter the web shooters back, leaves for California. And the logic is that, even though divorce would "age" Peter, there's a genuine dislike for MJ now among the fans that they'd be all but too happy to see Peter kick her ass to the curb and never come back. And since this would take place in a mini series rather than the actual comic, they could have it so a now single Peter can go about his daily business and treat the marriage (like they've done with the clone saga) as though it never happened.

Will this work? Of course not. Three times Marvel has made Mary Jane the scapegoat for Peter's problems and have tried to excise her from the titles--four times if you count her four year absence from ASM #193 to ASM #238. Once again, Marvel is going to end up shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[Citizen_Kaine]

You know something, that last part sounds EXACTLY like the kind of "solution" they're going to go for. Think about it. Rather than kill her off and make fans angry at Marvel for killing off a popular supporting character (like what happened when they tried it the last time) make the fans hate her to the point that they want to see her gone. Her having an affair behind Peter's back would do exactly that.

I can see it now: some guy seduces MJ while she's working on one of her plays. She succumbs. She feels guilty because she still loves her husband, but feels he's too busy putting himself at risk being Spider-Man to pay attention to her. Then the guy she has the affair with has learned, possibly through some "evidence" that MJ has, that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. He sells this info to one of Peter's enemies in the hopes of having MJ all to herself (and of course the villain kills him). This of course is how Peter learns of the affair and, after beating the villain, finds it very hard to forgive MJ for her betrayal--more than that because her affair almost cost him his life, her life, and the life of his beloved Aunt May. MJ gives Peter the web shooters back, leaves for California. And the logic is that, even though divorce would "age" Peter, there's a genuine dislike for MJ now among the fans that they'd be all but too happy to see Peter kick her ass to the curb and never come back. And since this would take place in a mini series rather than the actual comic, they could have it so a now single Peter can go about his daily business and treat the marriage (like they've done with the clone saga) as though it never happened.

Will this work? Of course not. Three times Marvel has made Mary Jane the scapegoat for Peter's problems and have tried to excise her from the titles--four times if you count her four year absence from ASM #193 to ASM #238. Once again, Marvel is going to end up shooting themselves in the foot.

You can't make people angry at the characters, they'll be angry only at the writing behind them. Chuck Austen learned this lesson well with his treatement of Polaris

 

[MaxCarnage]

There are no words to express the incredible disappointment I have in Marvel right now. There is not one thing that Joe Quesada says that makes me hopeful for the future of Spider-Man. His lack of understanding the character is so incredibly frustrating because he thinks he understands him so completely. He thinks he knows what's wrong, because he can't step back and see that he himself is the problem.

Damn you Joe.

 

[spideylover89]

Despite my disappointment with Sins Past, I stuck around. Despite the Other blowing more than a hollywood boulevard prostitute, I stuck around. But if they kill off/write off MJ I will be off this book faster than you can say "Marvel can go screw themselves."

 

[ben_reilly_s_s]

Whats funny is that I tried to give up the Books when they killed off Ben Reilly.
I didnt pick one up for nearly a year.
Then, when Mackie "killed" MJ I would've stopped buying, but I had a subscription that someone gave to me as a an X-Mas gift, so I kept up with it. But I was still pissed that she was "dead." And I told myself that when my sub's ran out, I would stop buying, but then came JMS and the promise of the return of MJ. So I stayed.
Until Sins Past.
I waited till the storyline ended, then when it wasnt ret-conned, I became pissed, and got rid of my entire comic collection.
But now, I really don't like MJ - it started with the fact that she knew about the *ugh*twins*ugh* and how she became Pete's sole love from day one, ignoring all others that came before her - Liz, Betty, Gwen, Felicia, Debra, That one girl who turned out to be an Alien (I ferget her name at the moment.)

So, if they do get rid of her ok, if not - ok, it doesnt bother me one way or the other right now, because until JMS and JQ are gone, and their destruction of Spider-Man is fixed (I dont mind the suit, its a plot devise and will soon be gone, but it has grown on me after the initial sketch) I will not pick up another book, except the TPB's of Civil War, but i'll get those from my Library.

 

[spideylover89]

Wait you don't like MJ because of Sins Past, but you admit that it sucked? The fact that MJ didn't tell Pete about the twins isn't bad on MJ's part, it's bad on JMS'. That was totally out of character for her and lets face it, the whole arc was a web of continuity errors and character flaws. It's one thing to not like MJ because of her flakiness in the past, but because of Sins Past? I wouldn't even consider it a piece of the spidey mythos because it spit all over everyone's character.

 

[stillanerd]

You can't make people angry at the characters, they'll be angry only at the writing behind them. Chuck Austen learned this lesson well with his treatement of Polaris

Ah, but has Marvel learned this lesson? And you're right that having Mary Jane uncharacteristically cheat on Peter would incur the reader's wrath against the writer moreso than the character. But that won't stop them from trying--and failing--to do so. Heck, some people are already annoyed by Mary Jane.

BTW, the other lesson Chuck "I single handedly almost ruined the entire X-Men franchise and I'm proud of it" Austen should've learned that just because you can pair of Angel and Husk together doesn't mean you should, especially since Husk was possibly still a minor (probably read or saw Lolita a few too many times).

 

[Citizen_Kaine]

BTW, the other lesson Chuck "I single handedly almost ruined the entire X-Men franchise and I'm proud of it" Austen should've learned that just because you can pair of Angel and Husk together doesn't mean you should, especially since Husk was possibly still a minor (probably read or saw Lolita a few too many times).

I think that little story got Chuckie added to the FBI's "Operation Candyman" list

 

[Galactus]

 

[Dyeathrose]

I can see it now: some guy seduces MJ while she's working on one of her plays. She succumbs. She feels guilty because she still loves her husband, but feels he's too busy putting himself at risk being Spider-Man to pay attention to her. Then the guy she has the affair with has learned, possibly through some "evidence" that MJ has, that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. He sells this info to one of Peter's enemies in the hopes of having MJ all to herself (and of course the villain kills him). This of course is how Peter learns of the affair and, after beating the villain, finds it very hard to forgive MJ for her betrayal--more than that because her affair almost cost him his life, her life, and the life of his beloved Aunt May. MJ gives Peter the web shooters back, leaves for California. And the logic is that, even though divorce would "age" Peter, there's a genuine dislike for MJ now among the fans that they'd be all but too happy to see Peter kick her ass to the curb and never come back. And since this would take place in a mini series rather than the actual comic, they could have it so a now single Peter can go about his daily business and treat the marriage (like they've done with the clone saga) as though it never happened.

I think, somehow, what makes that so frightening is that fact that I could actually see that happen, and not be surprised. Probably more disappointed than surprised. Though, I'm starting to wonder just what is trying to be accomplished by everything that's going on in the former and current "loves of Spider-man". By making MJ a cheating harlet and Gwen a lying wench, where's Peter going to go? Back to single stud being Spider-man constantly without his regular everyday side? Betty doesn't have anything else to add, and she hasn't been seen in quite awhile, it seems Black Cat is heading towards Puma at the moment, haven't seen any of the one-shot girls he's dated in so long, are they going to make a new girl every issue?

Hey, I got it. They're preparing to set up a "win a date with Spidey" run, to attract more female fans! Get to appear in a comic as Spidey's next lady friend, get an autographed copy of the issue! By the way, all rights to you now belongs to Marvel, so you could come back and eventually do something you may never think of doing, just an fyi.

I'm reading way too much into it; I support Peter with a romantic interest, since I feel it wouldn't be very unnatural for someone like Peter in his adult years to seek out a girl to settle down with, so maybe the female in me is being sensitive. C'mon marvel, think of the old saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Abaddon]

MJ will reveal she boinked Norman,and was actually in the midst of a threesome with Gwen when Gabe,and Sarah were conceived.That oughta **** up Peter's life.

 

[Hades]

What was so bad about sins of the past...? I thought it was alright.

And why do the writes always have to **** Peter over. Why can't he just have a happy existence, instead of constantly struggling with everything.

It sounds like the writers are just stumped on what to do with the guy.
But i guess that happends when the character has been around for as long as Spidey has.

 

[FunDays]

Mary jane hooking up with Green Goblin I can see the outrage now

 

[UK_Stu]

DC did the same kind of thing with Jade and Kyle Rayner. They wanted to kill off Jade (so Kyle could get his Ion powers back), but realised they may face resistence from fans if they did this. So they made her have an affair and turned her into a serious b*tch - fans then universally hated her and when she was then killed in IC - there was hardly a murmour.

I would imagine Marvel would have to do something similar if they wanted to kill off MJ permanently.

 

[ben_reilly_s_s]

I just had a bad thought pop into my head.
If they try and make everyone hate MJ, what is the easiest way to do it?
The re-introduction of Baby May.
MJ knew the whole time that May is still alive and made Pete believe that she was dead. Pete finds out, and is totally pissed at MJ.
MJ knew about *ugh*the twins*ugh* sh why should now be any different?

 

[Citizen_Kaine]

Making MJ really really stupid worked over in Ultimate. Bendis wanted Peter single again, so he made her into the biggest ditz during the Hobgoblin arc. By having her talking to Harry Osborn behind Peter's back, Questioning Peter about "killing" Norman, and of course running into the middle of a fight between H-Gob and Spidey and yelling "Peter!!!", we were all more than happy to see Peter kick her to the curb. Of course Bendis quickly redeemed her in the wrapup story "Dumped", just so the addition of MJ back into the storyline's in the future. would go off without a hitch

 

[Doc Destruction]

I am SO damn glad I stopped collecting Spidey books. I'm telling you, I'm FAR more disgusted than I was during the Clone Saga.

 

[spidey-dude]

Bring Back BEN REILLY!!!!!


thank you, that is all

I agree then we can have stories of a single spiderman like joey Q seems to love and ones of a married one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

marvel are probably too stupid to think about that though they probs dont realise that people don't hate ben reilly just hate him replacing peter, bring him back as scarlet spider and have his own title and aoccasional team ups with pete

 

[Lt. Figgnuts]

I agree then we can have stories of a single spiderman like joey Q seems to love and ones of a married one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meh, I don't this will work. Not because Ben Reilly is a poor character, but because he's a character who has the same powers as Spider-Man.

Marvel did this a TON in the 90's - created characters that were extremely similar to some of their more popular characters and gave them their own books (War Machine). Other times, they would kill off a long-standing character and have a younger version take up the mantle (Doctor Octopus).

The thing with these is that they never worked; just about all of those "spin-off" books were cancelled, and I think if Ben Reilly had stayed around that would have happened as well.

I've said a lot to say a little. To get to the point - I think if they did bring Reilly back and gave him his own book alongside the Peter Parker books, it would be short-lived. Eventually the book would get cancelled, probably from low sales - Ben Reilly has fans, but not enough to make his book a breakway hit - and then we'd be right in the same boat, with Joe Q looking to make Peter Parker a bachelor again.

 

[spidey-dude]

i disagree i think that if they gave one of the spidey books for reilly then people would still buy it but hey obviously it would depend on the writing, if people found it better written and more like classic spidey then they may prefer it over the peter parker books

 

[Lt. Figgnuts]

i disagree i think that if they gave one of the spidey books for reilly then people would still buy it but hey obviously it would depend on the writing, if people found it better written and more like classic spidey then they may prefer it over the peter parker books

Maybe.

Unfortunately, I think it's unlikely Marvel will ever give it a shot. With the way the "spin-off" characters ended up failing plus the general populace's dislike of the Clone Saga, I think Ben Reilly will stay gone for a while.

That said, if Marvel DID bring back Ben Reilly in a way that didn't totally suck and gave him his own miniseries or monthly, I would at least give it a look-see.