Comic Book Collecting.
- Thread starter TRON JA307020
- Start date
It's just too much to keep track of and/or care about any more.
I was most into it in my 30s. Spidey has always been my favorite, and I loved that Pete grew up with me, got married, became a teacher... GREW!
Then of course they decided to throw all that shit away and alienate me.
Jim Shooter has talked about how when he was in charge, he often had to restrain writers from doing things that would hurt underoo sales like giving Spidey an out of wedlock child. But after he was gone . . . .
. . . . Spidey sold his marriage to the devil!
Both the child thing and the undoing of the marriage thing were under Joe Quesada, iirc, but I'm sure Jim Shooter felt the same way. Unfortunately, it's hard to change the status quo for major Marvel properties and marriages seem the toughest to last. Peter Parker's marriage was undone by Mephisto. Scott and Jean's marriage ended (and then she died). Matt Murdock and Karen Page (never a marriage) had several breakups and then she died.
When it comes to non-marriage stuff, progression of time is easier. Peter not only graduated from High School, but from college as well. He's no longer part of the Daily Bugle. Those are legitimate changes even if his marriage was erased (although it seems like they might erase the erasing of his marriage). Secret Wars seems like it'll create even more changes (although people seem to be upset by them and want a quick return to the status quo). It seems Marvel is smart. Rather than retcon the main book to restore the status quo, they're creating a second book for a young Peter Parker.
Some of the changes going on now are changes we know wont last such as a female Thor taking over for the classic Thor. Time passed early in in the Marvel comics such as Peter graduating but now its at a near standstill. Parker is still in his mid 20s for Pete's sake(Pun intended). They can age peter to at least 30 and keep him in his 30s for a good 25 years.
It's funny when the new-kids call Spider-Man "Sir".
Well they should. He is an adult. If he was Spider-Kid or Spider-Boy they wouldn't have to call him sir.
Last edited:
You know, with stuff like 'cosmic rays' and 'radioactive spider bites' conferring superhuman abilities; saying "Well, the aging process for Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Peter P. has slowed, and their lifespans extended..." etc.; but for characters like Aunt May who should be pushing 115 years give or take, by now, it gets a bit ridiculous.
If you believe in Trouble, May is probably only 18 years older than Peter, and his mother.
You know, with stuff like 'cosmic rays' and 'radioactive spider bites' conferring superhuman abilities; saying "Well, the aging process for Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Peter P. has slowed, and their lifespans extended..." etc.; but for characters like Aunt May who should be pushing 115 years give or take, by now, it gets a bit ridiculous.
LOL! Yeah. They just can't seem to let Aunt May go even when she does die Peter always finds a way to bring her back.
He sold his marriage to the Devil for her. She better not die.
LOL! Yeah one of the dumbest retcons ever. Parker needs to grow up and understand that elderly aunts usually die once they get really old.
Wait? (It's been decades since I read an actual marvel comic so bear with me) is it:
- They retconned may's age to suddenly say she was much younger
- They had Peter Parker/Spiderman actually make a deal with the devil (Hey 'Son of Satan' ran as a comic series for many a year back in the mid 1970ies)
??
In a way both.
Peter made a deal and his marriage was dissolved so Aunt May could live. The deal basically had Mephisto making sure they never got married so the past was changed.
Aunt May had been deaged slightly. They have given her a different hairstyle and she has been drawn a bit more youthful. Also she married J Johnah Jamesons father and he looks younger then early incarnations of Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Pete also caught Aunt May in bed with J J J sr. Pretty gross.
Last edited:
Literally the Devil - well, literally Mephisto. I assume he's literally the Devil.
That being said, she didn't die by old age, she died by a sniper bullet because of Peter Parker's choice to reveal his identity. I can see why he would view that differently, particularly given the death of his Uncle.
That was a really stupid situation, but it did answer my question of "Who is more powerful - Doctor Strange or Doctor Fate?". Doctor Strange can't help one woman dying of a bullet wound. Doctor Fate's girlfirend was riddled with bullets, died, and he still healed her and brought her back.
Honestly, the hoops they jumped through to justify no one in the superhero community being able to save Aunt May was almost more BS then the actual deal with mephisto. There was at least one X-Men with amazing healing powers at the time, not to mention Angel's "healing blood", the infinity formula, and super science which has done a lot more impressive things then saving one bullet wounded old lady, and those are only a few examples. The real world idea of the story (that Peter shouldn't be married) was asinine, but sometimes I forget how bad One More Day is just from a storytelling perspective, even ignoring the end result of the story itself.
That was a really stupid situation, but it did answer my question of "Who is more powerful - Doctor Strange or Doctor Fate?". Doctor Strange can't help one woman dying of a bullet wound. Doctor Fate's girlfirend was riddled with bullets, died, and he still healed her and brought her back.
Honestly, the hoops they jumped through to justify no one in the superhero community being able to save Aunt May was almost more BS then the actual deal with mephisto. There was at least one X-Men with amazing healing powers at the time, not to mention Angel's "healing blood", the infinity formula, and super science which has done a lot more impressive things then saving one bullet wounded old lady, and those are only a few examples. The real world idea of the story (that Peter shouldn't be married) was asinine, but sometimes I forget how bad One More Day is just from a storytelling perspective, even ignoring the end result of the story itself.
I totally agree. The one more day storyline sucked really bade. Quesada was the editor at the time and it was his idea. He didn't like that Peter was married. A easy way out would have been to have MJ divorce Peter because she couldn't take the stress anymore but instead they went with the idiotic One More Day. Horrible.
It's been awhile since I read it, but wasn't it Mary Jane that made the deal? I seem to remember that the deal was offered to Peter; but he was anguishing over the decision, so MJ just stepped in and did it for him.
There's also some speculation about what Mary Jane whispered to Mephisto before she took the deal. Some believe she offered to live with the torture of being the only person who remembered how things used to be, so she would spend the rest of her life knowing she had to keep her distance from her true love or else unravel his happiness. Mephisto had to get something extra out of the deal to let MJ step in, and that sounds like something he would get a giggle out of.
Ah yes. Mary Jane did make the final decision. Also I like the idea that Mary Jane may know about the real past.
