SuperSearnold - Comic Book Reviews

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Today is Saturday, September 20th, 2008.

Today’s Issue:
Spider-Man - One More Day. This was the last Spider-Man crossover event before they cancelled the other Spidey titles and turned Amazing Spider-Man into a thrice monthly title. It was a four issue event that ran through Amazing Spider-Man #544, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24, Sensational Spider-Man #41, and Amazing Spider-Man #545 - in that order. It is also now available as a TPB (trade paperback - also often simply called a trade).

Premise:
Peter revealed his identity as Spider-Man during the Civil War. The Kingpin hired a sniper to kill him and his family. The bullet missed Peter and hit his beloved Aunt May - who is now dying in a hospital. That’s what happened during J.M. Straczynski’s previous arc in Amazing Spider-Man. In One More Day, Aunt May’s death seems imminent. Blamming himself, Peter embarks on a mad quest, desperately searching every corner of the Marvel Universe for some way to save her. In the end, Mephisto (who - for all intents and purposes - is the Devil in the Marvel Universe) offers Peter a deal: if you give up your marriage with Mary Jane, then your aunt will live.

Awesome Parts:
As most of you probably know, the biggest contraversy in comics last year (and possibly even for the better part of this year) has been the resolution to One More Day. I’ll throw in my 2 cents about that argument at the end of this entry - in a special spoiler alert section. But until then, let’s look at what was good about this story.
One More Day was a great conclusion to the other Spider-Man titles. It provided a nice natural way to transition into this groundbreaking storytelling method (that is, a single Spider-Man title being sold thrice monthly.) As a story (whether or not you agree with the solution) One More Day has great suspense. We certainly understand the stakes. And we know that one way or another a major change is going to occur in Spider-Man’s life. In terms of sales and creating buzz, it cannot be denied that One More Day was a huge success. I also enjoyed getting a look at the “alternate” Peters - a series of possibilities of what his life might have been like. I thought it was a great way to force a character - and thusly us as an audience - to think hard about our life, our priorities, and our purpose. I always love a comic book that can deal with deeper issues like that while still telling an entertaining story.

The Not-So-Awesome Parts:
I’ve never been a fan of the nepotism rule. By this I mean I feel that Joe Quesada allowed himself a larger creative role in this book than he should have - and the book suffered from it. For those who don’t know - Joe Quesada is Marvel’s editor-in-chief. Because of this, he obviously had a large role in determining the resolution of a story with such a huge impact on the future of the 616 (another term for the Marvel Universe). That I don’t have so much of a problem with. But Joe went so far as to get a co-writer credit on the story (mostly because Straczynski felt that the way the story ended was not the way he wanted to write the story - more on that in the spoiler section.) He also drew the art and covers for all 4 issues. I cannot help but think putting so much responsibility on someone who is already the busiest man in comics had something to do with the original delays in the release of these issues. And BOY were delays massive.

My Recommendation:
If you haven’t read One More Day then it is essential that you go out and do so. This is one of those stories that will be remembered FOREVER. It has had the largest impact on Spidey’s life since Gwen’s death. While I have a strong penchant for overstatement, hyperbole, and extreme exaggeration, I say that in all seriousness. One More Day SERIOUSLY alters Peter Parker’s status quo - something that is all too rare in a comic book. I mean, he DIED in “Spider-Man - The Other” and that didn’t wind up affecting the status quo AT ALL (despite Straczynski’s direct promise to me that it would.) Once Spidey was back from the dead, he was a little stronger and got a new suit, but his LIFE hadn’t changed. One More Day has drastically changed Spidey’s entire life. It’s also the end of an era - being the last of J. M. Straczynski’s run on Amazing Spider-Man. Besides all of that history, it’s just a good story. Spider-Man’s life is in turmoil. What is he going to do? To find out, pick up this story. Or keep reading as I throw in my 2 cents over the One More Day contraversy.

[MAJOR SPOILERS UPCOMING]

[If you don’t want to know what Peter chose at the end of One More Day, stop reading now.]

[Last warning.]

[Seriously, folks. Can’t say I didn’t warn you.]

Alright, so, anyone who has read a Spider-Man comic book published this last year knows what Peter chose. He made a deal with the devil, his marriage was erased from history, and Aunt May’s life was saved. There are five major contraversies surrounding this decision (that I am aware of) - Spider-Man, a moral character who is an example to our children, made a deal with the devil - it was selfish of Peter (and thusly out of character) to pick Aunt May over MJ - Straczynski didn’t want to end the story like this - Peter and MJ should always be together because their love is eternal - and Spidey’s marriage was erased from history, and nobody likes a ret-con - .
In terms of making a deal with the devil, Joe Quesada will be quick to tell you to go back and re-read the issues to see that it was in fact MJ who agreed to the deal. Having JUST re-read the issues I would like to say that MJ was the FIRST to agree to it, but Mephisto required Peter’s approval, too. That being said, what’s the big deal with making a deal with the devil? Are you saying that even those of highest character among us would not save a loved one given the chance? Peter was in an impossible situation that I doubt any of us can truly understand. Given Peter’s obsessive nature towards saving Aunt May throughout ALL of Spider-Man history, I have no trouble believing that Peter chose to save his Aunt - whatever the cost. This answers the second contraversy, too. Was it selfish? Sure. Does that mean Peter wouldn’t do it? I don’t think it does.
In terms of the Straczynski/ Quesada debate… that one is simple. Straczynski does NOT (as many fans do) have any problem with Peter and MJ’s marriage being absolved. But Straczynski wanted to do it in such a way that brought Gwen Stacy back from the dead. I would have LOVED to see that - but Joe didn’t. And Joe used his authority as editor-in-chief to end the story the way he wanted to. He has that prerogative. Straczynski would have told the story differently. So would I. Any number of people probably would have told the story in any number of different ways. But they aren’t Marvel’s editor-in-chief. I don’t see why this disagreement is such a big deal. I think fans who don’t like seeing Peter and MJ apart bring it up as an excuse to bitch. To be fair to Joe Quesada, there were entire arcs of Brand New Day (the next chapter in Peter’s life) that had already been plotted out before Straczynski wrote his final script for Amazing Spider-Man #545. Joe felt that bringing Gwen back would have messed up Brand New Day in ways that would have required MAJOR rewrites.
In terms of Peter and MJ being together - I actually think that this is one of the best parts about One More Day (from a story perspective.) MJ whispered something in Mephisto’s ear before he changed the history of everything. What did she promise him? This is something that continues to create dramatic tension in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, giving us a mystery to ponder over. From a storytelling perspective, this was genius. MJ also promised Peter that nothing could keep them apart - planting the seed that one day hopefully they might get back together. Joe will also bring up the fact that Peter and MJ’s marriage was just a stunt in the first place - Stan Lee was marrying them in the newspaper strips, so they had to get married in the comic books. Joe will also tell you that Peter being single is important to the timelessness of the character of Peter Parker and anyone who wants a grown up married Peter should check out the pages of Amazing Spider-Girl. To anyone who bitches about Peter and MJ needing to be together (something, btw, that I actually am a big fan of - I love their relationship) but I would like to point out that Peter has had MANY loves in his life - Betty Brant, Gwen Stacey, Felicia Hardy, and Deb Whitman.
Finally, the biggest contraversy, the ret-con. Something that HAPPENED (MJ and Peter got married. You can’t say they didn’t - I read the issue where it happened - Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21) now it NEVER happened. That’s a ret-con of the worst kind. How do we who love history deal with this fact? How are we supposed to view EVERY SINGLE story that happened since then? It’s a question with no easy answer. What Joe has said is this - every story that you ever read happened just as you saw it. The only difference is that Peter and MJ weren’t married. They were still together and went through all of that turmoil together, but they were never married. [For those who have a problem every time Spider-Man does something that is a bad influence on our children, this means he had a child out of wed-lock. Bring THAT up at your next PTA meeting.] Anyway, everything else aside, the answer to this question is: we don’t know what happened. There are stories yet to be told which will explain how the Hell Harry Osborn is still alive and what on Earth happened that prevented Peter and MJ from tying the knot. And we can’t ACTUALLY say whether or not the explanations make sense until they GIVE us an explanation. Until then, we can only read Spider-Man’s new stories and decide whether or not THEY are worth buying. Something that I will be dealing with in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day week - where I will review EVERY Spider-Man story between then and now.

Alright, that’s everything. As always - thanks for reading - I’ll see you next time.
-Searnold

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