Closing Argument On "One More Day"

I promise. After this, no more about this unfortunate storyline. These are two points on the Spider-Man white-out story:

1) Marvel has implied that having a married Spider-Man made life difficult for the comic's writers and has been a source of regret ever since

2) Per the Guardian newspaper Joe Quesada stated: "my job is to keep these characters fresh and ready for every fan that walks through the door, while also planning for the future and hopefully an even larger fan base."

I have often wondered when Utlimate Spider-Man will replace Amazing Spider-Man? I expect that in another year or so, Marvel will announce that Amazing is dead, to be replaced by Ultimate Spider-Man.

It's interesting to note that there is a thought that the characters need to be kept "fresh" and"ready" for an "even larger fan base." I wonder which fan base is larger? The one that has been around since the 60s or 70s or 80s...or the one that thinks that Mary Jane was Peter's first love?

I had a conversation with someone recently who was surprised to hear that Mary Jane was not only not Peter's first love, but wasn't even included in the first 40 or so Spider-Man comics (excepting earlier cameos). Even Gwen Stacy was introduced prior to MJ. Sure, MJ may have been mentioned prior to Gwen, but she was never shown until after.

Then Gwen was introduced (kinda shoehorned) into the Ultimate Spider-Man comic - why? She just wound up dying. I would have been more interested in seeing her live and see what sort of stories could have been hatched. I guess she and Karen Page weren't "fresh" enough characters.

I think it's interesting that this decision to eradicate the 800+ stories that built the legend of Spider-Man seems to have been made because the creative efforts coming from the Marvel bullpen are not able to generate worthy stories about an adult Spider-Man. You question this conclusion? Here's the wording from the Guardian again: "Marvel claims that a married Spider-Man made life difficult for the comic's writers and has been a source of regret ever since the couple's big day in 1987"

It's difficult...so we give up. That's how it goes down? So much for embracing a challenge. David Micheline wrote some interesting stories right after the marriage occurred. So did J.M. DeMatteis (remember the excellent "Kraven's Last Hunt?). But it (the marriage) was a source of regret. I won't say that it was a great story. It seemed forced. A stunt thrown out there to generate interest and push sales up. The stories that directly preceded the marriage certainly didn't indicate that something like that was coming. But it happened.

Besides all that, I thought the whole point of Ultimate Spider-Man was to target the younger audience. You know, tell stories that have already been told but in a snarky, generation-Y sort of way...Familiar characters with a new coat of paint. Clearly, it had Marvel's unending support, as elements of it heavily influenced the Spider-Man movies. Notice how MJ is Peter's first and only love in the films? It wasn't that way when Amazing was the main game in town.

Wait and see, I guess? The old order changeth. 'Nuff said.