So, here's a little section I like to call "Pointless Optimism." It's where I have a weird thought about something going on in the industry and where I believe it might be headed, though in all reality it probably isn't.
I got to thinking about Marvel's "Dark Reign" stuff with Norman Osbourne in a position of power, and of course, being the obsessed dork that I am about One More Day, it occurred to me that maybe Dark Reign came about expressly BECAUSE of Spidey's deal with the devil.
So could Marvel's long-term planning be for Spidey to realize what he'd done and that the deal would be revoked in order to solve Dark Reign?
Probably not, but it was a thought.
That does soud like a cool idea. Now I have the pointless optimism.
ReplyDeleteOh please oh please let it be true! If that's the case though, so many comic fans will be forced to eat their words, as that will be one of the greatest twists ever in a story arc. And, of course, somehow the story will weave its way back to Mary Jane and that possible future (or perhaps we'll have yet another arc of time travel and parallel multiverse) and we'll all live happily ever after.
ReplyDeleteBut, yet again, it's Marvel. So probably not. Thanks for giving us a moment of hope though.
It'd be nice if that proved to be the case, but I think you're giving Marvel editorial way more credit than they deserve. So far the only thing OMD seems to have done is serve as a Reset button that has allowed Marvel to put Spider-Man in a holding pattern rehashing the elements of the '70s/'80s run guaranteed to pander to nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteI think it was Snell who said it best over at his blog Slay, Monstrobot of the Deep that it seems like they don't even care what's done with any of the characters at all. I mean, Norman Osborn has the Mac Gargan Venom masquerade as Spider-Man as a member of the Dark Avengers, a government run and sanctioned superteam. Okay, neat little twist, but isn't Spider-Man a wanted fugitive over in his own books as the 'Spider-tracer Killer?' So did Norman do Spidey a favor? Absolved him of all wrongdoing so his evil doppleganger can pose as a government hero? Is this the Marvel equivalent of the Chewbacca Defense?
I'd like to think there's a firm hand at the wheel over at Marvel, but stuff like tends to make me believe there's no one at the rudder.
You might not be crazy. After the reboot of Spider-man (which actualy once happened to be the worst story in spidey history), they created new villians, "killed off" Mary Jane, and gave him a plethora of new (and lame) villians. The readership revolted (again) and they reversed all of it. They might do it again.
ReplyDeleteYeah! Woohoo! Pointless optimism, baby! Power to the People! Yeah! Woohoo!
ReplyDelete...
or not...i really don't care anymore. Marvel is kind of dead to me. it sorta died with Captain America (wow that sounded harsh)
I need to be honest here, now I am a fan of your videos but in all seriousness the continued complaining about One More Day has really got out of hand, why cant you just accept the events that happened in it and move on
ReplyDeleteBecause I am expressing my disdain, as a consumer, with their product. We are not mindless fanboys/girls/etc. that will eat up whatever they give us. Just as when Cassandra Cain was turned evil or Stephanie Brown was denied a memorial as Robin in the Batcave, I utterly refuse to accept that a character I grew up admiring and an icon whose ideals I would hope to live up to would throw it all away by making a deal with the devil.
ReplyDeleteI am voting with my wallet and encouraging others to do the same. Divorce him? Fine. I think it's stupid, but it's a change I can live with. Treating your fanbase like their idiots with the blatant disregard for continuity and telling us things "didn't really happen like that," giving lazy and halfhearted excuses to address legitimate concerns from the people who purchase their products, and just plain giving us a moral message that says, "It's okay to consort with evil as long as you get what you want" are all reasons it should be opposed and boycotted.
I'm not the one with the problem and see no reason why it's ME who needs to move on.
I fully agree with Linkara on how unbelievable bad this "throw away any virtue, you have shown in the last 40 years, and do what you desire most... Uncle Ben would also have done it"! The choice Spidey made in OMD was totally untypically for him. The story had a great emotional impact on me anyway: I was angered, raged and furious about that story. When I started reading Spider-Man, it took about 1 year and he got married. I do not know any other Spider-Man "life style" (the small break ups in between where too short to count)! And now everything has being reverted?!? This is not the Spider-Man I chose to read... This is an imposter!
ReplyDeleteMarvel should pull out of it, like they did in the Clone saga: "Oh... This is not Spider-Man! It is a clo... Äh... DEMON!!!" :)
On the original topic: I fully hope, that you are right, Linkara. In my point of view Norman Osborn is strongly tied to Spider-Man. There HAS TO happen something between him and Spider-Man at one point during Dark Reign. The worst thing I can imagine: They fight, Spidey loses and everything goes on as usual for Norman.
But I am also believe this is pointless optimism.
(I live in Germany and read the German translations, which are behind the English issues about 1 year, but I roughly know what is coming in Dark Reign and I am not yet amused...)
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ReplyDeleteHey, it's Undecipherable Japanese Character Girl again!
ReplyDelete"One Day More," the way you describe it, sounds a lot like the notorious moment in the TV series Dallas where it is revealed that the entirety of season 9 was just a dream, allowing them to bring back an actor who'd left the show after his character died. It was pretty much hated then, and has been ridiculed ever since, so I don't fault you for blasting this move on their part.
Okay fair enough, I guess I'm not used to seeing comic fans revolt against changes that they don't like. I'm more used to it from sci fi fans
ReplyDeleteWith One Whore Day, Civil Whore, Stupid Invasion, and Stupid Invasion: Dark Pain, I lost all respect and faith for Marvel Comics. At this point, I'm starting to wonder if I'd even go back IF they got rid of the Bland Dull Day continuity and restored the marriage.
ReplyDeleteI hope they do, don't get me wrong, but Marvel's burned me one too many times.
You might have to worry about Cass, She's probaly going to be swiped of her batgirl identity for babs and swiped aside. Might not even make it out of bftc.
ReplyDeleteA possibility I am well aware of and just as angered about.
ReplyDeleteMy two cents...they probably have some other idea in mind for how this is going, but then after seeing your take on that, Linkara, then they at Marvel will maybe be like "ooo...that's good!" and maybe adapt it. wishful thinking of course, but well thought out thinking. That would be sick though!
ReplyDeleteBTW optimism is never pointless, because life usually finds a way to jusify it
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading Lightbringer up to today man I really love the comic and te crossoverlord so far keep up the good work Linkara
ReplyDeleteYour #1 Mexican Fan
Great to hear! Lightbringer will be resuming again soon once the guest artists finish their work, then we'll have a new permanent artist.
ReplyDeleteWell, this is definitely a better ending for Dark Reign than any I could think of.
ReplyDeleteHere's another bit of pointless optimism concerning Spiderman, and it has to do with the newspaper comic. Now while it's not as good as the main comic used to be (I say used to be because of OMD), it's always been an interesting enough read in my book. Anyway, my point is this, I'm sure those of us who do read the newspaper strip (after OMD that was the only Spiderman I read since it still kept the marriage) were in despair when it sounded like the strip was going to be OMDed as well and gave a huge sigh of relief when it turned out that the story was just going back in time as a look back to when Peter and MJ were dating. If anyone has been paying attention to the comic it seems to be paying some attention to their relationship as one of things Spidey says in the Sunday issue was this about MJ:
ReplyDelete"I know she's just a girl I'm dating. But somehow I feel my destiny is bound up with hers."
Now I could be wrong, but this could be an attempt by the newspaper strip writer to fight back against One More Day by showing readers how exactly Peter and MJ's relationship started and how it progressed up till the present so as to show just how well they work together. This would garner a good amount of support for the marriage and at the same time show us Spidey as he should be (without having made a deal with the devil), which could lead to increased fan demand to do something to undo the events of One More Day (considering how bad that was, I'd even accept Peter just waking up and discovering that the whole thing was just a dream).
Just curious Linkara, but do you read the newspaper comic?
I don't, but it's nice to see what might be some innovative thinking on their part.
ReplyDeleteThat is a completely awesome idea, I was completely turned off of Spidey after OMD, if they use this whole Dark Reign thing to erase the whole thing from history I will be bloody ecstatic =oD Also helps in getting rid of some of the stuff that Civil War puked up...
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm not a big comic person, so I don't really know the specifics of the deal with the devil. How/why did it happen?
ReplyDeleteRecently, to show his support of the Superhero Registration Act, Spider-Man revealed his secret identity to the world. After he changed his mind and went against the act, he became a fugitive along with Aunt May and Mary Jane.
ReplyDeleteAn assassin from the Kingpin shot Aunt May, leaving her in critical condition. Spider-Man kept looking to others for help, but there was nothing any of them could do. Then, Mephisto appeared and offered Spidey a deal - in exchange for his marriage and the love between the two, he would heal Aunt May. As a result, somehow them not being married has resulted in a lot of changes, including Harry Osborn being alive again and NO ONE knowing Spidey's secret identity.
Do they not even explain how that happened? If they don't, I can see why you give that comic a lot of grief.
ReplyDeleteFixing a crappy ass cop-out story with a reverse cop-out story? God, I hope not.
ReplyDeleteI HHHHHHAAATE One More Day, but I don't want it fixed that way. I like Dark Reign as an exploration of the "villains in power, now what" setting.
I stopped reading it after the first brand new day issue.
ReplyDeleteSince JMS started writing Spider-Man the series took really off. I even liked the whole "the other" stuff, just because they made something new with the character and found a good way to make more out of his powers.
BND was a slap in the face of every longtime reader, nothing more. I know that retconning happens a lot in comics, but this went to far.
Aw well, there's always USM
I'm just grateful for the major boost Dark Reign has given Daken, he's actually become less the whiny and oh too cliched orphan of a hero and become more of an intelligent and deviously minded threat. The way he plays the Dark Avengers off of one another in Dark Wolverine is masterful and the Machevellian quotes serve the story well
ReplyDelete