Amazing Spider-Man fans, this one’s for you.
Well, the second shoe dropped in Zeb Wells’s run on Amazing Spider-Man concerning the big “event” in issue #1 that put Peter Parker on everyone’s bad side, left a smoking crater in the fields near York, PA, and somehow gave Mary Jane Watson a husband/partner/boyfriend named Paul and two kids.
Whew! That’s a lot of change for Spidey in just issue #1, and to say Zeb Wells pushed for big changes is an understatement. However, big ideas don’t equate to big positives for the character, the brand, or Marvel if you can’t execute those ideas effectively.
In a prior Op-Ed ([Op-Ed] How Long Is Too Long To Wait For Answers?), I talked about the must-haves for teasing out a mystery. You can prolong the big reveal for lengthy periods of time, but only IF you drop clues and hints to give readers something to chew on. Zeb Wells and Nick Lowe (Marvel’s Spider-Man line of titles editor) didn’t drop a single clue in the year-long wait between issue #1 and now. Not one.
What was the result? Annoyance turned to frustration that eventually ended with apathy. People stopped buzzing about the mystery because people stopped caring about the mystery because Wells and Lowe refused to give readers a reason to care about the mystery. Strike 1.
In a second Op-Ed ([Op-Ed] The Rise of Fan-tagonism), I talked about the growing and ill-advised practice of Fan-tagonism – the scenario where creators appear to deliberately create stories and make character changes while taking some satisfaction out of the irritation those changes cause.
In the case of Amazing Spider-Man (ASM), Wells knew he was going down a story path that would get readers on the bad side of Marvel.
Nick Lowe is aware of the troubles created by the storyline but decided to make public statements crowing about it anyway.
Putting the creator/editor mindset aside, the bigger issue surrounds how the current storyline will affect Spider-Man.
[Spoilers Ahead if you’re not up to speed on ASM]
We learned in ASM #24 that MJ and Peter were separated by years due to a time gap between dimensions, and now, MJ is in a relationship with Paul, and the two kids are theirs. In effect, Wells created (with Lowe’s approval) a major obstacle to Peter and MJ ever getting back together without a major retcon or significant character complications.
I’m confident that a significant portion of the reading audience wants MJ and Peter back together. One More Day was a mistake, Nick Spencer was on a path to undoing that mistake, and just when the damage was about to be undone, Wells and Lowe completely reverse course.
My little birdies tell me that part of the decision to actively keep Peter and MJ apart is an internal (to Marvel) mindset that refuses to admit mistakes and make changes that prove pundits right. My sources aren’t perfect or always right, but I’ve seen enough to give credence to this report.
[End Spoilers]
What’s the result of this fan-tagonism so far? Marvel, Zeb Wells, and Nick Lowe are giving off the appearance of actively working against what a significant and growing percentage of loyal ASM readers want. In aggregate, this gives Marvel the tarnish of being “anti-reader.” Strike 2.
“Hold your horses, Mr. Smart Guy! It’s not over yet. Why are you taking this so seriously, and why can’t you let creatives tell their truth?” you might wonder.
True. It’s always possible Zeb Wells could pull a rabbit out of the hat with milestone issue #25. Anything is possible, but past behavior is usually a strong indication of future behavior. Zeb Wells was the EP on the horrid She-Hulk show on Disney+, and his contribution to Amazing Spider-Man prior to taking over the title was the dopey Beyond story. Since taking over ASM, Wells has had one event, Dark Web, which turned out to be a disaster.
Past behavior is an indicator of future behavior. I’m open to being surprised, but I’m not holding my breath.
As for the math, one (1) poorly constructed mystery plus one (1) creative team who knows they’re going in the wrong direction and publicly present themselves as not caring equals zero (0) positive buzz and hype.
I’ve spoken to readers and fellow reviewers who don’t have any strong feelings about ASM either way and the best compliment I’ve heard is that this storyline is average superhero stuff. That’s not a rousing endorsement.
Where does that leave ASM and readers who care?
The Titanic hit the iceberg and tore open a hole. The ship has tipped onto its bow, cracked in half, and readers waiting in the frigid lifeboats are waiting for the remains of Peter and MJ’s relationship to get dragged into the inky black water below.
Sure, that’s a melodramatic way of putting it, but hey, it’s just comics. Right?! 😞
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