Maybe it's because I'm a Christian or maybe it's because I hate lazy story-telling, but I cannot endorse and/or respect the Mephisto-created reality Peter Parker now finds himself living in.
The fact that the powers-that-be thought it would be okay for our h
ero (you know, the one the kids are supposed to look up to) to turn to the devil for salvation boggles the mind. Granted, they gave him three issues to wander the Marvel universe, asking every character every fan would ask, "why didn't he go see him" to help him save his dying aunt. Each of these characters, in so many words, said, "sorry, Spidey, you're out of luck."The only character he didn't ask for help was Wolverine. And as a fan of Logan, one has to wonder what a blood transfusion from Wolverine would do for a gunshot victim. Instant healing? Immortality?
Sorry. I won't get distracted with the list of powerful demigods that populate the Marvel Universe who have survived and/or treated wounds far worse than a gunshot to the stomach.
Especially since the point of the story was not to show what extent Peter will go to save his aunt; the entire story (and much of the year leading up to it) was about divorcing Peter and MJ without using the word "divorce."
It's at this time I should go on the record saying I'm generally against retcons. I'm o
kay with looking back on a moment and saying, "but did you know why that happened," and then adding a little back story. But I believe writers should embrace the history of the characters, not seek out ways to change it because they have a story they want to tell that doesn't fit into the current continuity. Change the present and the future, not the past.So it doesn't do us much good to cry over spilled milk. Now that Peter and MJ's deal with the devil is part of the Spider-mythos, I think it needs to stay there. But it cannot be treated as the solution to the problem. It needs to be viewed as the catalyst to a bigger, larger story/problem. And in the unlikely event that Marvel hires me on to write that story, this is what I would do:
1.) Begin the story with some minor fight. During that fight (maybe with Shocker or Electro), something happens. A little glitch (like the deja vu in "The Matrix"). Something that makes Peter go, "what the?!"
2.) Expose the fabric of this new reality. I would reveal that Mephisto, as much as he wishes it were not so, is no God. His creation, this world Peter is living in, begins to deteriorate. He is not a creator, he is a destroyer. And so this creation was doomed to fail.
3.) As Peter begins slips into madness, the *REAL* creator shows up. While I think it can be done, I don't think a Spider-Man book is the best place for a theological discussion. S
o while this creator is God of the Marvel universe, I would make him vague enough that he could be any religion's creator. He's not specifically the Hebrew or the Christian or the Muslim God -- or a Hindu god. He's simply the creator of the Marvel Universe. If you had to assign him to a religion or a mythology, the first I'd go to is the Norse mythology, since it already has such a prominence in Marvel comics. For laughs and giggles, he could look and talk like Stan Lee.Though, it's probably worth noting that Jesus himself has made an appearance in comics before (back in '74). He once showed up in a Ghost Rider comic (Ghost Rider #9) to protect Johnny Blaze from Satan.
4.) The Creator explains to Peter what has happened. He tells Peter how they (Peter and MJ) were forced to make this decision. Peter is sick and distressed. The creator tells him that something must be done, or this new reality is going to implode on itself and could very well take the entire Marvel universe with it. If Peter is willing to let him, the creator "can fix all this."
5.) "What does that mean?" Peter asks. The creator explains he can wipe this new reality away and restore it to its former glory. But for the creator to do that, Peter has to except that things are going to have to change. Some things will change for the better, some things will change for the worse -- though, ultimately, everything will be for the better as existence will no longer be threatened.
6.) Peter will be married to MJ again. Peter will regain friends in M
att Murdock, the Fantastic Four, and Logan. Peter will lose his friend Harry Osborn (again). But . . . this is the hard part for Peter . . . he's going to lose Aunt May. She was supposed to die. It was her time. Mephisto has granted her a life that was not his to grant. She's lived a long, full life. It's time for Peter to finally say "good-bye" to her. Death is only a part of life.
7.) Mephisto appears and tries to argue with the creator. He tries to persuade Peter. There's a battle between the creator and Mephisto, but it all comes down to a "shoulder angel moment" in which Peter has to decide. It's no decision at all, really.
8.) Peter agrees to the creator's proposal and "Brand New Day" becomes a strange moment in Peter's past in which he got to live a "what if" moment. The creator thanks Peter and encourages him to take more responsibility for his actions. He reminds him that "not all stories have happy endings. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Taking responsibility for your actions doesn't mean you should blame yourself. You need to learn to forgive yourself."
5.) "What does that mean?" Peter asks. The creator explains he can wipe this new reality away and restore it to its former glory. But for the creator to do that, Peter has to except that things are going to have to change. Some things will change for the better, some things will change for the worse -- though, ultimately, everything will be for the better as existence will no longer be threatened.
6.) Peter will be married to MJ again. Peter will regain friends in M
att Murdock, the Fantastic Four, and Logan. Peter will lose his friend Harry Osborn (again). But . . . this is the hard part for Peter . . . he's going to lose Aunt May. She was supposed to die. It was her time. Mephisto has granted her a life that was not his to grant. She's lived a long, full life. It's time for Peter to finally say "good-bye" to her. Death is only a part of life.7.) Mephisto appears and tries to argue with the creator. He tries to persuade Peter. There's a battle between the creator and Mephisto, but it all comes down to a "shoulder angel moment" in which Peter has to decide. It's no decision at all, really.
8.) Peter agrees to the creator's proposal and "Brand New Day" becomes a strange moment in Peter's past in which he got to live a "what if" moment. The creator thanks Peter and encourages him to take more responsibility for his actions. He reminds him that "not all stories have happy endings. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Taking responsibility for your actions doesn't mean you should blame yourself. You need to learn to forgive yourself."
I don't personally think it's a solution a lot of people would be happy with, but I do think it's the solution that needs to happen. Because this "solution" that Marvel has presented us with is a cheap cop-out for both the writers and the characters.
It's a slap in the face to us long-time readers. We love and respect these characters. But the powers-that-be don't love and respect the readers enough if they can completely rewrite Spider-Man's history in four single issues. We deserve better than that.
So that's my proposed solution. Restore the Marvel continuity, make Mephisto pay for what he's done, and then let the characters grow and evolve naturally.
2 comments:
Oh Scott. I love this blog already. You're a very adept blogger. Why do you feel such a connection with the Parkers/Spiderman?
It's a combination of things, really.
Part of it may because Spider-Man was the first superhero comic I really got into (before that, it was all DuckTales, GI Joe, and Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers). But what did I connect with then and what keeps me coming back for the past eighteen years?
The combination of Spidey's sense of humor and his belief that because he's been granted these powers, he has a responsibility to use them for the greater good.
That's probably it in a nutshell. I could go on and talk about his villains, his friends, and how he's had the most consistently entertaining books . . . but this is a young blog. I'll save that for later.
;)
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