n America), there has been an on-going debate over Spider-Man's Brand New Day. Specifically, there has been an examination of the stories. We, the readers, have been trying to figure out why the stories we've been reading post-One More Day couldn't have been told with a married Peter Parker. Obviously, one of the directions the conversation has gone is over whether these stories are any good or not. Are people enjoying them, that sort of thing.It was this path that led me reliaze that within me, and much of the comic book fan world, there is a very strong cognitive dissonance taking place.
Generally speaking, we like the stories. JMS' run on Amazing Spider-Man was one of drama. And while I enjoyed the drama, the more light-hearted stories we've been given has been a nice change of pace. However (and this is where the cognitive dissonance takes place), most of us are still befuddled as to why a Mephisto-ordained divorice had to take place to get us where we are today.
If it was just a change in tone that was required, why not just tell the Spidey brain trust "hey, let's keep things light for a while?" If Harry's ressurrection was going to be Goblin formula based and not Mephisto borne, why not just tell that story? If the concern was to return Spidey's secret identity to him, why not just tell that story? It seems like there's a lot of stories that could have taken the place of One More Day and accomplished the same result -- but would have let us keep MJ.
