Marvel’s Attempts at ‘Fixing’ Spider-Man Are Making Things Much Worse

Marvel’s current Amazing Spider-Man run appears to be trying to fix the wall-crawler’s worst stories – but unfortunately, it’s just making things worse. Marvel’s most famous – and most marketable – superhero, Spider-Man is constantly being reinvented to make him feel relevant to the latest generation. As a result, it’s easy for readers to forget Peter Parker has been spinning his webs in the comics since 1963 – which means he’s been written by a lot of different comic book creators over the decades. He’s had some of the best writers in the industry, but unfortunately, he’s also had others who weren’t so good. He’s had periods where the writer was top-rate, producing iconic stories such as “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” that literally transformed the entire comic book industry. But he’s also had many stories that are not so fondly remembered, including some where it’s frankly difficult to tell why writers and editors thought they were a good idea in the first place.

Nick Spencer’s ongoing Amazing Spider-Man run increasingly feels as though it’s focused on attempting to fix all Spider-Man’s worst, most controversial, stories. The core concept is dealing with the repercussions of “One More Day,” the story in which editorial fiat wrote Spider-Man’s marriage to Mary Jane out of history because the editors feared married life was too big a change to Peter Parker’s status quo. It has introduced Kindred, a villain who seems to be the spirit of the Harry Osborn who died in the original timeline, and Doctor Strange is currently in an extended conversation with Mephisto bargaining for Spider-Man’s soul. Meanwhile, recent comics have even added another wrinkle into the mix, attempting to retcon away another much-hated story, “Sins Past,” which revealed Norman Osborn had children with Gwen Stacy before her death, and brought them back as supervillains. Spencer has retconned this absurd and disturbing plotline away as the product of hypnosis and cloning, a twisted masterplan to torture both Spider-Man and Osborn.

The retcons are increasingly complicated – there now seem to be at least three versions of Harry Osborn running around for some reason, including an AI-created Arnim-Zola-style from his mental engrams. But unfortunately, this attempt to fix Spider-Man’s worst stories is backfiring.

Every Comic Could Be Somebody’s First Comic

Marvel has forgotten what Stan Lee considered to be one of the most basic principles of comic books; every issue could be somebody’s first comic. The sad truth is that there is absolutely nothing in the current Amazing Spider-Man run to capture a new reader, a fact demonstrated rather effectively by #72, which is packed with flashbacks to undetermined points in the timeline and attempts to explain away various ’90s plots. It positions Harry Osborn as the mastermind behind the Chameleon’s android duplicates of Peter Parker’s parents back in the ’90s (a plot nobody remembers happened), as well as creator of clones who thought they were the children of Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy (a plot nobody wants to remember happened). Spencer’s attempt to iron out the timeline and make sense of his retcon means he deals with countless events from different periods in Spider-Man history, but unfortunately most of these were stories that didn’t have much impact on popular culture – and in many cases they’re only remembered today on listicles of the worst comic book plots ever, with the majority of people who open those lists looking on them and laughing, resolving never to read those particular comics.

All that means Spencer’s run only makes sense to long-term Spider-Man fans who grew up reading books in the ’90s and have kept reading right through to the present day. Only the most committed Spider-Man fans will have a clue what’s going on, and even then the sheer complexity of the retcons and the number of plots picked up by them make them bewildering. This is perfectly demonstrated on Twitter, where Amazing Spider-Talk attempted to sum up the plot in a popular thread – and even they couldn’t get their head around all of it.

It’s easy to understand why Spencer, as a fan who grew up reading those comics in the ’90s and now has the privilege of writing them, wants to deal with some of the more tortuous continuity problems, plot holes, and hated stories. But, while continuity is a good tool for a writer, it is a harsh master. This is a story where continuity has taken charge, and when the dust has settled it is likely to be remembered only for if it fulfills the implicit promise of undoing “One More Day” and bringing back the Spider-Man/Mary Jane marriage. Given the run has been going since 2018, that’s pretty disappointing.

Some Stories Need Retconning – Others Need To Be Forgotten

All this raises a curious question; what should comics do about the controversial stories of yesteryear? The answer, quite simply, is “It depends.” In the case of “One More Day,” the story was a retrogressive step for Spider-Man, driven by the publisher’s fear of actual character development. Marvel writers and editors had struggled to find a way to write the Spider-Man marriage out ever since it happened – at one point there was even an absurd story in which MJ was believed killed in a plane crash – and “One More Day” was their final act.

But rival comic book publishers have now proved superhero books can flourish if the core concept is allowed to change; modern Superman books explore Clark Kent’s family on Earth, and his son Jonathan has even taken over as Superman. It seems Marvel’s fear of real change undermining a popular brand was misplaced, and they should instead have had the boldness to continue developing Peter Parker’s family. So there is indeed a legitimate reason to correct “One More Day,” in order to create a new status quo that is frankly much healthier for the franchise.

But “Sins Past,” the story that introduced Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy’s children, is different. Where “One More Day” had a lasting impact on the Spider-Man franchise that endured to this day, this ill-conceived story was better off forgotten. It principally affected only one character, Gwen Stacy, who had been killed decades ago, meaning it had no emotional impact, and writers shoved it to the background. Nowadays, it’s only remembered at all because of those listicles, and literally nobody was asking for a convoluted fix to it.

Nick Spencer is an excellent writer. Unfortunately, his Amazing Spider-Man run hasn’t demonstrated him at his best, simply because what increasingly feels like the core concept – fixing the mistakes of the past, large and small, forgotten and remembered – was the wrong approach to take.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
(4898 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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