Spiderman is dead?

[Brian G Turner]

Just read this on the BBC - looks like Peter Parker was killed off recently:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14394181

Anyone read it? Anything of interest?

 

[Perpetual Man]

It depends how you look at it.

A few years ago Marvel started their Ultimate line of comics that allowed modern creators the freedom to re-create classic characters in a modern setting.

The most successful of the titles was Ultimate Spider-man written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Mark Bagley.

Although firmly rooted in the basic storyline established by Lee and Ditko, there was a lot more depth and detail than in the original. (I think it was almost five issues before Uncle Ben got shot).

Although the title has not been cancelled, the Ultimate version of Peter Parker has been killed. And Marvel are insisting it is a permanent change.

The main universe Peter Parker, though is alive and well.

 

[Clansman]

Well, that's different then. I heard the story yesterday on the CBC, and thought how can you kill off Peter Parker?

Besides, if they did it in the Marvel Universe, they'd simply bring him back to life (like Captain America, Jean Grey, etc.).

 

[Perpetual Man]

Yeah, it seems that people are taking the story and running with it, without realising the true story.

Unless things change it is the Ultimate Spider-man who is gone, and listening to the creative team there are no plans for a resurrection.

Now had it been the main universe Spider-man they would have retconned continuity so that he never died. Not that they would ever do that...

 

[PTeppic]

Peter Parker is being "replaced" by Miles Morales, a black/Latino young man as the new Spider-Man:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14394181

 

[Brian G Turner]

So, let me get this straight ....

There are at least two Spiderman comics running, one with Peter Parker, the other set in the modern world with a new Spiderman?

 

[Pyan]

Yes, but one is in the Ultimate Spider-Man comic, and the other is in the "ordinary" Amazing Spider-Man. Sort of Alternate Universes, down different legs of the Trousers of Time...

 

[Perpetual Man]

So, let me get this straight ....

There are at least two Spiderman comics running, one with Peter Parker, the other set in the modern world with a new Spiderman?

Oooh Brian where to begin to answer that question...

There is main Marvel continuity. This is where the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker resides, the one who has been active since Amazing Fantasy back in 1961...

But there are a number of comics featuring him, including The Amazing Spider-man, Spider-Man, FF (The replacement Fantastic Four Title) and The Avengers. There is also a junior title aimed at younger kids, set outside regular continuity.

There is a sometime Spider-Girl title set again outside regular continuity, but featuring a future Peter Parker and his daughter.

And then there is the Ultimate title, set in a fresh continuity with no connection to the main Marvel continuity. And this is the Spider-Man who has died.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Comics do this kind of thing once in a while, I think. DC had a Death of Superman angle a while back.

Spider-man, in particular, seems to have undergone several versions. This article show a pretty wide range of Spider-man versions and story-lines.

Then there was the convoluted Clone Saga...

 

[Perpetual Man]

No, no don't mention the clone saga....!

 

[Clansman]

Remember that some bright comic creators wanted to do an alternate universe thing with the DC heroes, but DC wouldn't let them, because they proposed to do some pretty nasty things to DC's favourites.

So, they did something else.

The result was Watchmen.

 

[Mladen]

Remember that some bright comic creators wanted to do an alternate universe thing with the DC heroes, but DC wouldn't let them, because they proposed to do some pretty nasty things to DC's favourites.

So, they did something else.

The result was Watchmen.

Just a slight correction, you meant to say "Charlton" characters there, not "DC". DC had acquired Charlton (and its characters, in this case specifically Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, Thunderbolt, Mr A & The Question, Nightshade, Peacemaker) in 1983.

Watchmen was supposed to be the first book from DC to use the characters, but DC instead chose to shelve them and use them in other ways, so Moore decided to tweak his script.

 

[fate_catcher]

It shocked me to my very core.

 

[CyBeR]

Oooh Brian where to begin to answer that question...

There is main Marvel continuity. This is where the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker resides, the one who has been active since Amazing Fantasy back in 1961...

But there are a number of comics featuring him, including The Amazing Spider-man, Spider-Man, FF (The replacement Fantastic Four Title) and The Avengers. There is also a junior title aimed at younger kids, set outside regular continuity.

There is a sometime Spider-Girl title set again outside regular continuity, but featuring a future Peter Parker and his daughter.

And then there is the Ultimate title, set in a fresh continuity with no connection to the main Marvel continuity. And this is the Spider-Man who has died.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a whole cross over event between the two universes which involve the Marvel Zombies at one point?

I'm probably going to pick up the Ultimate Spider-man comics at one point and read them completely. I tried to get back into the Ultimate line but then I ran into Ultimatum...and that was so shockingly bad that reading the comics just seemed pointless then.

 

[Perpetual Man]

I think you might be right CyBeR, those danged Zombie's get everywhere. I think there might have been one or two other crossovers as well, but as a whole they're meant to be separate.. but marketing wise and excuse for a crossover.

I read as much of the Ultimate line as I could up and gave up around Ultimatum as well.

It looks as though they are getting ready to relaunch the brand, especially as now the universe is a lot different to the main Marvel one. New Spider-man launching to.

I almost feel like having a peek...

 

[D_Davis]

Well, at least according to part of this year's marketing plan.

 

[CyBeR]

I think you might be right CyBeR, those danged Zombie's get everywhere. I think there might have been one or two other crossovers as well, but as a whole they're meant to be separate.. but marketing wise and excuse for a crossover.

I read as much of the Ultimate line as I could up and gave up around Ultimatum as well.

It looks as though they are getting ready to relaunch the brand, especially as now the universe is a lot different to the main Marvel one. New Spider-man launching to.

I almost feel like having a peek...

I honestly thought that NOTHING could be worse than One more day from Marvel. But then came Ultimatum and proved me wrong. How can they publish **** like that and still not be tried for utter incompetence is beyond my comprehension.

 

[Perpetual Man]

I honestly thought that NOTHING could be worse than One more day from Marvel. But then came Ultimatum and proved me wrong. How can they publish **** like that and still not be tried for utter incompetence is beyond my comprehension.

Oh thanks goodness for that!

Someone else who does not like One More Day!

The number of people who seem to have loved it and yet I felt it was the biggest cop out in Spider-man's history. Haven't read an issue since.

 

[CyBeR]

What's to like? They basically just threw away not only the past two years of Spidey's character development as it happened inside Civil War and the continuation, but they also threw away a lot of the last 20 years of story because by basically saying "The Devil did it".
I had previously read The other and Back in Black along some nice short stories in the secondary Spider-Man series. Those were great, they had strength and vibe...but when OMD rolled by I just gave up on the whole thing.

I wonder if they'll cop out of this Ultimate death as well. So far they're holding on tight to the decisions previously made (I understand Ultimate Wolverine is still dead). But with comics, it's never really the end, now is it? In this industry they copped out of many more interesting things. Captain America, Thor, Batman, Superman...meh...why do they even bother killing off these people?

 

[Perpetual Man]

I read up until OMD, and right until the pay off I thought it was a great idea.

I knew that Marvel wanted Mary Jane and Peter Parker apart, I understood the reasoning for it, and I loved the idea of Peter being tempted by Mephisto. But the payoff was all wrong.

Although I did not like the idea of changing a major part of the Spider-man mythos I felt it could have been done in a manner that built on what had gone before; when Mephisto turned down the soul but said he wanted the love of Parker and MJ, I thought we could have seen a blistering heart-rendering story, where the marriage just fell apart without love in it. Instead we got the rest button that wiped out (as you so perfectly noted) 20+ years of continuity, spitting not just on the long term readers who had invested in the stories, but the great writers who contributed to them over the years.

As to the Ultimate universe. It seems to be running under it's own steam these days, going in unique directions. Not sure whether the old reset button will be pressed, but at the moment it's certainly its own thing.