So, what does that weird looking guy (the Shaper Of Worlds) up above have to do with Spider-Man? Read on and find out…
For several years, the higher-ups at Marvel Comics have made it known, they don’t like having a married Spider-Man. They state that it’s hard for younger fans to related to a married super-hero. Never mind the fact that the titles that feature a married Spider-Man are not ones I would let my kid read until he was a little older. Ways to solve this “problem” have been talked about for years. They don’t want to upset long-time readers by killing Mary Jane and they don’t want to do a reboot and just have the next issue start over.
I’ve given up on the core Spider-Man titles. They’ve not had a distinctive voice since the 90’s and no one seems to really know how to handle the character or supporting cast. I was never bothered by the fact he married MJ in the comics, but perhaps that causes many writers problems. Anyway…
The rumors of a “reboot” are heating up again. In August, writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Joe Quesada (Marvel comics Editor-In-Chief) will tell a story entitled “One More Day” starting in issue #544 of Amazing Spider-Man. Many believe this is the story that will reboot the Spider-Man franchise. If today’s rumor is true, it would leave things very similar to the current movie continuity, which isn’t a bad thing.
…they would have put Peter Parker through the worst of it, until he considers ending it all. At that point, he’d find himself on the bridge where Gwen Stacy died, offering his soul if the clock could have been turned back to simpler times. At which point the Shaper Of Worlds does just that, remaking Spider-Man’s world to when he was back in High School, but with the current book’s supporting cast, taking place in the modern day. Eventually confronting the Shaper, he discovers nothing can be changed, and his memories of the old world slowly fade away. The team decided though that this kind of event would be too “cosmic” for Spider-Man, who has a “street level” tone.
It feels like a cheap way out to me and it may not even be true, we’ll see in August. For good Spider-Man comics, just read Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley (soon Stuart Immomen).
