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Post by goldenfist on Feb 13, 2010 14:06:37 GMT -5
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Post by Shiryu on Feb 13, 2010 14:26:41 GMT -5
Argh! Happy for Spidey, all in all, but not for Logan -_-
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Post by Ignore Me! on Feb 13, 2010 14:52:55 GMT -5
Me too ARRRGH! Art is terrible. So Bendis doesn't think he can keep sales up without Spidey or Wolvie?
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Post by dlw66 on Feb 13, 2010 15:31:33 GMT -5
If and when I ever decide to start buying new books (and freedomfighter's thread about $4 comics pretty much seals the fate of that proposition) I'll feel more like contributing. I made this comment on the Missing Persons thread back in the middle of the week. After seeing this cover, I'm sticking to it indefinitely. What in the world would those five characters have in common?? I understand the definition of the word "iconic", and I understand that when the "man on the street" thinks of Marvel today that Spider-Man and Wolverine are certainly that. However, when I think of the Avengers, those two ain't part of the equation... Somebody wake me when this is all over.
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Post by spiderwasp on Feb 13, 2010 17:11:08 GMT -5
Personally, I'm thrilled with this line-up. My feelings on the characters are as follows:
Captain America - I'd love to see him back in the Avengers, but this is Bucky, not Cap. Spiderwoman - I don't hate her but she's never been a character that could make me buy a book. Ironman- Never one of my favorite Avengers but I liked him okay. However, over the last few years, he has become intolerable and decreases my enjoyment of any book in which he appears. Wolverine- Overexposed and never right as an Avenger. Spider-man - One of my favorite characters but since BND, I haven't cared one iota about anything he's involved in. Thor and Hawkeye - The only two of these characters that I could get excited about.
So why do I say I'm thrilled with the line-up? Simple. If it were a better line-up, something like the real Cap, Thor, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Hank Pym, Scarlet Witch and the Wasp, it would be difficult for me to stay away from even with my "No more Bendis" policy in effect. I'd probably break down, give him another chance and end up being sorely disappointed by his horrible writing. As it is, I'll have no problem ignoring the title on the shelf and saving my money and time.
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Post by starfoxxx on Feb 13, 2010 17:28:14 GMT -5
Yeah, between Bendis writing it, JR2 drawing it, and the lineup, I just can't get too excited about this. Actually, ANYONE other than Bendis writing would help my enthusiasm level.
I'd love to see Hawkeye and/or Vision in the mix.
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Post by Ignore Me! on Feb 13, 2010 18:55:08 GMT -5
The thing is, I just read Kick Ass. I am not a fan of JR Jr. in any respects but I think he did an great job setting the tone for that book. Looking at the pictures of his work on Avengers it seems like his work has devolved.
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Post by Tana Nile on Feb 13, 2010 21:30:29 GMT -5
Once again, it's all about the bucks. Let's make sure Spider-Man and Wolverine are there, whether it really makes any sense or not.
And that cover is just hideous. Has Romita Jr no skill at foreshortening? Thor and Iron Man look deformed.
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Post by woodside on Feb 14, 2010 22:19:08 GMT -5
Argh, what happened to JRJr?
Not excited about Spider-Man and Wolverine . . .
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Post by goldenfist on Feb 15, 2010 1:12:36 GMT -5
I knew most of you wouldn't be happy about it.
Bendis said that the roster wouldn't be limited to Five characters Marvel wouldn't comment when they were asked if this was the final roster for the Avengers team.
If I find out anything else I will post the link.
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Post by freedomfighter on Feb 15, 2010 11:23:56 GMT -5
I knew most of you wouldn't be happy about it. Bendis said that the roster wouldn't be limited to Five characters Marvel wouldn't comment when they were asked if this was the final roster for the Avengers team. If I find out anything else I will post the link. well now in fairness, this is mostly a sandbox bendis has already played in. spider man, logan, iron man, cap (other cap, i know...) and spider woman were in his original lineup. he's been messing with hawkeye for years now. the only new wrinkle is thor... nobody wants to see echo/ronin again, but a more eclectic lineup wouldn't have hurt, would it?
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Post by spiderwasp on Feb 15, 2010 23:34:13 GMT -5
well now in fairness, this is mostly a sandbox bendis has already played in. spider man, logan, iron man, cap (other cap, i know...) and spider woman were in his original lineup. he's been messing with hawkeye for years now. the only new wrinkle is thor... nobody wants to see echo/ronin again, but a more eclectic lineup wouldn't have hurt, would it? Good observation. Someone at my LCS said that ending all the titles and starting over with Bendis was just new recipes with the same old cook. That seemed right to me till I read what you wrote here. Now I realize it's more like - same old recipes, same old cook - new menu calling all the dishes by a different name.
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Post by humanbelly on Feb 16, 2010 6:09:35 GMT -5
well now in fairness, this is mostly a sandbox bendis has already played in. spider man, logan, iron man, cap (other cap, i know...) and spider woman were in his original lineup. he's been messing with hawkeye for years now. the only new wrinkle is thor... nobody wants to see echo/ronin again, but a more eclectic lineup wouldn't have hurt, would it? Good observation. Someone at my LCS said that ending all the titles and starting over with Bendis was just new recipes with the same old cook. That seemed right to me till I read what you wrote here. Now I realize it's more like - same old recipes, same old cook - new menu calling all the dishes by a different name. So in fact it's pretty much Bendis' whole "Pet Team", isn't it? With Luke traded out & Thor brought in. Again, an appalling lack of powerful female members, which I should be surprised at, but then I find that, I guess, I'm not. I'll keep my subscription going, because someday- SOMEDAY- this status quo will come to an end. Sales trends will change. Remember, the X-Men were once the overwhelming tsunami of the entire industry, and even their dominance seems to have waned (although I should check sales figures to see if I'm correct about that). Although Spidey stopped being Spidey for me after BND, I do still maintain that I've always liked him being in the Avengers. Every few months I go off on a wheeze here about how he's the quintessential team player, and that the Avengers is really an ideal situation for him, etc.---- but I'm sure you've all heard it from me before. . . HB
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Post by goldenfist on Feb 16, 2010 13:28:26 GMT -5
Here's the Variant Cover to Avengers #1 i.newsarama.com/images/17_avengers_1_heroic_age_variant__02.jpgAlso this May there will be a book called Avengers Spotlight it will tell who survived Siege. AVENGERS SPOTLIGHT #1 Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR. Marvel begins a new Heroic Age of Avengers action in May, with the first issues of Brian Michael Bendis' AVENGERS and Ed Brubaker's SECRET AVENGERS leading the way! To celebrate this new Heroic Age for Earth's Mightiest Heroes, we want all SPOTLIGHT faithful to assemble for a double-sized extravaganza jam-packed with inside information, interviews, preview art and some very special surprises. This month's SPOTLIGHT is all things Avengers: Who survived SIEGE? Which heroes passed the Initiative? What's up with Luke Cage and his renegade Avengers? What's life like in a post-Dark Reign world? And where doe Steve Rogers fit into all of this? If you are a fan of the Avengers -- old school or new -- this is a must-buy piece of Marvel memorabilia! It will be 64 pages going for $3.99
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Post by freedomfighter on Feb 16, 2010 18:10:22 GMT -5
Good observation. Someone at my LCS said that ending all the titles and starting over with Bendis was just new recipes with the same old cook. That seemed right to me till I read what you wrote here. Now I realize it's more like - same old recipes, same old cook - new menu calling all the dishes by a different name. So in fact it's pretty much Bendis' whole "Pet Team", isn't it? With Luke traded out & Thor brought in. Again, an appalling lack of powerful female members, which I should be surprised at, but then I find that, I guess, I'm not. I'll keep my subscription going, because someday- SOMEDAY- this status quo will come to an end. Sales trends will change. Remember, the X-Men were once the overwhelming tsunami of the entire industry, and even their dominance seems to have waned (although I should check sales figures to see if I'm correct about that). Although Spidey stopped being Spidey for me after BND, I do still maintain that I've always liked him being in the Avengers. Every few months I go off on a wheeze here about how he's the quintessential team player, and that the Avengers is really an ideal situation for him, etc.---- but I'm sure you've all heard it from me before. . . HB I don't disagree that Spidey is a team player. The problem is it takes away from that hangdog loser element that makes him so easy to relate to. Wasn't he able to stay in Avengers tower when things went bad for him? It gets harder to relate to Spidey when he's got friends who can put him up in a million dollar penthouse... How come Marvel can put out 64 page book for the same price as much of their current, regular size line?
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Post by goldenfist on Feb 16, 2010 23:35:42 GMT -5
Then the E-I-C Joe Q must be doing his evil plan to tick off the fans of the Classic Avengers by having Bendis write the book.
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Post by humanbelly on Feb 17, 2010 4:07:29 GMT -5
I don't disagree that Spidey is a team player. The problem is it takes away from that hangdog loser element that makes him so easy to relate to. Wasn't he able to stay in Avengers tower when things went bad for him? It gets harder to relate to Spidey when he's got friends who can put him up in a million dollar penthouse... Wellllll, except if he's maintaining a secret identity (and the whole fiasco of his "outing" during Civil War does seem to confirm why that's very important. . . although that, like, didn't happen now, so it's hard to tell if the lesson was learned. . . ), then living at Avengers Tower/Mansion/Penthouse isn't really an option. And maybe that's a condition of getting the stipend? Who knows. The hangdog/loser aspect of Spidey tends to be more a bi-product of his trying to juggle a normal life w/ that of an extremely busy superhero. Since we're not all hangdog losers, as it were, the more relatable aspects are just the ones where normal, everyday annoyances intrude upon what he's doing as a superhero. But, to my mind, his not being in the Avengers goes against the logic of the MU, and against the natural tendencies of good story-telling. It long ago got to the point where contrivances were being made in order to have him not fully join. And granted, I think that was in deference to his Sad Sack mystique-- but at that point it's forcing an unnatural path, and is just silly. It would take a clever writer, yes, but I am sure it's possible for him to stay with the group, and not have them serve as a deus ex machina for every personal bump he has in the road. In fact, his discovery of that fact could prove a worthy storyline on its own. HB
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Post by humanbelly on Feb 17, 2010 4:11:34 GMT -5
Good heavens. ". . . AND THE REST-- ARE HERE ON GILLIGAN'S IIIIIIIIISLE." Sooooooooo, Hawkeye and Spiderwoman, according to this cover, are more or less the Professor & MaryAnne? HB
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Post by freedomfighter on Feb 17, 2010 10:40:25 GMT -5
I don't disagree that Spidey is a team player. The problem is it takes away from that hangdog loser element that makes him so easy to relate to. Wasn't he able to stay in Avengers tower when things went bad for him? It gets harder to relate to Spidey when he's got friends who can put him up in a million dollar penthouse... Wellllll, except if he's maintaining a secret identity (and the whole fiasco of his "outing" during Civil War does seem to confirm why that's very important. . . although that, like, didn't happen now, so it's hard to tell if the lesson was learned. . . ), then living at Avengers Tower/Mansion/Penthouse isn't really an option. And maybe that's a condition of getting the stipend? Who knows. The hangdog/loser aspect of Spidey tends to be more a bi-product of his trying to juggle a normal life w/ that of an extremely busy superhero. Since we're not all hangdog losers, as it were, the more relatable aspects are just the ones where normal, everyday annoyances intrude upon what he's doing as a superhero. But, to my mind, his not being in the Avengers goes against the logic of the MU, and against the natural tendencies of good story-telling. It long ago got to the point where contrivances were being made in order to have him not fully join. And granted, I think that was in deference to his Sad Sack mystique-- but at that point it's forcing an unnatural path, and is just silly. It would take a clever writer, yes, but I am sure it's possible for him to stay with the group, and not have them serve as a deus ex machina for every personal bump he has in the road. In fact, his discovery of that fact could prove a worthy storyline on its own. HB Yeah, but it expands further than that. If spidey needs access to a supercomputer, he doesn't have to do a crazy break-in at the Baxter Building, he just makes a phone call. If Pete needs a lawyer, he doesn't have to get lucky and get Matt Murdock (because Matt knows his secret i.d.), Stark likely has a crew of the best legal minds on retainer. If he needs to be in Europe, he can just borrow a quinjet. Part of what makes Spidey interesting is he has to be more creative than most of the well connected super heroes. He's not Bruce Wayne, he's not a member of the Justice League. Most of the JLA are not relateable. Flash can get anywhere at lightspeed, Batman's got ten billion dollars worth of toys, Wonder Woman, Superman, et. al. Maybe hangdog loser is too strong a characterization, but average joe may be better and hanging out with folks who've got billions of dollars resources tends to weaken that appeal.
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Post by starfoxxx on Feb 17, 2010 19:18:15 GMT -5
well now in fairness, this is mostly a sandbox bendis has already played in. spider man, logan, iron man, cap (other cap, i know...) and spider woman were in his original lineup. he's been messing with hawkeye for years now. the only new wrinkle is thor... nobody wants to see echo/ronin again, but a more eclectic lineup wouldn't have hurt, would it? Good observation. Someone at my LCS said that ending all the titles and starting over with Bendis was just new recipes with the same old cook. That seemed right to me till I read what you wrote here. Now I realize it's more like - same old recipes, same old cook - new menu calling all the dishes by a different name. Yes, and i betcha the new titles will be $3.99. The fact that Mighty and Avengrs Initiative stayed at 2.99 was one of the reasons I stuck with them.
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kidcage
Reservist Avenger
Posts: 167
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Post by kidcage on Feb 17, 2010 19:25:49 GMT -5
I agree completely that this lineup lacks strong female characters. Spider-Woman of course since she's Bendis' comic version of first love it seems, but this also has me worried about one small thing.
What is going to happen to Carol after her solo series ends and the "Heroic Age" begins. To be honest, she seems to be the ONLY real "Female Superhero" of the Marvel U. While Black Widow will be pushed due to IM2 and Spider-Woman since she's Bendis' girlfriend, it seems like Carol is being left out of a lot.
Reason I say this, and I know this is slightly jumping a gun here, but between the lineup for AVENGERS and also the Secret Avengers/Enter Heroic Age artwork, she's nowhere. Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Pym, Black Widow, Cage, they're accounted for one way or the other, so are most of the other members of the "New Avengers", but Carol's NOWHERE.
Ah well, guess this is to be expected when I was also disappointed with She-Hulk ending, seems there is no real faith in female characters pulling long runs on solo books.
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Post by scottharris on Feb 17, 2010 19:48:03 GMT -5
I was under the impression that Carol had died at the end of her series. "Died," I mean. But I might be wrong, I haven't been reading it.
I think the problem really is the lack of strong female superhero characters in general, not specifically with this lineup. Personally I'd rather dump Spider-woman for any number of more interesting male characters. There just aren't that many good female characters around, which is a failing by Marvel as a whole more than by Bendis in picking this lineup I think.
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Post by starfoxxx on Feb 18, 2010 16:13:19 GMT -5
Jeesh, Wasp is dead, Ms Marvel's dead, 2 of the 3 titles on my pull-list are cancelled, and Bendis continues to ruin my favorite comic book franchise, with no end in sight. And Quesada continues to stomp on the hearts of old-school Marvel Zombies again and again. This is the most UNenthused i've been about comics since before Busiek's revamp. At least i've still got Guardians of the galaxy to keep my interest. Dark Reign indeed.
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Post by goldenfist on Feb 26, 2010 0:29:25 GMT -5
Bendis said that the roster that has been revealed is not the full roster, The full roster will be revealed in Avengers #1.
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Post by humanbelly on Feb 27, 2010 9:57:16 GMT -5
Wellllll, except if he's maintaining a secret identity (and the whole fiasco of his "outing" during Civil War does seem to confirm why that's very important. . . although that, like, didn't happen now, so it's hard to tell if the lesson was learned. . . ), then living at Avengers Tower/Mansion/Penthouse isn't really an option. And maybe that's a condition of getting the stipend? Who knows. The hangdog/loser aspect of Spidey tends to be more a bi-product of his trying to juggle a normal life w/ that of an extremely busy superhero. Since we're not all hangdog losers, as it were, the more relatable aspects are just the ones where normal, everyday annoyances intrude upon what he's doing as a superhero. But, to my mind, his not being in the Avengers goes against the logic of the MU, and against the natural tendencies of good story-telling. It long ago got to the point where contrivances were being made in order to have him not fully join. And granted, I think that was in deference to his Sad Sack mystique-- but at that point it's forcing an unnatural path, and is just silly. It would take a clever writer, yes, but I am sure it's possible for him to stay with the group, and not have them serve as a deus ex machina for every personal bump he has in the road. In fact, his discovery of that fact could prove a worthy storyline on its own. HB Yeah, but it expands further than that. If spidey needs access to a supercomputer, he doesn't have to do a crazy break-in at the Baxter Building, he just makes a phone call. If Pete needs a lawyer, he doesn't have to get lucky and get Matt Murdock (because Matt knows his secret i.d.), Stark likely has a crew of the best legal minds on retainer. If he needs to be in Europe, he can just borrow a quinjet. Part of what makes Spidey interesting is he has to be more creative than most of the well connected super heroes. He's not Bruce Wayne, he's not a member of the Justice League. Most of the JLA are not relateable. Flash can get anywhere at lightspeed, Batman's got ten billion dollars worth of toys, Wonder Woman, Superman, et. al. Maybe hangdog loser is too strong a characterization, but average joe may be better and hanging out with folks who've got billions of dollars resources tends to weaken that appeal. Heya FF, my apologies-- I've kept meaning to touch base on this again, and seem to keep skipping over it. Your points about the broader aspects of Spidey's concept (as it were) are quite valid, I think. It would be easy to have him fall into the trap of being "just another superhero." But the flip side of that coin, of course, is that by not having him expand or grow in his role as a . . . professional superhero (for lack of a better word). . . his character then becomes stagnant. Clearly, this is an inherent problem for characters (starting w/ Superman) that weren't created with several decades of ongoing adventures in mind. Unfortunately, maintaining a popular status quo AND having a character experience meaningful growth and change seems to be a mutually-exclusive demand on the writers. Thus we have aunts that die and then come back to life; wives that are killed and then not; clone duplicates that gamely try to take on the mantle, and are rejected wholesale (rightly so) by us fans; babies that are born and then disappear under shady circumstances from the delivery room; teaching positions that are taken up and then discarded (I really miss that development-- liked it a lot, no matter how impractical-); and, ultimately, entire marriages that are wiped from the face of the MU's internal memory. And where does that leave us? With a Pete/Spidey that is effectively in the same stage of life as he was (no kidding) about 30 to 35 years ago. Bleah. But I'm straying a bit--- Ultimately, Pete's responsibility obsession would drive him to work under circumstances where he would be assured of doing the most good (i.e.- in a team environment). . . w/out having to compromise a) his principles and/or integrity, or b) his secret identity. Now, I can completely see where a revamped, sanctioned Avengers squad could cause Pete to chafe at aspects of A) and be outright at odds w/ B)-- and maybe that's where a common ground is to be had. Maybe there's an official "Associate" level of membership to be had, as opposed to the old Reserve or Provisional memberships. Basically a "field operative" member that doesn't officially have access to computers, quinjets, labs, security clearances, etc that Full Members do. In return, he retains his secret identity, and is freed up from a lot of the official, internal duties of the team (do they still do monitor duty?). In fact, I think this situation could make for a very telling story thread in the book. It doesn't sound pretty. And, if nothing else, it could truly settle the question of whether Spidey will or will not work in the Avengers. You know-- what he needs is for the old Defenders to really re-unite-- that group was much more his style, although I'm not if the interpersonal chemistry is there. Hoo-boy, another long one- HB
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Post by freedomfighter on Feb 27, 2010 22:35:39 GMT -5
Yeah, but it expands further than that. If spidey needs access to a supercomputer, he doesn't have to do a crazy break-in at the Baxter Building, he just makes a phone call. If Pete needs a lawyer, he doesn't have to get lucky and get Matt Murdock (because Matt knows his secret i.d.), Stark likely has a crew of the best legal minds on retainer. If he needs to be in Europe, he can just borrow a quinjet. Part of what makes Spidey interesting is he has to be more creative than most of the well connected super heroes. He's not Bruce Wayne, he's not a member of the Justice League. Most of the JLA are not relateable. Flash can get anywhere at lightspeed, Batman's got ten billion dollars worth of toys, Wonder Woman, Superman, et. al. Maybe hangdog loser is too strong a characterization, but average joe may be better and hanging out with folks who've got billions of dollars resources tends to weaken that appeal. Heya FF, my apologies-- I've kept meaning to touch base on this again, and seem to keep skipping over it. Your points about the broader aspects of Spidey's concept (as it were) are quite valid, I think. It would be easy to have him fall into the trap of being "just another superhero." But the flip side of that coin, of course, is that by not having him expand or grow in his role as a . . . professional superhero (for lack of a better word). . . his character then becomes stagnant. Clearly, this is an inherent problem for characters (starting w/ Superman) that weren't created with several decades of ongoing adventures in mind. Unfortunately, maintaining a popular status quo AND having a character experience meaningful growth and change seems to be a mutually-exclusive demand on the writers. Thus we have aunts that die and then come back to life; wives that are killed and then not; clone duplicates that gamely try to take on the mantle, and are rejected wholesale (rightly so) by us fans; babies that are born and then disappear under shady circumstances from the delivery room; teaching positions that are taken up and then discarded (I really miss that development-- liked it a lot, no matter how impractical-); and, ultimately, entire marriages that are wiped from the face of the MU's internal memory. And where does that leave us? With a Pete/Spidey that is effectively in the same stage of life as he was (no kidding) about 30 to 35 years ago. Bleah. But I'm straying a bit--- Ultimately, Pete's responsibility obsession would drive him to work under circumstances where he would be assured of doing the most good (i.e.- in a team environment). . . w/out having to compromise a) his principles and/or integrity, or b) his secret identity. Now, I can completely see where a revamped, sanctioned Avengers squad could cause Pete to chafe at aspects of A) and be outright at odds w/ B)-- and maybe that's where a common ground is to be had. Maybe there's an official "Associate" level of membership to be had, as opposed to the old Reserve or Provisional memberships. Basically a "field operative" member that doesn't officially have access to computers, quinjets, labs, security clearances, etc that Full Members do. In return, he retains his secret identity, and is freed up from a lot of the official, internal duties of the team (do they still do monitor duty?). In fact, I think this situation could make for a very telling story thread in the book. It doesn't sound pretty. And, if nothing else, it could truly settle the question of whether Spidey will or will not work in the Avengers. You know-- what he needs is for the old Defenders to really re-unite-- that group was much more his style, although I'm not if the interpersonal chemistry is there. Hoo-boy, another long one- HB I get your points and they would be valid except... Every Spider Man comic is somebody's first. Some twelve year old kid is buying Spidey for the first time (sadly fewer and fewer as years go on). How fair is it to them that since we grew up with Spidey he has to now grow up with us? It is repetitive to have him go through the same problems ad infinitum, but having him go through them in a several year cycle does seem about right. It gives a group of readers a chance to get a strong story arc, several years of good stories and then someone else retells them in a fresher fashion. It does seem unfair to give some new kid Spider Man and his amazing mortgage payment and sport utility van instead of the young and more relatable Peter Parker. It's a tightwire act, I give you that one hundred percent, but I think you should always err on bringing new blood to the comic reading fold. And the completely accomplished and polished Spidey is not my idea of how to grab that audience. But again, I do think you're right that for longtime readers, he should experience some personal growth. However I don't think it preserves the legacy of the legend as much.
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Post by humanbelly on Feb 28, 2010 21:40:47 GMT -5
[ I get your points and they would be valid except... Every Spider Man comic is somebody's first. Some twelve year old kid is buying Spidey for the first time (sadly fewer and fewer as years go on). How fair is it to them that since we grew up with Spidey he has to now grow up with us? It is repetitive to have him go through the same problems ad infinitum, but having him go through them in a several year cycle does seem about right. It gives a group of readers a chance to get a strong story arc, several years of good stories and then someone else retells them in a fresher fashion. It does seem unfair to give some new kid Spider Man and his amazing mortgage payment and sport utility van instead of the young and more relatable Peter Parker. It's a tightwire act, I give you that one hundred percent, but I think you should always err on bringing new blood to the comic reading fold. And the completely accomplished and polished Spidey is not my idea of how to grab that audience. But again, I do think you're right that for longtime readers, he should experience some personal growth. However I don't think it preserves the legacy of the legend as much. Ahhhhh, you know what, FF-- despite the fact that I maintain my position, I find that I can't actually say you're wrong. You are definitely looking at the issue from a much, much broader perspective than I am, with a distinctly heavier emphasis on perceived marketability. And you may be right. It does worry me, though, that there could be a closed circle of available history for Spidey, and that once a certain point is reached, it has to start all over again. But I also recognize that pretty much all of the other "appeal to the youth" characters since then have been kind of a bust (Nova, Speedball, etc), so the temptation to use the proven material is awfully strong. I'm trying to remember how Superman fared with his massive re-launch by John Byrne in the mid-80's-- although that reboot seemed to make a cleaner and more complete break from immediate continuity than Spidey's been doing. And of course Superman's appeal, as you correctly pointed out, isn't at all based on his "Everyman" status. Wait a minute. When I started reading Spidey, he was already in college, while I was still in elementary school (although I remembered reprints of his high school years). He had a grown-up job. And. . . he totally appealed to me & my pal at that point. We loved him when we were 12 (1972-ish?). Is it possible that the notion of his being "relatable" for youngsters hinging solely on his age is a bit of a myth? I think we still would have liked him just as much if he had indeed gone the Spidey & the 30 Year Mortgage route. And, wow, there are not going to be many younger readers to be found at $4.00 a pop (per week!) for this book. Man, I'm just not letting go, am I? But I do completely recognize that we'll have to agree to disagree on what we feel the most prudent handling of the Spidey franchise should be. Yup. Thanks for continuing the exchange, though, FF-- mucho appreciado. (or Agua Calliente or Pollo Pasta Grande, or something. . . ) HB
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Post by goldenfist on Mar 19, 2010 19:54:20 GMT -5
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Post by humanbelly on Mar 19, 2010 20:57:18 GMT -5
The blonde guy in the background--- do we assume that's Steve Rogers, then?
HB
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kidcage
Reservist Avenger
Posts: 167
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Post by kidcage on Mar 22, 2010 13:25:21 GMT -5
Steve Rogers, or Hank Pym?
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