The Fans Don't Like it!

I had mentioned when I put my poll up, asking people what they'd choose if they had one more day, that I'd be interested in seeing what people thought of the end of this part of the history of Spider-Man. Well, Newsarama had a poll as well and it looks like most do not approve of it.
(results as of 12/30/07 @ 7:18 pm cst)

Personally, I thought it was kind of a cop out. And there are a LOT of problems with the decision. Now, if you don't want any kind of spoilers you should stop reading this because I'm going to discuss a few things that you might not want to know about until you read it for yourself.

First, why would Peter trust Mephisto? He's the devil, and you never make a deal with the devil that you'll win. Sure, Aunt May is alive today, but what happens next week when she steps in front of an oncoming bus?

Second, what happens to all of Spider-Man's past? Is it all gone? Was it a real alternate reality, like in House of M? Or is his new reality without MJ an alternate reality? We already know the organic web shooters are gone now.

Third, I really think it was pretty convenient that Aunt May hadn't already died, and that she wasn't able to tell Peter to just let her go because she'd had a long and happy life and it was time to go be with Ben.

Here are some comments from the Newsarama poll that I thought were interesting...

From Hulksmash100: One More Day of Crap! Bad bad bad idea that was poorly executed for something that shouldv'e been planned out much better & ahead of schedule. This will crap up spider-man for years to come.... good luck BND ccrew!

From Doctor Chronos: I don't mind that the marriage is over. I don't like the way they did it by magically and nonsensically changing the past whatever years of continuity to do it.
How about Mary Jane is sick of being constantly in danger and wants a divorce? How about the Kingpin, in his arrogance and being ticked off at getting beat, finishes the job and has whacked? How about May dies and Peter can't deal with the grief and just leaves MJ?
How about do this that actually shows character progression and at the same time tells a good story? This is just a deus ex machina cop out.
And yes, I took a good chunk of Marvel books off my list because of it

From Shadowchaser: worst decision and worst storyline to absolve a marriage...if they can't do a new fresh start with Peter being married, then get better writers...and what does this say to readers, if you really want something, make a deal with the devil especially Marvel's flagship character....
congrats Joe Q, you got what you wanted from day one and real shame that JMS's run had to end this way, with Joe forcing views onto the story..
i no longer will buy this book

From The Funketeer: Whether it was good or not is really beside the point. I didn't like it because it was lazy storytelling and disrespectful to all the good (and bad) stories that came before. You don't like that MJ and Peter were married? Too bad. You inherited that plot line when you took over the company and to say now that it never happened is just lazy on Marvel's part.
I'll be reading Brand New Day because I'm a fan of the creators and I'm sure they'll tell good stories but it's my hope that this story reverses itself right after Steve Rogers comes back.

From Zorn: It will be interesting to read the "Best Shots" reviews next week. I said it before on the "Best Shots" Ultimate thread and I'll say it again: No matter how much a book flops, Newsarama will always take a glass half-full, half-empty review approach whenever that book is tied to a major commercial event. It's lip service to EIC Joe Quesada so that we are privleged to hear his personal rants and ravings along with other Marvel employees on Newsarama. I wouldn't even be surprised if the book was pulled from the review list this week to spare the site personal embarssment of having to force an illogical stance on one person on why the book was great. Either that, or Newsarama will take an alternate approach on reviewing OMD that leaves them neutral, like the "pros and cons" of the new status quo.

From GreatfulFred: Heroes do not make deals with the devil, regardless the good it would accomplish.

From Arreo: They Probably could have done something else outside of WIPING THE LAST TWENTY ____ING YEARS OF CANON, but you know other than that it's ok.

From TheUUShadow: Comics that I feel deserve more exposure in my shop get Newsarama reviews displayed with them.
THIS rated a placard reading "IF YOU LIKE REALLY BAD FANFICTION THEN YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!"
And I apologize to everyone who buys it as I ring up the sale.

From jonnynyc: Will any news websites carry this story: Spider-Man aborts unborn child and get quickie divorce via deal with Devil.

From Gently: Horrid. As a longtime fan who still cannot cope with aunt May's return after one of the best death scenes ever I was delighted to see the old crone shot: finally a chance for Peter get rid of his projected Oedipus complex. Let's face it, if anyone in Peter's cast is holding back his progression as a character, it is May.
Oh well, I'll overcome Peter being once more a way too old sissyboy living with his aunt.
But wait, there is so much more wrong in this picture: when did Mephisto become the master of time??? And thus reviving Harry???
No, there is something more to this story, something we miss. At least, if I can give a writer as JMS credit for having half a brain (which he does). It doesn't read as something real as it contains a big mistake (Mephisto Almighty) and our only hope is this is all a big hoax.
This story can only have any worth if it has not ended and Brand New Day will stand reveiled as Spider-man's personal hell for Mepthisto's amusement. In any other case, it will be the readers personal hell.

From HeiuLeBui: Guys let’s not judge the cover until the book is out. Honestly. It’s been like 20 years since MJ and Spidey are married. Even in comics it’s getting to be too predictable and boring.

From Darth Tigris: I'm a big fan of Marvel for many years and feel that recent Marvel has been an incredibly amazing abundance of entertainment.
I'm a big fan of Joe Quesada's tenure as EiC (and even Marvel Knights). He has overseen a number of exciting storylines and powerful character developments. And his art is always a treat.
One More Day, as a story and in its implications, makes me embarassed for comics and Spider-Man.

From SuperBil: The Ends Justify the Means I can't say as I like the way they did it... but I'm happy they did. Spider-Man has sucked for the last 10 years or so... and even more since JMS came aboard. I just hope they stick to the new status, despite all the whining from the so called "fans". Spider-Man as a character doesn't work with him married... and it never has... and it never will. It was a HUGE mistake to ever marry Peter and MJ in the first place...
The iconic versions of characters always work better than the "retooled" versions. That's why in every other form of media (movies, TV, etc.) Spider-Man is portrayed as young and single (even though he is married in the comics). For instance, on the Spider-Man Animated Series from the 90's he was single and in college. In the highly successful Spider-Man movies, he's single and in college. On the MTV Animated Series he was single and in college. In the Ultimate Universe he's single and in high school. On the new Spectacular Spider-Man Animated Series he will be young and single, etc. etc. etc.
My point is... that if every other form of media realizes that Peter Parker works best as a character when he is written as young and single, shouldn't the medium that he originated in reflect this as well? In the long run, I believe that this is the correct direction to take the character in... no matter how it was achieved.

From darrenmdr: I really didn't like the execution of OMD but I do like what it has potentially resulted in. I think Obsessions said nearly all of what I wanted to say with his AOA allegory. If BND is in anyway as good as AOA was, then the fumbled execution of OMD is all worth it.
Just remember though that this is a temporary alternate reality story. Like AOA, there will be aspects of BND that leak through to the "real" world but it is not the end of Spiderman and does not make the last twenty years worthless.
At the end of it all Aunt May will die and MJ will be back. Whether Harry or Menace will come through I don't know. But I am betting that he will be a deciding factor in the return of Spiderman to the "real" world.

From Razorwing77: I'm in a weird place with this story. I didn't like it. But I'm looking forward to the new creative teams. But, with the way OMD went down, I'm worried the new teams are left with nothing but crap to write about. You can't polish a turd.
I'll give it a shot, but OMD was SO bad that I'm not so sure BND, despite the talent involved, will work.

From Wraith: I'm glad that the marriage and all of the other bad/crappy Spidey stories that have been told over the last 20 years have been erased. However, I HATE that they had to use another crappy story in order to undo/retcon the marriage and the other crappy Spidey stories.
I said it before, and I'll say it again, Peter and MJ would NEVER make a deal with Mephisto. They should have used the Beyonder instead.

From cptcrash64: I've read a couple of posts here referring to "religious nuts" or something along those lines. Regardless of religious beliefs (or lack thereof) I would think anyone who is a fan of Spiderman would agree that his making a such a selfish, cowardly deal with the personification of evil goes against everything that the character has stood for since his creation. Doesn't make us religious fanatics, just people who care about the character and hate how Marvel has chosen to depict him in this storyline.

From Andrew: To answer the question posed in this thread: I am horribly disgusted by this decision, and I just had Amazing Spider-Man removed from my pull list. My money will not be supporting this garbage. That is all.

From CuriousDude: I'm deeply disturbed by this new status quo for Peter; he's a 27 year old virgin who lives at with his elderly aunt in her home. That doesn't sit right with me at all.

From dannyboy: Some people grew up with a married Peter. Just read the book. It tastes bitter, uninspired and overall way too "plastic" to even be able to digest it. Honestly, always been a supporter of Quesada´s crazy policies, but this... honeslty...
I think that´s enough 616 spidey... have you read the last pages... he is like twenty something, living with his aunt... he looks and feels retarded... is like he stayed mentally at 15.
PETER GREW UP thanks to MJ. That is called CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
We don't want a lobotomized, shy, insecure and overall moronic hero.
Even Ultimate Pete is way cooler than his older 616 brother.

From Rawnzilla: I am 17 years old, I've been reading Spider-Man comics since I was 8, and Peter Parker doesn't appeal to me more now than he did when he was married. I've seen him single, I've seen him married, and I've seen him separated. It's not about who he's dating that makes the character who he is, it's how the character reacts to the world around him.
I don't feel any more of a connection to a single Peter Parker than I did to a married Peter Parker.I also don't like the way the marriage was done away with, it was like using a bullet to cure a headache.

They go one...repeats of a lot of this... for 27 pages so far. There are some religious debates that happen. Some non-comic or independent comic readers, not sure which, come on and tell people that it's about time they stopped reading Spider-Man because he's for kids... Some people make threats against JQ. So if you take out all of the crap, it seems that most people were disappointed with the way this went down. Most say they'll at least try the new version of Amazing Spider-Man, but there are others who claim they're done with the comic book title. I guess we'll wait and see what the sales numbers say.

I hope fans at least give the relaunch a chance because there are some good people working on it and it could be a nice breath of fresh air for the character and the title. But if they feel that they must bail, in order to communicate their frustration with this issue to Marvel, then I hope they tell their local comic book shop their feelings so that the stores can adjust their orders -- remember that RETAILERS ARE THE BUYERS OF COMIC BOOKS. When Marvel looks at those sales numbers they get them from what Diamond sells to retail stores, not what retail stores sell to customers. If you say you're not buying it but you don't tell your comic book store owner then the one that gets punished is the store, not Marvel.