Looking over at newsarama, I recieved the news I've been hoping for for over two years- that J.Michael Straczynski, the most repulsive, corrosive and offensive writer of Spider-Man I've ever encountered, is stepping down after one last story this summer. No news yet on who is going to replace him, but I can only hope that he will confine his work to non-canon garbage like 'bullet points' and then when sales of that drop into nothing he will finally be forced to go back to writing substandard sci-fi, where he belongs. Jesus, one man soiled us Gwen Stacy and pissed on Spider-Man's origin. I hope to god they put someone awesome on the book- I would normally cheer for Millar, but instead I'll just modestly suggest it, because he really failed a lot of promise on Civil War. Please, God,though I don't believe in you, not Bendis- he hates Spider-Man, and he's already ruined Ultimate Spider-Man forever.
Solicitations strongly suggest that there's going to be a death in the Spider-family soon. Will it be Mary-Jane? or will it finally, again, be Aunt May?
Either way, it's got to be good. Now hold on, before you chime in with your two cents, let me get mine out.
Spider-Man needs to get some change going on, and not insubstantial change like a costume. The New Avengers is a step in the right direction- clearly, not only is he good for Marvel on a team, but we, the reader, like seeing him in action with his fellow heroes(that's why he was in 95% of Marvel Team Up issues).
He's dealt with death significantly before, but really, it's been twenty years since someone important to him died. Well, not really, because both MJ and Aunt May died in that period, but they were both brought back fairly quickly. He's a bright and shiny penny in a sea of increasingly gritty, nasty, 'contemporary' comics, but frankly, he needs a little of that grit on him, then to wash it off. It's called polishing. Like Kurt Busiek says, "All right, we've deconstructed it. Let's put the wheels back on and test this sucker out".
His comic has become very staid- to the point that JMS does a couple issues a year focusing solely on Mary Jane or Aunt May because until something happens, Spider-Man is all but played out like this. There's some room to maneuver with Civil War and the demasking, but really, even that points towards a change like this- it would be difficult to imagine that ultimately the demasking had no consequences.
I've said this to a few of my friends, but basically, it goes like this. Comics are cyclical- whatever you like will eventually be back. I hate this current spidey- loses to everything in a mask, avatar of anansi, organic webbing, dumb as a post Spidey. Some people like him more this way. Well, we're taking turns, whether we like to or not- and it looks like my turn's next. With a little luck, I'll get to see my hero placed about where he should be in the hero hierarchy- Certainly high enough to beat Cap in a fight, jeebus.
P.S.: Eventually Peter will get his secret identity back, and not just the 'Ben Reilly' front, either. You bet your No-Prize on it.
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