Marvel's Civil War
I find myself not getting too worked up over what's happened.
Spider-man has revealed his secret identity. It's all over the internet now, but just in case I thought I'd do an lj-cut.
Marvel and DC have shown again and again that no major change to their status quo is permanent. Superman was killed in the 90's. DC insisted he was going to stay dead, yet they still wouldn't cancel his three solo titles. Batman had his back broken, and was allowed to rehabilitate himself from an injury that should have left him in a wheelchair for life. After about thirty years, Marvel brought back the Green Goblin. Hal Jordan went from hero to villain. Then he died. Now he's reborn as a hero, and his career as a super villain retconned into mind control. I could go on and on. Teenage Tony Stark. The Spider Clone Saga. Aquaman's various reboots.
Marvel and DC have chosen a very Buddhist path. I think they realize that if they continue to tell the same stories over and over then their properties will grow stale. So they've ruthlessly chosen to periodically reinvent their characters with the knowledge that no matter what they do they can always either explain it away later....or in more extreme cases forget it ever happened. In the latter cases, they'll usually wait a few years for people's memories to fade.
So I've found myself strangely apathetic when I learned that Spidey revealed his secret identity to the public. I loved the character as a child, but since the dark ages of the Clone Saga I've largely avoided the title. I do admit to enjoying Ultimate Spider-man, but Straczynski's mystic reinterpretation of Spider-man never really grabbed me. Spider-man: The Other is worthy of every ounce of scorn, ridicule and parody I've seen heaped upon it.
Someday, Spider-man will return with good art and writing. In the meantime, I can look forward to the next issue of Ultimates, the next trade for the Invincible, and vaguely wonder when the next issue of Planetary will be released.
Spider-man has revealed his secret identity. It's all over the internet now, but just in case I thought I'd do an lj-cut.
Marvel and DC have shown again and again that no major change to their status quo is permanent. Superman was killed in the 90's. DC insisted he was going to stay dead, yet they still wouldn't cancel his three solo titles. Batman had his back broken, and was allowed to rehabilitate himself from an injury that should have left him in a wheelchair for life. After about thirty years, Marvel brought back the Green Goblin. Hal Jordan went from hero to villain. Then he died. Now he's reborn as a hero, and his career as a super villain retconned into mind control. I could go on and on. Teenage Tony Stark. The Spider Clone Saga. Aquaman's various reboots.
Marvel and DC have chosen a very Buddhist path. I think they realize that if they continue to tell the same stories over and over then their properties will grow stale. So they've ruthlessly chosen to periodically reinvent their characters with the knowledge that no matter what they do they can always either explain it away later....or in more extreme cases forget it ever happened. In the latter cases, they'll usually wait a few years for people's memories to fade.
So I've found myself strangely apathetic when I learned that Spidey revealed his secret identity to the public. I loved the character as a child, but since the dark ages of the Clone Saga I've largely avoided the title. I do admit to enjoying Ultimate Spider-man, but Straczynski's mystic reinterpretation of Spider-man never really grabbed me. Spider-man: The Other is worthy of every ounce of scorn, ridicule and parody I've seen heaped upon it.
Someday, Spider-man will return with good art and writing. In the meantime, I can look forward to the next issue of Ultimates, the next trade for the Invincible, and vaguely wonder when the next issue of Planetary will be released.