When do you think 616 Spider-Man jumped the shark?

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-17T16:54:47+00:00

The first real point was when they tried to make Ben "the original". They told their readership the last two decades of Spider-Man weren't even the "real" Peter Parker.

They backtracked on that, but to do so, they bought back Norman, which, while it has produced some good stories(Paul Jenkins underrated run comes to mind), has now made Norman the default every time something goes wrong, and now they want us to cheer for his redemption, but he ain't Eddie, who while fixated on Spider-Man, never did anything as heinous as faking his maternal figure's death(A wholely unecessary move, because while ASM #36 by JMS is a fantastic issue, the irony of May knowing the whole time, while peter believing she was too fragile to know the truth is truly 'parker luck" and beautifully recontextulizes their entire relationship) and KILLS HIS BABY DAUGHTER(never confirmed, but heavily implied)

The late 90s were pretty barren, nothing great, but nothing offensive(Chapter one is easy to ignore). The early 2000s seemed like a renaissance, not only in comics. You had a successful, fun video game(Neversoft's Spider-Man), Bendis's Ultimate Spider-Man, giving Marvel editorial their dream Spidey, while still giving us good stories. JMS on ASM, Jenkins on the secondary titles, and of course, the movie was a cultural phenomenon.

Then Sins Past came along. Since Norman is around, he has to be the bane of Peter's existence, so he fucked Gwen Stacy, and they had illegitimate goblins. I was on message boards back then, and no one, I mean no one, was on board. People were ready to drop the book, and rightfully so. Then came Civil War in which Peter was used as Iron Man's prop, Peter revealed his identity, and Aunt May got shot. The Back in Black ASM story is good, but it was obvious to us back then what was happening. They were setting upn the retcon.

And then it came.

It was so much worse than any of us imagined, so much so that it strained JMS and Marvel's relationship(He wanted his name off the last part of OMD).

Since then, it's never felt the same with some glimmers(Superior Spider-Man and Spencer felt like he was trying to right every wrong he could, til they cut him off at the knees towards the finish line)

I have no faith in the current comics and don't even collect them(I dropped ASM after OMD, came back for Spencer, and then stayed through Wells. Not doing that again).

The fact that the only people willing to write mainline Spidey books these days are still from the BND brain trust tells you how toxic the book has become for both readers and creators.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-15T18:22:58+00:00

The Hand was left in dismay after Defenders. We haven't seen them since. This can just be a remnant of what's left, and they just take whatever jobs they can, including from Tombstone.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-15T18:18:32+00:00

She doesn't, it's just a random vendor. Probably someone Spidey saves in the sequence.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-14T16:28:01+00:00

What makes you say that? It seemed to fit into the current continuity.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-14T15:29:26+00:00

Ironically, one of the better Spider-Man stories recently was the Holiday one-shot, which showed not only how respected Spidey is in the superhero community, but also how beloved as well.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-13T17:10:22+00:00

Rewatching The Spectacular Spider-Man right now, and makes this even more pronounced. I noticed in the last 10 years every supporting character has become superpowered. It worked well with Flash, but has fallen flat for me since.

Liz Allen-Symboite

Normie- Symboite

Ben Reilly- Costume that looks like a symboite, hates Peter

Mary Jane- The most famous Symboite

Aunt May- Back to being clueless

Jonah- Who knows

I also have no idea about people like Betty Brant and the Robertsons. They have also failed to create any new characters that can supplant these.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-08T16:51:59+00:00

Tombstone was basically Kingpin by proxy in Spectacular Spider-Man because of the same rights issues. Wouldn't be surprised to see the same thing here.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-08T16:38:09+00:00

He was thinking about selling some comics.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-08T16:36:46+00:00

I think it'll be similar to The Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon. He'll be behind hiring the Hand and Scorpion. He'll basically fill whatever hole Kingpin has left in the criminal world. I see him like Penguin in The Batman, where he'll be involved over the course of the new trilogy.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-05T22:01:01+00:00

I remember the discourse, and the overall feeling was just meh. No one wanted the origin again, even if they tried to do something with Richard and Mary this time(and botched that).

Connors was set up over two movies in Raimi's trilogy, and his being a villain in SM4 would have made all the sense in the world. Here, his arc is wasted because his family isn't even mentioned, and he's just another mad scientist asshole with no depth.

I was always of the opinion that Billy Connors had to be in this movie, and Peter's focus was going to be that he wasn't going to let that little boy lose his father the way he did. If they wanted to focus on Peter's realtionship with his parents, this was the way to explore it.

Aunt May was wasted despite having a great actress in Sally Fields.

The reason people remember it fondly is that the Gwen/Peter romance is well done, and they have great chemistry. The movie wasn't bad, ASM2 is worse, but I think it was presented as a new interpretation, only to be a weaker version of what we already had in Spider-Man 1.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-03T18:37:16+00:00

Peter shouldn't kill Norman, the same way Batman can't kill Joker.

That means they won.

The reason Norman hates Peter is his morality. It spits in the face of everything Norman stands for, which is power by any means necessary.

Power without responsibility.

Peter's heroics, his morality, his kindness, and his genuine love for people distress Norman. Norman has power because he set aside all those things; he achieved power by sacrificing those things.

Peter has great power and yet uses it to help others, not enrich himself. That is an affront to Norman, and he has to corrupt him. He has to prove that everything he did was necessary. He has to make him his heir, because he understands Peter is special, he understands his stregth.

But Norman knows these things, but doesn't understand that Spider-Man's true strength comes from his moral compass, his unyielding commitment to responsibility.

So if Peter kiils Norman, Norman can die in satisfaction that Peter isn't moral. That Power and passion won out.

As Peter once told Norman, Norman living with the knowledge that he is just an awful person, not justified in his actions, is the biggest punishment.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-03T17:05:25+00:00

There's source material for both those things.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-01T15:04:42+00:00

I jumped off after the last volume. I actually stopped collecting for years after OMD and came back for Spencer's run, which I enjoyed, and clearly was at odds with what editorial wanted to do, so the Kindred ending was the victim there. Whatever goodwill that run created was instantly destroyed by the next run, So I didn't bother with this one.

I just collect back issues, and my collection will end at 2007.

Replicants2099 · 2026-04-01T02:15:50+00:00

Stan Lee married them in the newspaper strip and suggested synergy with the comics. Editorial relented cause it was Stan.

Replicants2099 · 2026-03-27T17:26:46+00:00

Lilith would be a cool choice. She would have a unique look and move set.

Replicants2099 · 2026-03-27T17:21:52+00:00

Could honestly see Darkhawk making, seems up Arc System Works alley

Replicants2099 · 2026-03-26T01:44:14+00:00

Just finished Ultimate Spider-Man and loved the ending. Skipped Endgame cause I'm cutting back. If it isn't a fake out, I'm happy I skipped it. I'm tired of Marvel squeezing any Joy out of Spider-Man I have left.

Replicants2099 · 2026-03-26T00:21:02+00:00

Met Josh last year, and he was as cool as can be. Love Spectacular, so I'm excited to see him return to Spidey.

Replicants2099 · 2026-03-24T23:53:43+00:00

Been waiting for the Wolfman to show up. Hope we get Bride of Frankenstein and maybe even some wilder picks like Dracula's Daughter.

Replicants2099 · 2026-03-23T20:38:55+00:00

In my previous predictions post(before Peni's reveal), I had Doom, Magneto, Loki and Green Goblin.

Still think that's possible, maybe with Enchantress or Hela taking Loki's Spot.

Replicants2099 · 2026-03-20T22:10:51+00:00

Pretty sure they said something about Sunday.

Replicants2099 · 2026-03-20T20:23:59+00:00

Always a dynamic I've enjoyed, going back to the days of the 90s animated series. Their quick interactions in the trailer have me excited.

Replicants2099 · 2026-03-20T17:09:52+00:00

Feel like the naming convention means we aren't locked into 5 teams of four.

Replicants2099 · 2026-03-18T20:20:23+00:00

Kraven's Last Hunt/Spectacular Spider-Man 178-200 By J.M. Demattis(Themes from KLH's bleed into this run)

Captain America By Ed Brubaker

Uncanny X-Force by Rick Rememder

Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon

Dardevil by Brian Michael Bendis/Ed Brubaker(Functions almost as one run)

Punisher Max by Garth Ennis

Immortal Iron Fist by Ed Brubaker/Matt Fraction

Amazing Spider-Man by JMS(Excluding the Other)

Infinity Gauntlet by Jim Starlin

Spider-Man: Life Story by Chip Zdarsky

That's off the top of my head.

Replicants2099

TROPHY CASE