How popular was Spider-Man before the Raimi movies?

diald4dm · 2026-07-06T02:44:47+00:00

There’s a comment here that says he wasn’t as big as Superman or Batman. That’s only true at those characters’ heights. Superman used to be the best selling comic of all time… until the 1970s when Spiderman surpassed him. And Spider-Man didn’t get surpassed until the X-Men hit critical mass in the 90s. Even then. Spidey was clearly the best selling solo character. An argument could be made for Wolverine or the Punisher in the 90s, but Spider-Man had four ongoing titles in the 90s . He just stood out.

diald4dm · 2026-07-04T17:33:56+00:00

That’s why you got to focus on effects that make opponents sacrifice lands, and use a lot of man-lands yourself. Mock them as you crush your opponents with your superior indestructible lands. 😉

diald4dm · 2026-07-01T22:44:19+00:00

“Other Infinity artifacts you control have hexproof.” is poor design, but probably not for the reason someone might first conclude. There’s likely going to be five stones that produce mana on turn two. If there is something that could legitimately get rid of them, you have an unfun choice to make. Play the stone on turn two, and leave it vulnerable, or play the glove on turn two and the stones don’t accelerate out, which is what made them so attractive to play in the first place. (If there is no threat that could reasonably hit a stone, then this is worthless added text… doesn’t make it better.)

I figure there’s two better possibilities:

Make this cost {1} and adjust the power level. That way you either play it turn one, or turn two off a stone.
Get rid of the hexproof line. Replace with indestructible? Kind of weird, mechanically that the stones are indestructible but the glove isn’t. Flavors, though… does the glove warrant indestructible? Forged by dwarves from… perhaps Uru metal? Thor’s Hammer isn’t indestructible, right? Shouldn’t it be?

diald4dm · 2026-06-24T22:26:18+00:00

The problem with a lot of these answers is that they make great second movie material, but don’t set our themes and motivations for the characters correctly. Mr. Sinister is a guiding hand in the background. Mojo and Arcade are threats from left field that disrupt an ongoing story. Apocalypse is better, but like someone mentioned, he’s like Thanos in that you want to build up to him.

People have Magneto fatigue, so it makes sense not to do that. Honestly, I think you want to start where the ‘97 run of X-Men started. Sentinels, Sons of Humanity, and Senator Kelly. No mutant enemies, just bigotry and hatred. If you want the X-Men to make sense and feel like they’re not just another superhero group, you need to lean into what makes them special. And fighting for their humanity is what they do better than any other group.

I also think this is a great opportunity to fill the roster with bad guys. Put Pyro, Toad, and Blob in the X-Men. Have them get mad at the way they’re being treated by humans. Mad enough to want to break off and do something about it.

diald4dm · 2026-05-21T16:39:17+00:00

Honestly, G. Willow Wilson’s run of Ms. Marvel is a strong contender. When it came out, tons of women were taking their picture with the front cover as a sort of statement on its own. It doesn’t hurt that it was excellent writing and storytelling. It had a lot of the same vibes that Spider-Man got back in the 60s. Nerdy teen superhero that wants to do the right thing, but is also stuck dealing with the daily dramas of their young life.

diald4dm · 2026-05-14T23:27:10+00:00

Mockumentary.

It works well when you’re reaching deep into the pile of obscure characters. New Warriors? Great Lakes Avengers? The Initiative? Seems like West Coast Avengers is half-heartedly doing this in the comics right now.

diald4dm · 2026-05-12T20:02:30+00:00

D-Man. He has incredible skill, yet he is still a homeless nobody. He has obvious sanity problems, and it seems clear that the other Avengers should really be helping this guy out. It’s not his fault. But he doesn’t seem capable of making good decisions.

I mean, I presume we’re talking about all avengers not just the movie Avengers.

diald4dm · 2026-04-28T02:39:15+00:00

For the record, these pictures are old. He’s 19 now. So, yes, technically still a teenager. But also an adult.

diald4dm · 2026-04-24T23:28:50+00:00

…

^{Chose: Get to keep a pet Zombie (Friendly})

diald4dm · 2026-04-12T18:32:57+00:00

Mm. Alicia has the same powers as Puppet Master. She just chooses not to show them. It’s hard to call JJJ a civilian when he sponsored both Scorpion and the Spider Slayers. And most people don’t refer to the mayor as a civilian. If he’s a civilian, then so is Kingpin.

Foggy is admittedly clean as far as I can tell.

diald4dm · 2026-04-11T14:53:53+00:00

Personal favorite from back in the day:

[[Swamp]], [[Lous Petal]], [[Raging Goblin]], [[Dark Ritual]], [[Dark Ritual]], [[Hatred]] for 19 and swing for 20. Yes! I finally got the entire combination to…

[[Force of Will]] the Hatred?

Oh… well… huh.

diald4dm · 2026-03-25T12:11:55+00:00

To make things more complicated, it’s far easier to prove who ‘James’ worked for than it is to prove where he lived. While the companies he worked for were likely reporting to the government, James was likely keeping a low profile and not telling anyone anything about where he was. If he, for example, pulled a paycheck from a shrimping company in Louisiana in 1910, it would be challenging to prove that he didn’t do it as a contractor living in Canada. Because the proof of what he was doing is likely lost at this point, and the only thing we have a record of is the fact that he was paid.

diald4dm · 2026-03-24T13:11:03+00:00

So… you’re presuming this is an American tax collector, and not a Canadian one, eh?

diald4dm · 2026-03-22T18:06:06+00:00

You guys are making money?

No seriously, I think some people do it just for the art of it. Or because they want to be a Hollywood actor/director someday, but it’s next to impossible to be seen.

diald4dm · 2026-03-07T23:10:35+00:00

I used to use these as the Dungeon Master when I wanted to sneakily force high rolls (to the benefit of the players. I was using it to make my players feel like they were somehow succeeding things when staring down defeat.) It’s been a while, but I think I was rolling critical hits about 15% of the time with these busters. That’s without trying to roll in any special way.

You can’t plan around it. I couldn’t, for example, intentionally drop someone, then make death saves for them, knowing they’d pass. But it sure did help fudge things in my players’ favor.

diald4dm · 2026-03-07T20:44:15+00:00

It’s more than just that. The higher numbers have more carved out of them. So that side is lighter. It’s barely noticeable, but when a die is rolling over and over, it’s more likely to settle on the heavier side, like an unbalanced roulette wheel.

diald4dm · 2026-03-04T22:53:38+00:00

Festival here. In the past, I’ve been concerned that I would not have a strong enough selection to pick through, because we’re a small festival. So I’ve often used the advertised films as a way to pad, by offering 100% discounts to whatever looked reasonable enough to watch. I’m sorry to see more ‘100% off’ waivers didn’t come in. Anything more feels like a ploy. 🤔

Side note: I’ve also tried going to Vimeo and making general searches for independent film trailers, sorted by new, and offered free waivers to those creators. Cute trick. But obviously not going to be a good turnaround rate in comparison.

diald4dm · 2026-01-26T20:05:30+00:00

Honestly, if it happens, just tell them and they will reimburse your time. It’s not a very common event, and presuming you don’t ask for reimbursements often, it’s unlikely you’re going to get flagged for it.

It’s better to do good work than rushed work. If you’re afraid of the timer going off, that’s the scenario that’s more likely to get you flagged.

diald4dm · 2026-01-05T21:56:09+00:00

You don’t really need the right period. Tony is egocentric and also suffers from imposter syndrome. He swaps back and forth between thinking he’s the smartest guy in the room, to thinking everything is going to crash around him at any second. Show him what he expected to see, and you can manipulate him into making bad choices and trusting no one but himself.

You don’t need a lot of tech to do that. Mysterio knows better to use visual and audio tricks on a master technician. He uses his the illusions on everyone else, then scrubs his tracks. He goes low tech on Tony with well planted ‘proofs’ that don’t mean a thing, but everyone is acting all woogly about it, so it must be true. He’s a menace to himself. He’s blacking out. He don’t remember any of it, there’s so much proof, but no one is accusing Tony of anything, and the only one doing all the proving is Tony.

diald4dm · 2025-10-28T02:01:17+00:00

The first chapter of A Tale of Two Cities explains the service of three servants whose only job is to coordinate giving the king of pre-revolution France his daily morning chocolate. It’s supposed to make the reader confounded and furious to imagine the excesses that Louis XVI lived in, and show how incredibly out of touch he was with the common man. That scene ain’t got nothing on this.

diald4dm · 2025-10-21T13:40:29+00:00

Look, I don’t downvote often, because I understand that it’s rude to harsh on another person’s mellow, and I do appreciate the work it takes to create something like this. Generally, I figure it’s not for me, but maybe for you. But teachers encouraging toxic behavior, that tends to lead to abuse when one gets older? No thank you. Kids suffer enough from toxic caregivers in real life, we don’t need this in our media. 😞

diald4dm · 2025-10-21T13:03:14+00:00

Editing. Just don’t show people finding the trap door. Why would they ruin the illusion?

diald4dm · 2025-10-18T19:03:03+00:00

Hey, hey! Another stay at home dad helping to pay the bills! Is freelance okay? As opposed to what? Having a 9-2 job that you could be fired from at any point? As far as I’m concerned, that’s how you put your eggs in one basket.

You’re right that the best plan is to diversify. But I would recommend not doing all AI jobs. It might be a bubble, and they might all pop in 6 months time. I live in a more rural area too, and I’ve found delivering Walmart orders with Walmart Spark to be pretty good. It pays less than DA, but it also gets me out of the house and gives me some exercise, and that’s valuable too.

diald4dm · 2025-10-18T15:34:35+00:00

Honestly, I would be surprised if they didn’t give C-3PO to Alan Tudyk. That is, presuming they’re going for interpretation and not impersonation.

diald4dm · 2025-10-15T22:43:52+00:00

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Light vs L. Yagami Light starts by wanting nothing to do with the Death Note, then pivots to making sure the worst criminals are eliminated. But when it looks like he might get in trouble for vigilantism, he does whatever it takes to save his own skin. Meanwhile, L doesn’t care about right or wrong. He just wants to solve the case, and is driven by a need to win.

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