[WebLurker]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

I'm probably being over-enthusiastic, but ever since Rebirth began in the early summer, both Action Comics and Superman have been doing very well in the top ten and interest has increased in old 90s back-issues featuring that older Clark Kent.

Nice to here that it's a good time to be a Superman fan, if that's in your wheelhouse.

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Porting over the RYV Parkers would be my preferred endgame, but I was wondering if, assuming it does not follow the continuity of the original series, that RYV can be seen as a mirror opposite to 616, with a similar history only the Parkers remained married.

I think I'd prefer the latter over the former. If the RYV Parkers went mainstream, it seems more likely that someone would try to pull another OMD in the future, whereas if they stay in their own little corner where part of the premise is that they're a married couple, it's more likely that that premise will remain intact. (I also generally don't like the idea of events and all that, which one-off series are less likely to get involved in.)

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

I sort of see RYV as being potentially this decade's equivalent of what MC2 was to 616.

Oh for sure. I actually took RYV as a spiritual successor to Spider-Girl, but with the switch from the daughter's perspective to the father's to keep things fresh.

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

MC2 had the same history as 616 up to a specific point in the 90s, then it did it's own thing. 616 has occasionally borrowed elements from MC2 since then, and I don't just mean utlizing a version of Mayday for Spider-Verse.

I see.

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

I was mainly pointing towards those very titles you mentioned since they were the long-runners and focused on elements that fans enjoyed. One was a feel good natural continuation of the original story where Peter reached the next step of his character evolution, and another was the realisation of the long-desired "eternal high schooler that Stan and Steve famously opted to drop in the original run of ASM 33 issues in, which Stan has often been on record as saying he regretted.

While "Ultimate Spider-Man," is my favorite comic, I'm not actually that tied to the high school setting. I mostly liked it because the characterizations felt right and I liked the writing. I actually wish that Ultimate Peter could've grown up, since I think that would've been cool (although I do get that it wouldn't've happened: the comic is close enough to classic 616 Spider-Man that the teenaged protagonist was the main difference).

But, high school is a very entertaining setting, and I frankly think that having a mix of types of Spider-Man stories (teenager, adult, family man) is best, since they each have unique elements that make the stories fun for different reasons.

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

I expect a lot of spinning to be done in regards to sales, much like how the N52 fans try to spin the positive sales numbers for Rebirth as a string of diminishing returns. Some people tried arguing the original RYV series had the same sort of thing with each successive issue.

I think sales can be tricky to examine, but in the case of RYV, I think the sales coupled with the positive reviews (pre-OMD and post-OMD fans both loved it; even some of the latter wanted to see RYV get a sequel of some kind) indicate that there's a market for the married Spider-Man.

In fact, I'm a little surprised that it took so long for Marvel to announce a sequel. Other Secret Wars series that were popular enough to be expanded on were announced within months. Given that RYV was arguably the most popular of these ones that got a second life, it seems a little odd that Marvel didn't want to capitalize on the success of it sooner. I've tried poking around online to get a sense of what the thought is for a second RYV series, and the response seems really subdued, given the hit it was originally and I wonder if they hype would've been bigger without the wait.

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Money talks, and the times are changing. The success of the married Superman has turned heads. I like to think they really want their multiverse angle, prevalent since Spider-Verse, to be the solution to the problem. By tying in the likes of Spider-Gwen and Miles to the main universe, it's very obvious they'll ultimately see dollar signs in a big crossover between post-OMD Peter and RYV Peter, possibly for the 30th anniversary of the marriage, which is next year.

Maybe.

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

It simply has everything to do with the same old dogmatic dinosaurs that have been in charge for years getting into a stromp Peter grew up, and one hot-headed editor in Quesada deciding to do something about it in the worst way possible just so he could have HIS preferences for Spider-Man furthered. If he were no longer at the company, we probably would have seen a reversal long ago, or one of Slott's proposals to restore the marriage would have gone ahead. Quesada's letting his grip slip a bit by giving the marriage a big boost again, but he still has a tight leash on the main Spider-Man's status.

I suppose. On the other hand, are we that much different from them? We badly want the version of the character we know back, at the expense of the stuff that's come after it. (Not sure where I'm going with this, but I sometimes wonder about it.)

Speaking of Spider-Man marriage boosts, I thought it was odd that Secret Wars seemed to do a 180 on Marvel's dislike of the Peter/MJ relationship. Not only did ASM do the RYV series as a very respectful take on the marriage (and also winding up as a strong argument against OMD period), but the Civil War comic also had Peter and MJ as a married couple (with another daughter character). While MJ and the daughter were not in the story much, Peter having a family was depicted as a positive thing.

Even some of the alternative covers got in on the action. Online, I saw that Secret Wars #1 had options with MJ and Annie watching Peter in action and another showing Peter and MJ having a romantic moment in the corner of an "end of the world party." The second issue had the lovebirds in a scene that seemed to be a mashup of MJ's first appearance at that blind date and the final scene of Spider-Man 2.

Always thought it odd they went those routes, given how much time they spent trying to distance themselves from the marriage.

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Slott's mocked people with autism unprovoked, I think it's fair game with him in all honesty.

I did not know that. That is low.