Spider-man: One More Day

Writers: J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada

Artist: Joe Quesada

Issues:  Amazing Spider-man #544-545, Sensational Spider-man #41, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man #24

Here it is, one of the most controversial comic arcs in the past year.  I had complained at great length about this story without having read it myself.  Shame on me.  Coverage of this story was so widespread, I knew everything that happened.  I went in with my preconceived notions of what was going to happen, and how much I was going to rant and rave about for many months to come.  I felt most sorry for my coworkers, who would invariable have to endure more of my complaining about Spider-man.

Now that I’ve read the story, and am a couple months away from the hype and all the opinions on the Internet, I’ve formulated a new opinion.  For those that don’t know, Aunt May is in mortal peril yet again, having been shot during an assassination attempt on Peter.  Peter is all kinds of depressed, and searches the Marvel Universe for some kind of cure, knowing that he would give anything to have just one more day with her.  This is emotional tripe at its finest.  Aunt May seems to be always at death’s door, so I cared little for the situation.  Peter’s reaction was what could be expected, he felt very guilty because the bullet was meant for him.  But help finally comes to Peter’s aid.

In the past, I’ve attempted to remain spoiler-free in these posts, but I cannot do so here.  If you have not read One More Day or have any intention of doing so without spoilers, stop reading.  The Devil comes to Peter.  That’s right…the Devil.  Peter meets some alternate forms of himself, one a software engineer and another a corporate bigwig, both displaying how his life could have been different.  Then the Devil appears, stating that these are potential forms of Peter Parker, and there is another where Aunt May is safe.  To make that potential Peter Parker the real one, he and Mary Jane have to give up their marriage and unborn child.  I will not get on my soap box about this, but I really do not believe that anyone would choose their unborn child over their mother figure who has lived a good life.  Personally, my mother would kick my ass if I gave up a child to save her life.

As a story, this is alright.  It is very well written.  One of my favorite moments was when Dr. Strange was telling Peter to quit looking for a cure and just spend the last moments he’s going to have with May at her side.  If only they had actually gone that way…  It’s an interesting concept, being offered this faustian deal and visiting with alternate versions of yourself.  This inclusion of alternate Peter Parkers makes me think that this is how the whole story should have gone.  Why do this to the mainstream Spider-man?  Why not do it to an alternate Peter Parker?  I know that’s a cop-out, and that if you’re going to do something to a character, do it to the real one and not a fake one.  I say this only because I found myself liking the story.  The dialogue itself was well written.  The art was great.  I liked what happened, but not the long-term ramifications of it.  If this were only a potential story, a What If, I would have liked it even more.

Essentially, Marvel wanted to turn back time and make Peter Parker young again, take back that he had publicly demasked, that he had organic webshooters; they wanted to make him a nerd again.  That’s what the Ultimate Universe is for.  And if that has become to cumbersome with backstory, start up another alternate universe where it’s a girl that got bit by the spider, or Peter is gay.  There are so many directions they could have gone to invigorate the character, instead they throw away decades of character build up and situations in a single issue.  Honestly, Peter being a teacher was one of the best things they did with him.  They put him back in school, and he was dealing with all the crap that comes with that.  He had great interactions with his students, becoming a father figure to many of them.  Throwing away the chance to become an actual father does not fit with Peter’s previous actions.  Keeping the child and having it become the next Spider-man (or girl) would have been preferable to Quesada turning back the clock, making how many years of stories and how many creator’s efforts completely null and void.

When they set out on One More Day, I’m sure they were hoping to just turn back the clock to take back Peter Parker to the good ol’ days, not realizing how good Spider-man had been in the past few years under Straczynski’s watch.  If they stirred up some controversy, well no press is bad press right?  One More Day certainly got people talking, and with good reason.  This was a major continuity shifting event, the results of which have yet to be fully disclosed.  There was clearly a group of people stuck in a room with absolutely no outside input that came up with this idea and thought it was great, continuity and fans be damned.  However, the story itself is not without its merits.  Had it not been so far-reaching in its conclusion, One More Day would not have become the bane of Spider-man fans the world over.  Until next time, folks.

Posted under review