Tetsuo_Man wrote:The whole oedipal relationship between norman and harry is great. I can't beleive that something could actually sorta warm me up to the idea of harry being alive and on top of that sorta healing my feelings on sins past all in the same time.
Wow, as one of the very few fans of Sins Past, it is
really nice to hear I've affected someone's feelings on it in a positive way. Thanks!
Zarius wrote:May's funeral was great, remarrying the next day may come off as a little taboo for some who've dealt with periods of mourning, but Peter and MJ are so used to beleiving in a death that they want something positive out of one memory in case it turns false (and I'm not expecting May back of course)
She will not. I
swear to you, she will not.
...As for the Osborn confrontation...without spoiling anything....I loved it, it was page upon page of a fine wine, the Harry/Norman confrontation that Slott failed to deliver. No "World's Greatest Dad" mug, no "It's in our blood, join me Harry and together we'll rule the galaxy as father and son" rubbish, this was real back-to-back "What the hell have you been doing?" argumentitive ferocity. Naked aggresion immediate and condensing years of missed oppertunities into one very decisive showdown. Harry came across as his old DeMatties-era self with a little dose of Slott's interpretation to match. A welcome releif from the rich man's Jughead he's been in a sea of Archie-level low-brow mediocrity.
That is higher praise than I ever expected on a scene I was already proud of. Thank you! Especially nice for a wine lover such as myself
Hertz wrote:Are you throwing a bit of Ultimate Universe goblin in there with the fireball, or is that some yet to be mentioned tech (don't have to answer this)?
That is part of the "evolution" Harry underwent from the new Goblin Formula (but I promise, he's not going to Hulk out). The whole idea for The Goblin King is that this is someone nightmarish, someone you will &$^% your pants if you see at night. And to me, he's more scary if he
has great tech, but doesn't have to
rely on it. As Peter has his organic webshooters, Harry now has sort of organic pumpkin bombs. Bwahaha!
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Is it explained in the comics that Norman's wife died giving birth to Harry (kinda new to Spider-Man comics)?
The way Norman tells it, she died in childbirth. The way Harry tells it, she was alive for years later. It seemed to me plausible enough that Harry's version is correct, and Norman convinced himself otherwise to give himself a scapegoat. He needed something to hate.
Interested in Harry loving Gwen, wondering what that meant when Pete and Gwen were in love.
I freely admit I got this idea from JR's articles. He made some excellent observations that really made sense to me, and I wanted to bring them into continuity for further mining of the character potential.
Would Tony have agreed to Pete's offer that fast without any counter offer?
Well since I wrote it, I think so, but I'm biased. In all reality, though, I think Tony genuinely wants his friends around him again so very much, and the
real Tony is not a total dick. But note that he told Peter they would talk more about his second condition later. It will come up again, albeit not immediately.
BD wrote:I also enjoyed the line,
“And every time Spider-Man saves a life, May Parker’s spirit is alive and well and doing good in the world.”
I might have inserted the words "Ben & May Parker's" instead. Because with Aunt May's death, she essentially is playing the same role Uncle Ben did and has over the years.
While that's true, the focus had to be on May since it was her funeral. We've spent so much time mourning Uncle Ben, I felt this needed total focus on May for her final send off.
Final. Seriously. Swear to God. I will
make it stick!
I keep going back to what JR said in a previous podcast. Why replace a classic with a knock-off? You wrote Norman sooooo well, why kill him off? The Green Goblin is Spidey's number one villain. I bitched back in the 1990s when they resurrected him, but I really have enjoyed his return.
I also am a bit concerned about the "whacking policy". Aunt May and Norman just in two issues? WOWZA! Ms. Lion got whacked off panel. I'm not a fiction writer, so I don't know about the process. I don't know how to write on-going fiction and have forward movement, all the time trying to keep the status-quo. Sure death stories are classics. ASM 400 and Spec #200 stand out, but they were both undone. I guess my point is, death is not permanent and has almost become too cliche.
Well I will start off by assuring you that this sort of body count is not going to be indicative of the entire run. I just had a bit of stage clearing to do at the start. I do
not have a lot of death's planned for this series at all...$*%&, there's a death in #3...
Also, I agree that death has become a cliche, and I would never kill anyone that I thought ever had a chance of coming back. And I
am considering this as Marvel comics continuity, and thinking about what would happen when more writers came after me. With Aunt May, well, she's died so
many times, I just hope future creative teams would see that this was truly the last straw. To bring her back
again after that would be moronic. And with Norman...he got his head cut off for a reason. I chose that method because it makes it impossible for him to return (barring someone writing one of the stupidest stories of all time, which I admit could happen).
Now, the big question: why kill Norman? Plain and simple, Harry has always had the potential to be Spider-Man's greatest villain. He's the kind of character writers dream about at night, the best friend who Peter has let down time and time again. A villain totally evil, but who has a legitimate beef - our hero sucked at being a friend, and was never there when he was needed. The best friend turned villain has far more potential than the best friend's old man who is just evil. (Not to devalue Norman, he was a great villain for a long time.) So Harry is the priority here, and the simple fact is that Harry cannot co-exist with his father and become a great villain. He'll always be looking to Norman for approval, and Norman will always think his plans are lackluster and unworthy of his legacy. You just can't hatch a great villainous plot like that. Also, in order to realize Harry's full potential, I'm making him decidedly more confident. And the all time most crucial character moment for Harry is to finally stand up to his father and tell him that
he is a disappointment. For Harry to kill his father is a huge and irreplacable step in his character development that will allow him to become the great villain he's always had the potential to be. And now that Norman's not there to judge him, he
can become that villain.
You have a great talent for dialog. The characters had their distinct voices. Your words also are easy to imagine and would hop off the page if you were teamed with the right penciler. Deodato comes to mind as the perfect match. Keep the issues coming, I'm hooked.
Mike Deodato. Man, you know all the right things to say, don't you?
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