Back in 2010, Joshua Lapin Bertone talked of the new era of Spider-Man that has been called the BIG TIME era. Big TIme was the first arc that launched in November of that year, as it hearlded the Status Quo of the moment. Slott, being of the “Old-Skool” Variety in terms of Style and Method, took elements of the previous run and intergrated it into the new direction. (To be fair, however, that previous run DID involve Slott himself.) The main point was this: The good elements were kept, the bad ones were dropped and here we go. For the most part, you haven’t needed to be a long time Spider-Man Fan to get the gist of whats going on, pretty much the only stories that you need to read up on were Grim Hunt, ASM 600, Brand New Day Month 1, and Shed.
For the most part, you know what happens in the current status quo in the story. Over the last several months, Slott has been hard at work wrapping up many of the storylines that were established in Big Time, but in the Brand New Day. Ends of the Earth was an ending to the plot threads estlabished in ASM 600, and Big Time’s first arc, the Lizard Story is being resolved now, Hobgoblin is being addressed in Danger Zone, and Spider-Island’s biggest thread is the new Scarlet Spider book.
Needless to say, the Horizon Labs experiment looks like it’s expiration date is beginning to come to a head in the current No Turning Back story, and it seems to me that Slott is wrapping up things and winding down the end of his run. (Despite there being talk of him having many many stories to tell, how they would have to pry it from his cold dead hands, etc. etc.)
On Sunday, Someone asked on Twitter… “At this point, can you confirm or deny your involvement in ASM post Marvel NOW?”
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@geekofoz I can neither confirm nor deny my involvement in ASM post Marvel NOW.— Dan Slott
Okay, so what does that mean? Of the characters that have not been announced, Spider-Man is still among that group. Between this, and his constant ramblings of ASM 700, are we to believe that something profound is changing that much in ASM 700? I mean his track record of 100 issue books is a little suspect, given that the big reveal at the end was the return of Mary Jane Watson….and Doc Ock being in a diaper.
I will say this: His Doc Ock Story that began in that issue has finally ended with a thud (in this writers opinion) in End of the Earth. It seems the loose ends of the Hobgoblin storyline are set to be somewhat resolved in the upcoming Danger Zone storyline, and the loose end of Shed is being resolved in the current No Turniing Back storyline, so Post-Apha, Post m 700, could we see another BRAND NEW DAY?
**ASM#691 SPOILER**
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Yeah, I totally called that.
@#14: Hasn´t he already “died” like twice though? 😀
I assume if they bring Kingsley back they will just have it have been his twin brother that Phil killed.
@12 I doubt it, since MC2 being the “LEGIT universe” would not just damage ASM, it would damage every other comic Marvel publish. I can’t imagine they want to stop publishing their very profitable movie-matching Avengers comics and replace them with A-Next or whatever.
And in terms of Spider-Man alone, Marvel are clearly going to keep publishing a “Peter Parker as Spider-Man” comic set in the main MU until the day the company finally goes out of business. He might occasionally get taken out of action temporarily, but never permanently. Any story where he’s retired/dead/replaced by his daughter or Miles Morales with any degree of permanence will only ever be an alternate universe or a pre-determined plot that will end. If he is about to get replaced by Alpha in ASM #700, he’ll be back long before #800.
The more I read Spider-Girl, the more I’m convinced it’s supposed to be the LEGIT universe, it’s just Marvel can’t officially say it because it would damage ASM
@10 Tom DeFalco (creator and main writer of Phil Ulrich pre-Big Time) did depict him using the lunatic laugh out of costume in an issue of Spider-Girl (I want to say #5), so although that was an alternate future, there is some precedent for it.
@#6 and #7
Of course! The whole scenario where he died doesn’t work, because Phil never had the sonic laugh outside of costume. That was all part of a brainwashed memory, and then manipulate the Kingpin from behind the scenes where he likes to be.
Nah, the Wacker/Slott team love to tease the audience. I think it gives them a kick to imagine anti-BNDers clapping their hands with happiness, only to be crestfallen later when they find out Dan Slott will be on the book until he’s 93.
I don’t think they grasp how satisfied a lot of people would be, including critics, if they tied up the MEPHISTO loose end in some epic way, even if it left Peter and MJ still unmarried. They seem to think that doing that would be some sort of eat-crow concession, instead of what it actually is, a legitimate dangler.
I really hope he stays, the most I’ve consistantly enjoyed ASM since the issues following Norman’s return
You and me both, Hobo-Goblin!
Man, I hope Roderick Kingsley is revealed to be still alive in “Danger Zone”.
Could go either way. Slott’s Big Time run has kept a relatively stable sales level (in an industry where steady ongoing decline is the norm) and received a lot of good reviews, maybe he wants to go out on a relative high. He’s been on the book for a respectable time by this point.
On the other hand, considering how much he’s talked up the events of ASM #700 as bringing a major change to Spider-Man, it would seem odd for him to leave rather than stay to work with that change. (Not unprecedented, Bendis and Brubaker collaborated on sending Daredevil to prison at the end of the Bendis DD run so Brubaker could pick him up there, but still unusual.)
Since I gather ASM #700 is coming in December, we probably won’t know for sure for another month at least when the Dec solicits come out. Maybe not even until the Jan solicits in October.
I agree that is seems that all the looses ends are being tied together, as Zach so fluently wrote.
I also agree that Slott is the man for the immediate time being. Granted it is ‘Bleeding Cool’, but he was quoted as writing:
“with Marvel NOW everything that happened yesterday and the year before STILL happened. All of those comics still “count.” The Marvel NOW initiative is about what happens next…
What you’re getting with Marvel NOW is Marvel’s most high profile creators kicking off new, epic runs on Marvel’s biggest characters.
This isn’t a fly-by-night deal. You’re not going to see a creator on a book for four or six issues and then– whoosh– a new creative team gets slapped in. What you’re getting here is a bunch of writers and artists who are committed not just to exploding out of the gate with big, bold new ideas– but to also make those the starts of legendary runs.
That’s Marvel NOW!”
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/08/05/dan-slott-of-the-future-of-marvel-now/
Yeah everything I have read echo’s what irishlad said, it looks like Slott is staying on and that maybe even ASM isn’t going to get renumbered or anything.
If I were a betting man I’d say Slott’s on ASM for the foreseeable future.
Seems like Slott will be carrying on. Axel has more or less hinted that the ASM creative team will be staying on and integrating into Marvel Now because the upcoming storylines will have significant change meaning it’ll fit into Marvel’s new direction etc…