Nick Spencer leaving after Amazing Spider-Man #74/875

31 Comments

1. It looks like Spider-man visited the Pope. Maybe he can get the Pope to intervene and extend Nick Spencer’s tenure.

   https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/spider-man-meets-pope-francis-vatican/GCTZFWHXXBALRF5C3UNEDRAHLE/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark

   “In nomine Aranea, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.”

2. @ Michael

   Maybe. Spencer’s first arc did start with Peter and Spider-Man merging.

3. Alternately, the cost is that Harry Lyman and Kindred have to be merged together- we saw something similar in the Mr. Negative arc with Martin Li sacrificing himself. And once they’re merged, nobody trusts Harry- especially Liz and Normie.

4. @Kickfann
   It seems like the inconsistence in releases you spotted has been addressed by Marvel:

   https://www.gamesradar.com/nick-spencer-amazing-spider-man-finale-hits-delays/

   Now the releases are spread from here to September 22nd.

5. I really hope I’m wrong, but i don’t know if it will matter what Spenser does with the title. I’m afraid we’ll get some sort of, we fixed and addressed what happened before, Mary Jane and Peter would have lived happily ever after, or a version of them will, but there will be a different version of Peter that will be back to square one for a new writer to do whatever he wants with in issue 876. Like I said, I hope I’m wrong.

6. @Professor Warren – You might be on to something there. I’m thinking now that the cost will be Spider-Man cannot defeat Kindred and Norman will have to accept the Green Goblin persona back to save Peter from Harry. Kindred is dead, but there price is the Green Goblin is back, meaner than ever.

7. Regarding the title “What Cost Victory?”, I wonder if it might refer to Norman sacrificing himself to save Harry. The defining trend of Spencer’s run has been him tidying up or fixing what he sees as missteps in Spidey continuity. Just as he restored Kraven to death, undoing his post Kraven’s Last Hunt revival, I suspect he might be setting up Norman’s return to the grave. Bringing Norman back was a controversial move, with many believing that he should’ve stayed dead, and this might be Spencer’s way of sending Norman away for good (or as permanently as things ever are in comics) with the now sin-free Norman sacrificing himself for Harry’s soul. We’ll see!

8. @Light Mark – Good guess. I could easily see that happening for writer Nick Spencer’s final issue on “The Amazing Spider-Man”. In regards to Harry Osborn, I’m torn on what will happen to the character when Mr. Spencer leaves. On one hand, I never liked that Harry was ever killed off, even though “The Spectacular Spider-Man” #200 is one of my favorite Spider-Man stories ever written. On the other, Harry definitely should’ve stayed dead instead of being wasted with his post-resurrection stories after “One More Day”. Harry didn’t get as much focus or as many good stories as I’d hoped when he was brought back, then he left with his second son, and now returned in the Kindred arc that has, in my opinion, just gone on way too long. Harry Osborn, May Parker and Sergei Kravinoff are three Spider-Man characters who I feel should’ve stayed dead because their final stories were just that good and are true classics. We’ll see what the 875th issue has in store for Peter, Mary Jane, Harry and the rest of the characters.

   I hope you all had a great weekend and I hope you all have a wonderful night. Stay safe, True Believers.

9. What Cost Victory? Easy! Probably $9.99.

   I think the coast will be the death of Harry. Peter and MJ will not have their marriage reinstated, but will learn of the deal they made, the cost of that deal, and decide to move forward with an engagement. My guess, at least.

   Very sad to hear of Spencer’s departure, though he lasted longer than I thought he would. I have no idea who I would like to see take his place. My guess would be Zdarsky, maybe? I’ve enjoyed other stuff he has written, just not his Spider-Man stuff. Maybe if he has full control over where to take it, then it would be different.

10. @Adam Tomlinson – I’m not trying to get anyone’s hopes up about the marriage coming back. That certainly was never my intention. If anything, I could see Nick Spencer having the two get engaged at the end of his run. Whether anything ends up happening with that at all is up to Marvel. But I’m certainly not in the “the marriage is never coming back” camp. It’s irrelevant to me how many issues we’ve had since “One More Day” till now and how there’s been more issues of the comic where the character’s been single post OMD than when they were married. Most of the stories, including “One More Day” and “One Moment In Time”, have been terrible and are still hated by fans. We can agree to disagree on this part, as I’m not one to start an argument either. I’m just saying I could see that “What Cost Victory” could be a possibility where SOMETHING happens about the two’s current romance, is all, even if they get engaged again. I’m far beyond tired of Marvel’s teases, references and flashbacks and the jabs at “One More Day”. We’ve gotten it in the Deadpool/Spider-Man comic and we’re getting it now in Spencer’s run. Like I said, Marvel can get my attention and money when Peter and Mary Jane are husband and wife again, and STAY that way and aren’t from an alternate reality that isn’t the “real” classic Marvel Universe either, but not before.

    I hope you all are having a great day and, to those here who are dads, I hope you have a Happy Father’s Day. Thanks for reading my nonsense and stay safe, everyone.

11. Prior to this announcement, I expected that Spencer would either wrap it all up by #75 or else begin another major storyline post-Sinister War that would take him to #100 so this doesn’t strike me as all that sudden of an exit. Sinister War looked primed to bring everything in his run to a head and that’s exactly what’s happening. Personally I’m ready for him to go. I think, given that his entire run has been telling one single story (Kindred), it’ll be impossible to fully judge it until it’s done and over with but with just a handful of issues left, my feeling is that it was an ok run with occasional flashes of potential that never quite sent it into high gear. One disappointment for me is that it felt like Spencer was never in synch with his artists. Some real talent was on the book during his run but it never seemed like Spencer wrote to their strengths. Ottley, for example, should’ve been an ideal fit for ASM but, outside of his opening arc, he was never given much to do and in the end it seemed like he was utilized almost as a fill in artist more than being positioned as the main guy. And going into the back half of Spencer’s run, the accelerated schedule certainly didn’t help the art issues. I think Spencer had a highly specific story he wanted to tell, one that was mapped out from beginning to end, and that left little room for his collaborators to participate in shaping his run. I just hope the conclusion is able to put a satisfying bow on all of it. I’m indifferent to ending OMD or reinstating the marriage – if it happens, fine, if it doesn’t, whatever – but I do think that Spencer has primed expectations enough that he has to explicitly address those expectations and provide some real answers by the time he’s done. Looking forward to seeing how it all ends up!

12. Please don’t anyone get their hopes up, the marriage isnt coming back. There has been more issues of Amazing Spider-Man since Brand New Day then there has been between the Wedding and One More Day. This is the point of the speeded up release schedule, to put as much distance between the marriage and now as possible. JQ is still there, and Marvel still think single is more profitable. I don’t say this to flame an argument, but I hope for the best plan for the worst.

    I’m a Peter/MJ supporter, but I think the best we can hope for is an engagement. I think this run is about Marvel accepting that the means didn’t justify the ends. They’ll correct the means, but the ends stays.

    I’ve not read a lot of Ed Brisson, so I’d give him a chance.

13. Do you think Ed Brisson gets it? Maybe that is why he was brought in last minute?

14. In just three years and 74 issues, we’ve had more fun, excitement, heart, character development and growth from Peter/Spider-Man and his relationship with Mary Jane from writer Nick Spencer’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” run than the entirety of Dan Slott’s run and from the past fourteen years altogether. I’m very, VERY nervous as to who will succeed Nick Spencer (PLEASE, Marvel, DON’T get Dan Slott back as a temporary writer or back on the title) and what this means for Peter’s relationship with Mary Jane. Unless Matt Fraction is his successor, Spencer’s replacement has me worried on what this means for the current status quo. Spencer may love Peter with Mary Jane, but a lot of comic book writers don’t and don’t care that the fans love their marriage and love seeing them together. The title “What Cost Victory” isn’t easing my fears either, as that could mean the next writer breaks the two up all over again because they want Peter to be with someone else like Black Cat or another new civilian character. Sure, we’ve had Spencer tease Peter with an engagement ring and the cover does show, as Evan Berry pointed out, that Mary Jane’s left hand is hidden to hide any possible engagement and/or wedding rings. But unless we get a variant cover in September for the 875th issue that has Spider-Man swinging with Mary Jane in her wedding dress and the marriage is actually restored in the comic itself, I have no interest in what Marvel does. This is going on fourteen years of the worst retcon in Marvel’s entire history of their best married couple and it never should’ve happened.

    In the very slimmest of chances, I could see “What Cost Victory” being a way to undo the Mephisto deal and bring the marriage back, as seen by the Mephisto panels and teases in Spencer’s recent issues (like Dr. Strange confronting Mephisto a few issues back and in the recent preview page of “Sinister War” with a panel that has Mysterio in front an image of Mephisto), and the “cost” could be the death of Aunt May. But let’s be honest, with Spencer’s run getting wrapped up so seemingly abruptly, I don’t see that happening just yet, if at all. Marvel has delivered too many “reality slaps” (their words, not mine), “One More Day” jabs and references, teases and alternate realities where Peter and M.J. ARE married over the past fourteen years and I just want it all over and done with.

    Time (and Nick Spencer) will tell what happens with the 875th milestone issue. I just don’t want Marvel to deliver yet another blow to fans who are waiting for Peter and Mary Jane to stay together and/or be married again.

    I hope you all are having a great weekend and stay safe, everyone.

    ‘Nuff said!

15. Issue 73 will be released on August 25th and issue 74 on September 22nd. Maybe during this period there will be a mini-series that looks like a sinister war?

16. Everyone talking about here about how Spencer doesn’t have enough time to wrap up all of his plots, *especially* Kindred, makes me worry we might have another Roger Stern scenario, where he left ASM without wrapping up the Hobgoblin mystery and (depending on which account you believe) didn’t tell Marvel and new writer Tom DeFalco who the Hobgoblin was and said “Make him whomever you want him to be”.

    While I liked some of the early DeFalco HG stories, the fact that Stern didn’t wrap up the HG mystery before leaving means we got months (years?) of HG stories that went completely off the rails, dragging out the mystery for way too long (and we’ve been complaining about Spencer dragging out the Kindred mystery!). So when we finally got his identity revealed (Ned Leeds! dun-dun-dunnn!) most people had stopped caring by that point (plus Ned was already dead, so it was even more meaningless).

    Luckily Spencer has already revealed who Kindred is, but if he doesn’t complete his Spidey/Kindred story before he leaves, I worry that it’ll be up to the next writer, who may try their best but take it in a direction that doesn’t fit everything we’ve already seen. And then we’ll have to wait ~10 years for Spencer to return and do a “Spider-Man: Kindred Lives” mini-series that undoes what subsequent writers did with the character and tells us how he wanted the Kindred story to really end!

17. Another thing that makes me scratch my head is that once you factor in all the side issues (.hi, .LR, sin rising etc) and the giant sized (as 2 regular issues) you end up at amazing 895. Couldn’t they have made these issue “normal” issues and have Spencer leave at 900? That makes it even more worry some to me. Feels like he his leaving a good 25 issues and some tie in too early

18. Dun dun duuun!
    Yeah, a bit surprising. As many already said, he has too little time to wrap up everything in a satisfying way, at least taking the pace from last arcs as standard. If he can do it with a bunch of explosive issues, than that would make Sins Rising\Last Remains even more irksome and unjustified in their slowness.
    I fear Spencer won’t do what most people hope and there will be a major let down.
    Well, as they say, time will tell.

    But the most important thing is: DON’T let be Bendis as next writer. :p

19. This is sad news. I really loved Spencer’s run! After a decade of Slott, I just loved how Spencer corrected most of what was wrong with the character in his very first issue. He made Spider-Man AMAZING again.

    Going to pick up an ASM from the comic store that was written by Nick Spencer was a thrill and made me excited. Haven’t felt like that in the LONG TIME. I have no clue who the new writer will be, so your guess is as good as mine.

    Judging by this cover, I am to assume (as with all of us) that Peter will propose to MJ or even tie the knot as in reversing OMD in some way shape or form. Spencer has heavily played that in his run from issue one, so to leave with that being finally resolved, is icing on the cake.

    Spencer is leaving, but with this cover, it’ll be on a happy note that all of us Spidey fans have been waiting for the last past decade!

20. I see that Mary Jane’s left hand is hidden. Could it possibly have the engagement ring? I guess, in that case, following through with the marriage would then be left to subsequent writers, but at least Spencer will have done his part.

21. @hornacek

    A Doomed Affairs sequel -perfect

22. That’s a typo. The title is actually “What Price Victor?” Dr. Doom is guest-starring.

23. @Michael

    Yeah, that hopefully cover and the “next high flyer if era” don’t really say great sacrifice in the same way as “What Price Victory?”

    I don’t see this being a May for MJ thing. I don’t think the next writer wants to pick up the dead aunt book. Spencer’s probably re-killing Harry on this way our.

24. @Adam- but the title is “What Price Victory?” That makes me nervous.

25. Well, the cover image is encouraging. I never expected the marriage back, but ending with Peter and MJ happy is enough of a win for me.

    It does seem odd that Sin Rising/Last remains felt so padded to get to the anniversary issues, and now the story is in overdrive to wrap up loose ends (like Carly and Overdrive. No idea why that coupling appeals to me. More then a sum of its parts, I guess).

    @xonathan makes a very good point. Who is next? Zdarsky (don’t see it), Ewing (just taking on Venom), Cates (Hulk and Thor is enough for anyone surely), Hickman?!? I always thought Jason Aaron had a good voice for Spider-Man. We’ll have to see how it all ends, but let’s face it whoever is next is in a better spot than Spencer was. I feel bad that he’s had to spend his run fixing the continuity and not really able to just have fun.

26. It think we’ll get answers- that’s what the 80-page issue is for plus Sinister War. But yeah, we’ve got a lot of plots that need to be wrapped up- Ned, Betty’s baby, Mysterio, etc. in addition to the major plots of the two Harrys and the marriage.

27. I share Sthenurus’s worry. It doesn’t feel like that’s enough issues to properly wrap things up, especially with the snail’s pace that the Kindred-centered stories have moved at so far, and that’s leaving me concerned that this might not have been where Spencer originally planned to bow out. I sure hope I’m wrong about that and we get the conclusion we deserve.

28. *sniffle*

29. “He may be the biggest Spidey fan ever as evidenced from the fact that he read every Spider-Man comic in preparation for his landmark run.”

    I understand it’s just typical Marvel hype, but I love the subtext here that Nick Lowe has already forgotten all about Dan Slott. “Who? That guy? I guess he knew a bit about Spidey, but he’s no superfan like Nick Spencer!”

30. F************K !!!

    Why do I have the feeling he won’t have enough time to end his run properly and re-instate the marriage?

31. What the hell? Why? Who’s going to replace him?