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dkmode's review against another edition
2.0
I think this was an attempt to retcon a retcon so that all of the weird dangling plot threads from the first retcon - which have been weakly and inconsistently foreshadowed since - would reach some kind of resolution. Somehow, the new retcon further cheapens the old already-cheap one. The fact that Quesada is back writing this makes me think that the whole thing was so toxic nobody in the usual Brain Trust wanted to touch it. Which, it turns out, was probably for the best.
Gets by as a page-turner thanks to the promise of resolution and some mostly-lovely art (the covers deserve special mention), but the whole thing is too ill-conceived to properly enjoy in the end.
Also, just to check, Joe Quesada knows that you don’t actually need to be married to have kids, right?
Gets by as a page-turner thanks to the promise of resolution and some mostly-lovely art (the covers deserve special mention), but the whole thing is too ill-conceived to properly enjoy in the end.
Also, just to check, Joe Quesada knows that you don’t actually need to be married to have kids, right?
dryden's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
amayadej's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
walkonpooh's review against another edition
4.0
Well, there sure is a lot to talk about with this one, isn't there? This is the start of the coda of the Brand New Day era of The Amazing Spider-Man, Chapter One of Two in the story that concludes this era for Spidey. It's much maligned, though probably not as heavy as One More Day is, but I think no matter how you think or what you feel about this story, you really have to hand it to Joe Quesada for stepping up to the plate to write this. He didn't hand it off to one of the Webheads, outline it and give it up, he tackled it himself. Basically saying that if the fanboys of the marriage wanted to place the blame on someone, place it on him and his story and I commend him for that.
That said, like I said in my review of Grim Hunt, I'm real forgiving of Spidey stories, so I pretty much loved this. Everyone knows that Quesada was not a fan of Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson (Parker's) marriage. It's even less of a secret that many of the writers, even pretty great writers (in my opinion) like J. Michael Straczynski could never *really* figure out what to do with the marriage. Sure, there were a few story-lines here and there that were pretty good, I do like the story-arc where Stracczynsk reunited Peter and MJ, for instance, but you aside from a few like that, there were not many stories told during the period where they were married that really needed to have them *be* married. I kind of agree that you could take any of those stories, say that Peter and MJ were in a serious relationship and they would still have the same impact.
My stance on the marriage, is that if it's there, it should have a valid story reason. That's what this whole thing should be about. Being there for the sake of being there, having nothing of any importance to add, is a waste of space and potential for further stories and character growth. If anything, it was stifling some of Spidey's character growth. Yeah, MJ grew as a character, but she also grew into an almost unrecognizable character. The thing that made that relationship so great, was how different Peter and MJ are. They're two entirely different people, who in spite of that fact, love each other. But, MJ became almost, boring, during the marriage. No writer could ever figure out what to do with an MJ that couldn't party, couldn't bring that excitement to Peter's life, so they would ship her off to LA to shoot a movie or a TV show. Or send her on a mission to help her sister. Not exactly classic comic book story-lines going on there.
What's more important, the more lasting impact that One Moment in Time had, was restoring that relationship. Brand New Day was great overall, a lot of fun, but there was always that element missing, the Peter and MJ relationship and that relationship, whether they are married or dating or best friends, is one of the key elements to Spidey's character. Having MJ around, is Spidey's one of Spidey's links to humanity and makes him, in spite of the amazing or spectacular things that he can do, relatable to the average person. Most of us have an MJ in our lives, whether they are our lovers, our spouses or our best friends. Someone that could be entirely different from us, but get us in a way that no one else can. That's one of the most important aspects of the character and restoring the relationship, no matter what the future holds for it, is one of the smartest things that could have been done with Brand New Day.
That said, like I said in my review of Grim Hunt, I'm real forgiving of Spidey stories, so I pretty much loved this. Everyone knows that Quesada was not a fan of Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson (Parker's) marriage. It's even less of a secret that many of the writers, even pretty great writers (in my opinion) like J. Michael Straczynski could never *really* figure out what to do with the marriage. Sure, there were a few story-lines here and there that were pretty good, I do like the story-arc where Stracczynsk reunited Peter and MJ, for instance, but you aside from a few like that, there were not many stories told during the period where they were married that really needed to have them *be* married. I kind of agree that you could take any of those stories, say that Peter and MJ were in a serious relationship and they would still have the same impact.
My stance on the marriage, is that if it's there, it should have a valid story reason. That's what this whole thing should be about. Being there for the sake of being there, having nothing of any importance to add, is a waste of space and potential for further stories and character growth. If anything, it was stifling some of Spidey's character growth. Yeah, MJ grew as a character, but she also grew into an almost unrecognizable character. The thing that made that relationship so great, was how different Peter and MJ are. They're two entirely different people, who in spite of that fact, love each other. But, MJ became almost, boring, during the marriage. No writer could ever figure out what to do with an MJ that couldn't party, couldn't bring that excitement to Peter's life, so they would ship her off to LA to shoot a movie or a TV show. Or send her on a mission to help her sister. Not exactly classic comic book story-lines going on there.
What's more important, the more lasting impact that One Moment in Time had, was restoring that relationship. Brand New Day was great overall, a lot of fun, but there was always that element missing, the Peter and MJ relationship and that relationship, whether they are married or dating or best friends, is one of the key elements to Spidey's character. Having MJ around, is Spidey's one of Spidey's links to humanity and makes him, in spite of the amazing or spectacular things that he can do, relatable to the average person. Most of us have an MJ in our lives, whether they are our lovers, our spouses or our best friends. Someone that could be entirely different from us, but get us in a way that no one else can. That's one of the most important aspects of the character and restoring the relationship, no matter what the future holds for it, is one of the smartest things that could have been done with Brand New Day.
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