I still have absolutely no interest in this. Sure, I'll watch it when it comes out on streaming just to see what the fuss is all about. But I'm sorry, Spider-man, to me, is not about fun.The first comic book ever read was "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" ASM #121-122 June/July '73. I was only 8 years old. I must've read that comic a thousand times. I still have that book, threadbare and as worn as it is. From there, I was obsessed with Spider-man. I made it my primary issue in life to get everything Spider-man done up until that point. The main reason I identified with Spider-man was the fact that he was not the average happy-go-lucky super hero. In universe, the public hated him. No one yelled "Go Spidey!" when he swung by. They screamed "There goes that murdering menace!" ...Nothing ever went right for Peter Parker, the guy couldn't catch a break if his life depended on it. That was why I could identify with him.
Even back before The Dark Night Returns comic, I knew that Spider-man should be the one super hero who had a gritty, hell-filled life. Because that was the way the comic book was back then. That, to me, was what made him real. Uncle Ben died because Peter failed to act. J.Jonah Jameson conducted a huge smear campaign against him which caused the public to absolutely hate him. Gwen blamed Spider-man for the death of her father, making Peter's dilemma even harder to deal with. Aunt May was scared to death of Spider-man and couldn't stand him. Then Gwen died, which was basically Peter's fault and he had that weight on his shoulders. The Green Goblin died in battle and he had to deal with the fact that his fight with Norman Osbourne had killed his best friend's father. Spider-man was blamed for Osbourne's death and was wanted for murder by the cops for years in the book. Meanwhile Harry is going through a terrible drug addiction. Then, when Harry found out the truth about the Goblin's death, Peter had to fight his best friend, who then became the Goblin through psychosis.
What I'm getting at, is if you read the early Spider-man comics, he was not just some high school kid who happened to be a super hero, he was the first one who had real day-to-day problems, hidden by this huge secret that he could never reveal to the world. Guilt ruled his life. This is what made Spider-man into the sensation he became. Because he had real honest to God problems. **** all that Saturday morning cartoon crap from the 90s! That is not Spider-man. He was, and always will be, to me, the quintesential anti-hero that made him great. He was the "every man" of super heroes. Not because he was so cool and everybody wanted to be him, but because he hated what he was and only wanted to have a normal life. It was only by his regret of inaction involving Uncle Ben's murder that he did what he did (by the way, Uncle Ben never said "With great power comes great responsibility")
By the time the late 80s rolled around, the book was garbage. I made it through the MacFarlane years, but honestly I've never bought a Spider-man comic since. Never cared to.
Okay, I am done with my rant. Is there anyone here who even remembers the way Spider-man was in the early days? Am I wrong? If I am, please let me know why.
John Romita Sr. and Jr RULES!!!!
