Ol' Web-Head

The Spectacular Spider-Man

Rolling forward in my change points for Make My Marvel, we come to the moment Marvel chickened out hard.

One of the boldest moments of Civil War was when Peter Parker unmasked, revealing his long-held secret identity to the world.  It took almost exactly one year for them to undo this with an ill-advised deal with Satan.

Technically speaking, Parker's deal with Mephisto was to save his Aunt May's life after she was shot by one of Spider-Man's enemies.  The bonus for the editorial staff was that Mephisto's price was to undo everything they didn't like about the evolution of the character over the past 20 or so years.  They reset the whole thing back to a time when Spider-Man was his most iconic, an understandable goal, but one counter to my "make your bed, you lay in it" philosophy.

Here's how I'd run with Parker's outing:

After receiving amnesty for his actions during Civil War, and gaining national sympathy for the murder of his Aunt May, Peter finds his public identity brings a level of fame and celebrity he'd never had before.  He's finally achieved the showbiz career he initially sought in his first outing as Spider-Man, and becomes the world-famous Spider-Man we saw in 'House of M'.  Movie offers and product endorsements are coming in, he's a valued member of the Avengers, and even Mary Jane's acting career is taking off thanks to her marriage to Spider-Man.  He even has a crack legal team tying up J. Jonah Jameson's lawsuit against him for faking all those photographs over the years.

Heheh

Of course, we all know Spider-Man is at his best when his personal life is in the dumps thanks to his webswinging life, and it's no different here.  With all the adoration and celebrity comes an almost total lack of respect.  Once one of the most trusted superheroes in New York, Spider-Man is now seen as more of a money-grabbing shill, and few people believe any more that his heart is in the right place.  Also, all the work he and MJ are getting has kept them apart enough that they're not enjoying their lives together.  Peter has finally gotten what he always wanted, and it's nothing like what he hoped for.

I've no real reason to change Spider-Man's look at all, although I do favor the shoulder-only web pattern of the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon over the arm-length stripe.  I also kind of like the lensed eye pieces in the Doc Ock version of Superior Spider-Man.  I'm not opposed to subtle changes, so if I were drawing this, I'd probably add those.

Yeah, Superior Spidey had the shoulder things too, but I didn't like the muted colors.