Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Of Secret Identities

Peter: I just got off the phone with Stan Lee. Apparently Marvel wants this strip to mesh with the comic books, and it turns out the Vulture won't be the next villain, after all. Instead, we have to make a deal with the devil and retcon our marriage out of existence. They also mentioned something about Aunt May not dying, but I didn't even know she was sick. Oh, and my secret identity is safe from the, oh, five people who know it in this strip.

MJ: ...

Peter: I hate Joe Quesada.
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On another note which will be of interest to everybody and not just people who are aware of the Spider-Man comic book's current status quo, the usefulness of Spider-Man's secret identity in this strip had become nonexistent. Let's look at the facts:

-Spider-Man has a secret identity to protect his loved ones (Mary Jane)
-Mary Jane and Spider-Man are now publicly known to be pals, and maybe a bit more.
-Villains who want to attack Spider-Man, but were unaware of how to get at him seeing as how they did not know his secret identity, will now attack Mary Jane to get at Spider-Man.

The Parkers really screwed the pooch on this one.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The cop in panel one makes no sense at all "remember us to spider-man the next time you see him ms. parker"

is it supposed to be remember to thank spider-man? or remember to thank the police when she sees spider man again. or did stan lee pass out and his forehead slam against his typewriter forming words that have no proper relation with one another

jvwalt said...

Okay, so Mary Jane Parker is an actress appearing in big-budget Hollywood movies and on the New York stage. And she's a known "friend" of Spider-Man. Peter Parker is the "mystery man" in said actress' life.

So they're living in a schlubbo apartment and leading a normal life??? Sittin' around, watching TV, kissing each other in public and in front of open windows while Peter has his Spidey-suit on? ? They're not constantly hounded by paparazzi with telephoto lenses, and they don't have reporters delving into every detail of their lives?

Nope, sorry, don't buy it. This Ward-and-June routine is completely bogus. Now, it's far from the most bogus thing in this strip, but the "hi, honey, I'm home" bit is just making me tired.

Anonymous said...

"Bad news"?

Oh, no. It's the TV, isn't it? The TV's broken! Oh God, how will Peter passively monitor plot developments now?

Nah, wait -- if the TV were broken, he'd be in tears. It must be something less calamitous, like Aunt May having a stroke or something.

Anonymous said...

The cop in panel one makes no sense at all "remember us to spider-man the next time you see him ms. parker"

The phrase "remember me to so-and-so" is perfectly good English, if a bit old fashioned.

"Give my regards to Broadway,
Remember me to Herald Square"

etc.

Tommy said...

Outside of the Spider-Man connection, I think the paps would likely stick to the celebs in trouble with the law or going through a hard time.

It still should be something to explore though. Instead of dealing with Candi, Randi, and Bambi sunbathing (in the 80's), now Spidey has to watch out for the paps. I know he had his own personal one when Nick Katzenberg was still alive.


As for the bad news, it's pretty obvious: No sex due to some development.

They were about to make out in front of that officer as it were, heh! XD

Anonymous said...

I don't think I've ever seen Aunt May in this strip before. Anyone know the last time she appeared in it?

Reggie White Jr. said...

I thought all that crap about the strip wanting to mesh with the comic was true! LOL!