"...for anything in the world!"

[cyberghostface]

 This is a panel from Amazing Spider-Man #365, from a backup story written by Stan Lee and Tom DeFalco and illustrated by John Romita Sr. I'll post some of the context later, but for now, I thought I'd post this one solitary panel which is particularly tragic in light of current affairs.



No, you wouldn't... but Peter would. : ( 

Comments

[punishermax]

It's easy to make excuses for her, but that was a really ignorant thing to say.

[arbre_rieur]

Maybe, but it's also human. And she has the bravery to acknowledge that there's a certain selfishness in it, at least.

[bluefall]

Not remotely.

It was a selfish thing to say, as she herself acknowledges before she says it. It's also a very practical thing to say, and not an unempathic one, since May holds the same position and MJ would, on the other side of the argument, almost without question feel the same as well.

[shadowpsykie]

how was that an ignorant thing to say. That's Pretty Much what Aunt May told her.

If MJ "convinced" Peter to "Let Aunt May die," despite what he said, he would ALWAYS have that resentment in his mind.

Aunt May pretty much told him, im done peter, i have lived a good life "I WANT to be with uncle Ben now."

no, the whole thing was motivated by Peter's guilt. BS. Aunt May Knew what she was getting into from day one. hell she "poisoned" the Chameleon. She knows how much danger being with Peter was just as much as MJ did.

But peter could not live with the "guilt." seriously he should have been catholic.... so he in effect, "guilted" MJ into it, not consciously, but he did.

regardless, i am hoping that the pay off in the end is they end up getting back together, and AUNT MAY finds out what they did and goes to town on them both. Him for even conscidering it for a moment, and her for not stepping up and saying No.

but until the pay off, i am STILL not buying a single Spider-man book.

[taggerung301]

you could buy Ultimate Spiderman
it's still fun :D

[shadowpsykie]

ugh, the ultimate universe was ruined with Ultimatum....

[punishermax]

Not really. Spider Man is still good and has pretty much ignored Ultimatum, and even when it does it's in awesome ways with May running a mini X-Mansion.

Ultimates is still Ultimates so take it or leave it.

[shadowpsykie]

heh, okay, your right.... i actually love that little Mini C-Mansion thing.... though i miss firestar and Colossus/Northstar

[box_in_the_box]

From a writing standpoint, I'll actually agree with you. Aunt May's youth hostel is one of the best uses I've ever seen of her character.

Pity that Ultimatum destroyed any lingering interest in the line, though, since UCSM sales are in fucking freefall. :(

[punishermax]

Eh, I'm just glad Loeb was finally able to rub one out on the Ultimate verse and be done with it.It was going to happen eventually and it's over so, just rebuild.

[box_in_the_box]

Why does Loeb keep getting work?

It can't even be defended from a strictly mercenary sales standpoint anymore, because sales on his Hulk run are dropping even faster than UCSM and ASM.

Past a certain point, you really do have to consider that Marvel is putting him on books just to say FUCK YOU to its own readership.

[darkknightjrk]

Actually, Ultimatum wasn't an one-off--he's doing the New Ultimates, and he's either doing the minis Ultimate Enemy or Ultimate X, or both of them.

[taggerung301]

"UCSM sales are in fucing freefall"
If it gets cancelled, I will be a sad little fan :(

[box_in_the_box]

Sales are already at 45K, five issues in.

The lowest sales they EVER achieved, after 130-some-odd issues of the previous run, was 49K.

[cyberghostface]

Ultimate Spider-Man got off pretty well, all things considering. No massacring of the supporting cast, no character derailments. The Daily Bugle got destroyed, but that's Tuesday in the Marvel universe.

[shadowpsykie]

BUFFY reference!

[cyberghostface]

Lol, how? I've never seen Buffy.

[shadowpsykie]

in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Musical episode (yes i said Musical episode, and it was GLORIOUS) there is a line in it where Buffy's sister gets kidnapped and Buffy says "Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday."

Brechtian line for a) buffy appeared on Tuesday Nights since January of 98. and Dawn pretty much gets into trouble ever time she appears.

[arbre_rieur]

"no, the whole thing was motivated by Peter's guilt."

You say that like it's a failing. His whole Spider-Man career is motivated by guilt.

[box_in_the_box]

Bit of a difference between selfish guilt and non-selfish guilt.

[arbre_rieur]

He wants the woman who was like a mother to him to not die. Nothing selfish about that.

Similarly, if May was strapped to a bomb, and she screamed at Peter to not risk his life to defuse it, that his own life was more important than hers, I'd expect him to try to defuse it anyway. That's how superheroes roll.

[shadowpsykie]

"Similarly, if May was strapped to a bomb, and she screamed at Peter to not risk his life to defuse it, that his own life was more important than hers, I'd expect him to try to defuse it anyway. That's how superheroes roll."

only they are COMPLETELY different situations. yes, any Hero would risk his life to save some one despite his own safety. But Peter is not risking his life here. He is for all intents and purposes selling his soul to the devil, yes we can split hairs and say "well a marriage does not equal a soul." but the Devil's pretty much said that in cases of marriage two souls become one. So in selling he marriage, their marriage, he sold his soul.

hell if aunt may was not enough to convince him, JESUS CHRIST/GOD himself come down to him and told him to just trust in him and that everything would be okay..... but he didn't he made a deal with the devil. and cost him the life of him and MJ's daughter.

again, i am pretty sure this is going to end with them back together and Aunt May is going to come and kick both their asses for being so stupid.

[arbre_rieur]

I do think most superheroes would be willing to sacrifice even their souls to save the lives of innocents, in the sense that if the only way to remove the bomb in time was to sign away their souls, and they saw no other way, they'd do it.

"cost him the life of him and MJ's daughter."

Since she wasn't conceived yet, that's no more taking someone's life than abortion is.

May Day and the future

[hohaiyee]

I haven't read much of Spidergirl...but doesn't she know |Franklin Richards? Grown Franklin who could time-travel? Wouldn't Spidergirl never having been born, and heck, Peter and Mary's marriage, have a huuuuge averse effect on Franklin's timeline?

Mary Jane was in the Avenger's Tower, that's a huge difference.

I wonder if Franklin from the future would ever show up to fix this.

[zordboy]

Yeah, but there's still a big difference between that situation, and "I'll make a deal with Satan to save you" territory. I can't see how that meshes with normal-superhero-territory.