IGN's 25 Greatest Spider-Man Stories

[oldschool]

This is, after all, a discussion board. So we should feel free to do what you just did.

Nothing can stop the Juggernaut doesn't work for me because it only really says one thing "Peter doesn't give up". A fine lesson, to be sure, but by the 200s, it's not something we don't already know. My favorite example of this lesson is "The Madness of Mysterio" in ASM 66-67 (Ditko's "If this be my Destiny" at the end of the Master Planner arc is another good example of this lesson, probably a more powerful one). But it takes so long to tell us this, and not much else happens. Spider-Man attempts a dozen different ineffectual methods , and nothing happens. Most of the time, he doesn't even react, you just see him keep walking. And part of the problem I think, is that we already know that everything he does to him isn't going to work, so even though Spider-Man uses progressively more powerful things (girders, a wrecking ball, a truck), it's the same as if throwing paper at the guy. And I know that's supposed to show us how unbeatable Juggernaut is, but I already knew that from the introduction (though not before, I wasn't aware juggy was so unstoppable since my exposure was all cartoons and movies). And then, in the end, Spider-Man doesn't win because of brains, or brawn, or even really tenacity, he wins because Juggernaut walked into some cement. True, Spider-Man was covering his eyes at the time in a futile gesture, but it was just luck that led juggy into that path, and luck based endings rarely satisfy me. And it's not like he was even really stopped, he was just slowed down more dramatically than before.

I don't think it's a bad story. But there's just not enough there for me. In a way, it's a victim of its own efficient story telling. Half way through the first issue, it's effectively told us the whole story, but it then takes another issue and a half to wrap up. And when nothing new happens for that long, my enthusiasm wanes.

(and trust me, if anyone knows about belaboring a point, this post should prove that I do. )

Lol. OK, fair enough! I guess, for me, one of the reasons I hold it in such high regard is the early 1980's (during Denny O'Neill's run) is the only time in my 35+ years () of reading ASM that I ever stopped buying the title. I had just started college then (my name is "OLDschool", remember?) and O'Neill's run left me kinda cold so I just moved on from comics in general. Anyway, I started browsing ASM again at newstands right around the time Stern took over and I really liked what I was seeing and that Juggernaut story brought me all the way back, much the same---I realize as I am typing this---that some on these boards claim Slott's "Big Time" stuff brought them back.

So....I suppose nostalgia plays a big part of it for me; it just reminds me of a good time and a pleasant return to the adventures of my favorite comic. And sometimes....that's all we need to make a personal best-of list.

[Xenon]

Its a great send off for the marriage.

"Isn't this thing awesome!? Isn't it sweet?! Don't you love it?! Well tough shit! Cause we're getting rid of it! LLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL"

Lol. OK, fair enough! I guess, for me, one of the reasons I hold it in such high regard is the early 1980's (during Denny O'Neill's run) is the only time in my 35+ years () of reading ASM that I ever stopped buying the title. I had just started college then (my name is "OLDschool", remember?) and O'Neill's run left me kinda cold so I just moved on from comics in general. Anyway, I started browsing ASM again at newstands right around the time Stern took over and I really liked what I was seeing and that Juggernaut story brought me all the way back, much the same---I realize as I am typing this---that some on these boards claim Slott's "Big Time" stuff brought them back.

So....I suppose nostalgia plays a big part of it for me; it just reminds me of a good time and a pleasant return to the adventures of my favorite comic. And sometimes....that's all we need to make a personal best-of list.

Oh make no mistake, Mr. Stern was a dramatic improvement over the comics that had come before him since...well, basically since the original Clone Saga ended. That's not to say I didn't enjoy that period, but it's a clear difference in quality when Mr. Stern takes over the helm. His original Hobgoblin story is still a masterwork of the medium, his characters were better and more interesting, that's not your nostalgia, as someone born in 1986 I can safely tell you he's just BETTER than most of the others. And the Kid who collects Spider-Man is an excellent example of that, and even Juggernaut is still a really good tale, but I've seen it top these kinds of list before, and for me, tryign to be as objective as possible, I just can't see it.

But I can also certainly understand nostalgia. Final Fantasy IV is still my favorite video game of all time, even if I can recognize that Final Fantasy VI is objectively a better game. I just played FFVI much later, didn't have the same impact. I might just also love that Mysterio story too much.

[Aziz Abbasi]

Shed ranked this high? Some people I know will dislike this list based on that
I enjoyed Shed, find it a fun good story, but I wouldn't really rank it in my top 50

Spider-Man Blue as No. 2? Meh.
I like Loeb, though I think liking his work ranks as guilty pleasure

[Confuzzled Mutie]

Seems like someone over at IGN is a massive fan of the Peter/MJ/Gwen romance saga.