Tom Brevoort's Q & A roundup *Spider-Man edition*

[Will.S]

I did this for the Avengers forum so people can see Tom answer questions that many people have asked on a daily basis on these very forums. I culled the Spider-Man related ones from there so there aren't as many as the Avengers ones but it's interesting to read nonetheless:

What's Adam Kubert's next project?

Posted by plord4ever on 2009-08-29 07:36:25

Tom Brevoort: Adam is presently working on DARK REIGN: THE LIST: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN with Dan Slott. As you'd expect, the pages are masterful. Adam's a real virtuoso of the art form.

New question: I've recently been re-reading a lot of the Clone Saga stories, and what strikes me is that its greatest weakness could also be very helpful today. There were a lot of "filler" arcs which were completely superfluous to the main story (and to be honest, often not very good). So if they wanted to collect the Clone Saga in trade paperbacks today, they could probably do selective collections of just the important story arcs, and skip a lot of the stuff in-between. Do you think that would work?

Posted by CylverSaber on 2009-08-28 08:41:34

Tom Brevoort: I don't know, I think the people who are truly interested in that period in Spidey history would rather have it all, especially since there were constant subplots with the supporting cast and the villains that would also jump around were you to only focus on doing a "greatest hits" sort of a collection. I also think there'd be some dispute among readers as to which stories were the bad ones that deserve to be left out. No, my instinct would be, if we were going to reprint the Clone Saga years, to do it along the lines of the ONSLAUGHT collections, and include everything, at least from the core titles.

I have read a few times recently at least once from Wacker, that the BND status quo stuff has been on the cards for ages, Joe Quesada even had Spidey being single again on his to do list on getting the EiC chair. So my question is this:
Why did you "allow" JMS to write Peter as the married man, with a interesting proper full time job, reastablishing the Peter/MJ marrige/relationship even though it was on the rocks, present the character as being in his late thirties, have Spidey himself state how neccessary MJ was to his happiness and emotional well being, have the character go through a much needed and well earned power-up complete with costume change if you KNEW you were going to double back.

Im not asking why you did OMD/BND but why you did the stuff before it if you knew the retcons were on their way, it seems counter productive to let interest build in a status quo you were gagging to do away with. I would just love to hear your thoughts on this.

Tom Brevoort: Well, there are a couple different components to this question. First off, you speak as though Marvel is one big group mind, which isn't the case-there are hundreds of different individual personalities that make up Marvel, creators and staff members alike, and each one has his or her own personal preferences and perspectives. But when you as "why did you", you're really asking about any number of people who make up that collective you.

And like with anything, while Joe Q did have on his to-do list to at some point deal with the marriage (as did pretty much every other previous Spidey editor at one point or another), it was just one item among many items. You can't change or fix everything at once, that way lies madness. When he came onto the series, JMS seemed very interested in picking up the characters where they were, and propelling their story forwards, and the feeling at that point was that the best thing you could do for AMAZING SPIDER-MAN at that point was to put top-flight talent on it, and raise the profile of the series in that way, which did happen.

Eventually, after five years, JMS was beginning to get ready to wrap up his run, Joe Q broached the subject of wanting to find a way to take care of the situation with the marriage, and the two of them brainstormed the crux of the story that became OMD. And then, of course, what happened happened.

But it's not like there was a definitive plan to undo or reverse everything-simply a desire to correct that situation at some point. The story hadn't been worked out, the mechanism was untested-and until such a point as those particulars had been figured out, there didn't seem to be any reason not to let JMS and Paul Jenkins and everybody else tell the Spidey stories they wanted to tell. None of the things they did either impinged on our ability to get to an unmarrying storyline at some point, nor did they create additional permanent complications for the character. The only event that would have created such complications was the unmasking-and by the time we'd gotten up to that point, we knew that the OMD story was on the way, and that it would serve to reverse that beat.

when will Aunt May learn that Peter is secretly Spider-Man to me it is stupid for her to not know.

Tom Brevoort: Not in the near future, I'm afraid. And while you may think it's stupid, May not knowing plays an important role in the structure of the series. The most basic conflicts for Peter tend to revolve around needing to balance out his life and responsibilities as Spider-Man with the demands of his civilian life as Peter Parker. He constantly needs to juggle the elements of both lives. But as soon as the people in his civilian life know his secret, all of the tension goes away. Aunt May can't be mad at Peter for missing an appointment or not picking up groceries or whatever if she's aware that he's Spider-Man, since (unless she's completely heartless) she realizes that saving people is more important. Spidey having an entire network of people who know his secret and can help him to maintain it takes a lot of the fun and the drama out of the series-it makes things way too easy.

Spectacular Spider-Girl needs to be longer can you do anything to get it longer.

Posted by strawberry2k8 on 2009-08-27 20:22:38

Tom Brevoort: We could stretch her on a rack, I suppose, but I don't think that's quite what you're talking about. However, there are additional Spider-Girl stories being produced for the new WEB OF SPIDER-MAN series, so you can get a new fix of Mayday goodness there.

Remember Debra Whitman's "tell-all book" about Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #15? If someone bought one of those at the time, what would it look like now? Are they widely considered a hoax? Are the pages blank? Did they all somehow get pulped? Are they all lying about unsold in charity shops?

Tom Brevoort: I don't know how much detail I can get into without speaking about the specific mechanism by which Peter's identity as Spider-Man is now once again a secret, but I'll give it a go. And the real answer here is that, until somebody turns up in a Spidey story with a copy of the book, it's all conjecture in any event. But it could be that most people consider it a hoax, after the event of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #7 put forth the notion that somebody in the Iron Spider-Man costume could make himself look like Peter Parker or anybody else. Or it could be that, as in the case of the Sentry when his existence was blanked from the minds of the world, people simply can't see or remember the contents of the book. Or maybe it's simply considered the worst tell-all book ever written, since it doesn't tell anything.

What are the odds of some Clone Saga collections

Posted by CylverSaber on 2009-08-24 21:31:36>

Tom Brevoort: Pretty good, I believe-I was under the impression that we'd announced these already. Stay tuned-they're coming.

[RDMacQ]

The OMD/ BND, marriage stuff aside, I really dislike Breevort's take on the Peter/ May relationship. Yes, it removes some of the tension in the book, but Peter and May's relationship really evolved nicely once the secret was out. May grew as a character, and showed how strong and caring she actually is. Not only that, but the fact that Peter won't tell her after she already found out and he knows that she can not only deal with it but in fact be supportive of his double life just really makes Peter look like a jerk.

Plus, it just makes no #$&*ing sense.

[Andrew T]

Originally Posted by RDMacQ

The OMD/ BND, marriage stuff aside, I really dislike Breevort's take on the Peter/ May relationship. Yes, it removes some of the tension in the book, but Peter and May's relationship really evolved nicely once the secret was out. May grew as a character, and showed how strong and caring she actually is. Not only that, but the fact that Peter won't tell her after she already found out and he knows that she can not only deal with it but in fact be supportive of his double life just really makes Peter look like a jerk.

Plus, it just makes no #$&*ing sense.

Agreed. May knowing his identity doesn't even increase her chances of being jumped by some Spider hating goon either. If a villain manages to unmask Pete they're going to target May regardless. It just seems like a secret that really doesn't need to be kept anymore.

And people really thought Peter was being presented like he was in his late thirties? I got a late twenties vibe, but nothing beyond that.

[steveg887]

What are the odds of some Clone Saga collections

Posted by CylverSaber on 2009-08-24 21:31:36>

Tom Brevoort: Pretty good, I believe-I was under the impression that we'd announced these already. Stay tuned-they're coming.

Interesting. Granted, I'd rather spend my money on something... good. But interesting nonetheless.

[ZeoVGM]

Originally Posted by Will.S

New question: I've recently been re-reading a lot of the Clone Saga stories, and what strikes me is that its greatest weakness could also be very helpful today. There were a lot of "filler" arcs which were completely superfluous to the main story (and to be honest, often not very good). So if they wanted to collect the Clone Saga in trade paperbacks today, they could probably do selective collections of just the important story arcs, and skip a lot of the stuff in-between. Do you think that would work?

Posted by CylverSaber on 2009-08-28 08:41:34

Tom Brevoort: I don't know, I think the people who are truly interested in that period in Spidey history would rather have it all, especially since there were constant subplots with the supporting cast and the villains that would also jump around were you to only focus on doing a "greatest hits" sort of a collection. I also think there'd be some dispute among readers as to which stories were the bad ones that deserve to be left out. No, my instinct would be, if we were going to reprint the Clone Saga years, to do it along the lines of the ONSLAUGHT collections, and include everything, at least from the core titles.

Absolutely 100% correct.

when will Aunt May learn that Peter is secretly Spider-Man to me it is stupid for her to not know.

Tom Brevoort: Not in the near future, I'm afraid. And while you may think it's stupid, May not knowing plays an important role in the structure of the series. The most basic conflicts for Peter tend to revolve around needing to balance out his life and responsibilities as Spider-Man with the demands of his civilian life as Peter Parker. He constantly needs to juggle the elements of both lives. But as soon as the people in his civilian life know his secret, all of the tension goes away. Aunt May can't be mad at Peter for missing an appointment or not picking up groceries or whatever if she's aware that he's Spider-Man, since (unless she's completely heartless) she realizes that saving people is more important. Spidey having an entire network of people who know his secret and can help him to maintain it takes a lot of the fun and the drama out of the series-it makes things way too easy.

Absolutely 100% wrong.

We had May knowing about Peter for years and it proved what Tom said here to be false. As much as I love the book now, this is just a silly answer. A good writer can create tension in other places. This is just a lazy way of thinking.

What are the odds of some Clone Saga collections

Posted by CylverSaber on 2009-08-24 21:31:36>

Tom Brevoort: Pretty good, I believe-I was under the impression that we'd announced these already. Stay tuned-they're coming.

Er, so does that mean we'll get them in the way described in the first question?

[Will.S]

Originally Posted by RDMacQ

The OMD/ BND, marriage stuff aside, I really dislike Breevort's take on the Peter/ May relationship. Yes, it removes some of the tension in the book, but Peter and May's relationship really evolved nicely once the secret was out. May grew as a character, and showed how strong and caring she actually is. Not only that, but the fact that Peter won't tell her after she already found out and he knows that she can not only deal with it but in fact be supportive of his double life just really makes Peter look like a jerk.

Plus, it just makes no #$&*ing sense.

I really don't get the reasoning myself. If May isn't going to at least retain any of the development she had with Peter during JMS's run then I see no real reason to keep her around. And nothing that's happened as of recent with Aunt May such as the marriage with Jonah Sr. has been as compelling as what JMS did with her.

Originally Posted by spideytothemax

Agreed. May knowing his identity doesn't even increase her chances of being jumped by some Spider hating goon either. If a villain manages to unmask Pete they're going to target May regardless. It just seems like a secret that really doesn't need to be kept anymore.

And people really thought Peter was being presented like he was in his late thirties? I got a late twenties vibe, but nothing beyond that.

I guess the teacher/marriage thing made him seem like he was older than he really was. I actually agree with you in that I thought he was in the late 20's camp myself but that's just me.

[Will.S]

Originally Posted by ZeoVGM

Er, so does that mean we'll get them in the way described in the first question?

I would imagine so.

I thought culling just the most "important" parts of the clone saga would have been the way to go to forego any extraneous material but I suppose that is subjective and one would have to read through it all first to make that judgment. I can't imagine how many volumes it'll end up being though, that's an entire bookshelf onto itself.

[Chris S.]

Originally Posted by RDMacQ

The OMD/ BND, marriage stuff aside, I really dislike Breevort's take on the Peter/ May relationship. Yes, it removes some of the tension in the book, but Peter and May's relationship really evolved nicely once the secret was out. May grew as a character, and showed how strong and caring she actually is. Not only that, but the fact that Peter won't tell her after she already found out and he knows that she can not only deal with it but in fact be supportive of his double life just really makes Peter look like a jerk.

Plus, it just makes no #$&*ing sense.

After actually reading Tom Brevoorts thing from before I stopped agreeing with everything he says about Spider-Man.

[stillanerd]

Originally Posted by RDMacQ

The OMD/ BND, marriage stuff aside, I really dislike Breevort's take on the Peter/ May relationship. Yes, it removes some of the tension in the book, but Peter and May's relationship really evolved nicely once the secret was out. May grew as a character, and showed how strong and caring she actually is. Not only that, but the fact that Peter won't tell her after she already found out and he knows that she can not only deal with it but in fact be supportive of his double life just really makes Peter look like a jerk.

Plus, it just makes no #$&*ing sense.

Absolutely. The reason why Peter didn't tell Aunt May at first was because he thought she wouldn't be able to deal with it, especially since he held himself indirectly responsible for Uncle Ben's death, and that she also couldn't stand that "awful, icky Spider-Man." But when Aunt May found out, he saw that she was able to handle it and their quasi mother-son relationship became all the more stronger because of it. But I guess, Marvel wants Peter not for Aunt May to know because he's afraid if his enemies learn who he is, they'll target her, so his not telling her is protecting her from future attacks.

But wait? Isn't that what the psychic blindspot is for? To prevent anyone from figuring out Peter and Spider-Man are one and the same regardless of the evidence being presented? The only way they can find out, apparently, is he or somebody else completely removes his mask and they look at his face while he's still in costume. So what does he really have to worry about Aunt May finding out if 1) short of being unmasked, his identity is completely protected, and 2) that he already knows Aunt May can handle him being Spider-Man--especially since she not being depicted as frail and weak anymore.

Also, Mary Jane still knows who he is, so it can't really be he's trying to protect those he loves from potential attacks. Not to mention her knowing goes against Breevort's very idea that "as soon as the people in his civilian life know his secret, all of the tension goes away," because her knowing certainly HAS created a lot of tension, especially of the romantic variety.

BTW, this is why I believe Jay Jameson is slated to die when "caught in the crossfire" in a battle between Spider-Man and some super-villain, simply because it gives Aunt May a reason to hate Spider-Man because she'll blame him for making her a widow again, and Peter will feel guilt-ridden and feel he can never reveal who he really is to her apart from the whole "tension going away if she does know" nonsense.

[Michael Deery]

Just because someone can handle something doesn't mean you need to burden them with it.

[flashdisk]

Originally Posted by Michael Deery

Just because someone can handle something doesn't mean you need to burden them with it.

I think its a sign of respect to a person when you reveal to them information that could affect them in the future.

Aunt May could still end up getting hurt one day due to Peter Parker's secret. The least Peter Parker could do is to at least warn her before hand.

[whiteshark]

Interesting answers of Tom Brevoort`s.


I never got why Marvel decided to have a story in which Spider-Man revealed his secret identity to the world.This just doesnt work to the character,and having a story in which Spider-Man does it,represents the moment in which Spider-Man acted more out of character.
But i see that it makes sense now,since that would be corected after OMD,and as such it was a smart move to make it to explore stories in which what would happen when Spider-Man revealed his secret identity.

As for Aunt May not knowing Spider-Man identity anymore,it works for the best that way.
Besides being a bit out of character Aunt May knowing Peter Parker is Spider-Man and just acepting it.Keeping in mind that Aunt May was always over protective with Peter Parker.:rolleyes:

And story wise speaking is better in stories to add tension and drama.
For example the same story in which Aunt May and Peter Parker are having a dinner in home and Peter Parker see in the television that Stegron is on the loose.
Since Aunt May doesnt know Peter Parker is Spider-Man,then Peter Parker have to make a excuse to leave home,will feel bad for lying but at the same time with great powers come great responsibilities and have to stop Stegron,and if Peter Parker get injured and late after fighting with Stegron still have to explain where the injuries come from and why he took so much time. So in this example,just because Aunt May didnt knew Peter Parker is Spider-Man the story benefits from extra tension,drama and the conflict of Peter Parker living up acording to his powers.

Now lets see the same example,but this time Aunt May knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man.In this case it would just be a matter of Peter Parker saying to Aunt May that he is going to capture Stegron and will be home again as soon as he can.Which Aunt May will just acept. Surelly is easy to see that the drama,tension in this last example is close to nothing,and the story itself in that premesis is quite boring,right?

So i will just rest my case,saying that i agree that the stories benefit from Aunt May not knowing Peter Parker is Spider-Man.

[Burning_Pumpkin]

Originally Posted by whiteshark

I never got why Marvel decided to have a story in which Spider-Man revealed his secret identity to the world.This just doesnt work to the character,and having a story in which Spider-Man does it,represents the moment in which Spider-Man acted more out of character.

I disagree, Good Sir, I felt the unmasking, considering the context in which it occured, made perfect sense and was entirely a 'Peter' thing to do. I never understood the 'out of character' claim ( God, i hate that phrase ).

Originally Posted by whiteshark

As for Aunt May not knowing Spider-Man identity anymore,it works for the best that way.

With you there. I feel it creates much more potential for conflict.

[whiteshark]

Originally Posted by Burning_Pumpkin

I disagree, Good Sir, I felt the unmasking, considering the context in which it occured, made perfect sense and was entirely a 'Peter' thing to do. I never understood the 'out of character' claim ( God, i hate that phrase ).

Sure in the context in which it occured it made some sense.All though Iron Man just lecturing Spider-Man to reveal his secret identity,and Peter Parker acepting it looked a bit strange.If it was Captain America i think the story would get better.

But in my opinion,the unmasking could never work in the long run.
Peter Parker secret identity is a big part of Spider-Man,and this being known could have not worked in many stories in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Burning_Pumpkin

With you there. I feel it creates much more potential for conflict.

Thanks.

[Burning_Pumpkin]

Originally Posted by whiteshark

But in my opinion,the unmasking could never work in the long run.
Peter Parker secret identity is a big part of Spider-Man,and this being known could have not worked in many stories in my opinion.

Totally.

If nothing else, this Peter Parker we're talking about. It wouldn't be a Spidey story if it didn't go wrong.