Silver Age comics PODs

How do you do it & continue to publish? Can you really feature a 60 or 70 year old Spidey?:eek:

Well, the answer is obvious. Always make sure you have newer and younger characters when the oldies start getting too old. I suspect that @Mort the Reaper was referring to the recent series ''Spider-Man: Life Story'' as an example.
 
Well, the answer is obvious. Always make sure you have newer and younger characters when the oldies start getting too old. I suspect that @Mort the Reaper was referring to the recent series ''Spider-Man: Life Story'' as an example.
Yeah, that's more or less what I had in mind.
I haven't read that, so I can't comment on it.

I do wonder how you persuade a major publisher to sacrifice their top-selling character.:eek: Somebody once asked what's the one thing that can kill Superman. My answer? "Bad sales." That's the only reason. And Supes didn't stay dead. Nor would he, any more than Doc Doom will. You've got a built-in audience, & no publisher's going to give that up. Especially not when it's a character as popular as Spidey or Supes. Any "death" will just be a reboot, & some fans will be so PO'd, they'll stop reading entirely--especially these days.

I don't see a way around that.

Besides, who notices James Bond should be about 100 by now, anyhow? Who cares? Who cares Pete should be on Social Security already? (Who cares Logan, if he really aged that slowly, should still have been getting carded when he joined the X-men?:openedeyewink: )

Can I offer another POD (of sorts)? WI the Marvel writers hadn't turned Reed Richards into the world's smartest man, & had remembered Ben was being sarcastic?
 
I remember reading that Stan Lee went on to regret that he hadn't tried to develop the relationship between Peter and Gwen earlier. And that recollection sparked an idea.

One thing a lot of people forget is that in the Lee-Ditko era of Spider-Man, Gwen Stacy was portrayed as a snobby "mean girl" who had mixed feelings about her attraction to Peter Parker. It was only after Ditko left and was replaced by Romita that she became a serious love interest for Pete. What if Gwen had a different initial characterization? Would she have gotten together with Peter earlier? If she did, how would their relationship have been affected?

Stan Lee hinted that if things had gone differently, Peter and Gwen might have gotten married. Would getting married to Pete have butterflied her death - one of the landmark moments in superhero comics? Alternatively, what if she still ended up dying? How would Marvel's most iconic superhero becoming a widower affect things? For that matter, what if she had a baby with Peter before her death? How would Peter suddenly becoming a single father affect his superhero career? His relationship with Mary Jane?

Considering Spider-Man is undoubtedly the flagship Marvel superhero, I think a minor change early on could've had some very big ramifications.

P.S. Before I forget, anyone who wants to use any of these ideas is welcome to do so.
 
What if Gwen had a different initial characterization?
Given Roy Thomas apparently disliked her, keeping the "mean girl" angle might have kept her alive & butterflied the biggest story in Marvel history.:eek::eek: (Or Roy might still have disliked her enough to want to be rid of her...;) IMO, letting her be mean, & by extension him be mean to her, keeps her alive.)
Stan hinted that if things had gone differently, Peter and Gwen might have gotten married.
My guess is, the only way you can do that is to have another writer on the book. That's not impossible by any means. Anybody care to offer suggestions? (It's been too long since I read anything '70s vintage, even, to be able to say for sure...:oops::oops: ) I think Mantlo wouldn't come along til too late. Starlin? (That could produce some deeply weird Spidey.:eek: ) Who was doing DD then?
Would getting married to Pete have butterflied her death
It would almost have to, wouldn't it? Because for it to happen, you'd have a different writer behind it. Unless you take my idea & have a mean new writer decide to really screw Pete over & kill her anyhow.:eek::eek::eek::eek: (Or if Thomas does just before he quits, as a shot to the suits for forcing him to marry them.:eek: )
what if she still ended up dying? How would Marvel's most iconic superhero becoming a widower affect things?
That would be an extremely interesting Spidey story.:cool::cool: Except, would it change much from OTL? I don't recall the post-death OTL stories being really filled with grief. (I did read a few of them, way, way back when.:eek: ) And it wasn't long, IIRC, before the Spidermobile & Punisher showed up...which weren't really different from what I recall before that.

That said, if they were married, wouldn't that have put her death off-limits?

Of course, I can just see Roy killing her, only to have a new writer on the book in a year bringing her back, somehow. (I've already had an idea for killing off Lois Lane, & bringing her back--without resorting to the "imaginary story".:openedeyewink: )
For that matter, what if she had a baby with Peter before her death? How would Peter suddenly becoming a single father affect his superhero career?
IMO, it was a bit early for the single father angle in '73-4.
His relationship with Mary Jane?
It wouldn't be so different from OTL, would it? She's changed enormously from the flaky MJ of her early appearances (as I recall her, anyhow) to a pretty serious woman. How much of that is from contact with the un-playful Pete, IDK. (I reject the "she always knew Pete was Spidey" line.)
Considering Spider-Man is undoubtedly the flagship Marvel superhero, I think a minor change early on could've had some very big ramifications.
If Gwen lived, & especially if she married Pete, that's far from minor.:eek::eek::eek: That's up there with Sue not marrying Reed.:eek::eek:

Come to think of it...that's another POD. WI she didn't?

Or WI one of the others of the FF couldn't change back? Or if Ben always could (did)?:cool: (Canon says he could, but somehow never figured out how...)
 
IMO, it was a bit early for the single father angle in '73-4.
longest_running_tv_show_my_3_sons.jpg
1965-1972
 
longest_running_tv_show_my_3_sons.jpg
1965-1972
I'd forgotten about that.:oops:

In my defense, however:
  1. It's a sitcom.
  2. He's not working alone.
  3. He's a fair bit older. (They both are.)
Furthermore, I suspect the CCA suits would have a stroke at the idea of a 17yr old Pete with a kid.:eek::eek: I expect a few parents would, too.:eek:
 
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