A Once In A Lifetime Conversation

The title says it all. The confrontation between J. Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man… scratch that, Peter Parker has been 44 years in the making.

Spider-Man has always been my favourite character. He is one of the few characters who are so complex that you can tell any type of story be it drama, action, comedy etc. and it fits. The only other example I can think of is Batman, although I would argue comedy stories with him have been a no-no since the 80’s and The Dark Knight Returns.

While a lot of fans where outraged with the unmasking, I was quiet happy. With any type of fiction if you set up something, it has to happen. If the action hero says he doesn’t like guns, you can bet 9 times out 10 he will get a gun and blow the hell out the villain by the end of the movie.

It’s the same with Spider-Man and his mask. At some point someone was going to take that mask off and show us the reactions of his supporting cast. I always expected it to be covered up later and with One More Day it appears I could be right but I digress.

One of the reactions I most wanted to see was J. Jonah Jameson. When Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man #23 hit this week we finally got that once in a lifetime conversation and we got it with one of my favourite writers Peter David at the helm.

Yet, I was under whelmed.

Now before you complain, hear me out. I think PAD did great in the issue. They went straight to the root of the Spider-Man/Jonah feud and questioned why it exists. In the end it wrapped up. It did what is said on the tin and it did well.

But remember what I said, this is once in a life time and it has been building up for 44 years. There was so much for the two to discuss but they didn’t and it is likely we will never get to see them discuss this again.

The villains Jonah helped create were but a throw away line.

John Jameson being “outed” as Spider-Man to Jonah by Peter was never mentioned.

Jameson’s connection to Peter was never mentioned. He’s a hard ass but he’s always felt close to Peter, he even secretly paid for his lawyer when he was framed for murder.

Jonah never question the times he saw Peter standing right next to Spider-Man (with Ben Reilly, The Prowler or someone in the suit).

The topic of Captain Stacy and Gwen Stacy’s death was barely touched.

They never mentioned Norman Osborn.

Those are just the major points, there are so many more. Now I can’t blame Peter David for this. I think he did a great job with the page count he had and I’m sure I’ll reread this issue a lot in time to come but I can’t help but think Marvel screwed up.

At the very least this should have been a double sized issue.

Instead we end up with an issue that sums up the entire unmasking. We see reactions only very briefly because we have to hurry up for the next event. In fact, that sums up Spider-Man at the minute. Avengers, The Other, Civil Way, Unmasking, Back in Black, One More Day. We aren’t getting enough time to let the stories breathe and tell them selves. Instead we jump from one event to the next, forgetting the infinitely more interesting fallout. My only hope is that with the book coming out thrice monthly we’ll get this time.

This issue did mark PAD’s departure from the book so I would like to say I’ve enjoyed his return to Spider verse very much. Just like he is doing over in X-Factor, he seems to be the only writer who is really making an effort to tackle dangling plot lines and he handles them well. PAD is most likely more of the finest writers at his craft and his ability to weave an interesting yarn at the same time as dealing with things he might not want to or choose to is a truly rare talent.