University of Panels

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Comic Review: Iceman (Vol. 1-2)

Writer: Sina Grace

Artists: Alessandro Vitti, Edgar Salazar, Ibraim Roberson, Robert Gill & Sina Grace

Sina Grace’s Iceman series excels in its portrayal of the issues the LGBTQ community struggles with!

Ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In one of his famous soapboxes, Stan Lee wrote in the letter’s column of AVENGERS #74, “None of us lives in a vacuum — none of us is untouched by the everyday events about us — events which shape our stories just as they shape our lives. Sure, our stories can be called escapist — but just because something’s for fun, doesn’t mean we have to blanket our brains while we read it!”

What he meant was that although comic books are fictional fantasy at their core, they should still try to be reflective of the societal trends of the time they’re published in. The soapbox was published in response to fans who complained about the inclusion of political messages in comics. However, Stan believed that escapist literature should serve as a vehicle for moral and philosophical discussions. This is evidenced by him alluding to the Civil Rights movement along with Cold and Vietnam Wars, which were subjects that he frequently referenced in the comics he wrote during the 1960s. I find Stan’s words to be fittingly appropriate in regards to subject of today’s review, the 11-issue ICEMAN series by Sina Grace. History seems to have repeated itself. Although ICEMAN is a well-written and brilliant series about a young man’s struggles to come to terms with being gay and further demonstrates Marvel’s efforts to become more inclusive with readers, the book has drawn significant backlash from right-leaning members of the comics' community.

But before I provide my analysis of the book itself, I need to give some lengthy background on both the character Iceman and the controversy surrounding his solo-series. For those unaware, Iceman, a.k.a. Robert “Bobby” Drake, was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963. As his name suggests, Bobby is a mutant with the ability to create and to manipulate constructs of ice, and he was one of the original five founding members of the X-Men. For almost fifty years the character was portrayed as a thrill-seeking jokester and ladies’ man, but, in 2015, writer Brian Michael Bendis decided to reveal that the character was secretly gay. Back in 2012, Bendis launched the series ALL-NEW X-MEN, which focused on the original five teenage X-Men being brought from the past to the present-day. In issue forty of the series, the time-displaced Jean Grey questions the younger Bobby’s flirtatious attitude after hitting on Magik, stating that she knew he was gay due to her telepathic powers, and later in UNCANNY X-MEN #600, the older Bobby reveals that he has always been gay as well when questioned by his younger self.

While the method in which Bobby was outed was indeed problematic in its execution (although I interpret Jean’s attitude as that of a concerned friend), I personally really loved the idea of Iceman being gay and felt it made perfect sense from a character perspective. Although Bobby has been shown to be an incessant womanizer, he was always really bad at being a womanizer, which is reflective of behavior demonstrated by some closeted gay individuals according to real-world studies. Furthermore, in stark contrast to the character’s cool and confident exterior, Bobby is shown internally to be insecure and self-doubting because he was raised by ultra-conservative parents who were unaccepting of their son’s mutant status. This, combined with the racism and bigotry the X-Men fight on a regular basis, forces Bobby to rely on humor as a shield to hide his true feelings. And seeing as how Bobby constantly tries to act hip and cool around attractive women, an individual could interpret his flirtatious behavior as the character overcompensating in order to try burying his inherent sexuality.

Additionally, the decision to have Iceman come out of the closet felt like a progressive effort by Marvel to be more reflective of our diverse and multicultural society. While Marvel has always promoted messages of tolerance and inclusion in books like X-MEN, it wasn’t until Bendis' creation of Miles Morales, an African American-Hispanic version of Spider-Man in 2011, that the company as a whole began to take shape in this direction. Marvel began creating new diverse characters like Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel), who is a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager, and America Chavez (Miss America), America Chavez (Miss America), who is a Lesbian Latina woman from a parallel dimension, and Riri Williams (Ironheart), an African American engineering student from Chicago. Additionally, we began seeing new versions of old favorites such as a female Thor (Jane Foster) an African American Captain America (Sam Wilson; formerly the Falcon), a Hispanic Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes), and a Korean-American Hulk (Amadeus Cho).

All-New, All-Different Marvel! From https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/4/15169572/marvel-diversity-outrage-gabriel.

Furthermore, Marvel also began hiring more diverse writers such Muslim-convert G. Willow Wilson for the aforementioned MS. MARVEL series, and African American journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates for the BLACK PANTHER books. Making Iceman gay felt like a natural extension of this progressive trend, so when I learned that Iceman received his own solo-series written by Middle Eastern gay author and former editor of THE WALKING DEAD comic, Sina Grace, I was naturally excited!

Unfortunately, however, while I and several others were on board with the series, it has simultaneously been subject to massive criticisms from far-right comic book fans, in particular by Richard C. Meyer and the members of Comicsgate. I already briefly discussed the controversy surrounding Comicsgate in my review of MS. MARVEL (VOL. 8): MECCA since the movement has been centered around making racist attacks against diverse characters and creators in comics, particularly those at Marvel. In regard to Sina Grace’s ICEMAN book, this comic has been one of the most viscerally attacked books by Meyer and his followers (second only to Gabby Rivera's AMERICA, another LGBTQ-lead comic). Not only have they made videos with clickbait titles like “I rip SJW Marvel’s ICEMAN In Half Figuratively and Literally,” but Meyer has also inaccurately labeled ICEMAN as "stereotypical" and “anti-gay propaganda.” This is in spite of the fact that ICEMAN is written by a gay author, while Meyer himself reads all of the character’s dialogue in a stereotypical “gay-lisp” voice, openly describes Bobby's bigoted parents as "nice people," and regularly makes homophobic and transphobic jokes in his videos. Meyer even went as far as to state that people like Sina Grace should be “waned from society" by being killed in a hypothetical third world war, which is hands down the absolute worst thing Meyer has ever said.

Meyer's rhetoric at its absolute worst!

You Know… for as much as I've complained SPIDER-MAN: ONE MORE DAY in the past, I honestly feel obliged to apologize for my past insults towards Joe Quesada for spearheading that book. While ONE MORE DAY is still my most personally despised comic of all-time since it moronically had Spidey and Mary Jane sell their marriage the devil (which was a complete middle finger to me as a Spider-Man fan), at least that book never advocated for the death of a gay man like Meyer did. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I've finally found a subject more deserving of my ire than ONE MORE DAY in the form of Richard C. Meyer and Comicsgate. They're right up there with Frank Miller's HOLY TERROR as being some of the most racist and hateful blights upon the medium of comics. And seeing as how ICEMAN has been one of the biggest targets of Comicsgate, I feel that it's my duty as a critic to provide a professional and unbiased analysis of the comic. Although the series was canceled after only 11-issues (reportedly due to low sales), it’s one that I personally really enjoyed and felt succeeds in its portrayal of the issues and struggles faced by the LGBTQ community and provides an authentic voice for gay representation in comics despite the homophobic backlash its recieved.

Set directly after the events of INHUMANS VS. X-MEN as part of the RESURRXION relaunch of the X-Men books, ICEMAN opens with the framing device of Bobby Drake struggling to describe himself on a men’s dating website juxtaposed to his sparing with the time-displaced version of himself in the Danger Room. After finishing their training exercise, the younger Iceman leaves to go on a date with his boyfriend Romeo, causing Bobby to momentarily reflect on the current state of his life. While Bobby has yet fully to come to terms with his recently discovered sexuality, his younger doppelgänger is not only fully comfortable with who he is, but he’s currently in a happy and prosperous relationship with a handsome young Inhuman. But before he can dwell on his thoughts any further, Bobby suddenly gets a call that his father is recovering in the New York Presbyterian Hospital from a heart infection. The meeting is awkward and uncomfortable for Bobby because not only are his parents already biased towards him being a mutant due to their conservative beliefs, but they’re also unaware of their son being gay: Mrs. Drake asks Bobby if he has any new girlfriends. As Bobby struggles to answer his mother, the three are interrupted when a teenage girl suddenly runs into the hospital and is shot at by a member of the Purifiers, a group of Christian zealots who believe that being a mutant is a sin against God. After subduing the purifier, Iceman learns that the young girl Michaela Ladak is a mutant as well, possessing the ability to solidify her saliva. Although Michaela laments about her powers being useless, Bobby confesses to her that in his earlier days he was solely restricted to throwing snowballs at his enemies, but that “you never know how far your powers can take you if you believe in yourself.”

Understanding that he’s an omega-level mutant who’s failed to tap into the full potential of his powers and is currently leaving behind a legacy of nothing but bad jokes and failed romances, Bobby leaves the hospital determined to try to establish a better life and legacy for himself. In doing so, Bobby will be forced to contend with challenges far more taxing than the likes of Wolverine’s deranged son Daken or the Juggernaut: namely confiding with his friends and teammates, struggling to find dates, and most draining of all… coming out to his bigoted mutantphobic parents! The road to becoming the best version of Iceman will not be easy, but it’s one that Bobby Drake intends to traverse all the way through!

Similar to the realistic and positive portrayal of Muslim Americans in MS. MARVEL, ICEMAN is a comic that I feel succeeds in conveying the various struggles faced by members of the LGBTQ community. What truly struck a cord with me about this series is how Bobby’s struggles to come to terms with his previously repressed sexuality come across to me as very genuine and earnest in their depiction. I believe that this can be attributed not only to the fact that the Sina Grace is not only a gay man himself, but also more especially that Iceman’s experiences are off those of Sina Grace and his friends. In an interview with IGN Grace states, “My rule with writing all of the personal stuff in Iceman is that it has to come from somewhere real. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to stand up against any criticism.” And in a sense, that mindset echoes all throughout the comic as Iceman’s efforts to come out to those closest to him feel reflective of those of LGBTQ individuals in the real world. For instance, Grace demonstrates how coming out can be beneficial for one’s relationships in the scene where Iceman confides with his ex-girlfriend Kitty Pryde, the current leader of the X-Men. During one mission where Kitty and Bobby struggle to calm down an anti-mutant mob pestering a new mutant named Zach, Iceman inadvertently makes the situation worse by forming a gigantic wall of ice, thereby making the mob angrier. Although Bobby tries to excuse the situation by stating he didn’t know that Zach possessed the uncontrolled ability to decrease or amplify power levels (including electronics and mutant powers) around him, Kitty reprimands Bobby with “Is that your excuse for everything? ‘I didn’t know?!’” Bobby quickly realizes that she’s referring to not just the situation at hand, but also that he didn’t discuss with her that he was gay, and Kitty tells Bobby, "I could have been there for you. When we broke up I couldn’t help but blame myself. ‘What did I do wrong?’ [But] the minute Goldballs told me, I went: ‘Oh! He’s gay. Okay.’ That’s all it took to go from being an angry ex to a concerned friend…” before embracing him in a hug.

Kitty Pryde comforts her ex-boyfriend. From Iceman #2 (Jun 2017).
Art by Edgar Salazar and Ibraim Roberson. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

These words give Bobby confidence and allow him to think strategically by not only knocking Zach unconscious, thus allowing them to use their powers efficiently, but also by forming a legion of ice-clones to fend off the mob while Kitty helped them escape. Grace effectively uses the scene to convey how in some cases coming out to your friends can have a positive effect on LGBTQ both personally and socially. And the scene resonates even further when Grace later states in the letter’s column of issue 4 that Kitty and Bobby’s conversation is based on “a real talk [he] had in college,” thus making it feel even more genuine.

Conversely, Grace portrays how coming out can also potentially negatively affect a gay individual’s relationships and is one of the most emotionally draining and terrifying issues the LGBTQ community still struggles with. This is nowhere more apparent than with Iceman’s parents, William and Madeline Drake. In addition to their already struggling to accept their son’s status as a mutant due to their conservative religious backgrounds, their narrow-minded world views caused problems for Bobby even as far back as a child since his father continuously pushed him to pursue a career in accounting despite it not fitting in with Bobby’s own dreams, and was even downright racist when Bobby dated women who were Italian or Japanese during the 90s. These attitudes made it difficult for Bobby to function as a child and caused him to begin using humor as a shield to hide the insecurities and feelings of self-doubt that he would carry on into his adult years. And while Bobby’s parents do express love for their son, such as when William speaks out against anti-mutant bigot Graydon Creed back in UNCANNY X-MEN #340, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to interpret their relationship with their son to be borderline abusive in nature.

Grace perfectly understood this. The entire first half of the series is dedicated to building up Iceman’s fear and anxiety about coming out to his already mutantphobic parents. And when Bobby finally does come out to them in issue 5, it should come as no surprise that their reaction is negative and rejecting. Grace expertly demonstrates how parents with conservative backgrounds can say especially cruel and harsh things when their children come out. For example, Bobby’s father states “So where’s the Bobby Drake we raised? Our son’s dead. The Iceman wins.”

And similar to the conversation between Kitty and Bobby, Grace bases the one between Bobby and his parents off both his own coming out experience to his Muslim mother as well as those of an ex-boyfriend and lesbian friend of his. So, when Bobby’s mother questions why he doesn’t continue dating tons of women and Bobby states, “Haven’t you ever been with someone and known deep down that it’s not right. That’s how it's felt with every girl — every time. I don’t think that’s how you’re supposed to feel when you love someone,” his words resonate on a very genuine and authentic level. In large measure, Sina Grace greatly excels in his portrayal of LGBTQ struggles in ICEMAN by drawing upon his own personal experiences and those close to him, thus making them feel genuine to those unfamiliar with such situations.

Another element of ICEMAN that I particularly enjoyed is its depiction of Bobby’s powers and how they operate as metaphors for coming out and self-confidence. While mutants in the X-MEN books have always served as metaphors for oppressed minorities and the dangers of racism, in recent years many scholars and fans have interpreted being a mutant as analogous to being gay and struggling with issues like homophobia. This idea was undoubtedly portrayed by Bryan Singer in the movie X2: X-MEN UNITED, in the scene where Iceman first shows his powers to his parents and they infamously ask, “Have you ever tried… not being a mutant,” which is eerily familiar to real questions parents have asked their children when they come out. Grace provides an interesting take on the analogy between mutants and LGBTQ people with the idea that the level of Bobby’s ice powers is dependent on his self-confidence and state of mind. This idea is not entirely new. It has been implied since the 1990s that Bobby is significantly holding back with his powers and isn’t using them to their full potential. In UNCANNY X-MEN #314 from the 1990s Emma Frost telepathically takes control of Iceman’s body and uses his powers in ways that he himself had never imagined. This causes Bobby to feel ineffectual and worthless, as is later demonstrated in UNCANNY X-MEN #319 when he forms a gigantic castle made of ice on the Long Island beach but laments to Rogue that he’s “been kind of a slacker over the years,” and “had [his] face rubbed in the fact that he [hasn’t] been living up to the full potential of [his] mutant powers” for reasons he cannot explain.

While it was heavily implied back then that the sole reason Iceman relegated himself to be the class clown was because of conservative and borderline abusive parents, Sina Grace further builds on the idea through suggesting that it was also due to his repressing his sexuality. In recent years, psychological studies have shown that gay people who come out and accept their sexuality are more likely to live happy and prosperous lives than those who try to hide and suppress it. While this certainly won’t be the case for everyone, as homophobia is unfortunately still a real problem (even with the nationwide legalization of gay marriage back in 2015), it does seem to be the case for Bobby and his respective author.

This is most effectively demonstrated in issue 4, where a doubtful Iceman fails to stop his student Zach from being recruited by Daken, Wolverine’s evil son, who tells Bobby “I can smell the insecurity on you… the nervous energy. Good luck getting any of those X-Teens to fall in line with a leader who reeks of fear.”

Grace draws effective parallels between the two characters as Bobby becomes envious of Daken, as the latter is not only bi-sexual but is also fully content with who he is and embracing the full potential of his mutant powers. This leads to Bobby deciding to confront his worst fears by coming directly to his parents the next morning instead of in a letter like he had previously intended. By overcoming the most egregious and emotionally draining hurdle in his life, Bobby is able to express his mutant powers to their fullest potential, which Grace effectively demonstrates by having him fight the Juggernaut alone.

While the Juggernaut is one of the X-Men’s most powerful and dangerous enemies (he is often described as “unstoppable”) Iceman manages to defeat him singlehandedly with minimal effort because in a sense Bobby already has faced an even more unstoppable force in the form of his bigoted parents. Oftentimes in the real world an individual can only appreciate themselves after they've confronted their worst fears. And once they do so they are more likely to accept who themselves for who are internally, and only then will they have a chance of gaining the acceptance of others, as well as enduring and triumphing over hardships. Iceman's victory against the unstoppable Juggernaut after confronting his parents effectively symbolizes this idea. And even though Bobby does somewhat reconcile with his parents when his father states, “Bobby… I Love you. Nothing changes that,” the series still portrays them as struggling to accept Bobby’s sexuality as is demonstrated when they discover the existence of the younger time-displaced version of their son and say that he’s “a second chance,” that “[they] can raise this boy right,” to which the older Bobby describes their attitude as “a smack in the face to me.”

Bobby's parents continue to be verbally abusive. From Iceman #8 (Dec 2017).
Art by Robert Gill. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

This is reflective of how in the real world even families who do still love their children after coming out may not fully accept their sexuality and even continue to say offensive things in front of them. But even after all of the negative experiences with his parents, Bobby still pushes forth to try and maintain a working and healthier relationship with them, as Grace stated in an interview, "that's what makes us really mazing heroes, and that's what makes us really strong as a community, because we have to just absorb so much pain from our loved ones, and still love them back." In essence, Bobby is trying to be the best version of himself both by loving his parents even if they don't fully accept him being gay, which in turn allows him to perform better as a superhero and as a mentor to his student. Grace also simultaneously acknowledges in the letters column of issue 5 that “there are reactions that are several times worse than what Frosty had to deal with,” which is again reflective of real-life LGBTQ people enduring homophobia but still thriving as individuals and a community by gaining the acceptance from themselves and others. Overall, Grace’s handling of Bobby’s evolution from a joking underachiever to an omega-level mutant further develops him into a three-dimensional character, while being further symbolic of the real-world struggles of coming out, self-confidence and acceptance, and dealing with issues like homophobia.

While I did enjoy Sina Grace's work on the series, there were a few flaws that prevented me from elevating it to 5-stars. For instance, I feel that the second half of the series which focuses on Iceman beginning his first gay relationship doesn’t resonate with me as strongly as Iceman’s conflict with his parents did in the first half. Another nitpick that a friend pointed out to me is the how sometimes otherwise serious scenes would be interrupted briefly for a quick joke. While I could definitely see this annoying others, it isn’t too egregious of a flaw for me since the conversations themselves are so expertly handled. Speaking of humor, while some of Bobby’s one-liners and “dad jokes” fell flat for me personally, I can easily let them slide since Bobby’s jokes are intentionally supposed to be awkward, a fact that he himself acknowledges in the book. But the biggest flaw I find in ICEMAN is the villain from issues 6 and 7, Leti. In contrast to Bobby’s parents, Daken, or the Juggernaut, who all serve as effective antagonists for Iceman in my opinion, Leti is easily one of the most stupid comic book villains I’ve recently encountered. Her plan is to build an army of Sentinels (i.e. giant mutant killing robots) that will purposefully rampage across the streets of Los Angeles and fight Iceman and then sell footage of the fight to a special-effects company in Hollywood that will hopefully recruit her for a job.

Just wow… this plan makes absolutely zero sense. Not only will having giant robots tearing up the streets undoubtedly get her thrown in prison, but what studio would want to associate itself with a person who willingly destroys public property for the sake of a publicity stunt. And to make it even worse, after stopping her Iceman takes pity on Leti and gives her contact information for a job in mechanical engineering instead of tossing her in jail like he should have. This isn’t quite as dumb as the Jackal’s idiotic plan to kill the entire human population and replace them with clones from SPIDER-MAN: MAXIMUM CLONAGE, but it sure does rank high among insanely stupid villain plans. While I can easily ignore the other flaws I mentioned, it’s stuff like Leti and her stupid evil plan that demotes a star from this otherwise fantastic series.

But aside from that, Sina Grace’s ICEMAN series excels as a character-driven narrative about an individual’s struggles to find acceptance both within himself and from others while simultaneously providing an excellent perspective of LGBTQ issues drawn from the author’s own personal experiences. While the bigoted fans who make up the Comicsgate crowd were celebrating when both ICEMAN and Marvel’s only other LGBTQ-lead book AMERICA were cancelled back in March 2018, I was heartbroken as I personally loved this series. It presented a respectful and passionate portrayal of an otherwise marginalized community. Thankfully, the series was granted a second lease on life in September with Sina Grace back at the helm, proving that bigotry and intolerance has not won yet. And like how Bobby Drake pushes forward to become the best version of Iceman that he can be, I wish the same for Marvel!

“With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.”

-Dalai Lama

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Comic Review: Ms. Marvel (Vol. 8): Mecca

Writer: G. Willow Wilson

Artists: Marco Failla & Diego Olortegui

Arguably Ms. Marvel’s best story thus far! MECCA is reflective of the current issues we face today!

Ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The concept of an “allegory,” or a story that can be read from both literal and figurative perspectives is one that has existed all throughout human history. From classical fables of the ancient Greek philosopher Aesop to the modern political satire of George Orwell, allegories are often employed by writers as a method of commentating on individual, societal, and political issues through the usage of symbolism and metaphor rather than direct reference. George Orwell’s novel ANIMAL FARM, on the surface, appears to be a simple story about a group of farm animals that rebel against their corrupt owners but end up creating a society that’s just as bad, if not worse. In actuality however, the novel is designed to serve as a critique on Russian Communism and the totalitarian regime of Joseph Stalin. Comic books also are no strangers to the usage of allegories, with the most famous example being the X-Men. X-MEN is unique in how it handles allegory. While its mutants are metaphorical representatives for oppressed minorities, it is more overt in its discussions about racism and homophobia, with the fictional island nation of Genosha’s treatment of mutants symbolizing South African Apartheid, or the Legacy Virus serving as a metaphor for the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.

These examples serve as a nice transition into discussing the form of allegory known as satire, in which an author targets a specific subject or issue in his work, usually one that’s political in nature. While the aforementioned ANIMAL FARM is perhaps the most famous example of political satire, two important instances of this in the realm of comics are Frank Miller’s BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and Alan Moore’s WATCHMEN, two of the most critically acclaimed graphic novels of all-time. Although both books are primarily about superheroes and themes of vigilantism, both Miller and Moore decided to have their stories take place in semi-realistic settings that reflected American society in the 1980s. Miller, for instance, uses this type of setting in TDKR to satirize the mass media and the Cold War politics of the Reagan administration (primarily through the usage of talking news heads), while Moore’s WATCHMEN portrays an alternate America in which the existence of superheroes would have changed key historical events such as U.S. obtaining victory in the Vietnam War or Nixon passing an amendment that allowed him to serve for three terms. Regardless of its form, allegory continues to remain an important literary device. It allows authors to create stories that reflect and comment on the issues of their respective societies at the time.

Such is the case with the eighth volume of the hit-series MS. MARVEL, “Mecca,” which serves as an allegorical satire discussing the political and cultural issues that currently predominate American society. As I mentioned way back in my review of MS. MARVEL (VOL. 1): NO NORMAL, the new Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, is quite easily one of the most important comic book characters created in the past decade.

Ms. Marvel, a.k.a. Kamala Khan, punching a bank robber. From Ms. Marvel Vol. 3 #6 (Jul 2017).
Art by Jamie McKelvie and Matt Wilson. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

Conceived by both writer G. Willow Wilson and editor/Vice-President of Content and the character development at Marvel, Sana Amanat, Kamala Khan is a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager who gains polymorph powers after being exposed to the mysterious Terrigen Mist. I personally loved MS. MARVEL (VOL. 1): NO NORMAL, and praised Wilson’s writing for her nuanced portrayal of Muslim American characters, fleshing them out to where they felt like genuine human beings and that their religion was not their only defining character trait. And I’m not alone in that opinion as MS. MARVEL has proven to be critically and financially successful. The first issue was listed as Marvel’s top-selling digital comic and was one of the company’s few books to receive a seventh printing. The series also won the Hugo Award in 2015, the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics in 2016, and has been nominated for six Eisner Awards (essentially the Oscar-equivalent for comics). Furthermore, Kamala’s success has contributed to Marvel’s increasing attempts to appeal to wider demographics, which has been evident through the diversification of older characters such as making Thor a woman and having Iceman come out as gay, as well as the creation of new diverse characters such Riri Williams (Ironheart), an African American girl from Chicago who built her own version of the Iron Man armor. I have personally followed every single one of Kamala’s adventures since her first issue and have loved each volume for its stellar writing, complex characters, near-perfect balancing of humor and drama, and its exploration of adolescence, heroism, and even issues that affect minority groups in America ranging from gentrification to racial profiling. In fact, Kamala Khan may very well be my second favorite superhero of all-time (right behind Spider-Man), as although she adheres to a different faith, she's incredibly relatable due to her nerdy personality and struggles to find her place in life. But most especially, Kamala's fierce determination to help others simply out of the kindness and decency in her heart makes her an inspirational figure for others to follow. While Linkara once described Superman as "the most human superhero of them all" in his review of KAMANDI AT EARTH'S END #1, I personally think that Kamala fits that bill even better than Clark Kent!

Despite the success and popularity of MS. MARVEL, however, it, along with all of Marvel’s other books starring new diverse characters, has recently become subject to massive criticism from far right-wing fans. Their criticism led to the formation of an online movement called Comicsgate sometime between October 2016 to July 2017. According to an article by Buzzfeed, the proponents of Comicsgate “[use] racist, sexist, and sometimes threatening language to intimidate [’SJWs’ or ‘social justice warriors,’ which refers to] people [who advocate] for diversity in the [comics] industry.” Prominent Comicsgate members like Richard C. Meyer, creator of the ironically named YouTube channel “Diversity and Comics,” have made repeated attacks against diverse characters like Ms. Marvel in the form of unscripted videos with clickbait titles like “MS. MARVEL Is SJW Propaganda On Almost Every Page” and “MS. MARVEL Is Another SJW ‘Hero’ Who Is Obsessed With Being Oppressed.”

Richard C. Meyer's "Reviews..."

Meyer has frequently made inaccurate and offensive statements about the content and creators of MS. MARVEL, like saying that the book is racist towards white people, that it promotes left-wing propaganda, and he has repeatedly called Wilson a “self-hating white woman” and a “fake cosplay-Muslim who converted to Islam solely for the oppression.” The reason I bring all of this up is that Meyer's racist rhetoric, the growth of Comicsgate, and the derision of diverse characters and creators is eerily reflective of the current state of American politics. Alt-right hate speech has unfortunately become more mainstream in recent years, and US government policies have been increasingly hostile towards immigrants and minority groups during the current presidential administration. And since both G. Willow Wilson and Sana Amanat are Muslim and are therefore especially affected by these rising negative trends, it makes sense that one of latest volumes of their MS. MARVEL series would be utilized to critique these issues. And thus, MS. MARVEL (VOL. 8): MECCA serves as an effective story with multiple layers of allegory and symbolism, while also being a well-written and character driven narrative in its own right that ties up loose plot threads from the previous volumes, making it arguably the best story arc of the series to date!

(As a brief aside, while the MS. MARVEL (VOL. 8): MECCA TPB contains both the “Mecca” and “Northeast Corridor” arcs of the series, I’ll only be focusing on the “Mecca" arc for this review. While the NORTHEAST CORRIDOR arc was a fairly enjoyable storyline in its own right, it’s MECCA that steals the spotlight here!).

The MECCA arc opens on the outskirts of Jersey City where Kamala and her family are preparing to celebrate the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha. After a humorous sequence in which Kamala fails to convince her father not to sacrifice a goat for the holiday feast and her sister-in-law Tyesha is revealed to be eight-months pregnant, the Khan family returns home only to discover that their neighborhood has been blocked-off with series of signs stating “Bring Back the Real Jersey City!”

While the rest of her family and neighbors celebrate their feast for Eid, Kamala decides to investigate the situation when she is randomly stumbled upon by agents of the newly formed organization K.I.N.D. (the Keepers of Integration, Normalization, and Deference), an agency conceived by the newly and illegally empowered mayor of Jersey City Chuck Worthy. In actuality however, Kamala knows that Worthy is secretly a member of the Neo-Nazi terrorist organization HYDRA, who had attempted in the previous volumes of the series to seize control of the city through neighborhood gentrification and gerrymandering the mayoral elections. Despite having been defeated by Ms. Marvel on both occasions, Worthy and K.I.N.D. managed to usurp Jersey City’s rightful Mayor, Stella Marchesi, and have now issued an executive order forcing all residents with superpowers to register their status or be forcibly deported from the city limits. Recognizing these policies as familiar, Ms. Marvel soon discovers that Mayor Worthy is in league with the main antagonist from the CIVIL WAR II tie-in arc, “Basic” Becky St. Jude (a.k.a Lockdown), alongside a mysterious new villain named Discord.

Although Discord’s face is hidden by a mask, Ms. Marvel believes that he is someone she has previously met, as he knows all her weaknesses and seems to hold a personal grudge against her. As Ms. Marvel struggles to fight against Lockdown and Discord, the agents of K.I.N.D. suddenly arrest Kamala’s older brother Aamir, as he was accidentally granted temporary superpowers during the LAST DAYS arc of the series. With her brother in danger and Discord relentlessly pursuing her, will Kamala manage to defeat K.I.N.D. and bring down the fascist regime that has seized control of her city? And even if she does succeed, will she be able to come to terms with the fact that there are some evils dwelling within the hearts of people which cannot be fought?

Out of all the volumes that I have read of MS. MARVEL, the MECCA arc easily stands as my personal favorite storyline from the series thus far! Not only is it very well-written with solid character development and resolutions for previous story arcs, but it’s also highly topical and relevant, providing complex allegories and metaphors for various issues that we as a society are currently dealing with today. In my opinion, the best type of symbolism is that which can be interpreted on multiple levels in various ways rather than just one. MS. MARVEL (VOL. 8): MECCA excels in this regard, as the HYDRA takeover plotline can be interpreted as either an allegory for the controversial policies of the current presidential administration, or for the backlash against Marvel’s lineup of new diverse characters from Comicsgate supporters. For instance, Mayor Worthy’s executive order requiring mutants, inhumans, or any person with superpowers to disclose their status or face deportation is primarily reflective of Donald Trump’s immigration reforms and travel bans. These parallels are clearly made evident with Discord’s statements of “Jersey City is done with super heroes… we are getting back to normal,” and “[we’re] making life in New Jersey so inconvenient for super-powered folks that they’ll self-deport back to New York.”

Discord threatens to deport Jersey City's superhuman population. From Ms. Marvel Vol. 4 #20 (Jul 2017).
Art by Marco Failla. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

But while Wilson’s primary intention was likely to draw parallels to the Trump administration, an individual could simultaneously interpret the HYDRA takeover as metaphors for Comicsgate and the rise of alt-right hate speech. The scene in which this is most clearly evident is where Ms. Marvel asks the former mayor Marchesi for advice on how to stop Mayor Worthy and K.I.N.D., Marchesi states that “Chuck Worthy has tapped into the fear that lies at the heart of all other fears… greed. The desire for more fueled by the fear of losing what you already have.”

Stella Marchesi discusses "the fear that lies at the heart of all other fears." From Ms. Marvel Vol. 4 #20 (Jul 2017).
Art by Marco Failla. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

While Marchesi’s dialogue is highly reminiscent of the tactics that Trump uses to appeal to the far-right, it can also be used to refer to the dissatisfaction and anger demonstrated by Comicsgate. Although Marvel in recent years has sought to appeal to a greater audience than just adolescent white males, there was a small vocal minority of that original audience who were not in favor of making superheroes more multicultural and ethnically diverse. Consequently, when Marvel began introducing new characters like the African American-Latino Miles Morales and the Muslim American Kamala Khan, or replaced older white heroes with new characters like a female Thor or a Korean American Hulk, this vocal minority feared that they were being robbed of the voice they once possessed. And just like the Mayor Worthy convinced a minority of Jersey City residents in MS. MARVEL that Kamala was “trying to force super hero garbage” on them, prominent Comicsgate members like Meyer have managed to convince this vocal minority of fans that Marvel is trying to push an “SJW agenda” onto the readers, tapping into the fan’s greed just like Marchesi describes to Kamala. Wilson is to be complimented for her ability to weave together an allegorical narrative that is topical and relevant on so many levels.

While the metaphors and parallels Wilson provides are highly informative, they never become overly preachy or distracting from the overall narrative of the MECCA arc as she utilizes them to fuel a character-driven narrative centered primarily around Kamala, Aamir, and Discord. Kamala’s arc is given the most attention, as MECCA serves as a major turning point for Kamala's character development throughout the series. She comes to the important realization that despite all of her efforts and good intentions, there are some evils that are impossible to fight, evils that dwell deep within the hearts of average people. This revelation is made light to Kamala during her first encounter with Discord, as the masked man quickly subdues her and forces her to remember what she witnessed when she thwarted Chuck Worthy’s previous HYDRA real-estate plot and rigged mayoral campaign. While in the moment she was solely focused on stopping the bad guy, it is only in hindsight that she realizes each time there were crowds of people supporting Worthy, failing to consider that there were people who openly supported Worthy's toxic ideas and rhetoric and that not “everybody agrees with [Ms. Marvel’s] agenda” as Lockdown earlier described.

Wilson further fleshes out Kamala's development in this volume by tying it into events from previous books of the series. During the ARMY OF ONE arc Kamala created clones of herself in an effort to balance her overwhelmingly busy schedule, which ended up rapidly multiplying into an army that ran amok in Jersey City and caused a lot of property damage (which was made no better by the inclusion of a cloned t-rex designed specifically to eat the clones). Additionally, during the CIVIL WAR II arc Ms. Marvel briefly supported Captain Marvel's predictive justice program, which relied on an Inhuman psychic to detect future crimes and prevent them before they occurred. However, Ms. Marvel soon turned against Captain Marvel when she learned that the program basically amounted to violation of due process, kidnapping, and profiling, as not only was her classmate Josh Richardson illegally arrested, but her childhood best friend Bruno nearly got himself killed and crippled for life while trying to break him out.

These past mistakes come back to haunt Ms. Marvel during the MECCA arc despite her previous attempts to rectify them. Not only are the clone army and dinosaurs are used by Discord and Mayor Worthy as political propaganda against Ms. Marvel and Jersey City's superhuman population, but Discord holds a personal grudge against Ms. Marvel because of her involvement in the predictive justice system. This, combined with Ms. Marvel's aforementioned efforts to stop Worthy's real-estate and election schemes, results in her being scapegoated as a public menace and the silent majority being unwilling to acknowledge her previous heroic deeds or the Mayor's obvious associations with HYDRA. Consequently, Kamala begins questioning herself and her superhero activities just like the public. The major turning point, however, is the discovery of Discord's true identity. Without going into spoilers, when his mask is finally removed it's revealed that Discord is indeed someone that Kamala is familiar with despite never having witnessed him supporting fascist ideologies beforehand. This revelation heavily affects Kamala on an emotional level as it forces her to come to terms with the fact that the things people might perceive as familiar or safe are not always what they seem to be. She learns how specific circumstances can reveal that individuals who once appeared to be rational and reasonable on the surface may actually believe in ideologies that are controversial or dangerous. Therefore, Kamala is forced to ponder whether or not these toxic ideologies have always existed within the hearts of people like Discord and if they're truly representative of who they are, which in turn causes her to doubt both her own place in the world and her mission as a superhero.

While Kamala is inflicted with feelings of self-doubt in light of these revelations, she understands that she still has a moral obligation as Ms. Marvel to protect the people of her city. She realizes that the silent majority's animosity towards her and super-powered peoples does not give them the right to place their own grievances above the law, and that there are still people who believe and are depending on her. Thus Ms. Marvel continues to stay true to her ideals and keeps fighting against the corrupt HYDRA regime which threatens to ruin the livelihood of her older brother and the superhuman population. The scene in which this development is most effectively illustrated is where Ms. Marvel unmasks Discord. While she does convey feelings of sadness and remorse towards him, she simultaneously understands that she cannot excuse his actions as he's still an individual who wrongfully succumbed to the temptations of far-right extremism and fascism. Essentially, even though Kamala wants to believe that Discord is an inherently better person underneath, she recognizes that he was the one who ultimately made the choice to join HYDRA and help oppress superhuman minorities. Therefore, Ms. Marvel acknowledges that Discord is still her enemy regardless of his reasons or whatever sympathy she might feel.

The decision to not condone Discord reflects an astonishing level of maturity for Kamala and is further indicative of her overall character arc in MECCA. In large measure, Kamala’s character arc is the reason why the story is titled “Mecca” in the first place. Although she does not go on a physical pilgrimage to the actual Holy Islamic city, she does experience a spiritual pilgrimage as the HYDRA takeover of Jersey City forces her to realize that not everything is what it seems, that some evils cannot be fought, and that although she’ll endure hardship and failure in her mission she must stay true to herself and others even if there are some people who will never agree with her actions or who she is. It's these revelations that further develop Kamala into "the most human superhero of them all" in my opinion, as it's not just her kindness and willingness to do good that makes her a hero, but also her ability to continue to do good even when confronted with external and internal doubt. And since the entire story takes place over the two-day period of Eid al-Adha, the holiday in which millions of Muslims embark on the pilgrimage to Mecca, Kamala’s psychological journey of self-discovery resonates with the reader on a much deeper level.

The other two characters that Wilson provides great care and attention to are Aamir and Discord. Aamir has been an interesting character throughout the series as while he is naive and overly pious to the point that he refuses to have a bank account or job (a running gag throughout the series), and possesses conservative religious views while dressing in traditional Islamic clothing, he has been portrayed as a kindhearted individual who loved his family and little sister, and appeared to know more than he let on. Wilson ingeniously used his character to shatter stereotypes as while the character self-identifies himself as “traditional and conservative” he was not ashamed of who he was, openly despises violence, and he was willing to put the needs of his family before himself and do whatever he could to protect them. This was best demonstrated when Aamir was kidnapped by Kamala's evil ex-crush Kamran during the LAST DAYS arc, and Aamir stood up to Kamran, telling the latter to stay away from Kamala.

These character traits demonstrated by Aamir come full circle in the MECCA arc. Since Aamir was forcibly granted temporary superpowers back when he kidnapped, he is now targeted by K.I.N.D. for being an unregistered superhuman. This label placed on him leads to a brilliant scene where Aamir is apprehended by K.I.N.D. while delivering food to his neighbors, and Aamir immediately assumes that he was arrested due to his traditional Islamic appearance and attire. Wilson not only draws further real-life parallels as K.I.N.D. threatens to have Aamir's U.S. citizenship revoked since their policies classify undisclosed super powers as a form of immigration fraud, but she also uses this scene to have Aamir give an eloquent speech about the causes of domestic terrorism. Aamir states that the individuals most likely to succumb to extremism are those who don’t understand their faith, feel alienated and ostracized by society and/or their peers, or have pre-existing vices plaguing their lives like domestic abuse or drugs. And according to Aamir, it’s those factors which make those individuals “vulnerable to whatever vulture is circling overhead, selling death and despair as a way through the gates of paradise.”

Aamir’s speech is brilliantly executed. It’s not only disturbingly accurate to the causes of real-life extremism, but Wilson also integrates it into the context of the story. When Aamir states that people “get radicalized when they think the only way they can have a starring role in their lives is by playing the villain,” the panels zoom-in and focus on Discord’s masked face as he’s watching the interrogation.

This focus infers to the reader that although Aamir is specifically referring to domestic Islamic terrorists in his speech, his words can also apply to Discord, who is a super villain taking his anger out on society by illegally arresting and deporting super-powered people. Discord is eventually revealed to be a person who felt alienated and ostracized and that a vulture in the form of his accomplice Lockdown took advantage of his negative emotions. Acting like the “junior fascist” Bruno previously described her as in CIVIL WAR II, Becky was able to radicalize Discord into becoming a super villain since he felt that he lacked a purpose in life. And as Aamir stated in his speech, “the most dangerous thing of all [is] when you don’t have a story to tell about who you are and what your purpose is.” In that sense, Discord may very well be the most multilayered and realistic antagonist for Ms. Marvel that Wilson has crafted to date as his character truly demonstrates how ideas of extremism and fascism can easily corrupt individuals who lack purpose. In essence, the insight that Wilson provides for both Aamir and Discord not only contributes to the growth of their respective characters, but also furthers the topical metaphors and allegories that MECCA provides for its readers.

At the end of the day, MS. MARVEL (VOL. 8): MECCA stands as not only my personal favorite story arc of the MS. MARVEL series so far but also as one of the best comics that I’ve read in recent memory. The story serves as an effective allegory for the issues surrounding the current presidential administration and Comicsgate while simultaneously delivering complex arcs for characters like Kamala, Aamir, and Discord as well as exploring themes of self-doubt and realization, pilgrimage, and the dangers of extremism and fascism. Although the current state of both American politics and comic book fandom is quite disheartening, it is important that we have characters like Ms. Marvel in our lives, who serve as a reminder of basic human kindness and decency. And like Kamala’s pilgrimage, we should continue to do good for our society even if that society is currently against what one believes in or stands for.

“Life is a pilgrimage. The wise man does not rest by the roadside inns. He marches direct to the illimitable domain of eternal bliss, his ultimate destination.”

-Swami Sivananda

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Comic Review: Spider-Man: One More Day (Re-Review)

Writers: J. Michael Strazynski & Joe Quesada

Artist: Joe Quesada

ONE MORE DAY is the definition of a story that gets worse and worse the more you think about it…

Rating: ⭐

Ever since I started reviewing comics, there has been one single book that I have shown more hatred and contempt for than any other... SPIDER-MAN: ONE MORE DAY…

For those who are unaware, SPIDER-MAN: ONE MORE DAY is widely regarded as one of the worst Spider-Man stories ever published, with the controversy surrounding it rivaling even that of THE CLONE SAGA (though having read the entirety of the saga myself for my CLONE MADNESS series, that story was CITIZEN KANE compared to this abomination). The story serves as the conclusion to J. Michael Straczynski’s (or JMS's) run on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, where following the events of CIVIL WAR, Peter Parker has publicly revealed his secret identity to the entire world and is now a wanted fugitive on the run. In response, the Kingpin hired an assassin to eliminate Peter, but Aunt May was hit instead. The plot focuses on Peter desperately searching for a way to save May from dying, as he seeks help from various members of the superhero community, including Iron Man and Doctor Strange, who state that Aunt May is beyond saving. When all hope appears to be lost, Peter is suddenly approached by the Mephisto (who’s basically the Marvel Universe’s equivalent to the Devil), who claims to be the only can prevent May's death. Instead of offering to save May’s life in exchange for Peter’s soul, Mephisto instead desires to erase Peter and MJ’s marriage from existence. After spending one more day together, Peter and MJ agree to Mephisto’s terms, saving May’s life, and altering the time line (and basically the twenty years’ worth of Spider-Man comics) to where Peter and MJ never got married.

Mephisto wants Spider-Man's marriage. From Sensational Spider-Man #41 (Nov 2007).
Art by Joe Quesada. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

This was a story that was immediately criticized by both fans and critics alike upon its initial release, and I myself have I’ve already written two reviews over this monstrosity. Despite that fact, I have been personally unsatisfied with both of my previous reviews, as I feel neither provide a coherent or satisfying analysis of the book’s problems. My very first review OMD (which was also the very first comic review I ever wrote) is one that I deeply regret making to this day, as I had not actually read the story back then, but just a plot summary of it on Wikipedia. As a critic, this was very unprofessional and inexcusable, as my arguments lacked credibility since I had no genuine evidence to back them up. A couple of years later, I rewrote my review of OMD after having read the story by then, and could provide legitimate criticisms. While my second review was not without merit, as it did address my biggest problems with the book, it also suffered from severe problems as I let my anger get the better of me while I was writing it. Therefore, the review came across as less of a mature and critical analysis, and more as a rant and tirade towards OMD and Joe Quesada, the former Editor-in-Chief of Marvel who spearheaded the project. However, since writing both reviews, I have gained much more experience as a critic, and feel that it is necessary for me correct my past mistakes. As such, I feel it is necessary for me to critique OMD one last time, and in a less biased and calmer manner.

Some people might think it's unnecessary for me to review this story for a third time, as both of my previous reviews clearly stated my main problems with the book: that I found the decision to erase Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage from continuity to be incredibly insulting to me as a Spider-Man fan as it regressed Peter’s character development, and was an editorial mandate enforced by Joe Quesada and Marvel Editorial, who deliberately ignored the wishes of the fans for their own selfish purposes. While it is true that those were my initial and only problems with OMD (and are still the biggest ones in my opinion), I felt obligated to reread the book when I recently read the entirety of JMS’s run on Spider-Man. After having read the book for a second time (as well as having watched Linkara’s review of it that he did for his 200th episode), I discovered that OMD has far more problems than I initially realized. On top of editorial greed, the retcon of Spider-Man’s marriage, and insulting of the intelligence of both Spider-Man fans and readers of comics and escapist fiction, OMD is also plagued by awful narrative structure, plot contrivances, and out-of-character behavior. Aside from redeeming my past mistakes, this is another major reason as to why I’m reviewing OMD again, as it’s the definition of a story that continuously gets worse the more you think about it. Basically, you fail to to notice most the book’s narrative flaws because you are distracted by the other problems that are more offensive on a personal level. As such, I’ll feel that should address all of OMD’s narrative failings before I discuss issues that personally offend me. I should also mention that none of my criticisms will be directed towards the book’s writer, JMS, as he has publicly stated that he did not want to write the comic in the first place, but that he was forced to by Marvel Editorial. In addition, JMS has also stated that he loved writing Peter and MJ as a married couple during his run on the book, and even threatened to take his name off the final issue of OMD in protest. As such, I hold no ill-will towards JMS and don’t blame him at all for his involvement in the book’s creation (plus, I really loved the rest his work on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN…), and will be associating the majority of OMD’s problems with Joe Quesada and Marvel Editorial, as they conceived the premise and have been incredibly biased towards Peter and MJ’s marriage since its inception back in the 1980s. With all that out of the way, it’s finally time to go into all the reasons why ONE MORE DAY is such a monumental failure of galactic proportions!

One of the less apparent, yet serious problems with ONE MORE DAY is that the plot is poorly structured and loaded with unnecessary filler. As I previously stated, the premise of the comic is that Peter and Mary Jane sacrifice their marriage to save Aunt May’s life by making a deal with the Devil. Because of this, one would think that the majority of the plot was focused on Peter and MJ, exploring the depth of their relationship and why they’re prepared to give it up to save Aunt May. Unfortunately, that is not the case as the deal with Mephisto ultimately doesn’t come in until more than halfway through the story. OMD is a four-issue story arc, and three of those four issues contribute nothing to the overall plot. This is particularly evident with the first two issues of the story, as they focus on Peter begging other superheroes to help save Aunt May, and they tell Peter that there’s nothing they can do before Peter leaves to find help from someone else. This is a major problem as both issues end exactly where they began, with May dying and Peter continuing to beg other superheroes for help. As such, neither chapters do anything advance the overall plot of the book, and provide nothing new to contribute, therefore coming across as unnecessary padding. Issue three commits similar sins by having most it dedicated to Peter coming across alternate versions of himself who are only there to point out the various ways in which Peter’s life could have gone in a different direction, and it’s only at the very end of this issue that Mephisto finally shows up and makes his offer. Essentially nearly three-fourths of OMD’s plot is completely wasted on Peter begging for help, as well as him meeting parallel versions of himself for no adequate purpose. Because of this, deal with Mephisto lacks sufficient build-up and comes completely out of left-field, as Quesada fails to provide insight into why Peter and MJ are willing to sacrifice their love and happiness for each other to save Aunt May, whose already an old woman likely to die of natural causes in the near future. Peter and MJ’s dilemma therefore lacks tension, as the reader is not given any emotional connection or reasoning as to why Peter is unwilling to let go of Aunt May, other than him constantly whining about how May’s death would be his fault due to publically unmasking. In my opinion, if OMD wanted to be an effective story about a couple giving up their love to save someone else, it should have focused its time on analyzing the importance of Peter’s relationship to Mary Jane, compare it with his relationship to Aunt May, explain what they each person means to him on an emotional level, and why he’s willing to let go of one in exchange for the other. This would not only have provided genuine emotional depth to the story, but also would've given better build-up and development to the erasing of the marriage. It wouldn’t necessarily have saved OMD as I still hate the premise, but would have made it feel less forced in my eyes. However, because the reader’s time is wasted by with unnecessary filler the central conflict of OMD lacks emotional weight and feels rushed and shoe-horned in at the last minute, making an already insulting premise even worse.

In relation to the poor narrative structure, OMD also relies heavily on illogical contrivances and inconsistencies in order to advance the plot. Basically, OMD falls into the category of an “idiot plot,” which to quote the late Roger Ebert, is “any plot containing problems that would be solved instantly if all the characters were not idiots.” All throughout OMD, each of the characters make stupid decisions for the plot to advance, while completely ignoring obvious and more logical solutions in front of them. This is most evident in the fact that apparently, no one in the Marvel Universe is capable saving Aunt May from a bullet wound in the chest. All throughout the story, Spider-Man visits various characters for assistance, such as Iron Man and Doctor Strange, and each of them state that they cannot help. This makes absolutely no sense as not only is the Marvel Universe home to gods, aliens, monsters, and technology far more advanced than that of the real-world, but it’s also inhabited by superheroes who have fixed much worse problems than a simple bullet wound. For instance, Doctor Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme, one of the most highly skilled magic users in the world, as well as a well-renowned surgeon. He should be perfectly capable of healing a simple bullet wound, but instead the writers have Strange idiotically reason that he can’t do it because of the damaged nerve endings in his hands. As Linkara perfectly stated in his review, Strange could easily get around this problem by creating magic hands to operate on May, or have him consult and advise other doctors performing the procedure. But instead, Quesada decides to ignore a fairly simple solution to the problem and make the situation ludicrously hopeless for no logical reason, which is further illustrated by Strange later sending multiple astral projections of Peter across the world to ask for aid from other superheroes and villains, including Mr. Fantastic, Beast of the X-Men, Black Panther, and Doctor Doom, and they too are incapable of helping.

Spider-Man desperately seeks help. From Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24 (Nov 2007).
Art by Joe Quesada. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

This is undoubtedly one of the laziest plot contrivances I’ve ever seen as it only serves to make the situation more hopeless than it needs to be. While I can understand someone like Beast being incapable of helping Spider-Man due to other crap going on in the X-Men books at the time, it makes no sense that the Black Panther and Doctor Doom can’t help. The Black Panther rules a country that has the most advanced medical technology on the planet, and Doom not only previously stated during JMS’s run that he owed Spider-Man a debt for saving his life from Latverian terrorists, but he could easily save May by allowing Peter to borrow his time machine to prevent the assassin’s bullet from hitting her, or he could transplant her brain into a Doombot or something.

Doctor Doom owes Spider-Man a debt. From Amazing Spider-Man #50 (Apr 2003).
Art by John Romita Jr.. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

In relation to the problems concerning Doctor Doom, Quesada also ignores other alternative solutions for saving Aunt May that are made possible due to previously established continuity. For instance, in the 1960s SILVER SURFER series, a young woman was nearly killed by aliens wielding highly advanced laser-guns (and I'd imagine that alien weaponry would cause far more damage than the high-powered sniper rifle that May was shot with) and the Surfer was able to heal her using the power of the near-infinite cosmos.

Based on that information, why didn't Spidey find a way to contact the Silver Surfer, especially considering that Peter is friends with the Fantastic Four, who are closely affiliated with the Surfer? Or why not have him go to the X-Men and have them contact the alien Shi'ar race, who once saved Professor Xavier from a near death experience by transplanting his brain into a cloned body?

The comic never bothers to mention these possibilities. Because of how many alternative options there are to saving May’s life, this makes the deal with the Devil incredibly ill-conceived, as it could have easily been avoided, and is only there because Quesada deliberately and lazily ignored those aforementioned solutions in order to move the plot in the direction he desired. This is one of the worst sins a writer can commit as it removes all intelligence and depth from characters, reducing them into idiotic puppets whose actions are dictated by whatever the plot wants them to do. Overall, OMD suffers heavily from “idiot plot syndrome” as it relies on lazy and moronic contrivances in order to advance the plot, while completely ignoring solutions made possible based on previously established continuity.

The final flaw that I noticed upon rereading OMD was how heavily out-of-character Peter Parker was in the story, especially in comparison to the rest of JMS's run. Throughout the comic, Peter continuously whines and complains about how the whole situation is his fault, and refuses to simply accept May’s death. While I can understand being upset over a family member dying (as that’s perfectly natural), I am unable to sympathize with Peter as not only does his whining get really irritating very quickly, but it also doesn’t make sense from a character perspective. Peter says that he can’t accept May dying as she took the bullet intended for him, but that he would be fine if she were simply dying of natural causes.

Spider-Man whines about it being "all his fault." From Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24 (Nov 2007).
Art by Joe Quesada. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

Not only is that just stupid (dead is dead Peter…), but it’s very clear that Quesada was attempting to recreate the guilt that Peter felt for being indirectly responsible for Uncle Ben’s death, but it massively fails here. See earlier in JMS’s run, Aunt May had discovered Peter’s secret identity, and when Peter confessed how he felt responsible for Ben’s death, May revealed that she felt the same way, as she and Ben had an argument that led to Ben walking outside where he was shot by the burglar. Upon learning this Peter felt a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, as not only did he and May share similar guilt, but May held no-ill will towards Peter afterwards.

Essentially, Peter should have been absolved of his guilt over Uncle Ben after this, and his moping over May’s bullet wound contradicts the aforementioned character development. This correlates with my next problem concerning Peter’s behavior in OMD, as his whining and selfishness completely contradicts the maturity that he expressed earlier during JMS’s run. Throughout JMS’s stories, Peter came across as a mature adult as he not only perfectly balanced his normal and superhero lives, but he also took a teaching job at his old and financially run-down high school in order help young adolescents that he saw his old self in, confided all the secrets of his superhero life to both MJ and May, and showed leniency towards confused individuals that were unwillingly drawn into crime. Conversely, Peter comes across like an immature man-child in OMD as he not only whines about how no one can understand his pain (which is a selfish mentality as he's not the only person on Earth to ever lose a loved one...), but he also neglects to listen to anyone who would bring up the very real possibility of May dying, completely ignoring them. However, the biggest out-of-character moment for Peter in OMD is his willingness to make a deal with the Devil (and before anyone tries to tell me that Mephisto technically isn’t the devil, he’s still a demonic entity who makes offers in exchange for people’s souls and resides in a Hell-like dimension; not to mention the fact that Mephisto’s name is a reference to Mephistopheles, the demon from a German legend to whom Faust sold his soul to). In all the years since Stan Lee and Steve Ditko first created Spider-Man in 1962, this has undoubtedly been the biggest slap in the face ever given to Peter’s character as it completely goes against what he stands for. Peter’s has always upheld the belief that “with great power comes great responsibility,” as it expresses the idea that those who have power should use it wisely, and abuse of said power is irresponsible. By having Peter make a deal with a Satan-like figure, he is essentially ignoring his moral principles and using power for his own selfish-gain, which betrays both the core-concept of the character and the beliefs that his aunt and uncle raised him to uphold. In my opinion, if the writers wanted to have Peter save May he should have done so in a manner that reflected the character's sense of responsibility. For instance, he could have offered to turn himself in to the authorities under the condition that May received medical treatment, or he could have asked Dr. Doom to repay the debt he owed him, thereby making sure that the former stayed true to his word while simultaneously teaching a supervillain a lesson in responsibility. And if he couldn't save May, Peter should have taken up responsibility by simply accepting May's death (which he had previously done when she supposedly died during THE CLONE SAGA). But instead, Joe Quesada decided to have Peter make a deal with the Devil, which is undoubtedly one of the most irresponsible actions imaginable. This comic literally gives the phrase, “character assassination” a whole new meaning…

Now that I’ve discussed ONE MORE DAY’s other problems, it’s finally time for me to elaborate on the elements about this comic that anger me on a personal level. Ever since the beginning, I’ve made it perfectly clear that my greatest problem with OMD was that it erased Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s marriage from existence. From a purely technical standpoint, OMD is basically a massive retcon, as it states that Peter and MJ never got married in previous issues, and will continue to remain unmarried in later issues. This offends me for a variety of reasons. To start off with, removing the marriage from Peter’s life removes one of the most important elements of the Spider-Man books: the character’s ability to relate to the reader. Joe Quesada has stated on numerous occasions that he disliked the marriage as it aged Peter’s character and made it difficult for teenagers to relate to him. I still find this reasoning to be complete bullcrap, as while yes, Peter was originally intended to appeal to a teenage audience (hence why he was still in high school when he first debuted), Quesada fails to understand that those teenage readers eventually grow up. Like Peter, they too get married, deal with financial concerns, have families, and lose loved ones. Essentially, having Spider-Man marry MJ allows him to grow up alongside the readers, therefore making him more relatable. By wiping the marriage from Peter’s history, Quesada is essentially removing the essence of what makes his character appealing. Another problem I have with the retcon from a personal standpoint is that I have been a huge fan of Peter and MJ as a married couple since I was a little kid. I’ve always found their relationship to be extremely compelling, as the two shared terrific chemistry, were both highly fleshed-out characters and had so many heart-warming moments together that just provided me a happy feeling whenever I read them. To see those beautiful moments taken away from me and then be told that they never happened is not only incredibly insulting, but also disappointing. This correlates with my next major problem, which is the fact that retconning the marriage essentially regresses Peter’s character development over the past twenty years. I went into great discussion over this in my previous review of OMD, so I’ll keep it brief here. Basically, I’ve always felt that the marriage further fleshed out Spider-Man as a character, as he felt more mature afterwards, having to deal with the complications of the adult world, and had a deeper and intimate relationship with MJ. The marriage also also widened the scope of his responsibilities, as he not only had obligations towards MJ as a husband, but also had to be more careful as Spider-Man. Since OMD is now saying that Peter never got married, his character has essentially been regressed to where he was before the marriage. As a fan of literature, undermining character development is inexcusable. The final major problem I have with Quesada retconning the marriage is that the idea of Peter and MJ would sell their marriage to the Devil doesn't make sense from a character perspective. Not only is May likely to soon die of natural causes, but Peter should not be putting his feelings for his aunt over those for his wife. As Linkara perfectly summarized in his review, “marriage raises the stakes in the relationship. It’s bigger than just that guy or girl [you’re] romantically affiliated with. You are saying that you want to spend the rest of your life with this person. They have become your family.” Therefore, Peter should not be willing to give up his love for MJ, as by marrying her, she has become his soul-mate, the person whom he should care about the most, which is further supported by AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1999) #50 from JMS’s run. In that issue, Peter confessed to MJ that he's able to do what he does as Spider-Man because of her, that it’s her that gives him strength, that his life would be difficult without her, and that he needs her and not the other way around.

Plus, May herself would've been furious with Peter is she ever found out that he sold his marriage to the Devil, as she has always placed greater emphasis on Peter's happiness over her own, and a previous issue had May's spirit tell Peter that her getting shot was not his fault, and that it was her time to pass on and he needed to let go of his guilt. This further cements my previous point about Peter's selfish behavior as he's essentially ignoring the dying wishes of the woman who raised him like a surrogate mother, thereby believing that his pain is more important than what she wants. Overall, if Peter and MJ's love for each other was supposed to be this powerful, the idea that they would sacrifice it for Peter’s aunt is not only completely implausible, but it contradicts the previous development to the couple's relationship.

However, despite all my complaints about the horrible narrative structure, plot contrivances, out-of-character behavior, and even the retconning of the marriage, I believe that the biggest sin committed by ONE MORE DAY at the end of the day is the amount of editorial greed and cynicism surrounding the project. As I previously stated, the decision to undo Peter and MJ’s marriage was not a decision of the writer JMS, but rather an editorial mandate that was enforced upon him. Joe Quesada was a strong vocal opponent towards the marriage ever since its inception in the 1980s, and wanted to get rid of it from the Spider-Man books, even though there were a lot of fans who enjoyed the marriage, and JMS had been further developing Peter and MJ’s relationship during his seven-year run on the book. Essentially ONE MORE DAY was created because of the selfish interests of a single editor-in-chief, who willingly ignored the wishes of both the fans the then-current writer of Spider-Man, and enforced his own idea of what the story should be despite it going against the past twenty-years of Spider-Man’s history. This heavily angers me, as not only does it reinforce the terrible idea that editors should dictate a story’s direction rather than the actual writers, but it also shows a clear sign of contempt towards the audience as well. The layers of insult towards Spider-Man’s fanbase are clearly apparent in OMD, as by retconning the marriage and saying it never happened, Quesada is basically telling the fans, “say, you guys like Spidey being happily married? WELL SCREW YOU, YOU CAN’T HAVE IT! NOW READ WHAT I WANT YOU TO READ INSTEAD!” This is unforgivable in my eyes, as I feel comic book writers and publishers should owe a bit more respect to their readers, as they’re the source of the company’s profit, which is more likely to be gained when the customers are satisfied. By refusing to listen to the wishes of the readers, Quesada is not only insulting the audience’s intelligence, but also the very people who buy and pay money for the books Marvel creates. In addition, layers of contempt also seem to extend to comic book readers as a whole, and not just Spider-Man fans. This is particularly evident in a scene from the third issue of OMD, where Peter encounters an alternate version of himself in the form of an overweight video game designer that states, "You know why guys like me get into games like that? Because there's something missing... because things didn't plan out like they were supposed to. So we go someplace else.”

Earth-7161 Peter's speech about "Video Gammers." From Sensational Spider-Man #41 (Nov 2007).
Art by Joe Quesada. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

If you didn’t already notice, this speech is clearly meant to be a metaphor for comic book readers, saying that they only enjoy escapist fiction because they’re losers who are unsatisfied with their lives. That is, without a doubt, one of the most insulting statements towards comic book fans I have ever read in my entire life. Not only is it hypocritical for a comic book of all things to be criticizing people for enjoying escapist fiction (which comics are clearly a part of), but the sheer audacity that someone at Marvel would shame their customers by telling them, “You buy our crap because you're a loser, so keep buying our crap, loser!” is purely disgusting and offensive to me as a person who has been collecting and reading comics since the third grade! Even disregarding the deal with the Devil and the retcon of the marriage, the highly insulting statements made by ONE MORE DAY alone are deserving of all the hate and scorn this book has received.

After having analyzed and discussed every single one of the comic's numerous problems, I feel safe in my maintaining judgement of SPIDER-MAN: ONE MORE DAY as my hated comic book of all-time. While I freely acknowledge that other comics like Frank Miller’s HOLY TERROR, the entirety of Chuck Austen’s run on UNCANNY X-MEN, and even AVENGERS #200 are worse from an objective standpoint, I still hate OMD more as this is the only comic I have ever read that has managed to offend me personally. On top of retconning the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane, ONE MORE DAY is not only plagued with terrible story structure and pacing, plot contrivances and continuity errors, out-of-character behavior concerning Peter, and editorial greed, but it also goes as far as to insult the intelligence of both Spider-Man fans and comic book readers in general. Never have I ever seen a comic with so much cynicism, contempt, and laziness surrounding it. It is the definition of a book that gets worse and worse the more you stop and think about it. Say what you will about THE CLONE SAGA, but it at least had genuine effort put into it, as the writers were trying to tell a good story that remained true to Peter Parker’s character and mythos despite the saga's narrative shortcomings. ONE MORE DAY on the other hand, shows not even the slightest attempt of effort, and serves as a colossal middle finger towards Spider-Man’s entire mythos and the people who read him. It is undeniably the worst Spider-Man comic ever created, and I can't possibly imagine someone coming up with a worse conceivable story for the wall crawler...

“Contempt for happiness is usually contempt for other people's happiness, and is an elegant disguise for hatred of the human race.”

-Bertrand Russell