Recently, I went over some of the most disappointing DC story lines I've read, and I couldn't stop there because above everything else, there is one story line that disappointed me above everything else I've ever read, and it comes from Marvel comics. No company is safe from producing less-than-stellar stories. Not every book can be a home run. Occasionally, you're going to have some major stinkers.
Last time, I had a good set of rules for this list, and this time around, I've gotten a bit more lenient. Every story arc has to come from post House of M, and on top of that, it doesn't even have to be a single story line. It can be multiple, consecutive runs of story lines. I really just made this rule so I could fit in my least favorite run in all of comics that used to be great.
Spider-Man: One More Day
What Was Going on Before this Storyline?
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN took some great risks in story telling. Prior to One More Day, Spider-Man revealed his identity to the world in the Civil War story line, which surprisingly enough, was a great tie-in. Because of Peter revealing his identity, the Kingpin has a sniper to shoot Aunt May. While May is in a coma, Peter puts on the black outfit and goes on a rampage and realizes he's become a criminal in order to fight them.
What Was One More Day?
Essentially, it was a giant reset button. In order to save Aunt May's life, Peter went to everyone he could think of, and no one would help until he met Mephisto. Mephisto offered Aunt May's life in exchange for his marriage to Mary Jane: including another deal where everyone forgets he is Spider-Man. Peter would also forget about everything from his marriage.
Why Was it so Disappointing?
One of the rumors on the net was that they (the powers that be) just wanted Spider-Man to be single. If that's the case, just give him a divorce. There was tons of great character development and world development prior to this story line, and they (the powers that be) threw it all away and reset everything. It was and still is a complete bummer. Plus, why does Mephisto give a flying poop about Peter's marriage? All-in-all it's an incredibly sloppy story.
Worst Moment:
That everything cool done in the Spider-Man books has been completely undone, and on top of that how bored is Mephisto?
Oh... He's THAT bored.
Every Other Young Avengers Title
What Was Going on Before this Storyline?
The Young Avengers are awesome. I'm not going to beat around the bush here. If Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung are involved, Young Avengers are amazing. The first YOUNG AVENGERS series was awesome and nothing like anyone expected. Essentially, the team comes together, we find out that Iron Lad is actually Kang, and if he doesn't become Kang, existence goes kaput! Overall, it was one of my favorite Marvel mini-series, and this team became one of my favorites as well.
What is every other Young Avengers title?
Every other Young Avengers title is a tie-in by a random creative team. There are three mini-series to choose from: Dark Reign: Young Avengers, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways, and Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers. All the books deal with how these heroes would react in each major event. They really don't have a major part in the overall event, so this was a "what are they up to" bunch of mini-series.
Why Was it so Disappointing?
Because it took a great team, a great story, and flushed it down the toilet by luring people in and fans realize that each mini-series was either terrible or "just ok" at best. The Dark Reign tie-in was probably my least favorite of the bunch, which is pretty weird considering that I'm a big fan of Paul Cornell, who wrote this series. The Dark Reign mini-series focused on the Young Avengers and a new group of heroish people. Frankly, it was way too many people, and like every Young Avengers tie-in, the artist and writers didn't capture these characters anywhere near the way Heinberg and Cheung did.
Worst Moment:
The team being ruined for me. When Avengers: Children's Crusade came out, I almost didn't buy it. I was so bummed about past mini-series that I felt like it just wasn't worth it. Overall, the worst moment is just the idea that Marvel used these characters just to bring in some quick cash.
I feel just as sad about these tie-ins as these characters look.
Exiles Issues 90-End
What Was Going on Before this Storyline?
EXILES was a beast. It was my favorite comic during that period and my favorite team. For those who don't know, the Exiles are a team of Marvel characters from different universes who have to come together to save other universes... It's Sliders in the Marvel Universe. Right before this disappointment happened, the Exiles went on a tour of many different and familiar Marvel universes, including New Universe and 2099. Tony Bedard's wonderful run comes to a close, and issue 89 goes back into the team's past and the reader gets to relive some past memories with Thunderbird, who died earlier in the series.
What Was the end of this series about?
It was 100% about Psylocke and Chris Claremont reshaping the team in his image. Claremont, at one time, was a go to guy for writing any X-book, so adding him to this series seemed right. During his 10 issue run, Claremont explores relationships between team mates and fights between bad guys. There's nothing within his run really worth mentioning, sadly. He feels like a fill-in writer that lasted for 10 issues.
Why Was it so Disappointing?
Out of any disappointing moment I've mentioned in either articles, this takes the cake, eats it, then poops it out of my front lawn. Claremont shifted the focus of this book and made it less about a team trying to make it home and work together, and he made it into the Psylocke show. On top of that, dialogue became rigid and over-explanatory. Overall story arcs were disappointing and pointless. The best part of his run was when it ended, even though the series ended with him.
Worst Moment:
Now, I can't say that Claremont jumping on was the worst moment, but I can say two issues in that I knew he was a terrible fit for this book. It was tough to realize that Judd Winick is never coming back to this book.
I guess the worst moment is believing that one man killed the book so hard that not even Jeff Parker's second volume could save it... If they only listened to Morph...
There you have it! My most disappointing moments in Marvel story lines. What are your most disappointing story lines or even runs of Marvel books?
Follow Mat "Inferiorego" Elfring on what the kids call the twitter: @inferiorego