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Off My Mind: The End of The Amazing Spider-Man

The 700th issue will end the series and the question is what catastrophic event will fall upon Spider-Man?

Anniversary issues for comic books are usually marked by some major event in the lives of the characters involved. It has been revealed through the solicits that THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700 will be the final issue of the series. Of course we know the series is likely to immediately return with a new #1 issue as part of the upcoming Marvel NOW! initiative bringing new creative teams to titles and jumping on points for new readers.

Spider-Man is Marvel's most iconic character. The series comes out twice a month and Dan Slott has been doing a spectacular job on the series. Yet he's recently mentioned several times he will need to "go into hiding" once issue #700 is released. What could the brilliant writer possibly have planned that would cause Spider-Man fans to gather pitchforks and torches?

No Caption Provided

This will remain a well-guarded secret but as the issue approaches, there are tiny possibilities that are surfaces with each new issue. We'll look at what (most likely) tragic event will fall upon Spider-Man that could anger those that love the character. There will be some spoilers from THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #694.

== TEASER ==

The Death of Spider-Man?

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Despite comic readers' hatred of the gimmick of a comic book death, you can't argue that they still bring plenty of attention to a series through the media. If you've read recent issues, you know Spider-Man is about to be stuck in the middle of a "Goblin War." We've been seeing the original Hobgoblin ready to make his return to enact vengeance upon the current Hobgoblin, Phil Urich. Urich is proving to be more and more unstable and Kingsley won't be too happy. But the chances of Spider-Man being killed over their fight is minimal.

Plus Marvel already killed him in the Ultimate Universe.

Spider-Man's Identity Revealed

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #600
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #600

The spell Doctor Strange cast that made everyone forget Spider-Man's identity (during One Moment in Time) has lost some of its strength. Carlie Cooper already managed to find out. Peter has been careless with how much tech he's been inventing for Spider-Man as Peter Parker at Horizon Labs. It wouldn't take much for word to get out that Peter has a continued association with Spider-Man because of all the recent gadgets plus his previously connection of taking pics of him.

No Caption Provided

If Spider-Man's identity doesn't get revealed in this current arc, it appears it might be happening in issue #698. The solicit here states that Doctor Octopus will discover "who Peter Parker really is." Although, it seems a little odd that it mentions Peter and not Spider-Man. Issue #699 again mentions knowing "Peter Parker's secret" and wanting vengeance. He will put out a call to other Spider-Man villains.

There's also the chance that Alpha will make a return. Most likely it could be in answer to Doc Ock's call. He was defeated by Spider-Man and faced humiliation at his defeat. There was mention that he could make his return and being an angry kid, he could easily make the wrong decision that could lead to the unintended death of his former mentor. Alpha had it all and had it taken away. In his final appearance, he showed he still had some strength when he was at his locker. He's bound to make a return. We just don't know if it'll be this soon.

With Doc Ock, his time is running out. He's about to die. Back in issue #600, he found out that the repeated blows to the head caused brain injury. As he unleashed his latest scheme and was defeated by Spider-Man, he was going to "do something great" with what time he had left. He popped up from time to time and even caused a worldwide attack in the Ends of the Earth arc. He wants vengeance against Spider-Man but does that mean his death?

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #694
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #694

The chances of Spider-Man dying or getting killed doesn't seem too likely. We all know it wouldn't and couldn't last. Even if Spidey was killed, it wouldn't be forever.

Death of Aunt May?

No Caption Provided

In issue #694, Aunt May was injured during Alpha's attempt to win the fight the Avengers were involved in. Perhaps this was a sign of what's to come. We have seen the death of Aunt May before, which turned out not to be Aunt May (long story). Even though she's married J. Jonah Jameson SR. and was ready to live her life in Boston, she's still a major part in Peter's life. The two even co-starred in AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #11. Fans would indeed be upset if she were to die but I don't know if it'd be enough for Dan Slott to go into hiding.

Death of Mary Jane?

No Caption Provided

Despite having their marriage wiped out, Mary Jane still spends a lot of time with Peter. While Peter was dating Carlie, there were strong indications that she still had deep feelings for him. How could she not after everything they went through. Just because they are no longer married after One Moment in Time doesn't mean she stopped loving him. The same goes for Peter. He may have dated Carlie and hooked up with Black Cat again prior to that, but Mary Jane is still his rock.

Mary Jane has a nightclub now. She now has a little more purpose compared to being stuck sitting around being just another supporting character for Spidey.

Many readers are still feeling the sting of the marriage being dissolved. If Spider-Man's identity becomes public knowledge once again due to the magic spell wearing off, the marriage would have ended for nothing.

If Mary Jane ends up being a casualty in whatever plan Doc Ock has cooking, again, fans will be furious. Many still feel Peter and Mary Jane deserve to be together. Killing her off just means that Peter may never find happiness. Having her make some noble sacrifice to save Peter or someone close to him, thus turning the tables on her role, would give Peter another new level of guilt to try to cope with.

Spider-Man Changed Drastically

No Caption Provided

A final theory could mean the Spider-Man we know will be gone with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700. He could be severely injured (like in the M2 Universe with Spider-Girl) and have to either retire or gain some sort of artificial limb.

Along with this is the thinking that the Marvel NOW! teaser "Superior" is about Spider-Man's new book. Instead of being drastically changed due to an injury, his powers could be drastically amplified. The teaser doesn't mention any creators and only has a January 2013 date. This fits if ASM is ending on December 26.

What could possibly make Spider-Man "Superior" though?

In a recent interview with Marvel, Slott said the following:

Is it? It’s also going to be a thrilling tale of heroism! This is gonna be one that I know full-well, when people close that comic, there’s going to be a large portion of the fans out there whose next action will be to soak their torches in the gasoline, reach for the matches, sharpen their pitchforks, put on their night-vision goggles and go looking for me. “Why, why have you done this!”

What does all this mean? That doesn't sound like something that would make Spider-Man "superior."

Something big is coming. Marvel is taking advantage of Spider-Man's 700th and final issue (before relaunching the series). This is the time to do something memorable. After fifty years of Spider-Man stories, it's okay to shake things up a little bit. Of course we don't need some big horrific event just to make a great memorable story. We don't need to see another death in comics. There are other ways to tell good stories. Slott has been doing a great job on his Big Time run. Let's hope it ends in a spectacular way without resulting in the death of anyone.

127 Comments

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hyenascar

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Edited By hyenascar

Be brave Marvel. Do something fresh and new. Even if everyone on here is afraid of change, it would be nice to have a true departure from the normality of this character. There are plenty of characters and plenty of opportunities for new stories. Heck, maybe you should kill spider-man. Maybe he kills someone, because accidents do happen.

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Billy Batson

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Edited By Billy Batson

Fans would indeed be upset if she were to die but I don't know if it'd be enough for Dan Slott to go into hiding.

Who would be upset if she died? Nobody really cares for Aunt May. I hope she will die.

BB

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hyenascar

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Edited By hyenascar

@Billy Batson:

True, she should have died in one more day

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DarthShap

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Edited By DarthShap

A new deal with the devil maybe? Spidey asking DD to renegociate his contract. ^^

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stumpy49er

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Edited By stumpy49er

There was a time I would have cared... ah the Spiderman comics that used to be...

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kid Apollo

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Edited By kid Apollo

kill peter parker so 616 miles morlaes can debut?

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lorex

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Edited By lorex

Just to throw out my own crazy speculation out there, what if Uncle Ben is still alive and he faked his death and is a crime lord in some part of the world and he was hiding out in New York for years till the it was safe for him to go back home. I seriously doubt that will happen but if it did it would throw a serious shadow over Peter as he has based his whole life since Uncle Ben's death to use his powers responsibly for the good of others. I also hope Marvel has the guts to do something different here and not just the more of what we have seen before. I mean if worse comes to worse then they can always retcon it, they have done this before with Spider-man before.

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darth_jones

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Edited By darth_jones

Does it matter? Everyone's just going to be mad about it anyway

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livlig

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Edited By livlig

I doubt we'll see Uncle Ben return, but what if some unsavory information about him were to surface? Casting Ben in a bad light could very well make the fans go a pitchforkin'.

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EvilAndy

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Edited By EvilAndy

Peter revealed his identity during the Civil War and at the time I thought that was awesome, a truly fresh and new direction for Spider-Man. Of course One More Day screwed all that up and ASM has been running on the same old treadmill ever since (or so I understand, I dropped the title right after OMD)

So I hope his identity is revealed, maybe fulfill some of that potential from 5 years ago. Hell, I might even pick it back up.

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Hymmis

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Edited By Hymmis

I like Newsarama's theory; http://www.newsarama.com/comics/amazing-spider-man-700-theory.html

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JMLG

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Edited By JMLG

when i saw the news, i was like damn - last of the classic original series comes to an end, but than i realized that i havent been reading ASM for awhile duo to weak art and boring (to me) stories. looking forwards to what they can do in Marvel NOW.

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ironshadow

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Edited By ironshadow

I read on another website that Doc Ock could give Spidey his tentacles and fuse them to him as a going away gift, having 4 metal tentacles could make Spidey superior but would also complicate Pete's life.

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FoxxFireArt

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Edited By FoxxFireArt

I never had a problem with breaking up the marriage. It was Marvel and Quesada's excuse and they're execution that stopped me from buying SPIDER-MAN for a good long while. Hell, the only thing I did buy recently was BIG TIME on Comixology, and it wasn't for very much. I am interested in buying a digital trade of SPIDER ISLAND, but that's only becasue I love Ramos' art. It's surprising it isn't out yet.

Mary Jane

Mary Jane doesn't do a whole lot in this series. I didn't think the two needed to be together, but I was offended by the excuses they used to break them up. Marvel and Quesada apparently saw their relationship as such a problem that couldn't be overcome that they created one of the most broken stories in comics. They insult our intelligence by trying to claim that everything happened but the marriage. OMD was supposed to be about making a change. So much sacrificed just so they can put things right back.

They never gave the Carlie relationship much of a shot. Then they seemed to be moving Peter and Mary Jane back together. Even in SPIDER ISLAND, I saw that scene where Mary Jane says she loves Peter. Putting back the couple they wiped from continuity that they claimed wasn't working for the story. What would be the point? We know now that Marvel will never allow it to go anywhere. It will go so far then end. We know the outcome before it even begins.

Killing Mary Jane would be pointless since everyone knows that they'll just bring her back eventually. No one really ever dies in Marvel. They go on hiatus.

Everyone just stay calm and wait

What could the brilliant writer possibly have planned that would cause Spider-Man fans to gather pitchforks and torches?

Just replace "young Frankenstein" with "Dan Slott" and "his grandfather" with "Quesada", and we have the perfect message for comic fans.

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ahgunsillyo

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Edited By ahgunsillyo

The Return of Gwen Stacy.

Do it.

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deactivated-5d921c81bd12c

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I do think Aunt May is going to be killed off. Theres a synchonicity of her dying 50 years after Ben and, lets be honest, it about time.

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Durakken

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Edited By Durakken

The final issue will be Peter Parker waking up after a long bender the night Aunt May died and realize that everything after One More Day was all a dream... Everyone will celebrate.

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Novemberx2

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Edited By Novemberx2

good bye dan slott you 90's throw back! you've ruined spider-man worse then One More Day.

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Dark_Vengeance_

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Edited By Dark_Vengeance_

@ahgunsillyo said:

The Return of Gwen Stacy.

Do it.

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That60sGuy

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Edited By That60sGuy

@kid Apollo said:

kill peter parker so 616 miles morlaes can debut?

If this happens I will curse Marvel to HELL! TO HELL!

Agreed. I think they should have left her dead after ASM #400

I hope they do this. That would be AWESOME!. But it'll never happen!

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Teerack

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Edited By Teerack

I'm really surprised the end of Spider-Men wasn't mentioned.

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BoyWander

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Edited By BoyWander

The last issue will not follow what has happened up until now and will be a flash back to all his favorite moments. It will then end on him swinging away making snarky remarks at how you all got trolled by the writer. This would lead to "Superior", being that he can now break the fourth wall.

hahaha, all kidding aside, I'm gonna go sharpen my pitch fork. Juuuuust in case.

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HighlandChicken

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Edited By HighlandChicken

I was thinking that spider-man might inject himself with the parker particles because his enemies were just too great, so that he could become the superior spider-man?

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Gylan Thomas

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Edited By Gylan Thomas

Not the first time ASM's been canceled and restarted and knowin' Marvel wont be the last. How long before all the new series return to thier original numbering?

Huge spider-man fan but totally lost interest in ASM :(

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RalfvdH

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Edited By RalfvdH

maybe he's going to give up the mantle... and let his clone be Spider-man...

oh no... wait...

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Zeeguy91

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Edited By Zeeguy91

Man I have missed a lot since I dropped this series. I'm gonna chime in and say that maybe they should kill off Aunt May. I mean, if we're serious here, she should have died during OMD. I honestly think that her death would have been the final moment in Peter's transformation from adolescent to adult. I mean, Marvel seriously regressed the character when they dissolved his marriage, which was ridiculous. When you read the Pre-OMD Spidey comics, you notice how much more mature he was. That's part of what I liked about JMS's run both during the beginning of his time with the New Avengers and the Civil War. He was a loving husband who cared about his wife and family. Now though…he acts like a high-schooler and not a man who I'd guess is almost thirty.

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xblah_blahx

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Edited By xblah_blahx
Zeeguy91 said it best. I'm a huge fan of ASM but hate how they regressed his character from a mature character to the character he is now. I know they did it to "reach a younger audience" but enough is enough. And surely Marvel isn't insane enough to kil off 616 Peter Parker, right?
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thespideyguy

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Edited By thespideyguy

After pete dies of cancer mj takes over.

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Miss_Garrick

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Edited By Miss_Garrick

"question is what catastrophic event will fall upon Spider-Man?"

My questions are: What catastrophic event HASN'T happened to Spider-Man already? And how could it possibly tick people off more than making a deal with Mephisto to erase a marriage?

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GothamRed

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Edited By GothamRed

Maybe aunt may dying will undo one more day. I can't see peter's or MJ's death going over well until that story is retconed away. Do it Marvel, you're so close...

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Zereta

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Edited By Zereta

Maybe it deals with the cliffhanger at the end of Spider Men?

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AlKusanagi

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Edited By AlKusanagi

Wait... Superior... As in "Lake Superior." As in the Great Lakes...

Spidey's joining the Great Lake Avengers!!! Then it'll be all slapstick 4th wall-breaking fart jokes to tie in with the current Disney cartoon.

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Strider1992

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Edited By Strider1992

@ahgunsillyo said:

The Return of Gwen Stacy.

Do it.

After Sins Past wasn't retconned!? Gwen must never return until SP is retconned NEVER!

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judasnixon

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Edited By judasnixon

Spoiler! Spider-man will make out with the girl from the movie Precious. Deal with it!

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BlueLantern1995

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Edited By BlueLantern1995

@Strider92 said:

@ahgunsillyo said:

The Return of Gwen Stacy.

Do it.

After Sins Past wasn't retconned!? Gwen must never return until SP is retconned NEVER!

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JimTheSurfer

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Edited By JimTheSurfer

@Billy Batson: It was seriously stupid, that they revived her after her death in ASM #400. She is a major character 'n stuff, but series could easily go on without her, so her death would make a nice emotional effect for no price.

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whitelantern64

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Edited By whitelantern64

Change for the sake of doing somthing momentous is stupid. If the story is leading to a great big change, then it works, but doing something drastic just because, i think just hurts the character overall.

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theTimeStreamer

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Edited By theTimeStreamer

@hyenascar said:

Be brave Marvel. Do something fresh and new. Even if everyone on here is afraid of change, it would be nice to have a true departure from the normality of this character. There are plenty of characters and plenty of opportunities for new stories. Heck, maybe you should kill spider-man. Maybe he kills someone, because accidents do happen.

marvel dont listen to this guy. hes not all there if you get my meaning.

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Emperormeister734

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He's been through through so much, I HOPE THE CHANGE IS BETTER FOR HIM

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Mighty Thorion

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Edited By Mighty Thorion

More comic book "deaths" - how uninspiring and boring! Time for the "House of ideas" to come up with something different

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FadeToBlackBolt

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Edited By FadeToBlackBolt

It'll be melodramatic, lacklustre and uninspired, just like the rest of Slott's run.

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owie

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Edited By owie  Moderator

Ugh.  I didn't realize they were doing the ol' End-it-and-renumber-at-One thing.  I'm just so sick of it.  I mean, how many volumes of the various Spider-Man comics are there, all put together?  What a pain.

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Mecha_Booshh91

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Edited By Mecha_Booshh91

Jesus Christ... Every single one of these comments makes my brain hurt. Dan Slott has done great things for ASM... And if you can't recognize it... DON'T READ IT. Don't sit here and say he's ruined ASM... And another thing, nobody gives a damn about Aunt May? How dare you..... *shake my head.... SHAKE MY DAMN HEAD*...

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Trodorne

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Edited By Trodorne

@FadeToBlackBolt said:

It'll be melodramatic, lacklustre and uninspired, just like the rest of Slott's run.

is it really just dan slott or maybe just marvel in general?

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jaypeon

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Edited By jaypeon

he's going to die, but then they're going to bring back his "other" powers. prob go into a cocoon and surprise everybody again. his clone still has them so why should't he.

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the_fallen11

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Edited By the_fallen11

He's bringing Gwen back....I know it...I just know it.

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FadeToBlackBolt

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Edited By FadeToBlackBolt
@Trodorne said:

@FadeToBlackBolt said:

It'll be melodramatic, lacklustre and uninspired, just like the rest of Slott's run.

is it really just dan slott or maybe just marvel in general?

Marvel in general, sure, but Slott is normally a good writer. I expected better.
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KennyQuick

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Edited By KennyQuick

They should have had Stan Lee come write the 700th issue.

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GundamHeavyarms

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Edited By GundamHeavyarms

Slott's not going to kill peter, something big is going to happen but I doubt that Pete's going to die, maybe he'll stop being spider man.