Is JMS' Spider-Man run really the best one?

I've only got one spiderman book and its by JMS! Its great...is he the best? haven't a clue.

I loved most of JMS's stuff, and it's easy to see the stories that clashed with the editors. The same thing happened with JMS's run on Thor. As a Editor-in-chief Joe Q is a great artist.

I don't really have a favorite Spidey writer, many have strengths and weaknesses. Overall though I loved JMS's run. I particularly love his Peter/MJ writings and the new villains Morlun, Ezekiel and Shathra and also (allow me to dowse myself in gasoline) I kind of liked the animal totem stuff.

Sin's past had merit in concept but was mangled by editorial mandate and retconing the past of a beloved character (I don't even like Gwen that much and I can tell this was rather bad character assassination). However it was a black spot on an otherwise good run and had a few good moments in it.

OMD was a mess from conception to execution that lacked ANY effort and was rather insulting to many a fan and at points comic readers in general.

Really "The Other" is where things started going down hill for me. It had a strong start but a rather weak and bizarre finish. And of course Civil War, Spider-Man 3 and Joe Quesada dragged things down further.

End of the day though JMS holds a spot in my favorite nay, defining Spider-Man writers for his strong, epic and heartwarming work on my favorite character.

My definitive Teen Spidey writers: Stan Lee, Brian Michael Bendis

My definitive Adult Spidey writers: JMS, Peter David

My definitive General Spidey writers: Greg Weisman and the writing staff of Spectacular Spider-Man

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That sin past thing kinda got put aside I guess... :

From ASM 598 (When he says is he, he talks about Menace baby which turns out to be Harry's)

As for OMD, as bad as it was, it gave seed to good stories like One Moment in time that I reread recently and remember how much I liked it

No runs are perfect... and for the Lee run, I don't really consider it the best since I was far from being born and lack the social context...

@hitmanspike said:

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That sin past thing kinda got put aside I guess... :

From ASM 598 (When he says is he, he talks about Menace baby which turns out to be Harry's)

As for OMD, as bad as it was, it gave seed to good stories like One Moment in time that I reread recently and remember how much I liked it

No runs are perfect... and for the Lee run, I don't really consider it the best since I was far from being born and lack the social context...

Gabriel has been seen since OMD though...he actually ended up piloting the American Son armor at one point in the American Son mini

It's one of the best and the honestly the most memorable for me as of late.

This. I wouldn't be as into Spider-Man, or Comics to the extent I am now, if it wasn't for JMS.

I actually don't hate Sins Past/Remembered all the much, considering the premise of what goes on, and OMD wasn't really his fault.

It may be the only memorable run for more than a decade for mainstream spiderman.
Plus as i pointed out before, JMS did an awesome job by adding mysticism and fate to his Spiderman run which made a great new element to the character.
The only downside to his run is Sins Past. OMD was an editorial mandate so i don't blame it on him.

Exactly! I've always been into Spider-Man but I remember JMS' run as just defining the character's dialogue better than any before him. And seriously, Sins Past wasn't that bad.

How can a storey about Gwen Stacy choosing to get children with Norman Osborn not be bad? Does anybody even know who Gwen Stacy is?

I do, that was a big mistake.

I like to remember the story as "Another thing Norman did to Pete." and that's it.
Norman went somewhere Peter never ended up going..........(wink-wink) ....

He can say "I screwed your gal,and then threw her off a bridge!!. HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

-Norman O.

The problem is that it was voluntary and not so much what it made Norman but what it made Gwen.

And again.....i like to look at it that way.......so i can avoid thinking it was a mess of a story.

Lee post-Ditko is my favourite run.

I don't consider it the best but it is most definitely among my favorites.JMS' run was really great but I just don't feel like it's the best of all.

I recently decided to pick up the first two volumes of the JMS Ultimate Collection, which pretty much collect everything before The Book of Ezekiel. I'm only up to an issue or two after Pete and MJ's reunion, and to be honest, I'm actually enjoying it quite a bit. Sure, the Spider-Totem stuff is ridiculous at times, especially the idea of Spidey's powers having mystical origins, but I still find it to be an interesting read. The high points for me so far are The Conversation, Doomed Affairs, and Peter becoming teacher early on in the run. And say what you will about John Romita Jr., but I personally think this is some of his best work. I don't plan on getting the other volumes because I hate Sins Past and OMD with a passion. Speaking of which, not to sound like a conspiracy freak or anything, but does anyone else find it a little odd that JMS's more controversial Spider-Man stories started popping up right after Romita Jr. left the book?

Anyway, to answer the poll, I don't think JMS's Spider-Man was the best run, though the first half of it is enjoyable from what I've read. He can write good stories, but then I think about things like Sins Past and OMD, both of which I mainly blame on editorial mandate. I feel the run would have been better overall if Joe Quesada wasn't as involved.

@danhimself said:

@hitmanspike said:

#

That sin past thing kinda got put aside I guess... :

From ASM 598 (When he says is he, he talks about Menace baby which turns out to be Harry's)

As for OMD, as bad as it was, it gave seed to good stories like One Moment in time that I reread recently and remember how much I liked it

No runs are perfect... and for the Lee run, I don't really consider it the best since I was far from being born and lack the social context...

Gabriel has been seen since OMD though...he actually ended up piloting the American Son armor at one point in the American Son mini

Oh wasn't aware of that... maybe he means legitimate son then, which woulda spoiled the whole line if he had said it like that... Yeah must not be all that fun trying to follow 50 years comics and never contradict those before you :O

it was until he was forced to write sins of the past with osbirn ids and notpete's

I think Sins Past wasn't a mandated storyline like OMD. However when he conceived of Sins Past and the heavy involvement of Gwen, Marvel heads interfered far too much. I really am indifferent about Sins Past cause it cemented MJ as the true love interest and I really don't care about Gwen.

OMD is the true travesty and JMS didn't want to do it but had to because it was an editorial mandate and he was the writer. Originally he didn't plan on splitting them up but Quesada wanted it so it happened. JMS' script was heavily rewritten.

JMS, I don't blame him for OMD. He worked his ass off to give us one of the best if not controversial Amazing Spider Man runs.

@ursaber: Agreed

Just as well.

I might be a little biased in my decision because I grew up during JMS's spiderman run and loved almost everything he wrote honestly. I wouldn't say he's the best spiderman writer simply based on my own personal experience with his work though. I'd say the honor of best spiderman writer should go to someone like Gerry Conway but JMS is pretty high up there for me.

As for the two controversial stories he wrote. OMD was mandated by Joe Quesada. JMS really strengthened the marriage beyond anything we've seen before so I doubt he would've ever wrote a story like OMD freely.

Sins past was not mandated but it was ruined by the higher ups meddling with his original idea for the story. Which I believe involved the twins in the story actually being Peter's kids not Norman's.

JMS is my favorite run because it didn't rely on any special storylines to make a dent. Every issue was great and showcased mature and complex Peter, MJ and Aunt May. He had an awesome understanding of Peter and knew how to move the character forward and make everything work.

Sins Past however I'm glad the kids didn't turn out to be his. I just can't tolerate that idea that Peter has some teenage mutant ninja spider kids who are now as old as he is. It would also bring one massive strain on his relationship with MJ because she failed to have kids but Peter successfully had twins with a dead woman and his first love. I prefer the current version where Norman sleeps with her. I don't care one bit for Gwen and having Norman sleep with her, then kill her and use her kids as goblin weapons added another layer of insanity and villainy to Norman.

@ursaber: I guess how people view sins past really depends on how people view gwen stacy. They think it ruined the character that gwen had. I prefer MJ over gwen as a love interest to peter but I can see where they're coming from.

I also absolutely agree with you on JMS's writing. I think he understood Spider-Man and his supporting cast better than almost any other writer that came before him. Like I said though, I grew up reading his stuff so I've always had a soft spot for him.

At least Peter does not have to listen complains about how he will get killed thanks to OMD. If you want to live with a super hero Marry Jane than accept his responsibility. Jesus Christ every single woman accepts their husbands super hero lives without complaining.

Back to the topic:

For me, yeah it is.

His run is easily in my top 5 despite those couple mishaps which I don't entirely blame on him.

For me, the best Spider-Man run was Ultimate Spider-Man (Peter Parker era of course) followed by JMS.

I personally liked the older stuff. Like when MJ and Peter were dating since there was this joyful affect with some of the darkest situations happening in their lives.

JMS was cool with how he made Aunt May valuable again but some of his stories were just weird and didn't fit with Spider-Man

I loved his run and found it to be the most enjoyable run on the character I've ever read (granted I've only read a select few).

The first chunk of his run with Romita is superb and you'd be hard pressed to find anything better for Spider-Man.

I myself wasn't a fan of the Other story arc but I didn't have as much problems with Sins Past as most do.

OMD was not his fault or concept. I lay the blame for that squarely on Quesadas shoulders. But other than those 3 arcs his run is phenomenal and a must read.

My thoughts exactly. However I did like the Other cause it gave Spidey a much needed upgrade and Sins Past didn't affect me cause I dislike Gwen. Norman sleeping with Gwen and impregnating her with teenage mutant ninja goblins adds another layer of villainy to the character that's just villainous.

He wrote a mature and well adjusted Peter Parker, reconciled Peter and MJ's separation, brought Aunt May into the fold and made her likable for the first time ever for me, this guy was awesome and I dread the fact that he was forced to write his own departure with the very forced OMD. He was forced to write the story that would undo most of his work and that's just atrocious.

the original idea was to make those kid peter's children, but quesada had to mess it up and force him to write them as norman, yet it does not cement MJ as peter's true love in any way, it just ruins the memory of gwen, ain fact, I actually love OMD cuz they undid a marriagew that should have never been, although it would have been better if they had had a simple divorce instead of a deal with mephisto

Making them Peter's children was a horrible idea. Making them Norman's children gives him another layer of villainy.

As for you liking OMD, REPENT! and SCREW THAT!

OMD was nothing more than the most unnecessary story ever produced by Marvel. It is a horrid piece of satanic atrocity. OMD is fricking satanic. Peter and MJ would never have split up no matter what. They fought long and hard for their marriage and dammit they deserve it. MJ is the greatest and number one Spider Man love interest period.

So you approve satanism? You like that Spider Man, the greatest and most morally righteous superhero made a F*CK*ING deal with the DEVIL! You approve of demonic divorces that never should've happened if this story had a semblance of plausibility and respect for the charaters involved. You approve of damn filicide cause when the deal was struck Peter and MJ lost their future daughter again! STAN LEE promoted the fricking beloved marriage in a publicity stunt at a stadium! THIS MARRIAGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN AND SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN SO ATROCIOUSLY ENDED OR ENDED AT ALL!

In liking OMD, people are okay and approve of:

• Terrible Storytelling and Pacing
• Insults at Fans for Liking Escapist Fiction
• Pacts with the Devil
• Demonic Nullification of True Love Marriages (marriage: the holiest human tradition in the world)
• Filicide (murder of sons and daughters)

Don't care at all if you like the Peter MJ true love romance, but anyone who says they actually "like" OMD will have my undivided wrath.

I refuse to believe a word that was said, you really think it's better if Peter Parker stayed a single man, hopping off from one girl to another?

No, it was terrible. It started out okay, and then went very bad as it went on.

The best Spider-Man stories were from the 60's to the mid 90's. The only great Spider-Man run in the 2000's was the first Ultimate Spider-Man run, and even that had its problems.

face it tiger, you're better off without MJ, she was a crutch in his life, is no coincidence he finally got the work he should have had since ever at Horizon labs when he was no longer with MJ, and that now he has his ow company, thanks to ock, but is his now

He's one of my top 5 Spider-Man writers for sure.

Quesada's impending divorce was the catalyst for OMD and it was a stupid decision. You know if Quesada wanted some controversy with Pete and MJ's marriage he could've gone with a grounded in reality route, whereby they seperate for a while due to unforeseen circumstances, or even actually put them through a divorce only for the relationship to be reconciled later on with a renewing of their vows. I would've accepted that (with a great writer of course), as a cool storyline spread out perhaps over a couple of years. As a reader I would've been anxious during that time, but certainly anticipating the drama and super heroics with every issue.

The marriage reconciliation could've been a subplot in a multi faceted storyline, slowly building up to a happy and necessary reunion. Quesada's inability to keep his marriage together should never have impacted upon the ASM title. His tampering has kept ASM in ruins for the last decade.

Pete and MJ are inseparable, and every relationship has it's trials and tribulation, it's what makes life interesting learning from life's lessons, and in Pete and MJ's case, learning that with great power there must also come great responsibility. Married couples communicate (well at least in successful marriages), and Pete and MJ had a great dynamic relationship going with MJ firmly understanding Pete's role as Spider-Man and being supportive.

One More Day and Sins Past(at least the Gwen/Norman part) was forced on him by Quesada.

Peter could've gotten the job just the same as when he was married. If Marvel's editors and heads stopped bitching about their outdated perception of Spider Man's relatability and accepted his evolution then we wouldn't have the sorry state in which Spider Man finds himself now. Their constant meddling in the Spider Man writer's affairs caused the fictional marriage to be unnecessarily turbulent. Through it all, MJ was his support and his anchor to normalcy and humanity and the best thing to ever happen to him. Now he's just dealing with clones again and terrible nonsensical stories.

Parker Industries was not earned and he shouldn't have it. Tony Stark/Bruce Wayne wannabe. Horizon Labs or Professional Photographer not working for Jonah but making good money in photojournalism and media production.

The separation already happened. After the atrocious plane scene where MJ supposedly dies, she comes back many issues later and kinda leaves Peter because she's suffering PTSD and needs to find herself again. They separate for several real time years until JMS reconciled them in ASM Vol 2 #50. After that there was no need to separate them or divorce them at all because they literally walked through hell through the 90's with the clone saga, the miscarriage and the plane crash. When JMS reunited them they were rock solid, absolutely 100% okay with each other and MJ was written excellently.

"They separate for several real time years until JMS reconciled them in ASM Vol 2 #50. After that there was no need to separate them or divorce them at all because they literally walked through hell through the 90's with the clone saga, the miscarriage and the plane crash."

• Yeah, I get that. All I'm saying is I would rather have read another well written saga dealing with a short-term marital problem instead of Quesada's OMD which as we all know, undid the marriage through an unnecessary demonic deal.

To me with the exception of Spider-verse his comics were never interesting after the second clone saga.

I'm not sure I'd say his run is THE best one, I'd have to sit down and think, but it's certainly the best modern run IMO.

As far as two of the worst spidey stories out there, and once again maybe THE worst two... Well, OMD was pretty much all Quesada and JMS does not like being associated with it. Sins past, again Quesada influence... And some argue (And I agree) that the story itself is interesting, but the core concept (Norman having kids with Gwen? WTF) ruins it for nearly everybody, so it pretty much ruins the whole thing no matter how well told it is.

So in conclusion, JMS worst stories are mostly because of editorial. The little he actually did in those two does not take away everything positive he did as a writer, and he clearly did lots of things rights, since he's considered as one of the best Spider-Man writers and of course the very existence of this topic, asking if he's THE best.

I have no idea what he was thinking with Sins Past but all the other stuff was pretty good.

Dunno if it's my FAVOURITE though.

I must say that I have enjoyed a lot of different things that JMS has written. I think my favorite was his "Rising Stars" series under Image. It had a lot of parallels to the Justice League, X-Men and other groups, but it also had a dark side. It is definitely worth taking a look and the series ending was something I did not see coming at all. There was also one called Midnight Nation that was a mixture between Constantine and Dr. Strange.

Its ok, but I don't consider it the best.

Aside from those two atrocities, JMS writing of Spider Man, Peter Parker, Mary Jane and Aunt May is some of the best. Completely in character, good development and characterization, perhaps my favorite aside from Conway himself.

I don't think there is the BEST Spider Man run because its a subjective thing where its all about personal opinion. All I can say is that JMS was my favorite Spider Man run, then Conway's, then Micheline's, then Stan Lee's, then DeFalco's.

I DO agree with you that JMS is the best modern Spider Man run.