Peter Parker has really moved up in the world lately. Thanks to Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott, Peter has evolved from struggling photographer and underappreciated superhero to the owner of a multinational corporation and one of the driving forces in the superhero community. It's been a pretty wild ride. But as Marvel begins setting up its post-Civil War II landscape, it's starting to seem more and more like the current Spider-Man status quo has been taken too far. It's getting to the point where Spider-Man no longer feels like Spider-Man anymore.
Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #1 cover by Alex Ross. (Marvel Comics)
This is a complaint some readers have been voicing for years now, ever since Slott began maneuvering Peter towards his new role in the aftermath of Superior Spider-Man. Generally, I've been pretty supportive of the idea of Peter moving up in the Marvel Universe. The older this character becomes, the less cute the idea of him struggling to pay the rent and support Aunt May becomes. Peter is a certified genius who designed gadgets like web-shooters and Spider-Tracers as a teenager. At some point it becomes ridiculous to think that he can't parlay those skills into a successful career and start living as a semi-responsible adult. Doesn't he have a responsibility to look out for himself and his family as well as the citizens of New York? As stagnant as superhero comics can be, it's important that characters be allowed to grow and evolve. And whether it's Brian Bendis making Spider-Man an official Avenger or Slott's years of work with the character, we've been seeing that evolution unfold over the past decade.
But there is a key difference between forcing Peter to apply his "With great power must also come great responsibility" mantra to his personal life and what's been happening to the character lately. I'm no longer so optimistic about the direction Marvel has taken Peter Parker. Over the past year, Peter has essentially become the new Tony Stark. He's a globetrotting celebrity and playboy with the fanciest superhero costumes and the brilliant inventor who supplies S.H.I.E.L.D. with all its tech. As we saw in The Avengers #1 this week, Peter is now even the financial backer of the Avengers. At this point he's one bad mustache and drinking problem away from truly replacing Stark.
The problem with this status quo from the beginning has been that Spider-Man is supposed to be an everyman hero. He quickly emerged as the most popular of Marvel's many heroes because readers can relate to him in such a powerful way. Peter Parker is meant to be the guy who struggles to get ahead in life and fails as often as he succeeds. And while being a genius is part of his appeal, traditionally there's always been a very blue collar quality to his scientific accomplishments. He's supposed to be smart, but not necessarily a Reed Richards or Tony Stark-level polyglot. Yet now we see him absorbing foreign languages at the drop of a hat and designing new Quinjets in his spare time. So much for "Peter from Queens."
Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #1 cover by Humberto Ramos. (Marvel Comics)
To be fair, Slott has worked to ensure that some semblance of the old, humble Peter still remains. Peter refuses to pay himself more than a modest, mid-level management salary, preferring instead to pour most of his company's profits into humanitarian projects and charity. And as we've seen in the build-up to The Clone Conspiracy, even Peter's vastly increased resources have done little to help him when it comes to protecting his loved ones from harm. But still, a lot of Spidey's familiar charm has faded in recent months, to the point where the character shown in The Avengers #1 barely reads like Peter Parker anymore. The aforementioned Quinjet scene actually marks the exact point where I realized I'm no longer on board with how Peter is being portrayed.
The time has come for Marvel to ease up on Peter's billionaire CEO status quo. That doesn't necessarily mean bringing the current Amazing Spider-Man series to a screeching halt and returning Peter to his days as a struggling photographer. The point isn't to abruptly return to an older status quo, but to find a way to continue Spidey's journey in a way that better speaks to his everyman qualities. Surely there has to be a happy medium between allowing Peter to evolve and grow and still maintain his status as the lovable goof with a perpetual case of Parker Luck.
The question is how much incentive Marvel has to make any big changes to the franchise. As controversial as the current Amazing Spider-Man series is among many fans, that controversy doesn't seem to have impacted Marvel's bottom line. The series' sales figures have held pretty steady in 2016 (with most issues clocking in between 65 and 75,000 copies sold) even as Marvel has lost overall market share to DC. It's probably Marvel's most dependably consistent performer, so why rock the boat now?
There's also an argument to be made that Marvel can afford to push Peter Parker in weird, off-kilter directions because they have so many other Spider-heroes to fill the void. Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli have essentially molded Miles Morales into the new Peter Parker in their Spider-Man series. Like Peter before him, Miles struggles to balance school and superhero responsibilities while also keeping his costumed identity a secret from his family. Books like Spider-Gwen and Silk also offer a more classic Spider-Man status quo, even if they don't star Peter Parker himself. And then there's the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, which hearkens back to a time when Peter was a married man struggling to make ends meet.
Spider-Man Miles Morales. Art by Sara Pichelli. (Marvel Comics)
Those books are certainly helpful when it comes to offering fans more grounded, classically oriented Spider-Man stories. But none of that changes the fact that Peter Parker's current status quo doesn't feel like a great fit for the character anymore. As long as he's still alive and kicking, he'll always be *the* Spider-Man of the Marvel Universe. Amazing Spider-Man will always set the tone for the franchise and serve as the gateway for new readers. More than any other hero, Peter needs to embody what it means to be Spider-Man. He has to be the character who never wins the respect he deserves. He has to struggle against overwhelming odds and sometimes fail. It's tough to be the underdog when you're also one of the most successful and famous businessmen on the planet.
"Between the Panels" is a bi-weekly column from Jesse Schedeen that focuses on the world of comics. You can see more of his thoughts on comics and pop culture by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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