How to Fix It: One More Day
Welcome to How to Fix It, where I take a horrible movie, series, or comic and tell my idea on how it could’ve been done right. For my first Fix, I'm working with a comic that was so bad, it made many people stop reading comics all together! There has been an outcry for this story to be undone. So far, nobody has listened. It’s the most hated comic in the Spider-man franchise. I am of course talking about Spider-man: One More Day.
First, I’ll explain what the story is and what’s wrong with it. Then I’ll get to my idea on how to fix the story and make something much better.
First, I’ll explain what the story is and what’s wrong with it. Then I’ll get to my idea on how to fix the story and make something much better.
The Actual Story
It’s been almost a decade since this story came out. Apparently, Marvel has believed for a long time that Spider-man is more interesting when he’s not married. They’ve tried to end the marriage time and again. First, through the Clone Saga, where they revealed that the married Spider-man is actually a clone and the real Peter Parker disappeared before the marriage. Unsurprisingly, fans hated it and Marvel was forced to take back the reveal. Then they tried killing off Mary Jane. Once again, the fans hated it and Marvel decided to listen again. Strangely, they still didn’t learn their lesson.After that, Marvel came out with the crossover story arc, Civil War. In it, Spider-man revealed his identity to the public to support the Superhuman Registration Act. But then he realized he'd picked the wrong side and switched sides in the war, becoming a fugitive in the process. The Kingpin hired someone to assassinate Peter via sniper rifle, but the shot missed Peter and hit Aunt May instead. And that’s where One More Day comes in. Peter was desperate to save May’s life, but the way he showed it came off like he was a whiny man child. He claimed that it was all his fault and he could never live with himself, despite the fact that May told him she was ready to die. Then Mephisto, a demon, arrived and offered to save Aunt May’s life. But the price for doing so was Peter and MJ’s marriage. He claimed that their love was a rare type of romance that was incredibly strong and only came once in a very, very long time. Now, if this is true, then Peter and Mary Jane’s love should’ve been too strong to let this happen. But Peter and Mary Jane still gave up their marriage to save an old woman who’s been at death’s door for years. (Even though they’ve killed May off before and Peter was able to move on from it that time.) Mephisto then changed the timeline so that Peter and Mary Jane were never married and Peter was single again. As I’ve said, this is one of the most hated Spider-man comics out there. Because Spider-man, the most popular and iconic superhero at Marvel, made a deal with a demon! It's been almost ten years since this hated comic came out and Marvel still hasn't undone it. Though they seem to be learning, with the new ongoing Renew Your Vows series. I'll get to my thoughts about that series in my upcoming review of the first issue. Now that I’ve presented what One More Day is and what’s wrong with it, let’s get to work fixing it.Fixing It
Now, let's get something clear. I strongly disagree with the idea that Peter has to be single to be interesting. I also don't believe this move was necessary for Marvel to tell new stories. But I decided to put myself in the shoes of J. Michael Straczynski, the writer of One More Day. Apparently, he was also opposed to the story and even left Marvel after writing it. So this is the story I would have come up with if I was being forced to wipe the marriage from existence. When I first thought about fixing it, I wanted to consider the main two reasons Marvel came up with this comic.
Well, here’s my idea on how they could’ve done this right. We start with the attempted assassination, and please let me explain before you stop reading. Mary Jane is the one who's shot and she dies before any medical help can arrive. This obviously devastates Peter, being the second time he’s lost his wife. The big difference being that he has a body to confirm it this time. Aunt May is still alive, because Peter needs someone to keep him from going over the edge at the moment, but he practically shuts down.Peter would think back to how much of a mistake it was to reveal his identity to the world and many of the mistakes he’s made in life. Right now, he would do anything to be with MJ again. The pain of losing his true love worse than ever. There could be some stuff about how Spidey made some bad choices and how he’d want a second chance.Meanwhile, there’s something wrong happening with the portal to the Negative Zone prison. Somehow, it has become unstable and it’s causing a time/space event. The heroes are all trying to stop it, but things get especially bad when some heroes are hit by the shifts in reality, possibly wiping them from existence (for now). Then, Spider-man gets wind of this and a talk from Aunt May convinces him to swing into action one more time.Reed Richards has quickly put together a device that should neutralize the time/space event, but it’ll have to be taken to the center of the catastrophe. There are waves of space/time coming from that area and it’ll take someone fast and agile to get there in time. Iron man is the first to volunteer and attempts to make it there, but there’s a slight miscalculation in when the waves hit and his reaction time isn’t fast enough. Tony is taken out and everyone is shocked. And with no other heroes around, it’s up to our friendly neighborhood hero to do the job himself. Mr. Fantastic tries to warn him that once the device is in place, he’ll need to get out of there as fast as possible. Because there’s no telling what’ll happen if he’s still there when it goes off and reality comes crashing in towards him.After getting the warning, Peter swings into the event, his spider-sense, reflexes, and agility being exactly what’s needed for him to dodge waves of space/time disturbances. He jumps, flips, and weaves his way through the event before finally reaching the center and jumping into the Negative Zone portal. Instead of reaching the Negative Zone, Spider-man arrives in a nexus in between dimensions. He puts the device in place and presses the button, ready to get the heck out of there. But just as he’s about to leave, the path back is closing. Spider-man gets caught in an energy surge as the reconstruction of reality all converges on him. There is a bright flash.We see dialogue boxes of what Peter said earlier. How he’d do anything for another chance. How he’d love nothing more than to reset his life as Spider-man and do things differently. Most of all, how much he desperately wants Mary Jane back.Peter suddenly wakes up with a jolt and sits upright, startled and shocked to see where he is. Back in his room at Aunt May’s house. But instead of losing his memories, Peter remembers what happened and is confused at first. Getting up, he looks in the mirror and is shocked to find that he’s a teenager again. Of course the inevitable “was it all a dream” question pops into his head and he tests it by trying to crawl up his wall. He succeeds, so his powers aren’t gone. When he wonders if he’s traveled back in time, he checks the calendar and finds it to be present day. What the heck is going on?Peter’s thoughts are interrupted when he hears Aunt May calling him down for breakfast. He runs down to see if she's okay. Arriving in the kitchen, he's shocked to find that Aunt May is younger than he remembers her being when he was a teenager (signaling that we are not going to be rehashing old stories and some things have changed). The television is currently on and there’s a news report about how the events of Civil War have ended slightly differently and Spider-man is currently a fugitive. But his identity is back to being a secret.Peter gets a bit of a headache as memories of this life become apparent. He now remembers that he’s much younger and he’s gotten his powers more recently than he originally did. Unfortunately, he soon realizes that some of the memories from his past life are fading. He should retain memories of the bigger stuff, but lose enough so he can develop like an actual teenager. Of course, Peter decides that he needs to write down in a journal how things use to be ASAP before he might forget it all. But there’s still one problem. None of the new memories involve Mary Jane, and he didn’t originally meet her until college. He doesn't know if the changes in reality might’ve brought her back, but Peter is back to being a single nerd in High School. Then, just as he starts feeling bad, Aunt May lets him know that she wants him to come with her later to the house of Anna Watson. It seems her nieces have just lost their mother and she’s taken them in. So May wants to welcome them to the neighborhood and Peter has to come to meet Gayle… and Mary Jane Watson.Peter naturally has a priceless reaction
There you have it. My version of what One More Day should’ve been. The new direction for Spider-man would be a sort-of reboot for him, without actually rebooting the rest of the Marvel Universe. This is not pretending that everything that previously happened still happened the same minus the marriage, because that’s just not how things work. Instead, explanations are given for how reality has changed. For example: how can Venom be around when Spider-man wasn’t part of the first Secret Wars? You want more story opportunities? Here you go, with a direction that I like to call, Spider-man: Reset.Spider-man still remembers some things about his previous life (especially his marriage). But Mary Jane is back to where she started, only this time Peter knows what she’s really going through underneath her flighty party girl facade. So he wants to help her grow back into the strong woman he married. Because he still remembers, we would not be ignoring all the previous history and it would come to effect the story from here on out. Some villains could be revamped a bit, but measures would have to be taken to make sure this isn’t just another Ultimate Spider-man (the symbiote is still an alien, Green goblin is still a guy in a suit, etc.), but they can get slight redesigns. New villains can also be introduced (like Mr. Negative).If you liked this post or have any thoughts on my idea, or want to see more from How to Fix It, please let me know in the comments.
- They wanted to make Spider-man seem young and relatable to new readers (AKA: kids).
- They wanted to create new story opportunities.
Well, here’s my idea on how they could’ve done this right. We start with the attempted assassination, and please let me explain before you stop reading. Mary Jane is the one who's shot and she dies before any medical help can arrive. This obviously devastates Peter, being the second time he’s lost his wife. The big difference being that he has a body to confirm it this time. Aunt May is still alive, because Peter needs someone to keep him from going over the edge at the moment, but he practically shuts down.Peter would think back to how much of a mistake it was to reveal his identity to the world and many of the mistakes he’s made in life. Right now, he would do anything to be with MJ again. The pain of losing his true love worse than ever. There could be some stuff about how Spidey made some bad choices and how he’d want a second chance.Meanwhile, there’s something wrong happening with the portal to the Negative Zone prison. Somehow, it has become unstable and it’s causing a time/space event. The heroes are all trying to stop it, but things get especially bad when some heroes are hit by the shifts in reality, possibly wiping them from existence (for now). Then, Spider-man gets wind of this and a talk from Aunt May convinces him to swing into action one more time.Reed Richards has quickly put together a device that should neutralize the time/space event, but it’ll have to be taken to the center of the catastrophe. There are waves of space/time coming from that area and it’ll take someone fast and agile to get there in time. Iron man is the first to volunteer and attempts to make it there, but there’s a slight miscalculation in when the waves hit and his reaction time isn’t fast enough. Tony is taken out and everyone is shocked. And with no other heroes around, it’s up to our friendly neighborhood hero to do the job himself. Mr. Fantastic tries to warn him that once the device is in place, he’ll need to get out of there as fast as possible. Because there’s no telling what’ll happen if he’s still there when it goes off and reality comes crashing in towards him.After getting the warning, Peter swings into the event, his spider-sense, reflexes, and agility being exactly what’s needed for him to dodge waves of space/time disturbances. He jumps, flips, and weaves his way through the event before finally reaching the center and jumping into the Negative Zone portal. Instead of reaching the Negative Zone, Spider-man arrives in a nexus in between dimensions. He puts the device in place and presses the button, ready to get the heck out of there. But just as he’s about to leave, the path back is closing. Spider-man gets caught in an energy surge as the reconstruction of reality all converges on him. There is a bright flash.We see dialogue boxes of what Peter said earlier. How he’d do anything for another chance. How he’d love nothing more than to reset his life as Spider-man and do things differently. Most of all, how much he desperately wants Mary Jane back.Peter suddenly wakes up with a jolt and sits upright, startled and shocked to see where he is. Back in his room at Aunt May’s house. But instead of losing his memories, Peter remembers what happened and is confused at first. Getting up, he looks in the mirror and is shocked to find that he’s a teenager again. Of course the inevitable “was it all a dream” question pops into his head and he tests it by trying to crawl up his wall. He succeeds, so his powers aren’t gone. When he wonders if he’s traveled back in time, he checks the calendar and finds it to be present day. What the heck is going on?Peter’s thoughts are interrupted when he hears Aunt May calling him down for breakfast. He runs down to see if she's okay. Arriving in the kitchen, he's shocked to find that Aunt May is younger than he remembers her being when he was a teenager (signaling that we are not going to be rehashing old stories and some things have changed). The television is currently on and there’s a news report about how the events of Civil War have ended slightly differently and Spider-man is currently a fugitive. But his identity is back to being a secret.Peter gets a bit of a headache as memories of this life become apparent. He now remembers that he’s much younger and he’s gotten his powers more recently than he originally did. Unfortunately, he soon realizes that some of the memories from his past life are fading. He should retain memories of the bigger stuff, but lose enough so he can develop like an actual teenager. Of course, Peter decides that he needs to write down in a journal how things use to be ASAP before he might forget it all. But there’s still one problem. None of the new memories involve Mary Jane, and he didn’t originally meet her until college. He doesn't know if the changes in reality might’ve brought her back, but Peter is back to being a single nerd in High School. Then, just as he starts feeling bad, Aunt May lets him know that she wants him to come with her later to the house of Anna Watson. It seems her nieces have just lost their mother and she’s taken them in. So May wants to welcome them to the neighborhood and Peter has to come to meet Gayle… and Mary Jane Watson.Peter naturally has a priceless reaction
There you have it. My version of what One More Day should’ve been. The new direction for Spider-man would be a sort-of reboot for him, without actually rebooting the rest of the Marvel Universe. This is not pretending that everything that previously happened still happened the same minus the marriage, because that’s just not how things work. Instead, explanations are given for how reality has changed. For example: how can Venom be around when Spider-man wasn’t part of the first Secret Wars? You want more story opportunities? Here you go, with a direction that I like to call, Spider-man: Reset.Spider-man still remembers some things about his previous life (especially his marriage). But Mary Jane is back to where she started, only this time Peter knows what she’s really going through underneath her flighty party girl facade. So he wants to help her grow back into the strong woman he married. Because he still remembers, we would not be ignoring all the previous history and it would come to effect the story from here on out. Some villains could be revamped a bit, but measures would have to be taken to make sure this isn’t just another Ultimate Spider-man (the symbiote is still an alien, Green goblin is still a guy in a suit, etc.), but they can get slight redesigns. New villains can also be introduced (like Mr. Negative).If you liked this post or have any thoughts on my idea, or want to see more from How to Fix It, please let me know in the comments.
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