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Well, you didn’t have to have a degree in forensics to figure out that a storyline called “The Death Of Spider-Man” might involve….the death of Spider-Man. Hoping to jump on the same rampaging death-wagon that led to huge sales for the deaths of Johnny Storm and Captain America, Marvel allowed MASSSSSSSIIIIVVVVVVE spoilers in THREE mainstream media stories that broke this morning for TOMORROW’s issue of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #160: The Associated Press, USA Today, and the the NY Post, which had a story title so incendiary we’re putting it in spoiler text!

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***Peter Parker being killed off in Ultimate Spider-Man comics***

While the art sent out with the press release was wallowing in bathos like an episode of Wife Swap, just in case you have had it spelled out in big crimson letters for you, we’re putting the rest of this post in a jump!

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SPOILERS BELOW:

All three stories contained various Marvel personnel talking about how hard it was to say…goodbye, and reminding us that in the nu-styled Ultimate universe…death means DEATH and not an endless series of returns from Reichenbach Falls.

“Listen, I sat there typing this thing with tears in my eyes like a big baby!” Bendis says. “I went upstairs to my wife, and I go, ‘I am so embarrassed. I think I’ve literally been crying for 45 minutes.’ I’ve had real things happen in my life I didn’t cry about, and yet I’m crying about this.

“I became very proud of it, and that’s not an adjective I often put on myself.”

As for the Green Goblin, his fate is seemingly held in the final panel of the issue — or is it? “I am completely leaving that up to interpretation,” Bendis says. “There’s a lot of finality to the issue, so I’m going to leave that one open.”

and

“Ten years ago, Brian Bendis and Mark Millar changed the way people saw super heroes with the birth of the Ultimate Universe. With ‘Death of Spider-Man’ the two have done it again, creating a story just as big, and something that would really resonate with fans,” said Mark Paniccia, Marvel senior editor. “But Peter’s death doesn’t signal the end of their larger plan — it’s the start of one of the most ambitious stories you’ve ever read in comics.”

But there is a new hope:

Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso said the death paves the way for a new character to claim Peter’s arachnid alter-ego this fall.

“There’s going to be a brand new Spider-Man” in a brand new costume, Alonso said, while refusing to reveal the identity of the new wall-crawler. He’ll make his debut in “Ultimate Comics Fallout” in August before taking over “Ultimate Spider-Man” in September. “We’re certain readers wil fall in love with him the way they did with Peter,” Alonso said.

The NY Post even RAN THE ACTUAL PAGE with the death.

Since 2000, ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN has presented a younger, less-continuity baggaged Peter Parker; the work of Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley over the years invigorated the title and made it a best seller. More than a decade later, the new title is another middle-aged book with three-digit numbering and needs a shake-up of its own.

PR and SPOILER IMAGES below:

PETER PARKER HAS SPUN HIS LAST WEB. In the storyline that has garnered the attention of fans and media worldwide, Marvel revealed that Peter Parker meets his tragic end in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160, hitting stores tomorrow (Wednesday, June 22nd). Concluding the critically-acclaimed, sold-out “Death of Spider-Man” story arc, the death of Peter Parker signals a major change for the Ultimate Comics Universe and sets the stage for the upcoming debut of an all-new Spider-Man.

“10 years ago, Brian Bendis and Mark Millar changed the way people saw super heroes with the birth of the Ultimate Universe. With ‘Death of Spider-Man’ the two have done it again, creating a story just as big, and something that would really resonate with fans.” said Mark Paniccia, Marvel Senior Editor. “But Peter’s death doesn’t signal the end of their larger plan—it’s the start of one of the most ambitious stories you’ve ever read in comics.”

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 debuted in 2000 and is widely considered one of the most important comics of the century. The progenitor of the Ultimate Comics Universe, in which Marvel’s greatest characters and stories were reinterpreted for modern audiences, Ultimate Spider-Man set records for trade paperback sales and its version of Spider-Man remains one of the most popular of all-time.

“We’ve never seen a world without Spider-Man, a world without Peter Parker, so his death is a significant event for the Ultimate Comics Universe and we’re going to see how quickly it changes everything. Readers are in for something very new…and surprising because everything that happens in Ultimate Spider-Man #160 and Ultimate Comics Fallout sets the stage for even bigger stories,” explained Axel Alonso, Marvel Entertainment Editor In Chief.

The story continues in July’s Ultimate Comics Fallout, picking up right after the death of Spider-Man and showing just what happens to the world without Peter Parker. New alliances! New enemies! Fans can’t afford to miss the dynamic debut of the new Spider-Man in the pages of Ultimate Comics Fallout—and you won’t believe who’s under the mask!

The future of the Ultimate Comics Universe begins with the death of Peter Parker this Wednesday, June 22nd, in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160.

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1 COMMENT

  1. @don1138
    If it’s not healthy then I don’t want to be well. Most superhero “deaths” over the years have seemed very cheap an meaningless to me; nothing but ploys to boost sales. I really loved this Peter Parker, along with all of his family and friends. I was hoping it would be a ruse. Someone suggested that Peter would fake his death and take over for Tony Stark when his brain tumor finally got him. I hoped so much that it would be so. If ever I wanted to see a hero ride off into the sunset and be happy, it was this Peter Parker. Some may say that’s what the Uncle Ben panel is all about, but that’s not good enough for me. A young man with collage and Mary Jane to look forward to, losing his life… it just breaks my heart, fiction or otherwise. BMB really did something special, to give it that much power over so many readers. I haven’t felt this way since “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?”

  2. Not that I really care in this case, because (a) I don’t read Ultimate Spider-Man, and (b) I think a story called “The Death of Spider-Man” is clear enough that a spoiler about Spider-Man dying is no big deal, but…

    For future reference, you might want to keep in mind that your efforts to hide spoilery images behind the cut do little to protect those of us who read your blog in RSS feeds.

    The post shows up in RSS exactly as it does on this page, meaning that the first thing I saw in Google Reader was the huge image of Mary Jane holding Peter Parker in her arms at the top of this post.

    Like I said, no big deal. But something to keep in mind for the future. At the very least, you should put these images lower in your post, so that readers in RSS readers can decide not to scroll down to the bottom of it and avoid the spoiler. If it’s at the top, then it’s too late.

  3. Marvel Editorial needs to learn the meaning of the word “overkill.” Perhaps I’m too cynical, but I’m guessing that more people will conclude that if the story was good drama, the hype wouldn’t be needed, than will be swayed to purchase the comic by the hype. Do they think that people who aren’t already buying the series will buy that one issue just because of a death?

    Ultimate Spider-Man #1 debuted in 2000 and is widely considered one of the most important comics of the century.

    That sentence and the hype — a similar promo for an NFL game would tout it as the greatest matchup in the history of televised football, or of televised sports.

    SRS

  4. Wow. I’m not sure if I could care any less. Ultimate Universe, another dead character to drum up phony pathos (and temporary sales)… I only write here because I’m amazed at just how much I cannot work up any enthusiasm one way or another, and I surprised myself with that realization!

  5. In all the myopic fanboy teeth/hand/brain gnashing going on around the Interweb, as usual the bigger picture is being lost: national/international news outlets are covering this story.

    Whether this results in increased sales or not, at the least an increased awareness is out there, which is more than it was yesterday.

    Print comics seem to be a loss leader these days, but at least some people (i.e. non-converted fans) might be intrigued to revisit comics or better yet, try them for the first time, no matter the format.

    In either case, maybe the habit doesn’t take hold but they inspire another fan (i.e. a child).

    All of us fans can bitch and moan till the cows come home but comics and mythologies are always changing and evolving, and evolution always means progress.

    Within my particular generation, I for one have been reading comics long enough to have seen the waves of hate that first greeted (pre-Internet) the Spidey/MJ and Supes/Lois marriages, and have watched with bemusement the overheated reactions over the tearing apart of those unions.

    I for one keep reading comics because it’s a fun hobby and something that keeps me in touch with the thrills of my youth (which isn’t that far gone, I’m in my early 40s as I write this and still consider myself a “youth”), but I’ve always loved the thrill of change and experiments in trying some thing new, and understood this as something inherent in the decades-long evolving tapestry of the Marvel & DC Universes, not to mention all the other glorious fictional comic book universes.

    P.S. I’m rooting for the DC relaunch – I think it sounds exciting and provocative, and there’s a lot of books I’ll be trying out. That said, I do question the practice – as many have – of premireing 52 books in one month. That’s 13 books a week, and that’s a lot of $$ in a week to doll out if you want to try everything.

    I remember the DC Explosion of my youth in the late 70s. I was always a Marvel guy but read and collected a lot of DC stuff, and ws excited about the “Explosion” that promised more pages and addd features with lots of off-beat, off-franchise characters at 50 cents a pop – only to have the whole line implode, with a retreat back to the core line/characters and a 35/40 cent price point. A lot of potentially cool stuff went by the wayside there.

  6. All of us fans can bitch and moan till the cows come home but comics and mythologies are always changing and evolving, and evolution always means progress.

    You’re reading meanings into the comments that don’t exist — are even the opposite of the intended meanings. The death that they’re hyping is more a sign of creative desperation — a universal reboot followed by a death — than it is evolution. I’ve never read ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, and never will.

    SRS

  7. for months, these books have had DEATH OF SPIDERMAN emblazoned across them, and i gotta wade thru pages to get to the story cause we dont want to “spoil” it for people? and then see the BEAT chided for how the headlines on RSS “spoil” things???

    Here is a trend that has gotten out of hand. these spoiler crybabies just need a nap and their binkies and they will calm right down.

  8. Why are you skipping Bucky’s death?

    “Jamie Coville
    06/21/2011 AT 9:28 PM
    Remember Marvel announced they were going to “Kill a character in every quarter” in February.
    Human Torch was Q1, Ultimate Spider-Man is being squeezed just in under Q2.
    Anyway want to take bets on Q3?”

  9. “In all the myopic fanboy teeth/hand/brain gnashing going on around the Interweb, as usual the bigger picture is being lost: national/international news outlets are covering this story.”

    So what? The mainstream media is always chasing after the tabloid gossip item of the moment. This only gives them a momentary respite from non-presidential candidate celebrities taking bus rides, and Congress critters abusing Twitter. Ultimate Spider-Man dying is just another distraction from anything significant.

  10. You know, I’ve never read any of Marvels’ Ultimate books (no interest in them) and the idea of any superhero comic character’s death making any kind of headline these days is (IMO) laughable-
    I just wanted to write how much the headline made me laugh!
    (any Python reference at 8:00AM at work is fine by me)

  11. “Ultimate Spider-Man #1…is widely considered one of the most important comics of the century.”

    Wow. What a sad, ridiculous statement.

  12. “evolution always means progress.”

    The 1990s-model Dr.-Fate-with-knife, Teen Tony Stark, and Heroes Reborn suggest otherwise. Sometimes change in comics isn’t evolution, it’s just stunt-based trend-chasing that provokes justified cynicism.

    For that matter, weren’t the last two character deaths covered in the mainstream press Superman and Steve Rogers? And wasn’t Bendis the guy who told us Hawkeye was dead for realsies as of Avengers Dissassembled?

    I think there’s a lot less ganshing of teeth going on
    than there is a kind of weary annoyance that, far from evolving, superhero comics can’t think of anything that gets our attention any more beyond killing off characters in a bid for some free ink. Doesn’t it say something that the “awareness” people have of comics is that all the major plotlines seem to center on the production of gaudy corpses?

  13. with marvel placing so much emphasis on continuinity for the past few years, the irrelevance of the ultimate universe mitigates any interest i’d have in this plot twist

    plus..pricing the whole ultimate line at 3.99 makes it more of a nonstarter for me…

  14. “Wow. I’m not sure if I could care any less. Ultimate Universe, another dead character to drum up phony pathos (and temporary sales)… I only write here because I’m amazed at just how much I cannot work up any enthusiasm one way or another, and I surprised myself with that realization!”

    QFT

    Death of a major character in comics is becoming as commonplace as costume changes.

    Yawn!!!

  15. Look another (temporarely) dead super hero, YAWNnn…..zzzzzzz!

    Maybe they can have 4 new heroes fit for the mantle. A cyborg Spiderman, a spiderman ferom another time and place (Spidey 2099), a teenaged spiermand and a spider-man in a power armor. Oh wait, what that has been done in 1992 by DC? oh well.

  16. Bucky should be counted in Q3. He’s still alive in Captain America now, but died in this month’s issue of Fear Itself.

  17. How many people in the “real world” understand the difference between Spider-Man and the Ultimate Universe Spider-Man? (I wonder whether even the news media understood since it’s not very clear in the original article?)

    Most people in the mainstream are simply going to think that the Peter Parker they know from the films has “died,” not realizing that this is simply an alternate version.

  18. Cool! Harking back to the final days of the 2099 universe, Marvel kills off another imprint! In about a year or three, I’ll be able to buy USM v1 #1 for somewhere around cover price or so!

  19. This is a good book. It’s an important book to those who take the time to read it.

    How understandable is the story to someone who hasn’t read any of the preceding issues? That’s whom the publicity campaign was aimed at, not regular series fans. If the reaction of NPR’s Glen Weldon is an indication, the cynicism about the death will cancel out any response to the story per se. Marvel’s done the death thing too many times.

    SRS

  20. @John
    Okay, I’ll put it another way. “Following the storyline.”

    @Synsidar
    I don’t care about the publicity campaign, and I’d imagine neither does anyone who cares deeply about the story or its characters. I love Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, as well. I’ll read it and love it no matter what a press release says. If you haven’t read either of these stories, I recommend you do, for no other reason than they’re great. When I talk about comics, I love talking about how much I love them, and what they mean to me.

    I really don’t understand people’s interest in company press releases, when the meat of this industry is within the pages. There’s magic there, and to ignore it for debates over it’s coverage in the media, when you’ve never even read it (as many have stated in this thread) is just a shame.

    Don’t get me wrong. If that’s your thing, fine. It’s all part of talking shop. If you’ve read the book and don’t like it, fine. Just don’t forget why you’re interested in comics in the first place. For me, it’s not because I love seeing them mentioned in the press.

  21. “Wow. I’m a little sad that there has been no posting from anyone else who just got swept away in the story, and is excited to see where it goes next.”

    In fairness, this article is about the media coverage of the comic-book story, not the story itself.

    Me, I checked out once I heard the Green Gblin was back despite having also been “killed off for real” by Bendis during the book’s original incarnation. I’m sure it was all explained…but that storytelling decision rather blunted the one this story’s headed towards for obvious reasons.

  22. …and the press is about the content. Without content, the press is meaningless. Then again, so much of the media is, these days. I simply chose to focus on the meaning of this press, rather than just the fact that there is press. What can I say? I allow myself to be flexible that way.

    Heidi, if you want to do a post on how people feel about the actual story, I’ll be happy to jump over there. I read the last issue, and I’m super excited about it.

  23. I’m afraid that buying the issue just to see how the death is handled would betray my principles.

    I don’t have to read it, anyway, to know that continuing the series with _____ in the costume nullifies the point of the death. Parker’s death could have been background material in the first issue of the series, serving to inspire the hero; from that perspective, continuing the series renders the 160 preceding issues superfluous.

    An ending really is an essential part of a good story.

    SRS

  24. Making a death the selling point for a single issue of a series defeats the effort to make the death dramatic, IMO.

    How much more dramatic could the ending have been if Spider-Man and the Green Goblin had died, Aunt May died from the shock, and there was no more Spider-Man?

    Real endings are superior to artificial ones.

    SRS