I really don’t think that life story is a love letter. I think renew your vows is. In life story Peter is a dead beat dad and husband. He never learns how to prioritize being spiderman and Peter.
This mini-run was so cathartic. It finally gave Peter’s mythos a sense of finality and consequence beyond the night uncle ben died. We got to see how he’d naturally progress without the constant reboots, retcons and reimaginings. A beautiful send off to an icon if it were to ever happen imo.
@@mackandromeda9219 That's a separate universe altogether. It was never a reboot. Like Anthony said, Marvel doesn't restart its universe from scratch, like DC does. The problem is that they're constantly reverting to a previous status quo instead of letting their characters grow and let events to have long-lasting consequences. As if that wasn't enough, Marvel also uses a Sliding Timescale, which compreses the passing of time in the real world so much that characters don't age like they should.
Imagine if marvel made this into an animated series. Each season, a different decade. Expanding on what Zdarsky wanted to write about, but keeping the core events, just expanding on them.
@@chandlercarruthers8115 meh it’s not the same. Spider-Man just has so many journeys and fans can fill in the spaces. When it’s the Young Justice they skipped over soooo much developed from season 1 to season 2 it felt like such a waste. We can’t fill in the space with all those numerous characters the same way we could with Spider-Man. Even the issues themselves. They skipped over so much it upset me but I could still easily fill in the gabs in my head with good reason. Young Justice it’s to many characters and variables to do that. Season 4 has been good though
This is got to be the best Spider-Man comic in decades. It has the balls to do something that the main continuity of Marvel is petrified to do, actually let Spiderman grow up. I know the image of Spidey is of him being youthful, but God forbid he doesn't act like a high schooler anymore and has a wife and family.
I love how the comic portrayed Captain America and his relationship with spidey. Only things missing were his friendship with the human torch and his relationship with Wolverine and Daredevil.
Yeah. Also missing was Black Cat. especiallyhow during the 90's issue, we have peter with jessica jones instead. it would have been a nice nod to how peter and black cat were briefly a couple before he and mary jane reunited in the 90s
Chip Zdarsky said his one regret he had with this was not making it longer, with each issue instead being theit own arcs, kinda wish we could go see more of this world. I have to say though, if this was the norm, this wouldn't be as special, i'm glad this exist, but also, i'm glad Spider-Man is now a timeless character for the most part.
yeah. the final issues felt like minimum 3 issues combined. MAYBE if Life story had been at least a 12 issue maxi series (so it gave 2 issues per decade) it would have been probably better. long enough to tell the stories he wanted to tell, but not long enough to overstay its welcome
@@ianr.navahuber2195 yeah building out the world would’ve been nice, but I must admit I do kind of like that it’s short. Idk sometimes I’m in the mood for shorter reads and this is a really great one
Thats my one issue with this comic. I felt like there was a lot of story left on the table with making it 1 issue per decade. Went way too quick but damn it was good.
This is like Spider-Man/ Marvel's version of All Star Superman. Also, I consider this as the canonical story for the original version of Spidey first seen in Amazing Fantasy #15, which I think that's kind of what they were going for.
I don't remember where I read it, but I think Chip wanted a miniseries or at least a handful of issues for each decade, but editorial had it cut down to 6 issues. Still amazing, nonetheless.
@@jackson2189 I guess it's since through out every depiction of Spider-Man, we never saw our hero get a proper ending so when he finally did it was bittersweet
I always felt comics should be graphic novels with a beginning an d end. A story can't go on forever. I'm ok with this being the definitive Spider-Man.
I don't know I see current comics and Peter Parker looks wayyy younger than he should be. It doesn't make sense unless is a reboot or artists just like to draw him very childlike. Also why is Jameson still alive, he'd have like 100 years??
Alan Moore once wrote how part of The Dark Knight Returns' brilliance was that it gave the Batman character and mythos an ending, and thus a sense of completion that elevated it into a true legend. I'd argue that Life Story does the exact same thing for Spider-Man.
and I'd also argue Batman Beyond does the same (albeit a bit differently). We see this batman, who we've followed throughout multiple series, decrepit and old, and shell of his former self. And a new kid (terry mcginnis) comes along and takes up the batman identity, with bruce mentoring him along the way, and he puts his own distinct spin on the batman, instilling justice, honor among other into the streets of gotham, unlike bruce's vengeance which fuelled him but destroyed his personal life, terry is more accepting of friends and family and can become a better, brighter batman, and inspiring bruce aswell.
Especially if they brought back voice actors from different Spidey shows and games to play different characters during the different parts of their lives. That would really give it an extra sense of watching the legacy of Spider-Man unfold in its entirety.
@@mattixender3016 Paul soles for 60's Nicholas Hammond for 70's Ted Schwartz for 80's Christopher Daniel Barnes for 90's Josh Keaton for 2000's Yuri Lowenthal for 2010's Problem is though is that Schwartz passed away in 2014
So that's an interesting perspective Owen near the end, I didn't actually think that was Miles stopping the burglar, I thought it was Peter in the dream, and he makes the choice he regrets not making. But it being Miles also makes complete sense, as Peter would want his successor to learn from his mistakes, especially the biggest ones. The only crime with this book, is that it wasn't longer, Zdarsky initially wanted each decade to be a miniseries all on its own, but eventually settled on the issues, since they could have been there forever if they did that. I'm very happy that Zdarsky was able to tell his story, the dude knows his Spider-Man. What is so brilliant about this book is how it remixes the biggest moments of Spider-Man's life, and provides a realistic backdrop for those events to occur in. It all fits perfectly from start to finish, and really distilled the character is such a magnificent way. At the end of the day, Peter is just a guy trying to correct one mistake, and every person he saves is a way to atone for that error. It's the most human approach to Spider-Man in quite some time, I hope Zdarsky gets to write more Spidey in the future!
I agree. It was peter under the mask at the end. It was his internal happy ending. This story was great. I wish 616 Peter had this level of emotional maturity. Nick Spencer is trying to return Peter’s sense of responsibility in Amazing, but Chip is writing him better in Daredevil. I would love a Spidey/Daredevil miniseries or arc from him in the future. They both could help each other; Matt can expand Peter’s scope and help him mature, Peter can be a sounding board for Matt( in a different way than Foggy is) helping him from crossing the line again, but also to lighten up every once in a while and not become consumed by darkness and depression. Kinda like what Superman’s friendship does for Batman.
I think one of the marks of a great comic is when the biggest knock on it is, "it should have been longer!" It just shows what a fantastic idea it was to tell a chronologically accurate Spidey story!
Jessie Christian precisely. I actually wish Chip writing Amazing instead, even though I have been enjoying What Nick has been doing, although his pacing with Kindred could be better( but I suspect that has more to do with editorial than him).
"Mary jane watson, youre my jack-pot." Oh. My. God. That was incredible. Actually tearing up. Id love to see this in movie form but i also dont want the character to die and stay dead and i dont want everyone to be 90 in the modern day but as this story sits, is truly amazing. No pun intended. I love this story and it ended perfectly. Sooo powerful.
Honestly I feel like this series is slept on big time. It mixes all of the best spiderman stories or at least elements of them while having him age along the way
Its been a while since I last read the series but I always thought the ending meant Peter finally managed to make up for his greatest failure by saving everyone on Earth. Visualized by him stopping the mugger that killed Uncle Ben.
Apart from the deeper meaning behind the storyline, I like how due to being allow to age naturally, we got to see how Peter's age affected his spider powers level of strength. Such as how he crushed Normal Osborn's glider with his bare hands rather than dodge it, and how as he approached old age, his body could no longer react in tune with his spider sense. (I also like the many different costumes Peter wore through the years in the story.)
I mean, you could argue that the MCU Iron Man is an Iron Man Life Story run in and of itself. It's a definitive beginning to end story of Tony Stark since the beginning of his time as Iron Man to his death.
I always saw it as Peter finally forgiving himself for letting Ben die, and in doing so for the first time in his life, he dreams of STOPPING the mugger instead of letting him get away. I mean, it's Peter's dream about how and why Ben died, why would he dream of Miles?
Exactly, I think he misinterpreted it. Most definitely Peter learning to forgive himself. He spent so long being Spiderman out of guilt, but now he can rest. He no longer sees Ben die every night, now its a good dream.
This comic demonstrates really well the problem that the regular comic series of Spider-Man has, not letting the character grow up in a big and significant way.
I'd love it if chip zdarsky did more of the life story series for other marvel characters in the same vein as Spider-Man id love to read daredevil life story, captain america life story, iron man life story, fantastic four life story and X-men life story also maybe life stories for hulk, Thor Odinson and Ant man and wasp
Same here, my favourite Marvel hero is Captain America and I think that it would be cool to perhaps do the Cap A one depicting his life from after being woken up in the 1960s on wards and to follow his life with all of the various crisis's and issues that America made or went though, over the decades. I know that the comics have done that all though the character's history but it would be nice to see it done in a more realistic way. We have had it done with a vast number of WW2 era stories and flash backs, but it would be nice to see it done for the out time years as well It and, also all of the other characters (plus perhaps a few teams such as a series about an ageing FF for one....) and maybe make it all connect into a shared universe perhaps. Nothing as big and grand as Earth 616, that'll most likely will always be with us, but one that is made a up of a few mini series would work really well.
Thor lifestory would be very long or have a lot of timeskips lol but I'd love to delve into his non-marvel stories. I'm sure he's fought villains such as the frost giants that other characters have faced or ever heard of.
Life Story will become a classic and iconic Spider-man comic. Maybe what Dark knight and Long Halloween are for Batman. Is just such a good representation of the character that it is a must read for any Spidey fan.
Spiderman was always about a kid growing up. And any comics have really nailed that aspect. but what they never explored was a man growingn up with time. I just feel that this is one of the best spiderman comics i have ever read, up with the OG stan-lee era stories and ultimate spiderman comics. My favourite issue of the series is actualy the first one, because i always feel that 1960 was THE golden age for superheroes like spiderman. But i really respect all the other issues, and the final panel is so good that it made every fan cry. In a way, I actualy liked the fact that there were only 6 issues exploring the 6 decades of spiderman mythos. It made it concise, cut a lot of the fat, and forced the writers to really take the best of the character's history and iplement it in a linear time.
I only cried 2 times in my entire life reading a comic book. Im 38 years old now. Spiderman Life Story make it 3rd time. Damn Also, note they actually "fixed" the Clone Saga. Masterpiece.
The reception to this series has really surprised me - and proven how subjective all our reactions are - as Life Story is not a good representation of Spider-Man at all, at least to my understanding of the character. Had the series been longer and expanded on each decade, then it *may* have worked. But with each arc being so brief whilst simultaneously compressing enormous arcs, you don't get any sense of Peter Parker - the one we all love - just a grimdark man full of anger and self pity lurching from one crisis to the next. It's not until the later chapters that he begins to feel a little more like Peter, but by then it's too late. Bagley's artwork, on the other hand, is career best stuff. He's (IMO) the definitive Spidey artist and he makes the best of what he has to work with, even with the pacing being the exact opposite of USM. So it's an odd one. I like the concept but feel that the execution missed the mark. Yet I'm clearly in the minority, which is cool. Plenty of great Spidey stories out there for us all to enjoy.
@@mayotango1317 Oh God, dude, stop. He's just commenting how the comic should've paced much more slowly, and here you are, calling him a "MCU Spidey fanboy" as if it's some kind of slur. You must be the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons in real life, huh?
I always pictured businessman Peter Parker of Parker Industries as like the old version of Michael J Fox in Back to the Future part 2 for some reason. I feel like they'd have the same energy.
Loved this story. Lots of little side bits that were great, but sad. Aunt May's decline... Cap's stance on Vietnam...the Kraven story played up even better... Reed's isolation... Dr. Doom taking over during the Civil War.
I felt the final dream was Peter realising, despite the tragedy, he felt he had done so much good, he was able to change the nightmares knowing he did good. That he took responsibility. That he made Uncle Ben proud.
Zdarsky's final issue of Spectacular Spider-Man was great too. I don't think any other writer at current Marvel understands Spider-Man the way he does.
Aw man. I wish you added the piece where Venom was there helping Peter with holding the station before it explodes. However, the video was one hell of an essay. Made me more emotional 😂
One thing I think should've been mentioned were the covers for this mini-series. I think that the covers for Life Story perfectly reflect the story that was being told for each issue.
I really really love Spider-Man but one thing I truly hate about Spider-Man lore is that it seems like they're always intentionally ignoring that Gwen Stacy ever existed. She's always killed or a clone and as much as I really love Spider-Gwen, I just wish the main 616 Gwen was something more then the first love who's always fated to die. Stories like Spider-Man Blue really hammer home why I like her much more than Mary Jane. And with her representation in both The Spectacular and Amazing Spider-Man and what she was to Peter is something I'll always wish there was more of in both the comics and newer films and possibly even games.
If you want some really cool 616 Gwen Stacy content, you should read the most recent "Gwen Stacy" run by Christos Cage. It's preatty good, but also a bit dense at time.
14:44 that's a very clever and really tragic adaptation of the classic "If this be my destiny" when you think about it. replacing peter's epic achievement of moving the machinery that was in danger of killing him with something more tragic as peter trying to save as many people he could from the rubble from the twin towers during 9/11 after already retiring from being spider man
I Was a massive fan and had every single issue including Amazing Fantasy #15 until that pathetic abomination of a story one more day/brand new day then I sold my collection and disappeared from reading comics.I'm still not seeing how selling your marriage to the devil fits under with great power comes great responsibility.
I really really happy that all the Parker-spider fans I have seen all agree that Peter would never sell his marriage. And that it was a story that none of us like, agree with or plan on accepting.
I think they could have better rephrased it, by Mephisto asking them to Sacrifice their Love and Future with Each other as the Price. Specifically mentioning "Marriage" was just a bad move imo. But still, I think that could have worked a lot better than what we got. But then again, the Writers took Risks and Revelled against the Tradition (it just that it didn't work in this case). Todd McFarlane's entire Spidey Run was based on that Ideology. From the way he Started Drawing Spider-Man in a more Edgy "90s" Style, to How he contorted his body, to how Edgy the Spider-Man short got that was given to him.
They made it….. better, recently. The story still sucks, but now we know why Mephisto was actually interested in nullifying Parker’s marriage: Parker’s daughter, May, is going to kill the Devil.
I just got this book and finished reading it and I can finally understand why this is a very great story to be remembered. It did what I never thought it could ever do. Tell a story of Spider-Man going through his life through as you said 'in real time' and did it in a way that was believable and grounded. What I fundamentally enjoyed about this story as a whole is how we are Peter's mindset, how being a hero really impacts the people around him, his highs and lows and what truly makes him not only relatable but inspiring. Seriously, it made me see why I love this character so much and why he will STILL be my favourite superhero/fictional character period. I thank you for covering what made this story great and I personally feel that if Stan Lee was here right now, he would absolutely love this story.
This would make a FANTASTIC Disney + live action mini series. I know it’s a long shot but just imagine a 10 part mini series, with every 2 episodes focusing on a decade and fleshing out those stories. And they’d all be 45 mins to an hour long. God it would be a masterpiece if handled well.
I really liked it, but it reminds me a lot of Superman/Batman: Generations by John Byrne. Not only follows the same premise, but has many similarities.
I’d love to see more of the ‘Life Story’ style for every major character in comics. Though I will say, what makes it work so well for Spider-Man is that he’s a character defined by his youth and growth, but lives in a paradox where he can never truly grow or age. I think Superman would be another great character to use this style for, as the TV series Smallville really expanded on the idea of a gentle kind-hearted boy growing into a man and then an inspirational Superman paragon. Plus, Superman naturally aging slowly could allow for some interesting changes in settings and status quos. Although, it could prove to be very depressing in that way too ig 😂
They generally have him as a young adult or high schooler so it’s refreshing to finally see spidey have a full life. I think this has a good impact with spidey specifically because he’s generally a young adult or high schooler.
The fact that Spiderman Life Story was able to capture both the history of our world, alongside the comics was amazing! Even though watching a movie version of this may seem impossible, this comic book is the stepping stone to read other comics with greater stories!
God that was beautiful, I never got to finish reading Spider-Man Real Time, there something about Peter's last dream, something about Miles wearing the og costume, something about all of the era's of Spider-Man paying off into one whole story. Something about seeing Spider-Man get his life and legacy, I feel like because of his popularity Spider-Man obviously can never stop. For instance even though I really enjoyed the latest Spider-Man run, it made me feel like Peter's life was never gonna be happy, Peter was always gonna continue suffering forever. And seeing this version of Spider-Man, the version where he finally did enough, where he finally made all the pain and suffering worth it. He didn't die in Otto's body, he wasn't killed brutally by a foe, he didn't lose his family. Peter died on his own terms. Putting Kraven and Venom to rest, reforming Otto, saving Miles, and the world. And he was proud of his decision. I especially love that he put faith in Otto to return Miles's body, and Otto didn't betray him. And like I said Miles taking up the mantel as Spider-Man, in that orignal suit, with Peter and Mary's blessings was just beautiful. It's also amazing that the whole mini-series was drawn by Mark Bagley, because he's always drawn my favorite version of Peter Parker, it gives me a feeling as if Ultimate Spider-Man actually got to live his life. (note: He doesn't draw my favorite version of Spider-Man, that's hands down Esad Ribić's version from Secret Wars 2015, Spectacular Art) But yeah all together this series is what I'll always see as Peter's true life and conclusion, despite whatever happens to him in the future. And Owen this video was amazing, I love the recap and I thank you for allowing me to finally know the conclusion of this Amazing Story.
I love Spider-Man I’ve always looked up to him and the lessons he thought me I hope to be even half the man he is and I know he is a fictional character but he has taught me a lot about being a good person and always caring about others before yourself
While I know everyone is talking about how they what it was longer, I just wish we could have something like this for a ton of other characters. Imagine one with the fantastic four where they begin to pass down the title to a new generation of heroes with their kids taking over Seeing cap in Vietnam and his perspective on the entire thing. Seeing iron man growing hardened by the wars he has to fight and seeing him try to keep up with modern technology as it advances. Seeing the punisher as he grows too old for this shit And more. I actually think the X-men would work really well for this style of story. You could probably make a long series with it since the roster of the X-men is technically always changing. It would also be I interesting to see how the x-men deal with a lot of the issues brought up in the story.
Finally, a Spider-Man story where Peter is not needlessly tortured, maimed, ruined just for garbage shock value or pointlessly rebooted over and over. He gets to not only grow up, but his death is one he makes peace with and is an amazing sacrifice.
This was the comic I used to finally dive into the comics after just learning about the stories online. Never thought a story with my favorite character ever would make me cry like a baby
@@moldvox Get your tribalism bullshit out of here! No one owns the concept of a superhero case study. Superman & Batman: Generations was create by John Byrne.
As someone who has always loved Spider-Man and especially Venom, I think the best part of this comic run that you unfortunately left out(I understand why for the flow) is Venom’s final goodbye to Peter. Peter was Venom’s first human partner and its perfect match. The way Venom uses its last moments to help Peter and uses the spider symbol to show this is genuinely beautiful. It’s an incredible way to cap out Venom’s story before finishing off Peter’s. And I adore the ending dream. I don’t see it as Miles stopping the robber but as Peter seeing that he was able to finally come to peace with his life. I love your videos, Owen, this video especially.
this take is really interesting that i actually really like because he realistically grows up and leaves behind a legacy. I await the day that the mainline spider man actually does this
I love the 3 act structure of the video I agree with you you this is such a love letter to the character of Spider-Man. Peter Parkers growth is so well done
Now THIS is how you pass a super hero mantle, respecting the original by giving his journey closure setting up the new generation with their on heroes and villains.
for those unclear on how old some of the characters are exactly, i’ll clarify Peter and his friends were born in 1947 (hehe, boomers lol) The twins were born in 1984 and if they’re keeping the trend of aging in real time for Miles, then Miles Morales would’ve been born in 1997-1998 it’s a bit unclear for Miles since in his original run from 2011 it’s made clear he’s 13 meaning he’d be born in 1998 but in a later issue in the same run he says he’s almost 14 meaning he’d be born in 1997. It’s not clear if he’d be turning 14 that same calendar year or the next so that’s why i estimated for him a calculator can help you figure out their ages but to save some time these are their ages by 2019: Peter and his generation (Baby Boomers)- 72 Claire and Benji (millennials/Gen Y)- 35 Miles (Gen Z)- 21-22
Spider-Man is my favorite superhero and while I disagree with people saying Peter Parker’s Spider-Man should be put to rest because then you should say that about any superhero created before the year 2000 but the reason why it’s because these characters we know and love are great and want everyone to experience them and be glad that newer people get to experience them as we did and we should be grateful that Spider-Man is still around and while he’s had miss steps here and there he’s still perfect chip zadarsky did the characters justice with this series and Nick Spencer is doing the character justice after slott ruined him a bit but as long as people are loving Spider-Man in the comics right now then just keep him alive so we can keep on loving him
18:06 Is it really Miles? I thought that was Peter being in the afterlife, haivng learned of his own life story, this time after learning his mistakes. Hence why "this isn't me beating myself. this time. it's a good dream"
Man, Kraven really is a psycho, to the point that he believes he's granting somebody a mercy by literally killing them before the grow old, whether they're actually comfortable with the idea or not. It has some historical merit, but definitely not the way Kraven sees it.
I’d love to see other Marvel heroes get similar treatment. A universe where each character gets to age, go through their arcs, and pass the mantle to their successors. Cap, Daredevil, and Ant Man would be awesome in such a continuity.
This run was endlessly quotable. Chip has an intimate understanding of the heroes he writes. Him and El Ewing have definitely revived my interest in ongoing series.
I bought these in individual issues when they were coming out, but I enjoy them so much, I kind of want to buy the trade paperback just to support Zdarsky that much more. Some of his work on Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man was also fantastic and I wish he some day gets the chance to write the main Amazing title and really give us something special - maybe after he leaves his excellent mark on Daredevil... :P Great video!
When I did work on my marvel universe I always wanted to have my universe follow in slightly real life times like Greg Wiseman with young justice like having Peter Parker as spider man in his teens and over his teenage life learning to grow up and move on like real people or have Xavier and Magneto part of the original x men back in the late 80's and how in the late 2010's turn theme into what they are over the years
I interpreted the ending as Peter finishing the story he tried to tell MJ in the beginning of the issue. It's not him passing the torch, it's Pete forgiving himself. Bringing his arc full circle. He's tortured himself for decades for failing to save Ben, seeing it every night he sleeps. But it's different now. Its a good dream. He finally saves Ben and learns to move on.
Jeez, I wish I heard about this story sooner! I started liking Spider-Man as a kid in the '70s. "The Night Gwen Stacy Died". Very traumatic as a 8-year-old, but I fell in love w/him & never looked back. And now? Tied for 1st place in my heart w/Wolverine. And hearing how this story played out made me realize that There are SO many folks who are key to Spidey's everlasting appeal. Of course Lee & Ditko, but the Romitas John, Sr. & Jr., Ross Andru, Gil Kane, Sam Giacomo, Gerry Conway, Jim Shooter, legends all. But, upon seeing this, I now know that the guy who did most for this character has to be Mark Bagley. As artist & writer, he developed the look & the stories most associated w/Spidey. That's kinda awesome! We'll always have the masters, but Bags deserves to be listed amongst them. Oh, yeah, another thing I've seen is that, to have these characters stay relevant, we NEED to have the Floating Time device, but it's very hard for a guy like me to not think that it can somewhat not work. I mean, Marvels big properties came from the '60s & '70s, but replacing cultural references is very off-putting to how we see the current stories. The civil rights movement, Cold War, Vietnam & the Watergate angst are very much linked to MY Marvel memories. The way they're developing generic replacement for key real-world moments seem to take away from their creations. The Punisher & Iron-Man alone are shackled to Vietnam & the "SiamCong Wars" feels like a hollow replacement. And what will happen when Eric Lehnsherr becomes too old to be a Holocaust Survivor? Make him Croatian or an Albanian Kosovan? I know their genocides are horrible, but making Magneto one of them takes some of Mags' epic tragedy away.
Well sir, as a guy who's far younger than you (and to be honest, you're probably old enough to be my parent), I think Iron Man's modern origin now being tied to Afghanistan instead of Vietnam is done quite well in my opinion.
@@theobuniel9643 Well, I admit it works, but the War On Terrorism was an easy swap. We made the same mistakes there as 'Nam. And while the WOT can also be applied to Punisher almost as easily, it loses some of the character's issues of going too far & PTSD. Marvel's attempt to thread the needle w/the Siamcong thing was just stupid. There was no attempt to build the Siamcong war into a seminal event. They must've thought the name change was enough.
Y'know what I like? How Claire looks like Mayday Parker from the Spider-Girl books. Given how much I love that character, I REALLY hope that was intentional on the creative team's part.
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It was great man! =D
I disagree with you on JLA dark Apokolips
This is truly a love letter, the question is will we see this Main Stream as in a movie series tv show or game
The best one yet is ps4
I really don’t think that life story is a love letter. I think renew your vows is. In life story Peter is a dead beat dad and husband. He never learns how to prioritize being spiderman and Peter.
Bro the names
This mini-run was so cathartic. It finally gave Peter’s mythos a sense of finality and consequence beyond the night uncle ben died. We got to see how he’d naturally progress without the constant reboots, retcons and reimaginings. A beautiful send off to an icon if it were to ever happen imo.
There havent been any reboots. Time just doesnt flow quickly
anthony marciano Ultimate Spider-man?
@@mackandromeda9219 That's a separate universe altogether. It was never a reboot.
Like Anthony said, Marvel doesn't restart its universe from scratch, like DC does. The problem is that they're constantly reverting to a previous status quo instead of letting their characters grow and let events to have long-lasting consequences.
As if that wasn't enough, Marvel also uses a Sliding Timescale, which compreses the passing of time in the real world so much that characters don't age like they should.
Those arent reboots they are just stories
A reboot is starting continuity over from the beginning
Imagine if marvel made this into an animated series. Each season, a different decade. Expanding on what Zdarsky wanted to write about, but keeping the core events, just expanding on them.
It probably be the greatest marvel animated series
I would be the happiest man on the planet if that was announced
I'd 100% be down and would pay a ton of money for that
Young justice is shaping up to be this, with the characters having aged 10 years over the 4 seasons of the show
@@chandlercarruthers8115 meh it’s not the same. Spider-Man just has so many journeys and fans can fill in the spaces. When it’s the Young Justice they skipped over soooo much developed from season 1 to season 2 it felt like such a waste. We can’t fill in the space with all those numerous characters the same way we could with Spider-Man. Even the issues themselves. They skipped over so much it upset me but I could still easily fill in the gabs in my head with good reason. Young Justice it’s to many characters and variables to do that. Season 4 has been good though
This is got to be the best Spider-Man comic in decades. It has the balls to do something that the main continuity of Marvel is petrified to do, actually let Spiderman grow up. I know the image of Spidey is of him being youthful, but God forbid he doesn't act like a high schooler anymore and has a wife and family.
He's on and off when it comes to spouses or family.
thats the thing that annoys me the most! How many times does spiderman have to stay a kid for goodness sakes.
@@RayMetalcore yeah I'm sick of it
Couldn’t agree more
Im MCU is going there, the first trilogy will be his teenage days, yhe other two trilogies he would be in college and then have a job
I love how the comic portrayed Captain America and his relationship with spidey. Only things missing were his friendship with the human torch and his relationship with Wolverine and Daredevil.
Yeah. Also missing was Black Cat. especiallyhow during the 90's issue, we have peter with jessica jones instead.
it would have been a nice nod to how peter and black cat were briefly a couple before he and mary jane reunited in the 90s
@@ianr.navahuber2195
True.
He wanted to do them but he didn't have enough time or space to cover them
@@ianr.navahuber2195 That was the most dissapointing part for me as Black Cat is my favourite spidey partner.
here's hoping we get snippets of spidey's other friends in life story comics for other heroes
This is the spiderman we deserved. A husband. A father. An adult. A *man.*
A hero
Chip Zdarsky said his one regret he had with this was not making it longer, with each issue instead being theit own arcs, kinda wish we could go see more of this world. I have to say though, if this was the norm, this wouldn't be as special, i'm glad this exist, but also, i'm glad Spider-Man is now a timeless character for the most part.
yeah. the final issues felt like minimum 3 issues combined. MAYBE if Life story had been at least a 12 issue maxi series (so it gave 2 issues per decade) it would have been probably better. long enough to tell the stories he wanted to tell, but not long enough to overstay its welcome
@@ianr.navahuber2195 yeah building out the world would’ve been nice, but I must admit I do kind of like that it’s short. Idk sometimes I’m in the mood for shorter reads and this is a really great one
honestly was far too short.
I feel each decade should get 3 issues to properly flesh them out.
Thats my one issue with this comic. I felt like there was a lot of story left on the table with making it 1 issue per decade. Went way too quick but damn it was good.
Life Story is probably my favorite Spider-Man comic ever. It's a masterpiece.
Would you say it's... spectacular?
@@tornadochaser2457 AAAAAAAAAAAAAY
@Tornado Chaser Amazing
I don’t get Civil War part of the story. Maybe it’s some allegory on 00s in US I don’t get.
@@tornadochaser2457
No, it’s the *Ultimate* tale to our beloved hero.
This is like Spider-Man/ Marvel's version of All Star Superman. Also, I consider this as the canonical story for the original version of Spidey first seen in Amazing Fantasy #15, which I think that's kind of what they were going for.
It’s not canon,
It’s not canon, it doesn’t matter what you think, it’s not canonical at all. And it’s not the main, prime spider man from earth 616
Honestly the only drawback is I wish each decade got 2 issues instead of just one to flesh it out just a little more but still a very nice story
I don't remember where I read it, but I think Chip wanted a miniseries or at least a handful of issues for each decade, but editorial had it cut down to 6 issues. Still amazing, nonetheless.
Pablo Meyer a miniseries for each decade would be awesome! It could have allowed them to show some other characters get their full arcs as well.
yep same i hope they come back to it and give it flehing oout
Idk why this made me cry, but I'm glad some one did a full real time story of spider man
Oh, I wept like child when I first read it. This was nice.
Same, the ending had me sobbing. He finally found peace.
@@jackson2189 I guess it's since through out every depiction of Spider-Man, we never saw our hero get a proper ending so when he finally did it was bittersweet
on god i cried so hard that my 3rd baby tooth finally came out
The great thing about this comic is that it continues Peter Parker's story as it should be, instead of constant reboots which I hate
José Sarango *cough*One More Day*cough*
I always felt comics should be graphic novels with a beginning an d end. A story can't go on forever. I'm ok with this being the definitive Spider-Man.
Why does everybody keep saying there are reboots? Marvel does not reboot
anthony marciano exactly like they've had one major reboot and it was a soft one that didn't erase the history or really rewrite it
I don't know I see current comics and Peter Parker looks wayyy younger than he should be. It doesn't make sense unless is a reboot or artists just like to draw him very childlike. Also why is Jameson still alive, he'd have like 100 years??
Alan Moore once wrote how part of The Dark Knight Returns' brilliance was that it gave the Batman character and mythos an ending, and thus a sense of completion that elevated it into a true legend.
I'd argue that Life Story does the exact same thing for Spider-Man.
and I'd also argue Batman Beyond does the same (albeit a bit differently).
We see this batman, who we've followed throughout multiple series, decrepit and old, and shell of his former self.
And a new kid (terry mcginnis) comes along and takes up the batman identity, with bruce mentoring him along the way, and he puts his own distinct spin on the batman, instilling justice, honor among other into the streets of gotham, unlike bruce's vengeance which fuelled him but destroyed his personal life, terry is more accepting of friends and family and can become a better, brighter batman, and inspiring bruce aswell.
If Marvel continued to do direct to DVD animated films like DC, I think this would be a great story for them to adapt.
Especially if they brought back voice actors from different Spidey shows and games to play different characters during the different parts of their lives. That would really give it an extra sense of watching the legacy of Spider-Man unfold in its entirety.
@@mattixender3016
Paul soles for 60's
Nicholas Hammond for 70's
Ted Schwartz for 80's
Christopher Daniel Barnes for 90's
Josh Keaton for 2000's
Yuri Lowenthal for 2010's
Problem is though is that Schwartz passed away in 2014
@@mattixender3016 DUDDDDEEEEEE YES
@@queend9604 There's still Dan Gilvezan (who played Spidey in the '80s Amazing Friends cartoon), yes...?
@@evandavid2816 nvm then. We have no problem
So that's an interesting perspective Owen near the end, I didn't actually think that was Miles stopping the burglar, I thought it was Peter in the dream, and he makes the choice he regrets not making. But it being Miles also makes complete sense, as Peter would want his successor to learn from his mistakes, especially the biggest ones.
The only crime with this book, is that it wasn't longer, Zdarsky initially wanted each decade to be a miniseries all on its own, but eventually settled on the issues, since they could have been there forever if they did that. I'm very happy that Zdarsky was able to tell his story, the dude knows his Spider-Man.
What is so brilliant about this book is how it remixes the biggest moments of Spider-Man's life, and provides a realistic backdrop for those events to occur in. It all fits perfectly from start to finish, and really distilled the character is such a magnificent way. At the end of the day, Peter is just a guy trying to correct one mistake, and every person he saves is a way to atone for that error. It's the most human approach to Spider-Man in quite some time, I hope Zdarsky gets to write more Spidey in the future!
I agree. It was peter under the mask at the end. It was his internal happy ending. This story was great. I wish 616 Peter had this level of emotional maturity. Nick Spencer is trying to return Peter’s sense of responsibility in Amazing, but Chip is writing him better in Daredevil. I would love a Spidey/Daredevil miniseries or arc from him in the future. They both could help each other; Matt can expand Peter’s scope and help him mature, Peter can be a sounding board for Matt( in a different way than Foggy is) helping him from crossing the line again, but also to lighten up every once in a while and not become consumed by darkness and depression. Kinda like what Superman’s friendship does for Batman.
I think one of the marks of a great comic is when the biggest knock on it is, "it should have been longer!" It just shows what a fantastic idea it was to tell a chronologically accurate Spidey story!
yeah Nick is doing a fine job, but Zdarsky writes Peter like an adult, which is nice to see!
@@PurpleWolferine agreed!
Jessie Christian precisely. I actually wish Chip writing Amazing instead, even though I have been enjoying What Nick has been doing, although his pacing with Kindred could be better( but I suspect that has more to do with editorial than him).
Chip Zadarsky is so underrated. His current Daredevil run is amazing.
Dude, I'm loving Daredevil right now!!!
Oh it’s Phenomenal dude
He is one of the best writters right now.
His Fantastic Four/X-Men miniseries going on right now is incredible as well
I don’t think he is underrated anymore, dude nails just about every character he puts his hands on
"Mary jane watson, youre my jack-pot." Oh. My. God. That was incredible. Actually tearing up. Id love to see this in movie form but i also dont want the character to die and stay dead and i dont want everyone to be 90 in the modern day but as this story sits, is truly amazing. No pun intended. I love this story and it ended perfectly. Sooo powerful.
Honestly I feel like this series is slept on big time. It mixes all of the best spiderman stories or at least elements of them while having him age along the way
That scene where Peter goes to his kids and Mary Jane in the 90s made me cry when I first read it , it was so beautiful and pure
Its been a while since I last read the series but I always thought the ending meant Peter finally managed to make up for his greatest failure by saving everyone on Earth. Visualized by him stopping the mugger that killed Uncle Ben.
i thoguth that was him in the afterlife, this being his reward. hence the "it's a good dream"
hbeen awhile
Apart from the deeper meaning behind the storyline, I like how due to being allow to age naturally,
we got to see how Peter's age affected his spider powers level of strength.
Such as how he crushed Normal Osborn's glider with his bare hands rather than dodge it,
and how as he approached old age, his body could no longer react in tune with his spider sense.
(I also like the many different costumes Peter wore through the years in the story.)
I wish we got more "Life Stories" on other characters like Iron Man. I feel like some of them deserve it.
I haven't read the new Fantastic Four Life Story yet, but I hear that's very good.
I mean, you could argue that the MCU Iron Man is an Iron Man Life Story run in and of itself. It's a definitive beginning to end story of Tony Stark since the beginning of his time as Iron Man to his death.
“It’s a good dream.” That last line and panel gives me absolute goosebumps, jeez this version of Peter is just awesome
Who's cutting onions? Not cool.
As a grown adult, I too admit I teared up reading Life Story!
Whoever’s cutting those onions, knock it off.
Definitely they need to stop cutting those onions
This is why I like spider man read the comics and I can relate to the character with problems that I have before. This is truly a masterpiece.
Same
I always saw it as Peter finally forgiving himself for letting Ben die, and in doing so for the first time in his life, he dreams of STOPPING the mugger instead of letting him get away. I mean, it's Peter's dream about how and why Ben died, why would he dream of Miles?
Exactly, I think he misinterpreted it. Most definitely Peter learning to forgive himself. He spent so long being Spiderman out of guilt, but now he can rest. He no longer sees Ben die every night, now its a good dream.
This comic demonstrates really well the problem that the regular comic series of Spider-Man has, not letting the character grow up in a big and significant way.
Damn, now I kinda love the idea of miles only being introduced when peter is old, this would make so much sense
I'd love it if chip zdarsky did more of the life story series for other marvel characters in the same vein as Spider-Man id love to read daredevil life story, captain america life story, iron man life story, fantastic four life story and X-men life story also maybe life stories for hulk, Thor Odinson and Ant man and wasp
Same here, my favourite Marvel hero is Captain America and I think that it would be cool to perhaps do the Cap A one depicting his life from after being woken up in the 1960s on wards and to follow his life with all of the various crisis's and issues that America made or went though, over the decades.
I know that the comics have done that all though the character's history but it would be nice to see it done in a more realistic way.
We have had it done with a vast number of WW2 era stories and flash backs, but it would be nice to see it done for the out time years as well
It and, also all of the other characters (plus perhaps a few teams such as a series about an ageing FF for one....) and maybe make it all connect into a shared universe perhaps.
Nothing as big and grand as Earth 616, that'll most likely will always be with us, but one that is made a up of a few mini series would work really well.
Fantastic four have got their own life story, but not by zdarsky
@@markercrayon457 keep in mind I made this comment made a long time before that even existed
Thor lifestory would be very long or have a lot of timeskips lol but I'd love to delve into his non-marvel stories. I'm sure he's fought villains such as the frost giants that other characters have faced or ever heard of.
I'd prefer if he weren't the one to do Iron Man Life Story; Zdarsky handles his character in a very disagreeable way for me.
Life Story will become a classic and iconic Spider-man comic. Maybe what Dark knight and Long Halloween are for Batman. Is just such a good representation of the character that it is a must read for any Spidey fan.
That moment when the clone saga actually works in a side comic
yasss
Spiderman was always about a kid growing up. And any comics have really nailed that aspect. but what they never explored was a man growingn up with time. I just feel that this is one of the best spiderman comics i have ever read, up with the OG stan-lee era stories and ultimate spiderman comics. My favourite issue of the series is actualy the first one, because i always feel that 1960 was THE golden age for superheroes like spiderman. But i really respect all the other issues, and the final panel is so good that it made every fan cry. In a way, I actualy liked the fact that there were only 6 issues exploring the 6 decades of spiderman mythos. It made it concise, cut a lot of the fat, and forced the writers to really take the best of the character's history and iplement it in a linear time.
I only cried 2 times in my entire life reading a comic book. Im 38 years old now. Spiderman Life Story make it 3rd time. Damn
Also, note they actually "fixed" the Clone Saga. Masterpiece.
Spider man with venom=Goes bad and evil.
A ex bully(flash)=Become humble and a hero among the galaxies.
Ngl Flash probably has the best character development out of all of the Spider Family
Ooo interesting point
@@kobi7955 He was allowed to grow and change. Unlike poor Peter, but I blame editorial for his stunted growth.
Why don't you join Marvel.... oh wait.
The reception to this series has really surprised me - and proven how subjective all our reactions are - as Life Story is not a good representation of Spider-Man at all, at least to my understanding of the character.
Had the series been longer and expanded on each decade, then it *may* have worked. But with each arc being so brief whilst simultaneously compressing enormous arcs, you don't get any sense of Peter Parker - the one we all love - just a grimdark man full of anger and self pity lurching from one crisis to the next. It's not until the later chapters that he begins to feel a little more like Peter, but by then it's too late.
Bagley's artwork, on the other hand, is career best stuff. He's (IMO) the definitive Spidey artist and he makes the best of what he has to work with, even with the pacing being the exact opposite of USM.
So it's an odd one. I like the concept but feel that the execution missed the mark. Yet I'm clearly in the minority, which is cool. Plenty of great Spidey stories out there for us all to enjoy.
You must be a MCU Spider-Man fanboy.
@@mayotango1317
He have a good point though. The comics should be a bit more longer.
@@mayotango1317 Oh God, dude, stop. He's just commenting how the comic should've paced much more slowly, and here you are, calling him a "MCU Spidey fanboy" as if it's some kind of slur.
You must be the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons in real life, huh?
Bagley is the greatest 👌
I always pictured businessman Peter Parker of Parker Industries as like the old version of Michael J Fox in Back to the Future part 2 for some reason. I feel like they'd have the same energy.
Honestly I see that. The fact Michael J Fox never played Spider-Man will always be a missed opportunity.
Loved this story. Lots of little side bits that were great, but sad. Aunt May's decline... Cap's stance on Vietnam...the Kraven story played up even better... Reed's isolation... Dr. Doom taking over during the Civil War.
I felt the final dream was Peter realising, despite the tragedy, he felt he had done so much good, he was able to change the nightmares knowing he did good. That he took responsibility. That he made Uncle Ben proud.
Same his legacy will live on
I absolutely loved this mini, the way it did the Clone Saga and Superior was just beautiful
The fact that a description of a story is enough to make me cry is a testament to how incredible Life Story is
That's fucking hilarious. The Vietnam war with INTERVENING SUPERHEROES and the end result is STILL the same. Absolute gold.
Zdarsky's final issue of Spectacular Spider-Man was great too. I don't think any other writer at current Marvel understands Spider-Man the way he does.
I really liked Life Story, there were a few things that didn't add up or make sense but other than that soooo good and Bagley fucking KILLED IT
Aw man. I wish you added the piece where Venom was there helping Peter with holding the station before it explodes. However, the video was one hell of an essay. Made me more emotional 😂
One thing I think should've been mentioned were the covers for this mini-series. I think that the covers for Life Story perfectly reflect the story that was being told for each issue.
I really really love Spider-Man but one thing I truly hate about Spider-Man lore is that it seems like they're always intentionally ignoring that Gwen Stacy ever existed. She's always killed or a clone and as much as I really love Spider-Gwen, I just wish the main 616 Gwen was something more then the first love who's always fated to die. Stories like Spider-Man Blue really hammer home why I like her much more than Mary Jane. And with her representation in both The Spectacular and Amazing Spider-Man and what she was to Peter is something I'll always wish there was more of in both the comics and newer films and possibly even games.
If you want some really cool 616 Gwen Stacy content, you should read the most recent "Gwen Stacy" run by Christos Cage.
It's preatty good, but also a bit dense at time.
@@zoroack792 oh yeah I remember seeing that. What's it about?
616 Gwen was quite boring imo.
@@Eiji___ 616 Gwen's high school life before she met Peter at ESU. The comic also fleshes out Gwen and Harry's friendship quite well.
Gwen as a character has always been mid
14:44 that's a very clever and really tragic adaptation of the classic "If this be my destiny" when you think about it. replacing peter's epic achievement of moving the machinery that was in danger of killing him with something more tragic as peter trying to save as many people he could from the rubble from the twin towers during 9/11 after already retiring from being spider man
I Was a massive fan and had every single issue including Amazing Fantasy #15 until that pathetic abomination of a story one more day/brand new day then I sold my collection and disappeared from reading comics.I'm still not seeing how selling your marriage to the devil fits under with great power comes great responsibility.
You were there back in 62 ?
Respects
I really really happy that all the Parker-spider fans I have seen all agree that Peter would never sell his marriage. And that it was a story that none of us like, agree with or plan on accepting.
I think they could have better rephrased it, by Mephisto asking them to Sacrifice their Love and Future with Each other as the Price. Specifically mentioning "Marriage" was just a bad move imo.
But still, I think that could have worked a lot better than what we got. But then again, the Writers took Risks and Revelled against the Tradition (it just that it didn't work in this case).
Todd McFarlane's entire Spidey Run was based on that Ideology. From the way he Started Drawing Spider-Man in a more Edgy "90s" Style, to How he contorted his body, to how Edgy the Spider-Man short got that was given to him.
They made it….. better, recently. The story still sucks, but now we know why Mephisto was actually interested in nullifying Parker’s marriage: Parker’s daughter, May, is going to kill the Devil.
Loved the video, Owen! Life Story is just so good.
Your channel is awesome man, keep up the good work. I'd love to hear your take on Life Story as well, I'm sure you'd have something meaningful to add
😯
Respect for this application from another channel I like.
Not gonna lie, this made me tear up.
Absolutely going to read it for myself.
I just got this book and finished reading it and I can finally understand why this is a very great story to be remembered. It did what I never thought it could ever do. Tell a story of Spider-Man going through his life through as you said 'in real time' and did it in a way that was believable and grounded. What I fundamentally enjoyed about this story as a whole is how we are Peter's mindset, how being a hero really impacts the people around him, his highs and lows and what truly makes him not only relatable but inspiring. Seriously, it made me see why I love this character so much and why he will STILL be my favourite superhero/fictional character period. I thank you for covering what made this story great and I personally feel that if Stan Lee was here right now, he would absolutely love this story.
This would make a FANTASTIC Disney + live action mini series. I know it’s a long shot but just imagine a 10 part mini series, with every 2 episodes focusing on a decade and fleshing out those stories. And they’d all be 45 mins to an hour long. God it would be a masterpiece if handled well.
I really wish this would happen, I really loved this series
Man I almost got as teary eyed in this retelling as I did first reading this wonderful comic
I really liked it, but it reminds me a lot of Superman/Batman: Generations by John Byrne. Not only follows the same premise, but has many similarities.
That's a really good comparison!
Not only was this my favorite comic of that year but it's my favorite Spider-Man story of all time.
The ending was perfect. Respect
Life story is a fantastic story, it's timeless. Chip also did a great job with the covers!
I’d love to see more of the ‘Life Story’ style for every major character in comics. Though I will say, what makes it work so well for Spider-Man is that he’s a character defined by his youth and growth, but lives in a paradox where he can never truly grow or age. I think Superman would be another great character to use this style for, as the TV series Smallville really expanded on the idea of a gentle kind-hearted boy growing into a man and then an inspirational Superman paragon. Plus, Superman naturally aging slowly could allow for some interesting changes in settings and status quos. Although, it could prove to be very depressing in that way too ig 😂
They generally have him as a young adult or high schooler so it’s refreshing to finally see spidey have a full life. I think this has a good impact with spidey specifically because he’s generally a young adult or high schooler.
17:30 and also the symbiote steps in to seal the hole in the craft, really liked that panel
"Everybody wants something, and its almost never world domination." Such a great line to me.
That’s such a beautiful and sad ending. Sad enough to make a grown man cry 😢
The fact that Spiderman Life Story was able to capture both the history of our world, alongside the comics was amazing! Even though watching a movie version of this may seem impossible, this comic book is the stepping stone to read other comics with greater stories!
God that was beautiful, I never got to finish reading Spider-Man Real Time, there something about Peter's last dream, something about Miles wearing the og costume, something about all of the era's of Spider-Man paying off into one whole story. Something about seeing Spider-Man get his life and legacy, I feel like because of his popularity Spider-Man obviously can never stop. For instance even though I really enjoyed the latest Spider-Man run, it made me feel like Peter's life was never gonna be happy, Peter was always gonna continue suffering forever. And seeing this version of Spider-Man, the version where he finally did enough, where he finally made all the pain and suffering worth it. He didn't die in Otto's body, he wasn't killed brutally by a foe, he didn't lose his family. Peter died on his own terms. Putting Kraven and Venom to rest, reforming Otto, saving Miles, and the world. And he was proud of his decision. I especially love that he put faith in Otto to return Miles's body, and Otto didn't betray him. And like I said Miles taking up the mantel as Spider-Man, in that orignal suit, with Peter and Mary's blessings was just beautiful. It's also amazing that the whole mini-series was drawn by Mark Bagley, because he's always drawn my favorite version of Peter Parker, it gives me a feeling as if Ultimate Spider-Man actually got to live his life. (note: He doesn't draw my favorite version of Spider-Man, that's hands down Esad Ribić's version from Secret Wars 2015, Spectacular Art)
But yeah all together this series is what I'll always see as Peter's true life and conclusion, despite whatever happens to him in the future. And Owen this video was amazing, I love the recap and I thank you for allowing me to finally know the conclusion of this Amazing Story.
What a beauty send off for Spider-man. I know it isn't Canon but it is still a great story
I love Spider-Man I’ve always looked up to him and the lessons he thought me I hope to be even half the man he is and I know he is a fictional character but he has taught me a lot about being a good person and always caring about others before yourself
Same
Same here he real to all of us
Nah, nah. I totally didn't cry at "It's a good dream."
While I know everyone is talking about how they what it was longer, I just wish we could have something like this for a ton of other characters.
Imagine one with the fantastic four where they begin to pass down the title to a new generation of heroes with their kids taking over
Seeing cap in Vietnam and his perspective on the entire thing.
Seeing iron man growing hardened by the wars he has to fight and seeing him try to keep up with modern technology as it advances.
Seeing the punisher as he grows too old for this shit
And more.
I actually think the X-men would work really well for this style of story. You could probably make a long series with it since the roster of the X-men is technically always changing. It would also be I interesting to see how the x-men deal with a lot of the issues brought up in the story.
I mean we did see that in the punisher max series
Finally, a Spider-Man story where Peter is not needlessly tortured, maimed, ruined just for garbage shock value or pointlessly rebooted over and over. He gets to not only grow up, but his death is one he makes peace with and is an amazing sacrifice.
Spidergirl mayday?
I absolutely adored this comic. So glad you talked about it, I felt like it flew way too far under the radar (at least among comic fans)
This was the comic I used to finally dive into the comics after just learning about the stories online. Never thought a story with my favorite character ever would make me cry like a baby
This seems like Superman & Batman: Generations.
Marvel always "borrowed" but that's something artists and musicians and writers tend to do.
@@moldvox Get your tribalism bullshit out of here! No one owns the concept of a superhero case study. Superman & Batman: Generations was create by John Byrne.
@@moldvox it is great if you borrow good things and make it unique by your uniqueness
But better
@@marcosrufino1939 No.
I read Life Story because of this video and it made me cry, even knowing what was going to happen. One of my favorite comics of all time.
As someone who has always loved Spider-Man and especially Venom, I think the best part of this comic run that you unfortunately left out(I understand why for the flow) is Venom’s final goodbye to Peter.
Peter was Venom’s first human partner and its perfect match. The way Venom uses its last moments to help Peter and uses the spider symbol to show this is genuinely beautiful. It’s an incredible way to cap out Venom’s story before finishing off Peter’s.
And I adore the ending dream. I don’t see it as Miles stopping the robber but as Peter seeing that he was able to finally come to peace with his life.
I love your videos, Owen, this video especially.
this take is really interesting that i actually really like because he realistically grows up and leaves behind a legacy. I await the day that the mainline spider man actually does this
I love the 3 act structure of the video I agree with you you this is such a love letter to the character of Spider-Man. Peter Parkers growth is so well done
Now THIS is how you pass a super hero mantle, respecting the original by giving his journey closure setting up the new generation with their on heroes and villains.
for those unclear on how old some of the characters are exactly, i’ll clarify
Peter and his friends were born in 1947 (hehe, boomers lol)
The twins were born in 1984
and if they’re keeping the trend of aging in real time for Miles, then Miles Morales would’ve been born in 1997-1998
it’s a bit unclear for Miles since in his original run from 2011 it’s made clear he’s 13 meaning he’d be born in 1998 but in a later issue in the same run he says he’s almost 14 meaning he’d be born in 1997. It’s not clear if he’d be turning 14 that same calendar year or the next so that’s why i estimated for him
a calculator can help you figure out their ages but to save some time these are their ages by 2019:
Peter and his generation (Baby Boomers)- 72
Claire and Benji (millennials/Gen Y)- 35
Miles (Gen Z)- 21-22
Spider-Man is my favorite superhero and while I disagree with people saying Peter Parker’s Spider-Man should be put to rest because then you should say that about any superhero created before the year 2000 but the reason why it’s because these characters we know and love are great and want everyone to experience them and be glad that newer people get to experience them as we did and we should be grateful that Spider-Man is still around and while he’s had miss steps here and there he’s still perfect chip zadarsky did the characters justice with this series and Nick Spencer is doing the character justice after slott ruined him a bit but as long as people are loving Spider-Man in the comics right now then just keep him alive so we can keep on loving him
the Spider Man/Peter Parker character has always been my absolute favorite super hero across all media and this comic is so very good.
18:06 Is it really Miles? I thought that was Peter being in the afterlife, haivng learned of his own life story, this time after learning his mistakes.
Hence why "this isn't me beating myself. this time. it's a good dream"
It's definitely Peter, the guy just got it confused.
Man, Kraven really is a psycho, to the point that he believes he's granting somebody a mercy by literally killing them before the grow old, whether they're actually comfortable with the idea or not. It has some historical merit, but definitely not the way Kraven sees it.
I bought the Graphic Novel the other day and is now probably one of my favourite Spider-Man stories of all time
I’d love to see other Marvel heroes get similar treatment. A universe where each character gets to age, go through their arcs, and pass the mantle to their successors. Cap, Daredevil, and Ant Man would be awesome in such a continuity.
This is basically spiderman's all star superman
I would love to see you eventually do a video on some Marvel and DC crossovers, like JLA/Avengers, always loved that story
Definitely a topic I plan on covering soon!
This run was endlessly quotable. Chip has an intimate understanding of the heroes he writes. Him and El Ewing have definitely revived my interest in ongoing series.
I bought these in individual issues when they were coming out, but I enjoy them so much, I kind of want to buy the trade paperback just to support Zdarsky that much more. Some of his work on Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man was also fantastic and I wish he some day gets the chance to write the main Amazing title and really give us something special - maybe after he leaves his excellent mark on Daredevil... :P Great video!
17:14 would have been nice to mention the symbiote decides to help petter covering up a big hole in the station
I've always heard so many good things about Life Story, glad to see it covered here so lovingly. Spectacular video!
I'm not really a fan of Bagley's art but this run is golden.
When I did work on my marvel universe I always wanted to have my universe follow in slightly real life times like Greg Wiseman with young justice like having Peter Parker as spider man in his teens and over his teenage life learning to grow up and move on like real people or have Xavier and Magneto part of the original x men back in the late 80's and how in the late 2010's turn theme into what they are over the years
instantly enough though Spider-Man's the reason Marvel implemented the sliding time scale that the Marvel Universe has.
I could cry every time I watch this video idk what it is that hits me in the feels with this story
Same w Spider-Man blue
I interpreted the ending as Peter finishing the story he tried to tell MJ in the beginning of the issue. It's not him passing the torch, it's Pete forgiving himself. Bringing his arc full circle. He's tortured himself for decades for failing to save Ben, seeing it every night he sleeps. But it's different now. Its a good dream. He finally saves Ben and learns to move on.
It makes good stores amazing, and bad stories good, god damn I've seen and read some good comics but this has got to be one of the best
Jeez, I wish I heard about this story sooner!
I started liking Spider-Man as a kid in the '70s. "The Night Gwen Stacy Died". Very traumatic as a 8-year-old, but I fell in love w/him & never looked back.
And now? Tied for 1st place in my heart w/Wolverine. And hearing how this story played out made me realize that There are SO many folks who are key to Spidey's everlasting appeal. Of course Lee & Ditko, but the Romitas John, Sr. & Jr., Ross Andru, Gil Kane, Sam Giacomo, Gerry Conway, Jim Shooter, legends all.
But, upon seeing this, I now know that the guy who did most for this character has to be Mark Bagley. As artist & writer, he developed the look & the stories most associated w/Spidey. That's kinda awesome! We'll always have the masters, but Bags deserves to be listed amongst them.
Oh, yeah, another thing I've seen is that, to have these characters stay relevant, we NEED to have the Floating Time device, but it's very hard for a guy like me to not think that it can somewhat not work. I mean, Marvels big properties came from the '60s & '70s, but replacing cultural references is very off-putting to how we see the current stories. The civil rights movement, Cold War, Vietnam & the Watergate angst are very much linked to MY Marvel memories. The way they're developing generic replacement for key real-world moments seem to take away from their creations. The Punisher & Iron-Man alone are shackled to Vietnam & the "SiamCong Wars" feels like a hollow replacement. And what will happen when Eric Lehnsherr becomes too old to be a Holocaust Survivor? Make him Croatian or an Albanian Kosovan? I know their genocides are horrible, but making Magneto one of them takes some of Mags' epic tragedy away.
Well sir, as a guy who's far younger than you (and to be honest, you're probably old enough to be my parent), I think Iron Man's modern origin now being tied to Afghanistan instead of Vietnam is done quite well in my opinion.
@@theobuniel9643 Well, I admit it works, but the War On Terrorism was an easy swap. We made the same mistakes there as 'Nam. And while the WOT can also be applied to Punisher almost as easily, it loses some of the character's issues of going too far & PTSD.
Marvel's attempt to thread the needle w/the Siamcong thing was just stupid. There was no attempt to build the Siamcong war into a seminal event. They must've thought the name change was enough.
I’ve never read this comic but your story telling is amazing fantastic! Love every minute of this video
this Story Reminds me All about why Spider-Man is an Inspiration
Y'know what I like? How Claire looks like Mayday Parker from the Spider-Girl books. Given how much I love that character, I REALLY hope that was intentional on the creative team's part.
This was an amazing spiderman comic, so glad you recommended it.