Spider-Oracle Petitions (22-May-2009)

 Posted: 2009
 Staff: The Spider-Oracle (E-Mail)
From Sean

I was born in the early 70's, and my first comic book was a spider-man comic that was found in our attic. Loved it. Mom loses it, over time-need help knowing which one it is.

All I remember, is that peter parker lost his memory, and is reduced to stealing a sandwich from a vendor on the street(he may have left change, via webbing for the vendor?).

I'm really at a loss, and wondered if you could help. I was born in 71, remember reading it in around 74/75/76? If you can help, I would be forever indebted, man.

Here it is. The story is the Spider-Man/Ka-Zar story which appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #57, with Spider-Man still suffering amnesia after the "Doc Ock Wins" 4-part story which preceded it. You may have possibly read it in reprint form in Kazar (Vol. 1) #3.


From J. Little

I have a picture of carnage that I think I've tracked its sources to the overpower trading game. I'm trying to find out where its from for hopefully finding a better quality picture of it for Tattoo purposes =)


This is the regular (non-IQ variant) Carnage "Hero" card from the Overpower card game. Here is the full card. Try searching for "Carnage Overpower" on eBay to get a choice of scans.

Good luck with the tattoo. I hope we'll see it on the SpiderFan Fans : Tattoos page before long.


From Nicolas

I have searched in vain references to a poster done by Charles Vess featuring Spidey in black costume in pursuit of an 'orange' goblin.


This is the center-gate-fold poster from Spectacular Spider-Man #189, cover date Jun 1992.

From Jared

This is a scan from the recent Dark Reign Files index comic mentioning the previously forgotten character Facade.

(see bottom part of it)

I just thought you guys might be interested in noting that apparently someone at Marvel actually remembers this character (and remembers that his identity was never actually revealed).

Yes, the Oracle's adepts also reported this matter to the great master. It seems that Marvel has not forgotten. Though, truth be told, I must suggest that there are many other "plot danglers" which are far more worthy of being resurrected. Perhaps Facade should best be left to linger in obscurity.

From strikeninja89

In the Spider-Man One More Day arc who is the lady in red.

My Oracle-powers tell me it must be... Mephisto's hot new girlfriend.

Wait! The currents of the future have shifted and swirled. In fact, the portents indicate that it is the daughter of Peter and Mary-Jane who never will live to be, since the the Parker's have accepted Mephisto's deal.

She is (very likely, though nothing is certain since so little has been explained) the grown-up future of the little girl seen earlier in that issue.

From SpookMan44

In Amazing Spider-Man #588, there's a reference to MJ having been "abused" by her dad. Is that supposed to imply sexually abused? I don't remember anything on that front? Or is it referring to "just" violence and intimidation?

Am I forgetting something, am I misreading, or is this something new?

MJ's father definitely hits Gayle (MJ's sister) during the flashbacks in Amazing Spider-Man #259. There's no implication that he hits MJ herself though. There's certainly no hint of sexual abuse.

Most likely writer Marc Guggenheim just exaggerated a little in his script.

From Anthony

I have a question and I can't seem to find the answer anywhere. Maybe you or your colleagues can help me out.

When is this "Brand New Day" storyline going to end and we'll have Peter and Mary Jane married again?

While some of the stories are pretty good in the storyline, it's really hard to enjoy when you have that nagging feeling in your head that everything you've read for the last 20 years doesn't matter anymore and somehow it doesn't change anything in the other storylines. (For example, Spider-Man, Mary Jane, as a married couple, and Aunt May had a huge impact on Civil War. Does that mean it never happened?)

I guess all those "What If' stories I've read over the years are pretty meaningless, huh?

Anyway, I was hoping that maybe you or your colleagues know when this "Brand New Day" timeline, universe, whatever, will end and things will get back to normal.

The Oracle is wise on all things past. But as Sarah Connors once famously said... "no fate but what we make." And the future of "Brand New Day" is simply that... the future. Has the team at Marvel determined if and how this event may end? Perhaps not. They may even not yet have entirely decided exactly what actually happened back at the time of "the big change."

Rumor has it that we may learn something more about Peter and MJ's marriage in the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man #600. Perhaps we may see Peter and MJ's wedding day retold, but with a very different conclusion. However, that is still speculation. If something major is happening, well... Joey Q has been good at keeping secrets under wraps.

As to when Brand New Day may come to a close... well, there is no absolute guarantee that it ever will. If reader numbers aren't greatly affected, then certainly as long as Joe Quesada is E-I-C at Marvel, there's every chance that the fundamentals of BND will remain unchanged. Though hopefully, even if the status quo is retained, we might at least learn something more about how Peter and MJ's life was changed by their Deal with the Devil.

From rfloro

I would like to buy this marvel age comic book on ebay that I just saw. I have not seen any other comic like this on ebay. There are other ones but this one is the only one that is on the site. Here is the number 29030154946. Is this worth it? I know that there was a couple of limited niagara editions handed out in Canada, but I can't find it on any databases.

Strictly speaking, SpiderFan doesn't track non-U.S. reprints. But Canada is so close that we might let this one slip through the net. We'll add it to our system as {{Spider-Man Reprints (Niagara Falls)}}.

Looking on eBay there appear to be four reprint issues that we have seen so far. Ultimate Spider-Man #6, Amazing Spider-Man #252 and Amazing Spider-Man #300 are all reprinted and seem to be selling for anything from $20-30 each up to $60, $100 or much, much more if you want a CGC graded copy.

The reprint of Marvel Age: Spider-Man #2 seems to be a bit less common, with asking price of $40 or so. And if that's what eBay says they sell for, then it's hard to disagree.

But your question is "is it WORTH it?" Worth is a highly subjective quality. In these tough economic times, do you feel that $150 for a CGC copy of a 32-page promo reprint produced last year some time is "worth" as much as food for your family for a week? Does this bundle of printed paper satisfy any basic function that cannot otherwise be more easily met? Does it possess intrinsic artistic merit? I believe that you alone must attempt to answer this question in your own way... as each man must do.

 Posted: 2009
 Staff: The Spider-Oracle (E-Mail)