Marvel Comics is teasing a sequel for the "most notorious Spider-Man story ever told." But which story is that?
A gut reaction, based on that caption combined with the teaser art of Spider-Man and Mary Jane in a strange, entangled pose, narrows it down to a few potential options, notably the stories Spider-Man: Reign or Spider-Man: One More Day.
The question is, which Spider-Man story does Marvel consider to be its "most notorious," and does their opinion line up with fan perceptions?
It's hard to say - Spider-Man has had some fairly "notorious" stories in his past, many of which have already been revisited, revamped, and retconned. But based on the art, which resembles the cover of Spider-Man: Reign, and which Marvel has confirmed was created by Spider-Man: Reign writer/artist Kaare Andrews, the easy money seems to be on a sequel to the dystopian future story
Spider-Man: Reign tells the tale of an older Peter Parker coming out of retirement for one last big adventure as Spider-Man (not unlike the classic Batman story The Dark Knight Returns).
Why is that notorious? Because in the world of Spider-Man: Reign, Mary Jane is dead after getting cancer from exposure to radiation through… well… Peter Parker's most intimate bodily fluids… if you know what I mean.
That in turn raises the question of whether that would be considered the most notorious Spider-Man story by fans - to which the answer is probably "not really."
The dubious honor, at least among fans, more likely goes to Spider-Man: One More Day, in which Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson trade their marriage - and several years of their history - to the demon Mephisto to save the life of Aunt May.
There are also stories such as Trouble, a non-continuity romance comic limited series which implied that Peter Parker's aunt May and his mother Mary were troubled teens who were embroiled in a devastating love triangle. And 'Sins Past,' a story in which it was revealed that Norman Osborn had an affair with Peter's long dead girlfriend Gwen Stacy, and that the two had secret twin children together - a secret which has since thankfully been retconned as totally fake.
Marvel promises more information in the coming days. Stay tuned to Newsarama for the full details.
