God bless Augie DeBlieck Jr. for reminding us that, no matter your feelings on One More Day, it’s nothing new:
[According to official Marvel biography "Marvel In Review 2000-2001, Fanboys and Badgirls", t]he “Most Valuable Character” for March 2001 was Mary Jane Watson-Parker. Why?
“[She] took a powder in March, leaving the cast of the Spidey books. Leaving is valuable? Well, yes. There was this whole Spidey revamp, with writer J. Michael Straczynski at the helm, coming up. Both JMS and Spider-Man editor Axel Alonso wanted Spidey to “swing solo” for a while, and removing the internationally acclaimed supermodel wife also helped bring Peter Parker back to his roots as a “lovable loser.” MJ valiantly stepped aside, paving the way for a new era of Spider-greatness.
This room must be empty, because the echoes are deafening. Ed Brubaker would take the MJ route with Captain America to high acclaim a few years later, though Cap did come back from the dead to “Fight Terror” in 2001, as well.
Joe Quesada just made the “swinging solo” thing a little more permanent.
*Sigh* Remember those happier times…?
