I Told You Once, You Son of a Bitch

So, Spider-Man made a deal with the devil to save his Aunt May's life, and now he's single again, because the devil reshaped reality to take his marriage away and, for some reason, bring his friend Harry back to life and make everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. That's what I hear from the Interweb, anyway, about One More Day, a storyline that's being hailed far and wide as the stupidest thing written since the majority opinion of Bush v. Gore.

I have my doubts.

Not that dealing with the devil is a smart thing to do. You generally have to be either a world-class lawyer or fiddle player to come out on top in those deals. But I simply doubt that we're supposed to look at the end of One More Day, with Spidey's new, single, status quo, and think, "the end."

I have a feeling that the events of One More Day aren't over, and the deal with Mephisto will be an ongoing problem. And this quote from today's Newsarama interview with editor Steve Wacker seems to back up my suspicions:

NRAMA: Not so much lighting round, but…did Peter get a better deal out of the bargain with the devil than most do? I mean, Peter didn't get a shiny fiddle made of gold, but he seems to have come out of this deal with far more in his column than Mephisto has in his...he still has MJ's relationship in his past and can still reunite with her, Aunt May doesn't know, the world doesn't know, he seems to be relieved of the physiological changes of The Other, his best friend is back from the dead, his high school friends seem to be revitalized...and Mephisto got...a marriage? Where’s the O. Henry ending, the downside for Peter? Is the turkey dry?

SW: On the surface you’re right, but the devil doesn’t always reveal his plans on Day One. He plays a much longer game.

Sooner or later, this deal isn't just going to cause problems for fans, but for Spider-Man as well -- and probably the MU as a whole. I'm becoming more and more certain that this isn't a reboot -- it's a story about a reboot, like House of M was. Chances are, they don't know everything about how things will shake out down the line (gauging fan reaction to the various changes this storyline affords them), but we're getting the first slight hints that Brand New Day won't last forever. When all is said and done, Peter & MJ may still not be married if the fans wind up going for it, or Harry might remain alive, or at the very least Peter's ID will remain a secret. But there are very few stories that end with "and he made a deal with the devil and lived happily ever after."

I'd expect that Peter's final status quo won't be nailed down for good until the devil bows his head because he knows that he's been beat.

Rob