Mark writes...

Hi,

Longtime Spider-fan over here, and I wanted to let you know that after finishing the season one DVD set I think Spectacular Spidey is by far the best interpretation of the character in any medium since the heady days of Lee/Ditko/Romita. I've read reams of the comics, watched the various cartoon series, seen the movies, and I really do believe your take is the best in a long while. Bravo! The first two Spidey movies came close to being perfect distillations of Spidey for me but you guys outdid them in my opinion by remembering that Pete's romantic *journey* is more fun to watch than the destination; I love the fact that Gwen, MJ and even Liz have all been presented as possible romantic interests and you guys are simply keeping all your options open.

Which segues into my question: without looking for spoilers, how locked into the comic book mythology do you intend to be? I don't want story specifics, I'm just wondering about your "creative philosophy" I guess; I'm wondering if you would be willing to take a hypothetical big left turn where the comics took a right. There have been signs already that you're willing to think outside the box and play with the mythology and the continuity: I thought combining Montana and Shocker was a deft move that made him a much more interesting character, and I also enjoy the Rhino/Sandman friendship. But these are still comparatively minor alterations. To give an example of the kind of big left turn I'm talking about, I was fooled for a bit when Harry was "revealed" as the Goblin, but I have to admit I was disappointed with the eventual reveal that no, it was Norman after all; I say this not because the story wasn't satisfying but that it was thrilling to consider a Spidey mythos where anything can happen: where we're not locked into Pete/MJ, where Gwen doesn't necessarily have to die, where Harry could've been the Goblin instead of Norman (and I would argue, at least based on season one, that Harry made just as much sense psychologically as Norman to be the Goblin.) Again, I don't want story specifics, just wondering if (assuming the show lasts a good long time, fingers crossed) you'd be willing to make major changes to the story of Pete's life as we have all known it for the past 45 years, or if you feel that you must follow the major story beats laid down by the comics.

Thanks, and here's hoping for lots more Spectacular Spidey seasons to come!

--Mark