Warning! Spoilers ahead for Amazing Spider-Man #1
While Marvel Comics' new direction for Amazing Spider-Man is certainly full of surprises and twists, that doesn't inherently mean they're the best thing for the character going forward. The current era of superhero comics (regardless of the publisher) features many stories and dynamic leaps of character growth that have been celebrated and praised for different heroes. However, it's hard to put Peter Parker on that list despite his status as one of the world's most iconic superheroes, largely stemming from Marvel's inability to allow Spider-Man to have any of the aforementioned growth that other heroes have experienced. Unfortunately, it's a trend that seems to be continuing with this new relaunch.
In the new Amazing Spider-Man #1, written by Zeb Wells with art from returning Marvel legend John Romita Jr., Peter Parker has done something heinously wrong, though the exact details have been omitted to set up the series' core mystery. Instead, 6 months pass before readers find Spider-Man dealing with the aftermath of his dark (yet unknown) choices. Whatever it was, he's alienated the few people in his life who actually care and love him such as Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson, and even Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four. Combined with debt collectors hounding him and a struggle to pay his rent, it feels as though the classic Peter Parker status quo has returned with a vengeance. And that's the problem.
Amazing Spider-Man #1's focus is two-fold: setting up its mystery and taking advantage of the unknowns to provide some major twists. However, the issue with the story is that the surprises themselves are frustrating, implying that Peter Parker will be heading down a path he's already tread before. Once upon a time, Peter Parker was allowed to move past his post-high school years as a struggling 20-something trying to get a girlfriend, entering new territory where he had more stable jobs and was married to Mary Jane. However, ever since the infamous One More Day retcon regressed Spider-Man back to his post-high school struggles, he's never been allowed to regain that more stable era in his life, forever trapped in a purgatory when all fans want is to see their favorite hero grow into that new season of life he was ultimately denied.
Nick Spencer's recently concluded run on Amazing Spider-Man teased that the OMD-retcon would be retconned itself along with Peter reigniting his relationship with MJ to the point of having a ring in his pocket. However, Spencer's run was only a half-measure and Peter never proposed to Mary Jane. Likewise, the subsequent Spider-Man: Beyond era didn't offer any progression with Peter once more teaming up with and later fighting his clone Ben Reilly. That being said, it ended with Peter and Mary Jane agreeing to move in together, a new glimmer of hope that forward progression was on the horizon. Instead, the new Amazing Spider-Man #1 ends with MJ angry with Peter and not wanting to speak with him, right before the surprise reveal that she has a family with kids.
Amazing Spider-Man #1 is effectively relying on pure shock value, offering very little info while expecting readers to be entertained by the fact that the few people who actually like and support Peter now hate him along with MJ having kids for some reason. Ultimately, it doesn't matter if this is the new norm, an alternate reality, or something in between. It's giving Spider-Man fans exactly the opposite of what's been hoped for by fans for years: growth for Spider-Man and his relationships.
After all the teases with Nick Spencer's run and the holding pattern that was Beyond, it's not surprising that readers would react to this issue with a mixture of confusion and frustration. All signs point to it being another run that will simply have to be endured. Could things be course-corrected where Spider-Man is finally allowed to grow? Fingers are crossed but it already feels like a long shot despite only a single issue of Marvel Comics' new Amazing Spider-Man relaunch having been released thus far.