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Visionary
In Reply To
CrazySugarFreakBoy!

Member Since: Sun Jan 04, 2004
Posts: 1,235
Subj: Re: Nope, still not agreeing.
Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 08:09:13 am EDT
Reply Subj: Nope, still not agreeing.
Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 07:32:58 am EDT (Viewed 532 times)


> And here's why.
>
> > I think if you try to overthink something in a comic book you're just going to ruin it for yourself.
>
> Hey, I'm not the one who's writing Peter as a paparazzo to make him seem more "modern" or "realistic," so don't blame me for bringing these issues up in the first place.

Well, there are almost always story conceits, and while everyone has a different tolerance level for them, you can always find reason to pick something apart.

I'm not sure how this is an attempt to modernize Peter, as the photography job has almost always been an aspect of his character.


> > Since doing that takes away from the entire reason for having the Bugle and cast around to use as story conceits, I thought making Pete a science teacher was one of the worse ideas they had.
>
> Quite frankly, unless he's young enough to still be working a part-time job where he's treated like shit, and have that be his primary source of income, without coming across as a total loser (ie. while he's still a student, at either high school or college), I've always really disliked the Daily Bugle as a setting, because it reduces Peter Parker's civilian identity to a Clark Kent variant. Like Venom, Jonah is a decent character, but he's best in small portions, because otherwise, writers will feel compelled either to a) take his established characteristics to ridiculous extremes, or b) try and create "depth" in the characters that, while interesting, really can't be reconciled with any of their previous behavior. If Peter Parker is smart (and he IS, or at least he SHOULD BE), then let's see more of him in an environment that SHOWS this. And if he must remain a "working class" hero, he obviously can't use his big brain to become the next Tony Stark or Reed Richards, so let's put him in a profession that requires smarts AND doesn't pay terribly well.

I didn't read any of it, so I'm probably not one to talk, but while the science teacher idea seems to make a great deal of sense, it sounds like a horrible idea from a pure entertainment standpoint.

It gives Peter a job that roots him in one spot for the entire day, with an extraordinarily limited sphere of influence. Admittedly, he had some of that as a student, but if we're going to apply the realism brush to the photographer job, then it should have to apply to this one too... and teachers put in more of their day to school than students do. Further more, it seems like it was a horrible choice for Peter to endanger his students, as he always seemed to have severely crazy psychopaths chasing after him. Plus, by rooting the source of drama back in a classroom, it ups the coincidence factor necessary to tell stories. From Peter's younger days, one would think that a good 80% of the population of New York must suffer tragedies that lead them to become villains, heroes or just plain dead... especially since it happened to everyone Peter knew in High School.

Yes, a journalist career does harken back to Superman... but it's a well thought out choice for adventure comics, as the job puts the hero in the right place at the right time far more convincingly than most any other civilian occupation would.