u/AlphaBladeYiII

As one of the seven existing Hank Pym fanboys, I tend to have mixed feelings on Trial of Yellowjacket. On one hand, I appreciate the growth and development that Hank and Janet received from it. On the other hand, Marvel's handling of it has completely destroyed Hank Pym's value as a character.

To be fair, Hank is very much an unlikable, insecure asshole and a terrible partner in the first half of the story, and I wanted to slap some sense into him long before the infamous slap. However, once Roger Stern took over, he really did a great job at humanizing Hank by examining all of his unaddressed trauma, pressures, and mental struggles. However, what I love is that the story, and most importantly Hank, never use any of that as an excuse for Hank's actions. Hank himself vehemently objects when Captain America tries to shoulder some of the blame by acknowledging that he should've recognized Hank's struggles. It is made abundantly clear that what Hank did was bad and inexcusable, and Hank takes full accountability for his mistakes, acknowledges that he should've sought help (even though his bipolar disorder wasn't diagnosed at the time), and vows to become better and do better. And he went ahead and did just that.

Overall, Trial of Yellowjacket has a lot of heavy stuff to say. It's about the fact that people are complex, and you can't put them into neat little boxes. Even genuinely good men, great heroes even, have flaws and demons. And sometimes they crack and make big mistakes that can't be excused, but them growing beyond those mistakes and taking responsibility is what makes them heroes. The story also makes it clear that domestic violence is a serious problem and there's zero tolerance for it, and that mental health is not an excuse. If you're struggling, you have a responsibility to seek help to make sure you don't hurt the people you love. And that's an extremely bold thing to say in the early 80s, where there was a much bigger stigma on people, especially men, seeking mental health help.

They seem to have some nice rewards like force essence, perks, and stims, but I'm kinda overwhelmed because of how much bigger everything is in Survivor. Should I leave them to have something to do after the game?

Who is Peter Parker, outside of Spider-Man's mask? What are his dreams and his aspirations? What does he desire and where does he want his life to go? These are questions that I think we don't know the answer for at the moment. I don't think we have in a while now.

In hindsight, I think the way Amazing Spider-Man is structured has changed as time went on. In the 60s-80s era, I feel like most of the time the superhero/Spider-Man aspect of the book was more about the adventure/villain of the week thing, while the running threads were often about Peter's personal life and his everyday struggles. In a way, the relatable human drama was a huge part of what elevated Spider-Man to superstar status, largely because the audience saw themselves in many of the struggles that he went through. It could be sick loved ones, or highschool bullies, or making ends meet, or struggling to maintain his grades when he has other responsibilities, or falling in love for the first time with someone whom he ultimately realizes was never compatible with him.....people often felt seen when they picked up the book. More importantly, Peter was a dynamic character who was ever changing. His life and struggles changed with us, from high-school, to college, to the confusion that comes after graduation, to being a young married man with new responsibilities.

Now, I think there's more focus on Spider-Man and the superhero shenanigans, compared to Peter's personal life, which has often become dour, depressing, and largely stagnant, with nothing new under the sun. A lot has been said and done about *One More Day*, and the infamous Brevoort manifesto, but I think people latch on too much to Peter's marriage to Mary Jane. I love the two and their relationship to death, but I think the way Peter's love life has been handled for the past two decades is simply one symptom of the problem. Because ultimately, the editorial's problem isn't specifically with MJ. It's with Peter having meaningful long term relationships in the first place. It's why he's been hopping from one meaningless situationship to another since BND, and none of them have stuck around or made a mark. I don't think some people can name his current "girlfriend" without looking up her name. Although, apparently they're not "exclusive", which is to be expected under the current editorial. The truth is, said editorial can't even give us the mercy of picking a lane. They don't want Peter and MJ together, but they don't want them to move on completely either. Bait and switch is their bread and butter, like Lucy with the football.

"But you can tell good stories with single Peter. They've done so for decades before his marriage."

Of course. The problem here is the nature of those stories. Peter and MJ doing the "will they or won't they" dance that they left behind in the 80s before being married for 20 years is about as organic as watching Dick Grayson leave the Nightwing mantle behind to go back to being Robin. They can be the greatest Robin stories ever, but it's a status quo that simply no longer suits Dick. I believe the problems people have with modern ASM is less about the quality and more about the direction. OMD reset so much of Peter's life and history, and he hasn't really caught up since. The editorial is simply unwilling to try and invest time and effort into a new relationship as meaningful as MJs, perhaps because they think they can't. So Peter has to jump from one fling to another, with no end in sight.

I think the problem is that Peter has no control over his own life, and no interest in addressing that. To me, undoing OMD wouldn't be about Peter and MJ getting married again and having a baby and it's all fine and dandy. The deal with Mephisto is simply a cloud that hangs over Peter's life, and a literal wound in his soul according to Doctor Strange. Until Peter faces that demon head on, he will not heal or grow or take control of his fate. Until the deal is undone, the devil wins. I don't care if Peter ends up with MJ again at this point, but rip off the band-aid, and make it hurt. Make it get worse before it gets better. Let Peter wrestle for his life and take it back. And if he doesn't end up with MJ, let it be his choice for once. Let him take a long break to heal and grow as a person. Let him get his doctorate fair and square, and bring back those deeply human struggles. Let him find his own happiness, without tying it to anyone. Let him learn to let go of those around him when the time comes. Let his aunt know he's Spider-Man, because God knows that losing that was as bad as losing the marriage, and her not knowing has become so utterly nonsensical and contrived these days. I think a big part of why people liked Kelly's space arc is because it was divorced from the toxic mess that is Peter's personal life. It was also fun and fresh and new based on what I've seen of it, and celebrated Peter's heroism, kindness and inner strength.

People don't want Peter's life to be on easy mode with no struggles or problems. But let him have good things and and a measure of happiness and new developments and actual control over his fate. Let Peter matter outside of Spider-Man. Let his life have direction, and take him off the hamster wheel.