“One More Day” is easily Spider-Man’s most controversial and hated story. It’s the story where Spider-Man made a deal with the devil to save Aunt May’s life, in exchange for making it so his marriage to Mary Jane never existed. To many, this retcon was the ultimate slap in the face, representing Marvel’s dedication to keeping Peter relatable by making sure he is constantly alone and miserable, even if it means spitting on decades of beloved stories and getting rid of their most beloved couple ever. “One More Day” is objectively terrible for Spider-Man in every regard, and I want nothing more than for Peter and MJ to be together again, but even in the pits of Spidey’s worst story, there’s some good to be found.
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Fans have never gotten over “One More Day,” with some even still calling for it to be retconned away. However, that would mean losing plenty of awesome storylines that could only have happened in the post-“One More Day” landscape. This story isn’t exactly likely to be wiped away anytime soon, so instead let’s look at five awesome stories that could only happen thanks to “One More Day,” and hopefully you’ll see that not everything terrible is without some silver linings.
5) Nick Spencer’s Amazing Spider-Man
Nick Spencer’s seventy-three issue long run on The Amazing Spider-Man (2018) is easily one of the best things that never would have happened if “One More Day” didn’t exist. You could argue that this run’s biggest positive was bringing MJ and Peter back together and starting down a now abandoned path to undoing “One More Day,” but it offered so much more than that too. One of its strongest points was undoing the atrocious plotline where Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy had an affair, and Norman actually killed Gwen to cover up that she was pregnant. This run revealed that the affair never happened, and was in fact a plot orchestrated by Harry Osborn.
This was set in motion before Harry’s death in The Spectacular Spider-Man #200, and helped hide his tracks by creating a clone of himself to replace him after his death and become Peter’s friend, all so the reveal would hurt more. This amazing retcon that got rid of the second worst piece of Spider-Man’s lore couldn’t have been possible if Harry didn’t come back, and he only returned to life with the “One More Day” reset.
4) Superior Spider-Man
Otto Octavius taking over Peter’s body was a controversial choice when it first happened, but now most fans look back on this series with love for how different it was. Otto completely took over Peter’s life and built his own ideal version of it, creating Parker Industries and becoming a far more malicious hero than Peter ever was. However, this change could only occur because Peter was set up to be replaced so easily. He had a supporting cast of characters who Otto pushed away, but he would never have been able to do that if Mary Jane and Peter had still been married.
MJ never noticed that the switch happened because Peter and her weren’t especially close at that time, but if they had been married, she totally would have seen the change. MJ would have figured Otto out, and the story of Superior Spider-Man would have shifted drastically. This story could only function because Peter was alone, and with MJ, he never would have been.
3) All-New Venom
Speaking of Mary Jane, if she was still married to Peter, she never would have been able to become the web-slinging symbiote host she is today. Venom only bonded to MJ to save her life, which was only in danger because her then-boyfriend Paul gave her a superpower bracelet which malfunctioned. If MJ had been married to Peter then she would have never become Jackpot, and thus never had a reason to bond with Venom. This comic can only exist in a world where MJ and Peter aren’t together because it explicitly challenges faults that she’s cultivated since their split.
This comic is all about MJ and Venom starting down the path to forgiving each other and themselves for all of the mistakes they’ve made. Her journey in this comic would not have worked nearly as well if she was in a committed, loving relationship with someone like Peter, because he serves as the ultimate standard of heroism that MJ is chasing throughout it.
2) “Spider-Island”
This event, taking place from The Amazing Spider-Man #666 to #673, is called one of Spidey’s best in the last two decades. Manhattan was infected by the Jackal, which gave everyone the same powers as Spider-Man. There was pandemonium in the streets, and Peter couldn’t even help stop it because there were dozens of other Spider-people dressed like him causing havoc, meaning the other heroes wouldn’t be able to tell if he was friend or foe. However, Peter realized there was one way he could help; as himself. Peter unmasked himself and pretended to be a normal person who just got these powers but wanted to save his city, and inspired every other grateful New Yorker to do the same.
This impactful, inspirational moment could only happen because the entire world forgot Spider-Man’s secret identity after “One More Day.” The entire premise of fake Spider-Men and Peter inspiring everyone like he did could not work if everyone knew who he was. Beyond that, Carlie Cooper played a massive role here, and she wouldn’t even exist without Peter and MJ’s marriage being dissolved.
1) Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man by Tom Taylor
This beautiful, intimate series followed Spider-Man as he handled low to the ground, neighborly crimes and situations. Throughout the entire series, a running B-plot was Aunt May discovering she had cancer and going through treatment. This tragic situation brought May and Peter closer together as they both dealt with all the horrible emotions and worries that this kind of disease brings. It dug into the core of their relationship, showing how important both characters are to each other, and let us see them at their most scared. This was a human story that anyone could relate to.
Obviously, this story couldn’t exist without “One More Day” because if Aunt May was dead, she wouldn’t be able to develop cancer. More than any other story on this list, this entire story really could not happen without Aunt May being around, and through this comic we had moments like Peter swinging through the city with a sick kid and accidentally making Johnny Storm think two orange children were his when Pete asked him to babysit. None of this would have happened if “One More Day” never did.
Like I said above, “One More Day” is arguably the worst thing to ever happen in a Spider-Man comic. It was a horrible retcon that to this day many fans have not forgiven. I still despise it with all of my heart, but at the end of the day, we still got plenty of great Spider-Man stories out of it. This retcon was atrocious, but complaining about an event from nearly twenty years ago isn’t going to make it go away anymore now than it would have then. As fans, we just need to accept that “One More Day” happened and probably won’t get undone anytime soon. We can pray for it, but even if it never happens, these stories show that Spider-Man stories aren’t doomed.
There’s plenty of good that came from this bad, if we’re willing to look for it. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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