Okay, I originally wrote a rant about Marvel announcing big revelations to media outlets prior to a comic’s release when they did it with the Death of Spider-man in the Ultimate Comics line. I decided against it than because, well for different reasons. However today, with the latest “leak” to USA Today, nearly two days before the comic hits the stands, I can’t take it anymore.
A quick recap to get you up to speed: Peter Park in the Ultimate Marvel universe died from injuries after a brutal battle and protecting his loved ones. It was a story built up for months, with ominous covers and other type things to add to the build-up, including the issue coming in a sealed bag to keep people from “spoiling” themselves in the comic shop. All this became a moot point when Marvel fed the end of the storyline to the media, and it became stories on USA Today, on television, and I even had it spoiled for me, that Peter did in fact die, early in the morning on The Bob and Tom Show. At the same time they were hyping up this storyline, Marvel was releasing an image of a new Spider-man costume and proclaiming that a new person would be under the mask when Ultimate Spider-man is relaunched in September. Marvel had even been releasing teaser images counting down the days until the release of Ultimate Fallout #4, this Wednesday, which would reveal the identity of the new Spider-man. Again, all the buildup and excitement Marvel was creating by this was deflated when they “leaked” another spoiler to USA Today, revealing the identity of the new Ultimate Spider-man (spoiled after the break)
New Ultimate Spider-man: Miles Morales, a half-black/half-Hispanic teenager.
Now, before anyone gets a wild hair and thinks I have an issue with this, I don’t. I’m curious to see how it plays out and how they explain it all, I’m all for a fresh look at Spidey, as long as it stays true to the ideas and concepts. No, my complaint is that, the surprise is already spoiled for me and everyone else. The image above is the image of the big reveal, the image that is supposed to be the reader’s surprise and shock panel, but how can it when it’s already shown to us? Now I’m sure Marvel’s reasoning is that the media attention helps with sales, helps with the public awareness of their product and blah blah blah. My question is, are they that worried about DC’s new 52 coming out they want to stay in the press as much as they can right now? I want to see some sales figures and see if these “leaks” actually have any true impact on sales. Why not trust their readers and fan base to rush to the stores, read the book, rave about the change and the surprise, and let word of mouth bring in new readers? If you want a news story, do it at the end of the week, or the first of next week even! That could bring in new people to pick up that book from the previous week and possibly pick up new books coming out that week and save the surprise for everyone that was looking forward to it. To me these “leaks” just feel like cheap ploys, and is almost like a slap in the face to fans and readers. Its says that Marvel is more interested in appealing to the masses and having their names in the headlines rather than keep some suspense and enjoyment to their comics for their current customers.
So please Marvel, I implore you, please quit with these leaks to the media! It’s actually becoming a bit of a joke how you’re spoiling your own storylines that you yourself have built up for months. Just like it says on Comics Nexus: “For some reason I’m not surprised that I’m reporting this spoiler on a Monday night/Tuesday morning.”
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