One More Day- NCCW

Some stories are just polarizing.  One More Day is that kind of story.  How can you change who Spiderman is?  He is inevitably shaped by his relationships with those around him.  Ben gave him his responibility.  May gives him compassion, Harry gives him purpose,  Gwen gave him love, and MJ gives him soul.  Most of those people are already dead.  What will Peter do, when he has to choose between the last two of these relationships. 

I will come out and say that I thought it was a good story and was very well executed.  I think a lot of people were upset by what it would do to Spiderman continuity.  This is a legitimate concern but not one that i found well founded.  It would be like complaining about Age of Apocalypse changing continuity.  In this, I mean, I don't think the change was meant to be permanent (at least relashionship wise).  While Peter and MJ had been having their problems, I think this story was conceived of as a way of making them stronger and not tearing them apart.  It was also a way to counteract the events of Civil War. 

Taken on its own, the story is excellent.  Peter feels responsible for Aunt May being shot.  He feels that his decisions have put his whole family in danger.  He is willing to do anything to give Aunt May a way to survive, but the clock is ticking.  Mephisto offers a trade; Aunt May's health for Pete and MJ's marriage.  Both have to consent and they have 24 hours (one more day) to decide.  What follows is some very emotional Spider-man.

I have yet to read brand new day to see the results of their decision, but their are hints that the fallout from One More Day will not remain permanent.  Mephisto acknowledges that what the characters had was special and it is foreshadowed that they will eventually be back together.  One of the larger consequences was that it seems that MJ was pregenant.  So, will may Parker never be born?  Will we never have Spidergirl?

Love it or hate it, the production value and writing are above average on this arc.  It deals with the marriage problems and allows MJ to be reintroduced as less of a downer type character or the decision to be reversed with their relationship renewed.  I am not a monthly reader of Spiderman, so my opinions may not count for much, and I have not really ever been that big of a fan of MJ.  Gwen Stacey all the way for me.  If Mephisto really wanted to split them up, all he had to do was resurect ole Gwen.

Overall, it is a must read for Spiderfans.  You may hate ever word on the page, but it is now a pivitol story in the Spiderverse.