Note: This is not a chapter of the main story. This is something I want to do as change of pace.
Hey guys,
As I am writing this, we are currently 11 chapters into the story and I'm doing my best to pace it out for an ending. I want to dedicate this chapter for readers out there whether you're following the story or not as an insight to my thoughts when writing this story.
I've actually been around this site for quite some time and I've written a few fanfics for other properties before. One of the earliest ones I did was a TMNT one where I was keen on crafting my own interpretation on the franchise. Another one was Street Fighter which didn't provide a whole lot of material for me admittedly despite my love for the games and such.
Unfortunately I never got around to completing either of them due to my interests in them dying down a little. That's not to say I hate them, don't get me wrong. From those fanfics, I've been learning how to adjust my writing and thinking about how people can be invested. I've also been insistent on being creative in what I envision.
It is important to stay faithful to source material yet change things up a little to make it fresh. With that being said, let's dive in. 2018 was pretty significant year for Marvel particularly with Spider-Man. We've been blessed with so many things from it such as some great movies, a great video game etc. Yet it is also the year where unfortunately the two biggest people, Steve Ditko and Stan Lee passed away. (RIP you two)
When I say 2018 was a significant year, I mean I had a huge surge in interest to write something. So when I started this story, my mind just instantly clicked to Peter Parker. I understand at this moment of time, I should be more concerned with the likes of Miles Morales or Spider-Gwen. Don't get me wrong, I love those characters but Peter Parker was always where it's at and he's the character I want to know with regards to how I would envision him.
Writing Peter Parker to me feels like an exercise of what parts of him are relatable to me and quite possibly everyone else. I want to write a Spider-Man who has experienced the tragedy of Uncle Ben already yet has still much to learn about his duties.
That's why I gave moments like building new web shooters, a new suit and other gear into the story to emphasise how he needs to overcome his technological limitations and use his mind. The reason for the age of 18 is also done to balance out the youthhood and adulthood in Peter. So basically, independent yet still finding a way to transition.
There are two characters I need to address and they are Harry Osborn and Mary Jane Watson. First thing is first, they both exist in the universe this story occupies. I want to subvert this early on to give Peter a bit of an isolation gap with certain people and explore something else.
Harry Osborn, who we commonly know as the best friend of Peter as well as one of his biggest enemies depending on the story told is not going to be in this story. He's away… (Hint, hint) My decision for this is to make Peter more of a loner that has been disconnected ever since.
Instead I chose for Ned Leeds to occupy the best friend role and yes, this is obviously something influenced by Homecoming. In this version, Ned like Peter is very much quite distant with people around him. While Flash Thompson picks on Peter as usual, I would say he picks on Ned even more in this version. Also I adjusted him a little to make him less like Ganke Lee (the friend of Miles Morales) which also means he's less like Jacob Batalon in appearance.
There's another 'best friend' character I included and that's Phillip Chang. This is actually a minor character from the comics and someone I thought would be cool to change up. (P.S. You can actually find this character in the Spider-Man PS4 game) In this version, he starts off as the only guy who knows Peter is Spider-Man and provides the tech support Peter needs to monitor crime.
Onto Mary Jane Watson and like Harry, she's away. I did add a bit of history in that she is the first girl Peter was romantically involved with and whatever happened ever since is a mystery. Who knows, if she would pop up in the story? And while I recognise their relationship as a big thing, I ultimately decided to settle with someone else.
Speaking of which, Gwen Stacy is the main love interest for this story. As a character in other iterations, she has been through a lot and I think like Peter has a lot of different avenues she can go through. To put it simply, she knows who Mary Jane is and that's one reason she got close to Peter. I would say she is kind of a popular girl in that people like her but to her, she isn't feeling the energy all the time.
Admittedly, I will admit I kind of struggle with writing her because every time I do something like write about what Spider-Man is up to, I go "I gotta give Gwen something to do." Don't worry, I am open to Spider-Gwen ideas for her. I'm doing my best to build it up. Her father is someone who I intend to use to fill in some gaps whenever she isn't around.
Lastly, Aunt May is pretty much the same as you'd know her. The one legal guardian who's doing her best to look after her nephew. Being a character close to Peter, she obviously puts on a lot of motivation for what Peter is fighting for. On a side note, I included the storyline in which Aunt May works at F.E.A.S.T. as a way to showcase her character as well as open the possibility of her being close to danger.
As for villains, I understand if you're wondering when people like Doc Ock or Green Goblin are going to show up. These are great villains, no doubt. But I rather not rush them due to their popularity and other things. Instead, I opted for some other candidates.
In this story, Peter has been Spider-Man for quite some time but he hasn't quite faced serious villains as of yet. This is done to open up the possibility of fleshing out a villain's backstory as well as developing them as they go along.
Firstly there's Chameleon. If you know your Spider-Man comics, this is the first official supervillain Spider-Man has ever faced dating back to the 60s. However, he isn't quite popular I feel in comparison with other villains today and I want to give him another chance. He's in the story as both a bit of an homage as well as someone who I want to make as both formidable and threatening to Spider-Man through my eyes.
Hammerhead is in this story to start off the root of the conflict. Outside of all the superpowered and techy villains, I wanted someone who (aside from his forehead) is simply just a regular man who controls things through words and organisation. It was either him or someone else like Kingpin. Plus including the Maggia opens up some doors for where I want to take the story.
Shocker is in this story as another central antagonist. Out of all the popular Spider-Man villains, he feels like one of the earliest supervillains Spider-Man could come across despite not being the case in the original Earth-616 comics. I want to make him something special of an antagonist. Not much a tragic figure and while he is doing other's work, I wanted to set up an arc that relates to him and Spider-Man. I have a lot of fun writing him.
Finally there's Martin Li (a.k.a Mister Negative)… Now as of now, he's kind of just a puppet master working his way through the story. After playing Spider-Man PS4, I wanted to capitalise on his rising popularity a little. I liked the vengeance angle with him and to me, there's some relatable context I want to include for him. This version has been written with a few things that are a little closer to the original comics in comparison to the PS4 version. Yet, I want to keep the best parts from Spider-Man PS4 in him.
The rest of the villains included are lesser foes from the comics. Some like Kangaroo and Cyclone are one-off characters who'd been killed off permanently. I wanted to see if I could make these characters more than what they used to be. Other villains like Beetle and Eel are guys who faced other heroes beyond Spider-Man in the comics. These guys open up the universe in which the story occupies and is perhaps something I wish to expand upon.
Speaking of which, there's plenty of Marvel Easter eggs as well as references for other things. Good luck, pointing out the Marvel references in each chapter be it Spider-Man or not. Major influences to this story are actually the original Earth-616 stuff. Maybe a few Ultimate stuff as well and to some extent, other media like the movies and such.
If there's one thing you'd probably notice is that the story mostly takes place in Queens rather than Manhattan. I did this to make the conflict of the story more personal and more at home for Peter. There is one thing I do think I struggle with regards to location and that is visualising in my head, the surroundings/environment. Admittedly, I don't live in Queens.
This does present a challenge for me which is choreographing the fight scenes in my head as well as giving readers the sense of what is happening. I apologize if this is an issue with you, this is something I'll try figure out in the future.
So all in all, I'd like to thank all of you out there dedicating your time reading. It's been a real honour. I also appreciate the feedback as every bit helps with what I could learn.
Until then stay tuned for the next chapter… 😊
Looking forward to 2019.
