Superman fixes Spider-Man's worst storyline with one change

The latest Superman storyline is similar to Spider-Man's worst, and even references it. However, one simple change made it even better.

Warning: Spoilers for Action Comics #1050!

A new Superman storyline would take a moment to take a stab at the Spider-Man storyline and manage to improve it considerably in the process. The Spider-Man story in question is the much maligned and controversial Spider-Man: One More Day. For those who haven't read it, Goodbye came to comic book stands in 2007, when Peter Parker was in the middle of his love marriage to Mary Jane Watson, and the aftermath of the Civil War as he revealed his secret identity to the world .

As a result of the latter, he and his loved ones were immediately brought to the attention of Spider-Man's rogue gallery, including sending henchmen to shoot Peter's leader, only to shoot Aunt May by mistake. To save his aunt's life, Spider-Man made a deal with Mephisto to save May in exchange for his marriage. By proxy, erasing Peter and MJ's marriage from history and their memory (as well as erasing the world's perception of Peter Parker as Spider-Man) was a hard reset for the entire franchise. Attempt to reboot Spider-Man met with backlash from critics, calling the move a For a character who's spent decades developing as a person, it's a step backwards, forced to start over.

Why Superman's Storyline Works Where One More Day Doesn't

If this storyline sounds familiar, it's because DC Comics recently took a similar approach with Action Comics #1050, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Tom Taylor, Joshua Williamson, Mike Perkins, Clayton Henry, and Nick Dragotta. In it, Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor is able to send telepathic blasts across the world, forcing everyone to forget the secret identity of the Superman family. Even the act of trying to remember can kill them. The writing team of the book seems to be aware of these parallels, as Lex has a line that seems to be referencing One More Day. The difference is that while everyone, including Spider-Man, is forced to forget about the ordeal, due to the surrounding force field, Superman, Lois Lane, Mom and Pa Kent, his son Jon Kent and Jon's boyfriend Jay Nakamura are spared the Kent farm from memory erasure.

That's probably enough to explain why no one complained about these new developments compared to One More Day's reception. By keeping the core cast's memories intact, DC won't let its key characters go backwards Like a Marvel story. When Spider-Man's life was reversed and erased, decades of character development suddenly disappeared from the protagonist, leaving fans feeling like their time and investment was wasted.

Meanwhile, while Superman's life as Clark Kent returns to the status quo, he and his family retain memories, as well as character development and lessons from years after his secret identity became public knowledge. That way, DC's storylines can still move forward and be restarted without undoing everything that happened. While Spider-Man's worst stories have been universally panned, Superman's latest development at least shows how that storyline works.

Next Step: Superman's Secret Identity Revealed Officially Reversed in the DC Universe