Comic Book / One More Day

"One More Day" is a 2007 story arc running through the different Spider-Man comics published by Marvel Comics. It's written by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada.

The story, set in the shared Marvel Universe, follows on from the events of the Civil War event, in which Spider-Man revealed his secret identity to the world. Now that his identity is public, the The Kingpin makes an attempt on Spider-Man's life.

Peter, naturally, escapes it due to his Spider Senses, but dear old Aunt May takes the bullet. Unfortunately, this is a fatal wound, and May is going to die. After putting back on his old black costume and going on a Darker and Edgier Roaring Rampage of Revenge against the Kingpin, he web swings up and down the Marvel Universe trying to find someone, anyone, who can help him. Unfortunately, none of the super-scientists, magicians (one of whom is also a surgeon), mutants, or techno-wizards can fix a single bullet wound.^note This is explained in the story by it being her fate to die at this point and being brain dead.

Then Mephisto shows up, to offer Peter and Mary Jane Watson a Deal with the Devil. He'll heal May, but rather than take a soul in exchange, he'll take their marriage. Yes, that's right — the entire purpose of this arc was to Cosmic Retcon the Spidey marriage. Ostensibly, it's because "the suffering of two souls in love, forever denied each other, is far better than the soul of one who has given it up nobly in the sacrifice of another." Peter accepts, and...

The series picks up after a Time Skip, under the banner Brand New Day.

One More Day was followed up in 2010 with One Moment in Time, intended to clean up dangling plot threads as Peter and Mary Jane finally get talking again and start going over the history of their relationship.

Another follow up occurred with The Amazing Spider-Man (2018) in which more was revealed about Mephisto's connections to Spider-Man's mythos.

One More Day runs through the following comics:

• The Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #544
• Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2005) #24
• The Sensational Spider-Man (2006) #24
• The Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #545

This story arc provides examples of:

• Aborted Arc: We never did find out who that woman was Mephisto hinted at.
• Anchored Ship: The official status of Peter/MJ between One More Day and One Moment In Time.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Parker asked Stark to pay for May's medical treatment, or... or what? Parker, you're in no position to make threats! No, the "or..." was not an "OR ELSE" threat. It was "or else my aunt is going to die in some charity ward somewhere. Is that what you really want, Tony? Is it?"
• Artistic License – Law: Tony Stark can not pay May's hospital, because that would be a criminal help to a fugitive criminal. So, he transferred some millions to Jarvis' personal account, so that he can help May in his name. Problem is, the use of straw persons to commit financial crimes is a regulated crime, and relatives and best friends (such as Jarvis for Stark) are the first suspects in those operations.
• Astral Projection: Just to hammer in how impossible it is to heal Aunt May, Doctor Strange casts a spell on Peter that allows him to talk to every noteworthy scientist, mystic, and healer in the Marvel universe... at the same time!
• The Bad Guy Wins: Peter Parkers accepts the deal, and Mephisto gets what he wanted all along, without conditions or consequences.
• Broad Strokes: The events of the marriage years mostly still happened as originally shown; Peter and MJ were still living and sleeping together — they just never made it official. This means yes, all Mephisto did was erase some wedding photos and a legal document.
• Broken Aesop: Breaks the aesop that Spider-Man is supposed to embody, as instead of taking responsibility for his actions, he dodges it by making a Deal with the Devil against the wishes of its main beneficiary and guilt-tripping his own wife into going along with it. However, in One Moment in Time, this is retconned so that Mary Jane is the one to have made the deal. For readers, rewriting history just to save the life of a single person who, in addition to wanting to die anyways and was telling you to let go, and is, let's face it, likely to die of old age in a few years anyway is simply asinine. The message then becomes "the ends justify the means", and that instead of learning how to cope with loss and move on with your life, you should hold on to what you have and never let go, even if the cost of doing so might be too high; for you and others.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Tony Stark is not Peter Parker's dad, just a parental figure. That did not save him from falling into this when Parker thought that the whole mess is Stark's fault.
• Canon Discontinuity: Despite Joe Quesada's explicit claims that Spidey's unmasking in Civil War wouldn't be undone via a "magic retcon", one of the effects of the deal is that his unmasking was written out of history... with magic.
• Clock Roaches: During his astral jaunt through the past, Peter runs afoul of beings called Nightwalkers. Monstrous creatures that live on the edges of time and space, ready to pounce on anyone attempting to tamper with destiny.
• Continuity Nod: The final panel toasting to the Brand New Day (basically a bunch of hands carrying glasses raised high) is similar to "The Wedding!" (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21). It is a snide inversion and swipe of a panel image in Annual where Peter, Harry, and Flash raise a toast in celebration to Peter's nuptials (three hands raising glasses above). In the wedding one, Flash Thompson raises the toast after cheering and clearing up Peter's second thoughts and insist he go ahead with getting married, insisting that it's the best thing that will happen to him; it is reused in the new story for raising a toast celebrating the single life.
• Cosmic Retcon: Peter makes a Deal with the Devil erase his marriage with Mary Jane in exchange for saving his Aunt May's life. The entire purpose of this arc was to retcon the Spidey marriage.
• Deal with the Devil: Peter Parker makes a deal with Mephisto to save the life of Aunt May. Contrary to tradition, he does not sell his soul, but his marriage with Mary Jane.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Parker does not want Stark's pity. He wants medical care for May, which he can not pay for.
• Fantastic Aesop: The story is essentially a result of Quesada wanting to split up Mary Jane and Peter, but at the same time didn't want to imply a "divorce is okay" moral. Apparently, he was fine with impossibly implying "making deals with the devil is okay".
• The Gloves Come Off: Iron Man can not be stopped by Spider-Man's weak webs. But what if he let it go and emptied himself on him? Yes, that will stop him... at least for some seconds.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Parker blames himself for May being shot. Except when he blames Tony Stark.
• I'm Crying, but I Don't Know Why: This is apparently why Mephisto wanted Peter and Mary Jane's "marriage" instead of their souls. He claims that if he took their souls, the eternal torment he would put them through would be tempered by the irrefutable fact that they gave up their souls out of pure altruism. By using a Cosmic Retcon so that Peter and Mary Jane never would have married, a small part of them will be forever screaming out that they have lost something precious without even knowing it.
• In Spite of a Nail: One would think that the nonexistence of the marriage would at least have changed the outcome of some of the plot lines in the Spider-Man continuity. Things, however, stayed in Broad Strokes just the same.
• I Owe You My Life: The doctor in the hospital can't do much for May, but he will at least keep the bureaucracy stalled as long as possible to prevent May from being transferred somewhere else. Spider-Man had once saved his uncle, and he promised back then that someday he would pay that debt.
• It's All My Fault: The whole story is driven by Parker's sense of guilt over May being shot.
  • It's All About Me: And as long as he can assuage his own guilt he doesn't care that he's completely disregarding the wishes of Aunt May who he knows was at peace with dying and would never want Peter to destroy his happiness for her.
• Karma Houdini: As nobody knows about the deal, Mephisto got away with the deal and never had to retract it.
  • Peter likewise sees no real consequences for making the deal. He simply gets his aunt and best friend Harry Osborne back with no guilt or sense of loss in return since he has no memory of what he gave up.
• Magical Divorce: The entire purpose of this storyline was to erase Peter and MJ's marriage from history.
• Mood Whiplash: The story is filled with bleak, depressing, and demoralizing scenes. The epilogue showing the Post-OMD continuity is a happy and upbeat one.
• Never My Fault: Parker attacks Stark and blames him for the whole situation because Stark talked him into revealing his identity because he promised that May and Mary Jane would be protected. Parker forgot that he is an adult capable to decide things by himself, and that he forfeited that protection the moment he went rogue and took them out of the tower.
• Protagonist-Centered Morality: Parker commits several questionable things while trying to save Aunt May. He blamed and attacked Tony stark for it because he promised she would be protected if he signed the SHRA (ignoring that went rogue, removed them from the tower, and forfeited that protection), he stole a dangerous artifact from Dr. Strange to Set Right What Once Went Wrong, and he made a deal with the devil, even against May's own wishes.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Peter's possible child in the future gives him a scathing one calling him out for his selfishness and putting his pain ahead of everything else cause it makes him feel bigger. Worse still Peter Marvels, if not all of media's, biggest wise cracker, doesn't have a real answer, rebuttal, or even a decent quip ready to counter her assertion.
• Reed Richards Is Useless: Aunt May, an elder woman, received a gunshot. At this point she's in a coma. With the help of Dr. Strange, Peter has a magical conference where he asks all the greatest minds of the Marvel Universe for help. Nobody can help him with this problem. This includes characters with healing powers and scientists with healing machines.
• Relationship Reset Button: The marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane is canceled by a deal with the demon, and Peter returns to be single. He forgets all about it, but Mary Jane remembers.
• Shoo Out the Clowns
  Parker: In another time and place, I would've responded with a snappy comeback. I don't have time.
• Shoot Out the Lock: Parker tried to enter Stark's tower with his old password, but Stark has already changed them. No problem, he just tears the whole door apart.
• Silent Whisper: Mary Jane agrees to Mephisto's terms for the Deal with the Devil but quietly whispers something to him before the deal is finalized. We find out what it was she said in One Moment In Time. She said that she would remember.
• Strange Minds Think Alike: Mephisto is talking Peter into accepting the deal, but he's not sure. He can't decide something so big without talking about it with Mary Jane first. Of course, Mephisto has no problem with that: another projection of himself has already been talking with Mary Jane... who can't decide something so big without talking about it with Peter first.
• Stress Vomit: After Peter tells her about the Deal with the Devil Mephisto offered them.
• Superheroes Stay Single: Spider-Man had been single during his first years, and eventually got married to Mary Jane. With this story and the erasure of his marriage, he became an example once again.
• Take That, Audience!: Peter Parker meets an alternate self who was never bitten by a spider, and became instead a complete nerd who wastes his life reading comic books, playing video games and doing similar stuff.
• These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: The Hands of the Dead are not meant to be used by just any random bloke. Dr. Strange is a Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge, but everybody else should stay away. And that means you, Spider-Man!
• Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: Inverted.^note Not Crunchy Enough for Yog Sothoth? Mephisto claims he doesn't like to buy people's souls if it's part of a Heroic Sacrifice, because those souls "suffer righteously", which is really no fun. Hence why he asks for the Parkers' marriage instead.

• Watching Troy Burn: Spider-Man steals an artifact from Dr. Strange to return to the past but cannot Set Right What Once Went Wrong because he's just a soul. He can't affect the physical world (so, he can't attack the sniper), neither be seen nor heard by anyone (so, he can't warn his past self). He can't do anything but watch May get shot a second time. NOOOOOO!!!!!!
• What the Hell, Hero?: Peter's future daughter calls him out on his behavior during the entire arc, telling him how he's been acting like a selfish prick who can't take responsibility for his own actions. It's a pity that Peter doesn't actually listen to her, instead responding by saying "Those are some awfully big ideas for a little girl."
• A Wizard Did It: In the aftermath of the story, fans wondered how Mephisto rewriting reality to undo Peter Parker and Mary Jane's wedding affected the timeline. Joe Quesada, upon being asked why he essentially responded with "It's magic. We don't need to explain it," said that other Marvel characters used magic and no one needed an explanation for those.^note One Moment In Time eventually explains what actually happened- Mephisto made it so that they were never married, and Doctor Strange wiped the memory of everyone on Earth so that nobody knows Peter is Spider-Man, not even guys like Venom or the Green Goblin who knew who his Secret Identity before he revealed to the world in Civil War. Aunt May survived because Peter figured out a way to save her on his own. And random Brand New Day stuff like Harry Osborn now being alive has been explained as Death Faked for You- ie. much like Aunt May, he survived without interference from Mephisto and was Not Quite Dead the whole canon time. Mephisto rewriting history also means that they never made a deal with Mephisto in the first place. About the only effect of his deal, then, is that Peter and Mary-Jane were never married- as in, they lived together and everything in Spidey's history happened exactly as it always did; they just chose not to make their love "official" by getting hitched. And for some reason, they broke up off-panel after the events of this story.
• Writer on Board: Joe Quesada hates both the Spider-Marriage and the concept of divorce so much that he considers a literal Deal with the Devil to erase it from history an acceptable alternative to either splitting Peter and MJ up or letting them stay married.
• You Monster!: Mary Jane accepted the deal, but that doesn't mean she likes it or Mephisto a single bit.