Nick Spencer's Amazing Spider-Man run was derailed by editorial interference, while Zeb Wells' stint has divided opinions for its portrayal of Peter Parker's relationship with Mary Jane Watson.
Not helping matters was the fact Spencer's time on the title concluded with Peter getting ready to pop the question to MJ, only for Marvel Comics to decide once again that they needed to be kept apart. To facilitate that, Wells sent MJ to a parallel dimension and brought her back with a new love interest, Paul.
It was recently confirmed that the Deadpool & Wolverine scribe's time writing Amazing Spider-Man will conclude with a story arc kicking off in September; now, a poster sent out to retailers confirms that Joe Kelly has been tapped as the next writer to take over the long-running comic book series.
Kelly is a comic book veteran but also one of the minds behind the iconic Ben 10 animated TV series. He's perhaps best known for his work on Deadpool in the late 1990s, with that proving arguably far more influential for how the Merc with the Mouth is portrayed today than anything Wade Wilson's original creators did.
He also had a critically acclaimed run on Action Comics for DC before returning to Marvel Comics and writing many of Amazing Spider-Man's best story arcs during the Brand New Day era of storytelling. That included the likes of "Grim Hunt" and "The Gauntlet."
Since then, Kelly has penned titles like Spider-Man/Deadpool and Non-Stop Spider-Man. Other credits include Daredevil, X-Men, and Superman.
Last year, Kelly reflected on his time writing Deadpool for Marvel Comics:
"I am thrilled that Deadpool continues to elicit laughs and tears around the world! As I've said many times, Deadpool is a cornerstone of my career, and I am very proud that the work we did on that first ongoing has resonated with readers for so long. Seeing our work on the big screen was awesome. Not gonna lie -- I wish everyone who contributed to making Deadpool a household name was properly compensated for the source material we created, so it's a bittersweet thing."
"As far as the next film(s), I think there's plenty to mine from our run. T-Ray on screen would be sick. Making Deadpool responsible for the fate of humanity via a cosmic entity - also sick. Mostly, though, I'd like to see Wade a bit darker. The funny bits work best when you realize how messed up this guy really is. We worked hard to keep him off balance in the books, and that's kind of lost in the common understanding of Deadpool. Yes, he's violent, but movie Deadpool doesn't struggle with who he is and what he's done in his life. I'd love to see more of that."
Are you excited to see Kelly's take on the web-slinger in Amazing Spider-Man?