This will be a quick and to the point editorial. Why was everyone so angry when Slott killed Spider-Man? I'll tell you why. Because he did it in such a horrible way. Everyone knows we'll see Peter return. It's just a matter of time really. But Slott and Marvel have talked about the backlash in a way that makes it sound like fans are all upset simply because he was killed which isn't true. We were upset because of the way it was done. It was a terrible plot that sounded like it was plotted by an 8 year old boy. "They switched brain!!!" And second it had no emotional depth.
To prove my point I'd like to point to Ultimate Comics Spider-Man issue 160. Spidey dies. Man he dies. But you know what people loved it. He died a hero, he died saving Aunt May, Gwen, and MJ. Not to mention the entire neighborhood. The stories afterward in "Fallout" were fantastic. But when Slott had to do the same thing with the 616 Spidey he failed. Horribly. Spidey doesn't go out a hero. Nothing was done to turn our emotions. He trades bodies with Doc Ock and dies. It had no emotional depth whats-so-ever.
So to sum up I'm simply saying people wouldn't have gone so crazy if it was done in a good way, like Superman's death, or Cap's death, or Thor's or even Spider-Man's death a year eariler in Ultimate Comics. You should see the look on people's faces when they ask me how Spider-Man died and I have to tell them he died because Doctor Octopus switched their minds right at the moment Doc Ock dies. Everyone of them has said more or less "that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." And make no mistake Marvel, it was a dumb way to kill Spider-Man. I have no idea how Dan Slott has kept his job as long as he has.
Rant over.