The Book of Masks Homepage

Spider-Man Commentary: If This Be My Destiny

"S02E17 "If This Be My Destiny"" 

As I explained a few commentaries ago, I wrote Part One of this four-part adaptation a long time ago, filed it away, and forgot about it so completely that it was entirely new when I rediscovered it. I wrote Part Two and most of Part Three back in January of 2022, but it kicked my ass so hard that I not only gave up on writing this project, I took a multi-month vacation from all writing. This September, though, I decided to finally get through Part Four. And here it is.

And this is another one where a famous Spider-Man bit gets repurposed. This idea came to me as I was writing the script, but maybe it had been percolating in the back of my mind. I knew that the rest of the season would show Gwen and Otto/Peter growing close, and the plan was for this multi-parter to bring them to a point where you could see them starting to develop a serious relationship. The scene I repurposed instantly seemed like just the kind of moment to put them onto such a path.

Otherwise, the writing of this script was another exercise in feeling my way along some dark corridors. I had to get from the initial situation to the final one; had to put in regularly punctuated crises and ramped-up stakes that were logical; and had to bring it all home by page 30. I think that's more or less what I managed. Whether it is successful is for others to say.

BTW, I have no idea if, in the animated continuity, Anya Corazon can drive, or if she is the only one old enough to drive. But it was convenient to bring her in as such.

* * *

And where do things go from here for this project? I'm not sure. The big lesson I learned is that I just don't have fun writing scripts. It took me four ugly, ugly days (including one day off in the middle to rest and recuperate) to get "If This Be My Destiny" written, and it was about the same kind of thing with the other scripts. I'm tempted to write one short treatment detailing the other nine (!) episodes I have crudely plotted out. But I'm also tempted not to, in case I get the urge to write them out in script form.

Suffice it to say this for now: The idea in those outlines (spread over nine episodes) is to try to hit the high points of the comic book "Superior Spider-Man" storyline, including the roll-out of an extreme surveillance network; tussles with the Avengers and J. Jonah Jameson; and a final battle with the Green Goblin (making his first appearance in this "alternate continuity") and ending with Otto and Peter switching back in order to beat the Goblin. But whether that plan could survive contact with the enemy (my stomach for scriptwriting) is another question.