Brand New Day

"Although some people seem to recall that Spidey unmasked himself during Civil War, no one quite remembers whose face was under the mask."

- Spider-Man: The New Status Quo, ASM #546

Like I said last week, I remain open to the possibility that the final issue of One Moment in Time, apparently coming out next week (when exactly did three-times-a-month go out the window?), will actually answer all my lingering BND continuity questions successfully enough that I can put them behind me, I want to take what time we have remaining to wallow in all the golden oldies one last time. I can buy that all the physical evidence of Peter's unmasking could be erased, or obscured, or whatever, and I can buy that people could be made to forget that particular event. But the mental gymnastics required to make certain key individuals forget the entire escapade are such that I simply can't imagine how they'd work out without the persons involved going insane.

Though I'd love to see some actual dramatic weight given to Jonah realizing that he once knew Spider-Man's identity, and now can't seem to remember it, and the ensuing consternation, his mental state is actually pretty easy to work out compared to some of the others'. Just off the top of my head: Does Aunt May remember getting shot? If so, why does she think it happened? If not, is there a scar? Or lasting damage? We know now that Back in Black did still happen almost entirely as we knew it, and someone May's age would have to be experiencing some kind of aftershocks from that much trauma. But moving on: where does she remember living during the Civil War? Does she remember dating Jarvis? Does Jarvis remember dating May, or that she even exists? In one issue of Invincible Iron Man (prior to Stark Disassembled, I should add), Tony actually tried to offer Spidey a job - not remembering who he is is one thing, but how could his memories of the war have been intact at all, absent that information? At least one MVP clone is ostensibly still running around (I think) in the Iron Spider suit - where does Tony think that came from? How come when Peter unmasks for the FF, they seem to remember everything, but when he unmasks for the New Avengers, it's like they're finding out for the first time (though it did make for a spectacular Jessica Jones moment)? Could Mephisto really be bothered to scrub out all this in excruciating detail, in a way that wouldn't leave these people insane?

*achem*

Well. You get the idea. I realize now how the Lost finale haters must have felt.