Warning: Spoiled

(Young Justice #30, cover by Todd Nauck)

Illustration aside, this post has nothing to do with Stephanie Brown, or anyone at DC.

This is about a recent Marvel spoiler (that I'll describe without repeating the spoiling information).

I've been following the X-Men in their latest bold, new era, thanks to Hoopla, Marvel Unlimited and the X-Lapsed podcast. Having caught up to Marvel Unlimited's offerings, I'm now in a holding pattern as the digital service releases a couple X-books each week, putting me about three months behind the comics on the shelves. I'm not complaining; the service is a great deal and I can't expect Marvel to eliminate all incentive for following the books as they're released.

But sometimes they do it anyway.

I expected major developments in Planet-Sized X-Men #1. I dodged a couple spoilers online and went ahead and bought the issue. It was underwhelming to me, but I decided that based on reading the issue, not accidentally reading about it.

With another big revelation coming, I was contemplating buying X-Factor #10 (right, cover by Ivan Shavrin) as well, even though I was only up to issue 8 digitally. Articles were popping up on June 30, the day it was released, and I knew I couldn't avoid them for a couple months.

The solicitation for the issue on Marvel.com ends with “And someone's number is up. You'll never guess whose.”

I didn't have to, because before I could grab the issue at a local shop the next day, the beans were spilled.

By Marvel.

In an announcement the day the comic was released.

Maybe I could have clicked away quickly, but it wasn't hidden. The company was promoting the limited series spinning out of a murder committed in the story, and the victim is on the cover of the first issue.

I don't buy enough new comics to concern Marvel (or anyone), but they didn't get my $3.99 last week because they basically told me they didn't want it. I still want to read the story, but I was willing to pay cover price to read it fresh.

Part of the fun of reading comics, watching TV and movies, is sharing the experience. Stuff is going to be talked about as soon as it's out there. But maybe make sure the people who can hear or read your discussion want to know about it first?

I've seen people debate how long you should wait before you stop giving spoiler warnings. I say it depends on the person.

For me, part of the fun of reading or watching a story is experiencing it as it unfolds. But I have friends who actively seek out spoilers and still enjoy the stories. I think there's something wrong with those people, but, hey, to each his own.

The longer a story is out there, the higher the risk of spoilers.

I knew (42-year-old spoiler warning) Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father before I ever saw “Empire Strikes Back,” maybe even before I saw “Star Wars.” And by the time I got around to reading “Watchmen,” I'd already seen the story summarized in a Wizard breakdown of the greatest comic book villains.

Spoilers don't automatically ruin a story. “Watchmen” was amazing the first time I read it and continued to be on subsequent rereads. But I do wonder how I would have received it had I gone in knowing nothing.

I try not to reveal too much about a story if there's a chance someone doesn't know what happens and they don't want it spoiled – no matter how old it is.

On a podcast discussing the first volume of Christopher Priest's Black Panther a while back, the host made a reference to “The Usual Suspects.” Despite the fact that that movie came out in 1995 and the other guest had no interest in seeing it, I felt rather uncomfortable as the host talked about... well, you know.

In some cases, a spoiler can kill my interest in something entirely.

I wanted to see the 2003 movie “Open Water” because I'm intrigued by shark movies (despite being able to count on one hand the number I've actually liked, if you remove those with “Jaws” in the title). I missed it in theaters and went to rent it one night. As I reached for the case, two kids walked by and one said to the other: “That movie's stupid. At the end blah blah blah.”

I still haven't watched that movie.

I've heard it said that if a story is ruined for you by knowing how it ends, it wasn't a very good story anyway. There's merit to that, but the element of surprise can still add another layer and even make an otherwise forgettable story worth at least one good viewing or reading.