Stephen, JMS' plan was still going to involve Mephisto.  It would just more clearly show what Mephisto did to cause the switcheroo beyond massive reality alteration.

Greg McPhee, if I had any faith whatsover in the ability of the current "Marvel A-list" to do it properly, I'd be with you.  But I don't, so I think it's best to let things be and think good thoughts for the future.

Gregg, I'm so sorry.

Greg McPhee wrote: ...Let's just blow up the Marvel Universe and start from scratch with creators who know and understand the characters...

Greg, I've been saying something akin to this for a decade! LOL!

Gregg Halecki, I am very sorry for your loss.

My father passed away late last year. Even though I was very close to my father, if there is a devil (which is what Mephisto is supposed to represent at Marvel, hence that name), I would never make a deal with such a being. Again, if there is a devil, there would be nothing truly good to come out of such a deal. The devil isn't supposed to be a great guy, and there's always a catch. Besides, I am definitely certain that my father, who had strong beliefs in regard to religion, wouldn't approve.

QUOTE: At 6:20 this morning I got a phone call. A bad one that I have been waiting for. My mother passed today.

My condolences, Gregg.

JMS wanted to tie everything to a single divergent point - the drug storyline in ASM #96-98.  Peter would tell someone his concerns about Harry, which meant that Harry would get treatment sooner.  This would create a domino effect that would leave Harry and MJ together, Gwen and Norman would have never slept together, Gwen would still be alive, Harry would still be alive, MJ and Peter would have never married, etc., etc.  I don't know if the thought was that the more "important stories" would have still happened, albeit in modified form, but that was the starting point.

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Something to note here--JMS never bothered to explain when the supposed indescretion between Gwen and Norman took place. So, J.R. "MadGoblin" Fettinger theorized in an essay--

http://www.spideykicksbutt.com/GreenwithEvil/DeFloweringGwen .html

-- that it may have occurred right after Spider-Man--with some help from Osborn--rescued Gwen and Captain Stacy from the Kingpin in ASM # 61. Fettinger said that maybe Gwen went to thank Osborn for his aid, and felt an attraction to him at this time. Gwen then had the twins when she ran off to London during ASM # 93-98.

Of course, this is all reading between the lines on the part of a fan trying to rationalize a poorly-conceived story, and there is absolutely nothing in the previously existing canon to support it.

However, this fails to consider that in JMS' story, it is said that Gwen came back from Paris (where she gave birth) shortly before her death, a trip which A) Was never mentioned in the original stories, and B) There was no time or room for in the original stories.

Nevertheless, the writers of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man (2005) adopted this non-canon fan-theory (that Gwen screwed Osborn when she went to thank him for saving her life in ASM # 61) and turned it into an "official" explaination for Gwen Stacy's biographical entry. It has since turned up in a few official and unofficial publications.

But, given what JMS is now saying, the indescretion supposedly occurred when Gwen ran off during ASM # 93-98, and then she gave birth during the three reprint issues (that weren't true reprints) prior to her death, ASM #116-118, which JMS calls "three months" of blank continuity slate. Which is incorrect.

At 6:20 this morning I got a phone call. A bad one that I have been waiting for. My mother passed today.
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My condolences.

You might want to take a break from the negativity and arguing pertaining to this topic for a while.