In the current Spider-Man storyline One More Day, it's rumored that Marvel Comics will be pulling the plug on the marriage of Peter (Spider-Man) Parker and Mary Jane Watson.
Whether it'll be done the usual way (death) or an unusual way (hitting the cosmic re-set button), the ending of the marriage will supposedly clear the decks for a major overhaul of the Spider-Man franchise. Nobody could be happier than Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada, who's made it clear he's no fan of the marriage. In fact, Joe was so enthusiastic about the story, he's drawing it himself (despite his E.I.C. duties and rusty drawing skills).
In the midst of all this grim marriage-dismantling, I thought it would be a good thing to go back to happier times...when Peter and Mary Jane's love first blossomed in Spider-Man #143 (1975).
Since her debut in Spider-Man #42 (1966), Mary Jane Watson had been the happy-go-lucky party girl of the Spider-Man cast. Though she definitely enjoyed flirting with Peter, she was simply a good friend through the years Peter dated his beloved Gwen Stacy. That would all change when the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) killed Gwen Stacy and shattered Peter's world. Seeing Peter's pain, Mary Jane dropped the party girl pretense and reached out to him in sympathy.
Over the next couple of months (or years in "real time"), Peter and Mary Jane's friendship continued to deepen. Following an attempt on MJ's life by the equally demented son of the Green Goblin (Harry Osborn), Peter realized just how important she had become to him.
It's against this backdrop that we join our young couple in the quiet late-night corridors of the Kennedy International Airport, as Pete is about to catch a flight to Paris. As good-byes are said, as small talk runs it course...love begins.
(click on the pages for larger views)
Mark,
Any thoughts on the marriage itself? I stopped reading comics altogether a few months before they tied the knot, and haven't been able to read the recent Spider-Man books (Ultimate Spider-Man excepted), so it's been hard to get any sense of it. I think it's an interesting idea, though.
Posted by: cinephile | September 16, 2007 at 11:09 PM
Though I adore the character of Spider-Man, I haven't been a regular reader for many, many years. However, I keep up on the books through trades from the library, and from what I've read, the marriage hasn't been handled well by the writers. There's a half-heartedness when it comes to writing a marriage into the title of a major comic book character like Spider-Man and Superman...part of which comes from it's low potential for superhero action and adventure, and part of which comes from younger readers having little to no interest in that sort of thing.
So, that's all to say that the Peter and MJ marriage hasn't been portrayed very well over the years. Still...I'm dreading whatever "fix" Marvel is planning to bring to the situation.
Posted by: Mark Engblom | September 17, 2007 at 08:50 AM
There's a whole generation of Spider-Man fans who grew up with a married Spidey. To them, this is like breaking up Reed & Sue Richards, or even Ralph & Sue Dibny. This is not going over well at all, & I really think, if it is going the way Joe Quesada's threatening, that Joe Q's going to be pushed out of Marvel once Stan Lee & Larry Lieber (who write the Spider-Man newspaper strip) make a stink about it.
Posted by: philippos42 | September 18, 2007 at 01:29 AM
Yeah, I can see how the generation that grew up with a married Spidey could be upset. Heck, I've never been a giant fan of the marriage, but even I don't want to see the destruction/cosmic reset of their marriage made into an event. Still...at the end of the day, they're fictional characters that have to sell comics, and that's what Joe Q. and Co. intend to do.
As for Stan, I don't think he has much pull around Marvel these days, outside of being a figurehead of sorts...much less his brother Larry. I'm sure he's not thrilled about making the destruction of the marriage a spectator sport, but then again, he understands the nature of the comics biz and its constant demand for drama and spectacle more than just about anyone.
Posted by: Mark Engblom | September 18, 2007 at 07:09 AM