This thread's for the Spider-Man comics and spin-offs, whether they're decades old or brand new.
- Apart from the main Marvel Universe titles, Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man "What If?" stories, crossovers, guest appearances in other books, Alternate Universe tales and things like Marvel's manga adaptations are all on-topic here.
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- Characters and comics that originated in Spider-Man but are no longer directly connected to the spider-franchise (e.g. Punisher, Silver Sable) are not on-topic, unless you're discussing historical connections and crossovers. If in doubt, check before you write a long post. If this isn't the right place, there's a more general Marvel Comics thread
which covers them.
Technically, Marvel's Infinity Comics (and their predecessors, Infinite Comics) are webcomics, not comic books, but it's fine to talk about their Spider-Man stories here.
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Edited by MacronNotes on Jul 10th 2023 at 10:58:13 AM
My first introduction to Spidey was the '90s animated series, where it was MJ who was thrown off the Brooklyn Bridge and disappeared into a portal.
Of course, I was aware enough to know that wasn't what happened in the comics — clearly Mary Jane died, and they just edited that down to appeal more to the kids.
...wait, she's still alive in the comics? Then what about the bridge thing? ...Who the heck is "Gwen"?
It's like Superman and the "L.L." initials; if your initials are "MJ" then you're going to be important in Peter Parker's life.
Disney100 Marathon | DreamWorks Marathon![]()
Then we meet Gwen in the penultimate episode and she's Armored Spider's wife who is living his best life out of all the Peter's.
That makes three times when Peter has the "best life" Gwen is his wife
Armored Spider in TAS
House of M Spider-Man initially
Punisher Spider-Man
Ironic
Edited by FKJ10 on Jun 1st 2023 at 2:49:37 AM
Which begs the question: Why keep doing it? It's clearly a losing battle at this point. And every time they fight it, the battle's apparent loss-ness only gets more and more noticeable!
Heck, when even a freaking Marvel Encyclopedia from last year
refers to MJ as Spidey's wife, that shows the nigh-invulnerability of the Peter/MJ ship.
At what point do we reach the straw that breaks this particularly stubborn camel's back? Take the hint already, Marvel! It's not even a hint anymore!
Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Jun 1st 2023 at 11:11:25 AM
According to editorial they totally don’t have a rule against Peter and MJ being together totally definitely not, it’s definitely entirely writer preference!
Forever liveblogging the AvengersGoing by Brevoort’s statement that I posted earlier, it seems like they’re not opposed to MJ herself, they’re opposed to Peter having one consistent love interest. Presumably if it had been Gwen, or Betty, or Felicia or whoever who’d been the smash hit with the fans decades ago, it’d be her getting this treatment today.
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...Why does that sound like a Suspiciously Specific Denial?
But if the readers (or most of them at least) are into Peter/MJ, then why refuse that from them? Why not just have some separate, Elseworlds book that tosses the consistent love interest angle? It's not like Spider-Man doesn't have a multiverse thing going on. (He says when ATSV is literally coming tomorrow.)
Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Jun 1st 2023 at 12:13:02 PM
According to Brevoort, editorial feels, or at least he does, that the central appeal of Spider-Man is that when he’s not a superhero he’s an awkward young man Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life. Giving him a source of constancy, like a stable love life, is felt to take away a big part of what makes him unique.
Just give him a healthy open marriage with MJ and a chaotic lovelife with his other partners. And MJ can have the same - she can even keep seeing Paul.
That'll tick all the boxes and keep ALL the fans happy, right?
Or is that only an option for certain Krakoan mutants...
An interesting point raised about Paul
from this scathing roundtable review of the issue.
How do we know Paul himself isn't a creation of his version of Rabin?
Perhaps one for WMG?
Edited by Zarius on Jun 1st 2023 at 9:49:58 AM
@Zarius Arrogant jerk but clearly and effective hero and loving husband as his Gwen was able to tell the main Peter wasn't hers just by his reaction to her.
@Red Hunter 53 I wouldn't call Punisher!Peter psychotic as in his internal monologues his motives for offing his rogues were pragmatic. He let most of them go initially but they just kept coming back for more.
He killed the Sinister 6 after they kidnapped Aunt May and Betty Brant, Osborn was to save Gwen. The only one that was pre meditated was Kingpin.
Heck him saving Gwen was also because he was no nonsense, shot Goblin mid monologue and caught Gwen at a lower angle with the scaffold.
Edited by FKJ10 on Jun 1st 2023 at 10:01:05 AM
Oh Christ.
Apparently there's a second printing cover
of ASM #26 regarding you-know-who's death and my god, it's not enough to call it insulting.
Using Ms. Marvel #1 from 2014 as a backdrop for more Spider-Manpain is...ARGGGHH.
Fuck you, Zeb Wells, or Marvel editorial, or whoever the hell's idea all of this was. Fuck. You.

Due to the nature of the "it was because of magic" stories like OMD and this Paul stuff...all out of character actions can be waved off as brainwashing. Far from character driven writing...but par for the course for 15 years now...