Comments on: Comics in Context #210: Divorce, Marvel Style

By: MattK

MattK — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:38:51 +0000

Oh, and a bit of miswording on my last comment, meant to say that Harry Osborn didn’t die because Peter and Mary Jane WERE married, therefore, the marriage becoming nonexistent shouldn’t have brought him back to life.

By: MattK

MattK — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:40:43 +0000

I think Quesada saying “All the stories happened, just not the marriage” is bunk, because Harry Osborn didn’t die because Peter and Mary Jane weren’t married, and neither did Aunt May get shot because they were married. Blaming problems on an aspect that the writers can’t properly write around really makes them look immature and poor. And honestly, the Clone Saga didn’t ruin things for me by saying “we’ve been following a clone all this time” because there was always a plausible back door out. With Mephisto, it’s a magical reset button akin to the Silver Age DC Comics, only without the charm of whimsy that those old comics have. They might as well have printed on the cover “Not a Hoax! Not a Dream! Not a Poorly Written Idea!”

By: MattK

MattK — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:23:44 +0000

But hey, I’ll vote with my money, by which I’ll pay for the Spider-Girl stories (even when they cancel the series and move it to Spider-Man Family) and not bother with the mainstream continuation of the Crisis on Spider-Man’s Lovelife.

By: Gibernet

Gibernet — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:23:20 +0000

This month the ODM story has been published in Spain, my country. I have to say that I agree with you. The spiderman that I know don’t deserves that. And also I hope that, someday when Quesada leaves Marvel (he will not stay there forever), someone will undoit.

By: Jon Mundy

Jon Mundy — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:15:17 +0000

It’s argued that the baby Peter and Mary Jane had during the Clone Saga was never conceived and never born. But according to Joey Q, “All the books count, all the stories countâ€“except in the minds of the people within the Marvel U, Peter and MJ were a couple, not a married couple.” Joey makes a point to always state that. The stories did happen Mary Jane and Peter never married. They only lived together as a couple. They lived together, fooled around and MJ became pregnant. That did happen occording to Joey Q. He said all the stories happened. If not, he’s lying again.

By: Mr. Shawn

Mr. Shawn — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:30:31 +0000

I jumped ship when the clone thing happened with Spidey. That was it! Hard core comic reader was so turned off with where they wanted me to care about my Spidey see ya! Now I see it was he right time to bail. Thanks Kevin serious, your my link to that world since I had to go cold turkey. I worked at a comic shop for books and small cash something. I had a $100.00 a week habit with a store that gave me a 40% discount. Note to readers if you are are stashing at least 10 titles a week at your store 20% off book is not unfair as long as you constantly pick them up as the rabid fan you are. Clones Smones, cheap excuse for writing.! I equate that to the I woke up and it was all just a dream shit cinema throws at us. I just got sucked back in a little subscribe to the Marvel Digital realm and and a student showed me the civil wars stuff to a point. Caps Death and Wolverine making sure it was true. That said I can back up kevin on the how did they get there magic to confirm it was cap dead. Magic is the loop hole and as long as it is in check whit Dr. Strange I am cool with it. Didn’t know Spidey had to say latter to MJ as a result of keeping aunt May who should have died 20 years ago (not being harsh but she looked like vulture and that should have been the out with him) with Spidey not 40 years latter. She should have died with the vulture thing as it would have made sense. Featured then gone. Whatever my two cent.

By: Jeff M. O'Boyle

Jeff M. O'Boyle — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:45:30 +0000

>> In response to: >>>> Back in 1987 there was a party at a Manhattan nightclub called the Tunnel to publicize the wedding of Peter Parker, better known as Spider-Man, to Mary Jane Watson. Actors portraying Spidey (in mask and tuxedo) and MJ (in wedding gown) were present as was Stan Lee, as himself, and I attended as well. This week I informed my companion for that evening that Marvel had just retconned Peter Parkerâ€s life so that he had never been married. So, I told her, I guess we never attended that party either. Too bad, because she was really proud of the dress she wore for the occasion.... >>>> Jim Shooter, not wanting the comics to get scooped by the newspaper strip or whatever, decided that the publicity surrounding the marriage (there was talk of a faux wedding ceremony taking place at Shea Stadium to commemorate the event) and the fact that this was Stan made it worth doing in the books as well.â€ (And I wonder if Peter and Mary Jane will remain married in the Spider-Man comic strip, and if not, how Stan will explain it.) >>>>>>>>>>>> Just wanted to mention that the "faux wedding ceremony" at Shea Stadium actually was held on the day or early evening of a Mets game, with an actor in a Spidey costume and a tux and an actress dressed as MJ in a gown, just like you described at the nightclub. I was not at the game, though as a Mets fan and comics fan I would have probably tried to go if I knew about the "real-world" ceremony in advance. I learned about it soon after-the-fact from ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, which filmed and broadcast a report of Spidey's wedding at Shea. Stan Lee officiated at the ceremony. I enjoyed hearing about you and your date being at the nightclub with Spidey and MJ!

By: badman06

badman06 — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:49:48 +0000

*edit, I sent that message to marvel, i do not mean it for Peter, accidentally copied and pasted the wrong thing, sorry about that, but at least you can see my stance

By: badman06

badman06 — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:46:39 +0000

I had to make a username come here to complain, after you have ruined my favorite character I have stopped reading spiderman because of this, i can understand the retrocon but it was un-needed and awful. They have titles already that appeal to the audience they are trying to reach with this retrocon. More importantly One More Day undermines and abolishes some of the best stories told, for instance, “The Other” which i thought was one of the best written spiderman stories in awhile, and i am really disappointed that they downgraded all of spiderman’s powers for instance the organic web shooters. I loved many of the new stories pre-OMD, and i honestly thought that a world in which spiderman’s identity was revealed and his aunt finally dead (That is really long over do) we could begin to read about new interesting stories as Peter Parker finally progressed to the next stage in his life, i assumed this would just be natural, you have him going to college and getting married, the next step would be dealing with the death of your last parent figure. I was excited about the possibilities, was marvel finally taking the next step and doing what most character dont but spiderman has pretty consistently: Elvolving and growing? NO, they took they easy way out, they ruined a character. Thier is plenty of title out thier that appeal to these “kids” but this title appealed to the older audience, it was daring, it was mature, it dealt with real issues, and it made the reader connect with the character and suspend disbelief which is the goal of writing fiction, it was a great comic. Over all though, this was simply just BAD and from this point on spiderman is dead to me, as a protest i refuse to buy or read another marvel comic until something is done to fix this grave injustice, and any true fan of spiderman would do the same. I thank you for bringing me these great tales and stories, but right now i hate marvel for destroying them.

By: Bev Hisey

Bev Hisey — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:46:23 +0000

I am a woman.

I am a Spider-Man fan. I have every issue since Amazing Fantasy 15 up to One More Day. I loved the marriage of Peter and MJ. It was actually being written beautifully lately.

Now the hero I loved is missing in action. The Spider-Man who is found within the pages of the new books is a stranger that I don’t recognize in any way. A mere photo copy of the original character to which I was emotionally attached.

I no longer care what happens to the character, as it matters not whether he hooks up with another girl or again with MJ, as Joe Quesada will not permit anything to come of it, or any progress whatsoever to occur. He has, as far as I am concerned, completely destroyed his own flagship’s character.

I can only hope that one day someone will undo the damage that has been done to my very favorite fictional character.

By: Rosie Powell

Rosie Powell — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:56:45 +0000

One, I don’t consider Peter’s marriage to Mary Jane as a mistake. Why is it a rule that costumed superheroes have to remain single, due to “continuity issues”? What a load of crap! It’s just another lame excuse so that the leading character can be some poor man James Bond.

Two, MARVEL’s way of breaking up the couple was a load of crap that it boggled the mind. I have never heard of anything so convoluted in my life.

By: Paul Gibson

Paul Gibson — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:20:02 +0000

Surely the place for exploring options like a single Peter Parker is in something like the Ultimate imprint?

Wasn’t that setup in order to use the characters without the continuity etc, that the main titles have?

By: Ann Marie Mille

Ann Marie Mille — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:16:42 +0000

This is definitely an interestng article to read. I work for http://www.firstwivesworld.com, an online community for women in the various stages of divorce. I just graduated college and am not divorced, so I read a lot of articles and blogs to see what people have to say about the topic. I never really gave this idea much thought. But I think it is true that divorce is much more accepted now in this country then it was a generation or two ago. It is rare to come across someone who has not been directly or indirectly effected by divorce or someone who knows someone that has been effected by divorce. It isn’t a no no anymore, it’s ok to mention it. People don’t keep it so much under-wraps anymore. I work for a website dedicated to helping people in the various stages of divorce, and our membership has doubled since it’s inception. It’s an interesting thought how much our country has changed yet this article shows it’s hesitance at certain points.
Just my two cents
Ann Marie Miller

By: Maitiu

Maitiu — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:57:27 +0000

I have read every issue of Spiderman from Amazing Stories #15 to the present. I have to say that I share the opinion that this was a poorly made decision by an editorial board that feels it knows what is best. It reeks of the clone saga in it abruptness and cheap feel. I can honestly envision a time in the near future when another editor comes along and says now we are going to put them back together.

The worst part for me, however, is the number of potential stories dealing that have been lost. I think the Peter/MJ marriage had become much stronger and better written in recent years as writers had begun to “get it” and understand how the dynamics worked between them. However there will be no stories dealing with that. Or how Spiderman would deal with being outed, or how his relationships with his friends would be altered. It is a bad decision and I mourn the potential Marvel is throwing away.

By: David

David — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:31:49 +0000

Fantastic, insightful article. I would point out that the baby the Green Goblin kidnapped is the one which grew up into Spider-Girl in her continuity (where, happily, the marriage and Peter’s morals are still intact). For that matter, the very well-written death of Aunt May in #400 really happened there (in mainstream continuity it was retconned out as an actress with genetic surgery … my God, how stupid that sounds as I type it).

In a sense we have that Peter-walking-into-sunset story: Spider-Girl. When he saved baby May from the Goblin, he lost a leg, and retired, but lived happily ever after with MJ and his daughter, and now his legacy continues. Works for me.

By: catbeller

catbeller — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:34:20 +0000

One more one more thing. Marvel and the wise heads have it wrong: kids aren’t their customers anymore. They need to give up the delusion that they are writing for people who’ve not read their books before. There are darned few kids reading comics, and those mostly because we adults introduce them to the books.

By: catbeller

catbeller — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:29:12 +0000

And one more thing for the writers and Quesada: What would Aunt May’s opinion of Peter’s decision to eliminate his life to give her a few more years with Peter acting like a teenager? What else than:

“Peter — grow up and take care of your woman. Are you out of your mind? Do you think I’d be impressed? I’m 78 years old, Peter, if it’s time, let me go. Or are you going to keep on making deals to stay with me every time I have a heart attack? Are you going to stop being Spider-Man? If not, Peter, I most likely will be shot again, as will you. If you really wanted to keep me safe, you’d have redone it so you’d never been Spider-Man. It may disturb you to realize, Peter, that you’d give up your wife and future children for me, but won’t stop playing superhero for me. Is Spider-Man, is playing hero, more important than your wife or me? You’re not making sense, boy. Let me go… it’s not healthy, to say the least.”

By: catbeller

catbeller — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:19:43 +0000

I remember reading stories as a kid, and what I did not want to read about was some super-kid doing things I could never do; I wanted to read about men living lives that I could aspire to. I didn’t want to be a kid, I wanted to be a grown man. Fiction in a way teaches us how to be people. We already know how to be kids. Adulthood needs rehearsal.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:39:02 +0000

Having spent the better part of my twenty-two years being an avid Spider-Man reader, I can’t help but let out a sigh when I read about this. It doesn’t help that Joe Quesada’s reasoning (“kids can’t identify with a married/divorced Peter Parker”) is dubious at best, or quaint, as you wonderfully put it, at worst. My own parents divorced when I was young, and they were not much older than the Spider-Man that Mr. Quesada wishes to present. I also know a number of people my own age who are married, and some of whom have been divorced, and none of them would be mistaken for being “older.”

I suspect that the real reason Joe Quesada wants to undo this is because it’s easier to pander to younger readers by contorting their flagship character into a conveniently in-place image of what a young man is, rather than to actually write the character in a way that suggests youth. In other words, it’s completely lazy writing.

By: Tracer Bullet79

Tracer Bullet79 — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:29:17 +0000

I’m having a real problem with comics almost as a whole these days. At the moment I’m trying to keep up with Daredevil, the New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, a couple of other random titles and i’m buying the invincible trade paperbacks (which are amazing!) But here’s the thing, I agree whole heartedly all the ret-conning, re-shuffles, 30 titles a month, cross overs, bi mothly events and other such happenings are just far too common in the likes of spider-man, batman, the X men etc for me to get excited about them any more and it has been like that for a long time now. I am sick of buying Wizard and reading an “everything you thought you knew about…… insert title here is wrong! There’s a change in the status quo!
Now before i really get going I acknowledge that the comics companies are only doing what they do for one reason. Money. I know there are other very valid and artistic reasons to tell stories etc but it all boils down to cold hard cash. The point I’m trying to make (badly) is that these titles have been going and will keep going for as long as people out there are will put their hands in their pockets and part with their money for their monthly fix. (and we all know it’s a fix so don’t try and deny it!) As these titles keep churning along, there will inevitably be a time when they are out of fashion for whatever reason, be it a team isnt popular or a storyline proves unpopular. The reason these characters sometimes feel old and tired is because they ARE old and tired. Creators put these characters through these huge changes in their status quo in an effort to battle what is surely an ongoing comics biggest threat, which is to try and stay relevant, interesting and exciting month in month out, forever.
Now lets take spider man for example. Can you ever imagine Spider Man being stopped totally? I mean imagine Marvel just puts their hands up and tells us there are no more interesting stories for Peter Parker, he’s had a good run and now it’s over. They give him a happy sunset to walk into and end it.
It would be a monumentally stupid idea financially but on the grounds of artistic integrity alone i have to say I would applaud it.
When you look at some of the greatest works of comic literature you see titles like Preacher which was an outstanding, wonderful series, but it’s done and dusted. Bone was an outstanding achievement and stands almost with no peer. You only need to whisper the word: Watchmen to some people and watch their eyes light up. These titles have a beginning, a middle and an end. Titles like spider man, Superman, Batman, the X men, all have a beginning but from then on in its all middle. I realise that may be a bit of a muddled metaphor but hopefully its makes clear what i’ve been thinking for a long time. These comics will never give me the satisfaction of the likes of Preacher because there is no resolution and really no end in sight.