Originally Posted by
bat39
This.
Peter is somewhere in his late 20's/early 30's and he's not getting any younger. The question is, does he get to be a married and/or professionally successful 30 year old, or a perpetually single romantically (and financially) unlucky 30 year old.
That's the thing...in a world where you can have endless avenues for a teenage high-school Peter in alternate continuities, alternate timelines, adaptations and what-not, I don't get the insistence on 616 Peter being perpetually young and single forever.
Spider-Man (or any other character) as a franchise/IP and even as a pop-cultural icon, is much bigger than 616 Peter.
About the only thing that makes 616 Peter special is that he's part of the original Marvel Universe that Stan Lee began back in the 60's, which was defined by continuity and heroes being able to progress and evolve over time. So why not stick to that spirit and let 616 Peter progress and evolve?