Nick Spencer Talks Peter/MJ, Felicia, and Jameson

[Tuck]

There would be no need to bring back the Betty relationship if certain people remembered what made that relationship work, and that the everyman superhero having an everywoman love interest made sense. Instead, supermodels.

Honestly, any love interest who was with Peter during McFarlane's stint as ASM's artist would have probably ended up as a supermodel.

[Snoop Dogg]

...In 2018, people are still using that same tired, dated, routine "supermodels" argument to try (and forever fail) to diminish MJ's role in Peter's world. Unbelievable.

MJ got where she is because she was Peter's friend first and all those things second.

It's not a knock on Mary Jane. Mary Jane wasn't originally like that, nor is it an integral part of the character. It was a mistake that doesn't make anything better, which you conceded to by bringing up other reasons she's cool instead of defending the model stuff specifically. Any love interest could have been retconned into being supermodel tier after being drawn by Romita Sr., and it still would have been a mistake.

[WebLurker]

Black Cat was such an unabashed rip off of Catwoman that I can understand your point. But, as a younger reader at the time, it was the first romantic interest for Peter that felt exciting and mysterious. At the time, i knew of Gwen from the back-stories and his relationship with MJ on-again, off-again with a few other girlfriends like Cissy Ironwood and Deb Whitman sprinkled throughout the series so it didn't feel Felicia supplanted anyone. It just felt new and fresh and, let's face it, she was strong and sexy to boot; at the time, she was a great complement to Spidey.

I don't know, the characters never sparked, IMHO and I don't think she ever really worked as well as the wild card in the mix, like say, Silver Sable did.

[Frontier]

There would be no need to bring back the Betty relationship if certain people remembered what made that relationship work, and that the everyman superhero having an everywoman love interest made sense. Instead, supermodels.

There's a reason Mary Jane caught on as the definitive love interest, and not just because Betty's nuttier then a fruitcake .

I don't know, the characters never sparked, IMHO and I don't think she ever really worked as well as the wild card in the mix, like say, Silver Sable did.

Sable's not really a love interest or someone personally involved with Peter though.

[Kevinroc]

The relationship with Betty ended because Lee and Ditko wanted it to end. They never thought Peter should end up with Betty. It was the cost of being Spider-Man.

Probably for the best. Another major Marvel hero already has a love interest named Betty.

[Frontier]

The relationship with Betty ended because Lee and Ditko wanted it to end. They never thought Peter should end up with Betty. It was the cost of being Spider-Man.

Probably for the best. Another major Marvel hero already has a love interest named Betty.

(And Betty was kind of a terrible girlfriend ).

[LordUltimus]

And there was the whole "she blamed Spider-Man for the death of her brother" thing.

[Snoop Dogg]

There's a reason Mary Jane caught on as the definitive love interest, and not just because Betty's nuttier then a fruitcake .

Mary Jane caught on because she was nuttier than a fruitcake, but certain people forgot that, too.

[Miles To Go]

Mary Jane caught on because she was nuttier than a fruitcake, but certain people forgot that, too.

Stan even made that the main justification MJ married Peter in the newspaper strip ("you're a nutcase, but then, I'm just as nutty")

[Kevinroc]

Mary Jane caught on because she was nuttier than a fruitcake, but certain people forgot that, too.

MJ just said weird stuff because Stan thought that was how a teenager talked in the mid-1960s, lol.

[Snoop Dogg]

MJ just said weird stuff because Stan thought that was how a teenager talked in the mid-1960s, lol.

But that's why she became popular, even though she was never that important in the 60's. Because she was weird, therefore more interesting to see than Gwen. The MCU is the only time this has been recaptured, and I don't know whether that's intentional or not.

[Kevinroc]

But that's why she became popular, even though she was never that important in the 60's. Because she was weird, therefore more interesting to see than Gwen. The MCU is the only time this has been recaptured, and I don't know whether that's intentional or not.

I feel like this is far too dismissive of everything that went in to building up MJ.

Let me put it like this.

The Green Goblin first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #14. Green Goblin was unmasked as Norman Osborn in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #39.

MJ was first mentioned in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #15. Peter first met MJ in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #42.

It took, comparatively speaking, longer for Peter to meet MJ than it took him to learn the Green Goblin's true identity. That kind of build-up plays a crucial part in MJ's popularity. Gerry Conway has spoken about MJ's build-up several times.

[LordUltimus]

I feel like this is far too dismissive of everything that went in to building up MJ.

Let me put it like this.

The Green Goblin first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #14. Green Goblin was unmasked as Norman Osborn in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #39.

MJ was first mentioned in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #15. Peter first met MJ in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #42.

It took, comparatively speaking, longer for Peter to meet MJ than it took him to learn the Green Goblin's true identity. That kind of build-up plays a crucial part in MJ's popularity. Gerry Conway has spoken about MJ's build-up several times.

Ironically, I'm pretty sure the original idea was that we never see MJ and that's the whole joke.

(Technically we see her on panel at least twice, but both times her face was deliberately obscured).

[Darthfury78]

There would be no need to bring back the Betty relationship if certain people remembered what made that relationship work, and that the everyman superhero having an everywoman love interest made sense. Instead, supermodels.

I like to believe that Jennifer Walters(in her human form) can be considered the everywoman that Peter Parker is. She works hard as a lawyer while trying to balance her super heroine responsibilities. I feel that Peter and Jennifer have a lot in common if the writers will look past her She-Hulk persona and to put her into Spidey's world from time to time. Heck, I certainly would love to see Jennifer and Betty establish a BFF that's as strong as Peter's friendship with Johnny Storm....

[Darthfury78]

And there was the whole "she blamed Spider-Man for the death of her brother" thing.

We forget that Betty forgave Peter for that. Also, doesn't she know that Peter is Spidey once again?

Sable's not really a love interest or someone personally involved with Peter though.

It would be interesting if Silver got to know that Peter is Spider-Man. It never bothered Jessica Drew, Mockingbird, or Carol Danvers. The fact that Spider-Man is Peter Parker is what made the said heroines interested in the man behind the mask. The same should have been with The Black Widow and She-Hulk...