A History of Sex in Marvel Comics

[Slimybug]

I decided to look into this, because it's a bit of a fascination for me. Comic books are well known as a medium that has evolved from childish to adult, and has come from the squeaky clean 30s into the, um...less clean new millenium. Tracking when comics got more "adult" is a bit of a fascination of mine. Certainly Gwen Stacey's death in 1973 is consistently referenced as a watershed.

But there's the "risque" aspect of it. For instance, I know that from 1971-1975 Daredevil and Black Widow were both crime-fighting partners and in a relationship, and somewhere in that time frame they became the first comics couple to live together outside of wedlock. Whether you think that's a good or bad thing, it's certainly historic.

I'm wondering where this began, and when did comic writers/artists take that leap to actually showcase the act, or at least, heavily imply that the act had taken place?

However it's gone down for others, I'm pretty sure Spider-Man was consistently a superbly pure, family-friendly hero. No mention of him having ever done the dirty deed was ever, unless I'm mistaken, made until after he married Mary Jane. Even after that bizarre time he discovered Gwen had boffed Norman Osborne , I don't think any reference has been made, or panel shown, of him and Gwen having made the beasts with two backs.

I have not read a single Spider-Man comic since One More Day, but I'm willing to bet that for the first time in his history, Spider-Man has been involved with action scenes that do not require the use of his costume?