True. Ditko in his pre-appearances had MJ wear a "babushka" and drive a car, which suggests a more middle-class character than the one Lee-Romita went with, a thoroughly modern "with it" girl who lives in an apartment in the city, and works for a living, doesn't have a car (and is impressed with "Petey's bike"). I think Ditko bowed out at the right time, and his silence about Spider-Man and what came after him is truly generous. In general as much as people talk of the rupture between Ditko and Romita Sr, and there is a divergence certainly (going from Ditko's 9-Panels to JRSR's 6-Panel and the shift in style), in broad terms there's definite continuity -- Norman Osborn would be Green Goblin, Mary Jane Watson is supposed to be a scene-stealing charisma machine, Peter needed to go to college. The main changes that happened after he stepped down, are entirely consistent to his vision. The big difference is Gwen and Harry, based on how he portrayed them (as entirely unsympathetic though weirdly compelling). And the fact that his Norman is far more unsympathetic (and far more sane and rational) than the one Romita did. Post-Resurrection Norman who's almost totally evil is much closer to Ditko's original version of him so that's another example of how characters and settings unconsciously return to the creator's original intent even without the direct awareness or knowledge of people involved.
Right. So to wrap this up. And I mean this sincerely. Let's do this, one last time...Nothing really tells the "full story." And Ditko's views themselves surely changed in one way or another over time so isolating one thing he said isn't proof of anything - no matter what the quote may be.
- Do you agree then that someone who looks at the original run of Spider-Man and argues that it's about growth and change is valid to do so? That they have just as much claim and foundation for that as the ones who argue otherwise?
Or to rephrase that,
- If someone says that Lee-Ditko intended Peter to grow up, is their claim as valid as the ones who say "Spider-Man is about youth"?
Yes/no.