MJ and no other
MJ followed by Felcia and no other
MJ followed by Gwen and no other
MJ followed by Felcia and Gwen (in that order)
MJ followed by Gwen and Felicia (in that order)
Gwen and no other
Gwen followed by Felcia and no other
Gwen followed by MJ and no other
Gwen followed by Felcia and MJ (in that order)
Gwen followed by MJ and Felcia (in that order)
Felicia and no other
Felicia followed by Gwen and no other
Felicia followed by MJ and no other
Felicia followed by MJ and Gwen (in that order)
Felicia followed by Gwen and MJ (in that order)
The best statement made about this is by MGK:
"Moreover, it wouldn’t matter if the Spider-writers had devoted more time to Peter’s lovelife. It wouldn’t have worked. Know why? Because we already know “what’s supposed to happen.” Peter ends up with MJ, just like Clark ends up with Lois and Batman… well, Batman probably ends up alone and/or dead, but let’s not dwell on that for now."
Probably. And they'll probably get some good stories out of it all along the way. And one new girlfriend might catch on and become a staple of the series. That's the thing, they never know going in which stories and which characters are going to having staying power - if there was a scientific method to it, they'd do it all the time. Some characters take a few years to become big - Wolverine, Harley Quinn, Deadpool, Squirrel Girl. Others are surprise hits right out the gate - Kamala Khan, Gwen Stacy: Spider-Woman (who would never have been given that name if they knew she was going to stick around).
That's why I think it's always good practice for them to keep introducing new characters and concepts.
That whole paragraph is amazing.
"Moreover, it wouldn’t matter if the Spider-writers had devoted more time to Peter’s lovelife. It wouldn’t have worked. Know why? Because we already know “what’s supposed to happen.” Peter ends up with MJ, just like Clark ends up with Lois and Batman… well, Batman probably ends up alone and/or dead, but let’s not dwell on that for now. Apart from those few super-hardcores who think the death of Gwen Stacy was a mistake and ruined the character, the consensus on “Peter ends up with MJ” is pretty resolute. You can bring back the Black Cat or have him date Silver Sable or introduce the Sexsational She-Spider and it’s not going to matter, because we already know how the story goes and those people will just be placeholders."
(That was pretty much Silk under Slott.)
With BND being what it was, unlikely.
In most cases, the long standing romances of comics are long standing for a reason. New readers coming into the title want to be directed to the greatness aisle and get a sense of the emotional high points. Since the emotional high points of the series have always been with MJ rather than without, no other character has a real chance of coming in and taking on that same function and significance.And one new girlfriend might catch on and become a staple of the series.
You are conflating characters introduced as superheroes, antiheroes and antivillain with the arrival of new supporting characters in a title. Those two aren't remotely the same things. Harley Quinn wasn't subtracting anything or from anyone when she arrived. She was an addition. Same with the others.Some characters take a few years to become big - Wolverine, Harley Quinn, Deadpool, Squirrel Girl.
Whereas any new supporting love interest in Spider-Man plays an essentially subtractive function. They are taking away from a role already occupied and functioning well enough by an earlier character. It also subtracts from Peter himself, because the more relationships you add the more it changes the character into a ladies' man.
They've also set up a situation where (unlike the stories from the 60s-90s) there are no more meaningful consequences. May knows Peter is Spider-man until she doesn't. Harry and May are dead until they aren't. 1987-2007 happened, but not really and no one knows how exactly. Etc. It's already hard enough for supporting characters to catch on when they aren't built into the foundation of a series, but the cards are especially stacked against them when the writers suggest they are of no consequence.
Take a look at Dan Slott's Spider-Island. On the surface of it, this is meant to be a breakup story. A Spider-Man wins (Saves New York) but Peter loses (breaks up with Carlie) situation. Yet how it plays on the page, is that Carlie disappears midway, she and Peter barely interact and the finale is Peter and MJ cosying up on top of the ESB which alludes to The Wedding Annual (where Peter and MJ claimed the radio tower as "their spot") and Matt Fraction's "To Have and to Hold". And Spider-Island was the story that Slott built up and gained most of his goodwill. It's his most consensually agreed on good story. And the emotional logic of that entire story is reinforcing Peter and MJ's connection while downplaying Carlie's.
I went with MJ followed by Gwen and Felicia in that order, although I also prefer the possibilities of meeting new characters. Some people don't meet the love of their lives until a few years after college.
Sincerely,
Thomas Mets
[QUOTE=NC_Yankee;4968423]Wait, doesn't this prove that Marvel won't let its characters change? Think about it. The reasoning used to reset Ock is the same mentality that led to single Post-OMD Spider-Man: the classic status quo for each character must ultimately prevail. If a person wants Peter & MJ together long-term again that person should root for more character experimentation, not less.
"So you've come to the end now alive but dead inside."
For me it's just MJ and Felicia. I never liked Gwen, besides she never knew Peter's secret and didn't share that part of his life. They were just a couple of kids dating, nothing compared to what he's been through with MJ and Felicia.
Not to mention Sins Past, the final nail in the coffin for Gwen as a character.
I agree and disagree. I agree new characters if done correctly can help: Annie and Teresa Parker for example. But
When you take someone like Cindy Moon ( Silk), and not only change Peter for the worst ( bad enough), but also messing history and continuity ( Changing Amazing Fantasy 15 for the purpose of giving him a new girlfriend and adding an Asian female character), that goes way too far. Those two reasons are with the exception of OMD/BND why I despise the Silk Arc more then any other ( Clone Saga and Suns Past included).
Expendable? As any other character in the title save one. Unpopular? Again with this? Do we need to rehash the discussion from not that long ago?
Which would've been true for all Silver Age sweethearts.