When I said "last decade" I mostly meant under Slott. Where he was written as a immature idiot. Funny, because this is the same man who gave us RYV. So he proved he could write a decent Peter. But I digress. Spencer has done well in restoring the character to some semblance of his former self.
On the other hand, Zdarsky is one of the few writers in the last 8 years to deliver a Peter I absolutely adored and was like the one I grew up reading.
If it were up to me, Peter would have had a kid years ago. Trying to balance parenthood, marriage, and occupying a role as a lecturer at ESU.
I think that 'immature Slott Peter' exists more strongly in people's memories and in select panels than actually on the page.
Marvel, correctly I think, surmises that Peter having a kid would result in him not being Spider-Man. I know people say he can do both, and that other heroes do the same, but Peter takes responsibility too seriously to really *try* to do both, and in the face of the danger its presented to so many of his loved ones (something Spencer is touching on in this very arc!) I just don't see he'd place his own child in that situation.
I mean, that story works fine if you want to transition to Miles Morales as your primary Spider-Man without killing Pete. It's a fine ending for him.
Last edited by Tendrin; 06-12-2021 at 03:19 AM.
I'm definitely gonna say then that your idea of Spider-Man isn't based on the character that Lee-Ditko created and instead based on more recent variations and adaptations.
What exactly does maturity signify for you anyway?Lemme add some nuance to this point: Peter definitely had to take to grown-up tasks faster, but I'd argue that doesn't make one 'mature' faster.
That depends again on the story Marvel wishes to tell while still keeping it a Spider-Man story and not confusing themselves and each other about what a Spider-Man story is supposed to be.I know people say he can do both, and that other heroes do the same, but Peter takes responsibility too seriously to really *try* to do both, and in the face of the danger its presented to so many of his loved ones (something Spencer is touching on in this very arc!) I just don't see he'd place his own child in that situation.
Marvel is not a sentient being. It's a corporation with a lot of different people at different levels. Not all of whom there necessarily agree with each other.
Last edited by Revolutionary_Jack; 06-12-2021 at 07:48 AM.
That's weird, because I have read those issues too, RJ, and I seem to recall him acting like an immature teenager pretty often. There's a pretty huge gulf between tackling adult responsibilities and actual maturity. A mature adult doesn't storm the Fantastic Four's HQ. Having an overweening sense of responsibility isn't adult. It just makes you a kid with adult responsibilities.
Well, let me tell you what I think it's not: it's not concerned with obsessing over all the things that *seem* adult, like having kids and being married or being financially stable. Those are all nice, but they are not what makes someone mature. If they are, then I've met a whole lot of deeply wise people who are conventionally 'immature' by that standard. As for Slott, I stand by my opinion. and find that nternet echo chambers on Slott tend to be self-reinforcing. I think fans would do well to stop obsessing over whether or not Peter has 'financial stability' and a 'marriage'. There are better markers to judge someone's maturity by.What exactly does maturity signify for you anyway?
Well, Jack, Marvel can do anything it wants. They can have Spidey have a kid and keep on swinging if they want and call it a Spider-Man story if they want, just like they can have him make a deal with the devil to save his Aunt May. all depending on the story they want to tell. But in light of everything Peter's endured, I'm not sure how in character it is for him to be Spidey *at the same time he's trying to raise a kid*. His entire life has shown how hard being Spider-Man makes the rest of his life, and for a guy with an overweening sense of responsibility, while he might try it for a while, I'm confident that he'd wanna be his child's hero rather than all of New York's. That seems to me to be who he is. It doesn't have to be that way, but I think having him be Spidey becomes *intensely* questionable when he has a kid given the overall character.That depends again on the story Marvel wishes to tell while still keeping it a Spider-Man story and not confusing themselves and each other about what a Spider-Man story is supposed to be.
That tension can make for fun stories, but ultimately, it's gonna fall one way or the other, and thematically you can't really give Peter the pass that the FF gets when it comes to kids.
Last edited by Tendrin; 06-12-2021 at 09:20 AM.
A guy like Peter who has lost two father figures (maybe three if we count George Stacy) and is constantly targeted by guys like Osborn would definitely hesitate to have kids. If it ever happens, I imagine it is something that Peter and MJ would have to discuss prior to having the child. A writer simply giving Peter a child without any sort of internal resistance on Peter's part would be a little ridiculous.
That said, Spider-Man is a first responder no different than other first responders, albeit a fictional one where the stakes are heightened. There's lots of real-life first responders who put their lives in the line every day while also managing to raise their kids.
Last edited by Kaitou D. Kid; 06-12-2021 at 09:36 AM.
As an analogy, lots of activists today and throughout history (who are similar to first responders) have been targeted by powerful people like Osborn, and still managed to raise their kids. You have guys like Noam Chomsky who was a married man with kids that decided to speak out against the Vietnam War even though there was a high chance he could have gone to prison. When he was asked why he did it, he said it was because he felt he had a responsibility to do so, which isn't far off from what Peter would say.
But again, Peter doesn't need to ever have kids and it would be fine, especially with more and more people going childless. Without getting too personal, I know someone who is a teacher and loves working with kids, but doesn't want to have kids because they feels they're already leaving a positive mark on the next generation, and also because they don't want to take their work home. A Peter who is a married high school teacher like in the JMS run could have a similar attitude towards his students and towards the people he's helped as Spider-Man. Maybe even both, if he starts mentoring Miles Morales and the other spider-people.
Last edited by Kaitou D. Kid; 06-12-2021 at 09:47 AM.
There are times where he also shows great maturity and wisdom as well. But sure just focus on the aspects that suits your interpretation.
I actually...agree. Just not quite in your sense of those terms.Well, let me tell you what I think it's not: it's not concerned with obsessing over all the things that *seem* adult, like having kids and being married or being financially stable.
He actually has financial stability for most of Slott's run, so that's not why people are calling Slott's version of Peter immature, lol. Actually Slott's run has practically all characters act immaturely, even Aunt May. That's just a Slott thing.As for Slott, I stand by my opinion. and find that nternet echo chambers on Slott tend to be self-reinforcing. I think fans would do well to stop obsessing over whether or not Peter has 'financial stability' and a 'marriage'. There are better markers to judge someone's maturity by.
Marvel isn't a sentient being, people before the current era have wanted different things, and people after will want different things. There's no sense in assuming that there's an actual person or ideology responding to or against.Well, Jack, Marvel can do anything it wants.
Fundamentally the logical thing for Peter to do is go full Rorschach, completely live off the grid and detach himself from all civilian ties and devote himself fully to being Spider-Man. That's the logical thing for Spider-Man to do, it's also the logical thing for Daredevil to do, for all superheroes to do. Doing so would make Spider-Man's story like anybody else's. Since the story doesn't have Spider-Man doing that, it indicates that people are aware that a Spider-Man story inherently precludes certain things from reaching its logical conclusion, and inevitably shields the character from the most stringent demands of realism.But in light of everything Peter's endured, I'm not sure how in character it is for him to be Spidey *at the same time he's trying to raise a kid*.
Fundamentally, Spider-Man -- whether its the Ditko era, the Romita years, the Bronze Age, the Married years, the BND years and so on, exists in a sanitized part of the Marvel Universe, and his stories don't deal with or touch with aspects that you find in Daredevil, Punisher, Jessica Jones stories (despite also existing in the same shared universe and same genre), so there's little reason to assume that the most extreme possibility or version is the default for Spider-Man becoming a father.
Well not being Spider-Man or not acting as a superhero led to his Uncle's death. So I wouldn't say being Spider-Man has made the rest of his life hard. In truth, it's also made it better, and made him a better person as well.His entire life has shown how hard being Spider-Man makes the rest of his life,
Well Spider-Man gets the pass that Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, Hank Pym, the X-Men doesn't get as it is.That tension can make for fun stories, but ultimately, it's gonna fall one way or the other, and thematically you can't really give Peter the pass that the FF gets when it comes to kids.
The real answer is he would make an awesome dad if they wrote him to be... or not. He certainly tries to epitomize "power and responsibility." That should make for a good dad, but not necessarily a perfect one. There's no reason Peter couldn't be as great as Mayday's is/was.
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Both MJ and Peter would be incredibly hesitant about having kids. Purely because of the lifestyle Peter leads. If a pregnancy does happen, I could see it being a unexpected one. MJ wrestling with whether to tell Peter on not. Some great drama could come out of such a situation. But, again, once you head down that road it is a hard one to backtrack on if editorial or writers wish to ditch it later.
Nobody would want another miscarriage situation to occur again. Nor would they welcome a termination.
Recent events in Spider-Woman have set up a way they could explore it. Jessica Drew needs a babysitter - usually her boyfriend Roger would've done it, but they've just broken up. Maybe Peter and MJ could see how Jess copes with that, and it'd influence their own decision to have a baby or not?
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