How to Bring Back the Marriage

[blank]

I’ve long wanted some sort of mini-epic with a chaotic but climactic conflict for the era, with all it’s possible consequences on the board, before ending in a way that treats the period of separation the way that OMD treated the marriage. Something like:

- Aunt May begins having suspicions about stuff not making sense, and Murder She Wrotes her way into realizing that time has been changed, regaining her memory first… assisted along the way by, strangely enough, Loki, because he still owes Peter for that one time, and is bored enough to want to see if he can take on Mephisto’s in a war of proxies and win.

- Loki reveals that Mephisto’s cheated by messing with May’s wounds and gaslighting both Peter and MJ well before OMD, but still left them enough free will to make the deal somewhat work. If May can get the deal to break entirely, things get “goofy” in a way that can work, but it’ll be dangerous - which excites Loki as entertaining, and which May ends up feeling is her responsibility to get going.

- May knows there’s a major risk to herself here, and has to trick Peter and MJ into remembering as well, and succeeds… at the cost of immediately reopening her injuries and being put in the hospital again, and alerting Mephisto to the deal being in danger as the world subtly changes - particualrly because, now, a daughter Peter and MJ were supposed to have by now re-enters existence as an infant in a villain’s custody, and remains a threat to him.

- Loki and Mephisto’s confront each other, along with some “arbiter” higher power, and are allowed to reawaken knowledge of Spider-Man’s identity in a set number of people as champions in the mortal realm to determine how the chaotic timeline will be sorted. Mephisto’s plan is to just kill them and wipe them off the table now to cement his previous deal, while Loki seeks to, if anything, get Peter to owe *him* a debt instead, given Mephisto’s preoccupation with preventing the family from going into another generation.

-Epic fights are had, surprising choices are made by certain heroes and villains, and things get resolved where the marriage is restored, with Peter and MJ having a complicated, hot and cold marriage during the OMD period (creating a miniseries set during that period that “fills in the gaps” rather than replacing the OMD timeline entirely) before reconciling in the present with their “surprise” daughter, who was rescued from a nefarious villain by her uncle Kaine in this timeline as well… but May is either dead or ends up permanently injured, and Peter owes Loki now…

How hot and cold? To the point they would have other romantic relationships or no(I'm personally not interested if they keep their romantic relationships with their forced love interests(Carlie, Paul, Pedro, etc.) from post-OMD that is the case, but otherwise its sounds pretty good)? And how would your scenario deal with the whole rapey Superior Spider-Man period(Ock occupies a clone rather than Peter or what)?

[exile001]

I'm actually fine with them not marrying again (though that is my preference) but to my mind they NEED to find out about and negate their deal with the devil before they are able to move forward. To me it just kind of hangs over Peter and MJ's personal lives in an odd way. They were married but that was reversed in the most unsatisfying way.

I feel strongly the same about Barry Allen's new (much worse) origin, that this big loss hangs over the character that is very fixable, it's not like Uncle Ben's death that is immutable, there's just this massive L hanging over everything that needs addressing as I ultimately want my heroes to win.

I really feel Spencer was aiming in that direction with the ring and Doc Strange with Mephisto everything, and to be fair he did give an ending that suggests Peter and MJ got a big win that would allow them to move forward, but we didn't get a fully satisfying ending with the heroes defeating the evil and taking back their full agency.

[clonegeek]

Time is split at OMD. All the stories we’ve been reading are the ones where Peter/MJ make the deal. The other timeline is where they don’t make the deal wit Mephisto. These stories can be told in a new series that takes place in the past (just after OMD and moving forward. Meanwhile, in the current timeline, some event (many ideas posted above would work) causes the timelines to merge together again. All key characters (Pete, MJ, Mephisto) remember BOTH timelines. Aunt May survives, meaning she doesn’t remember the other timeline where she died, obviously.

This could use the bi weekly schedule of ASM quite well, have the two timelines be represented by each of the 2 issues per month

[clonegeek]

They find out they were married and get married again. Any of the "it didn't happen" or "it wasn't them" options would make me drop Spider-Man so fast.

Peter and MJ need to get the lost time back

[Jman27]

Peter and MJ need to get the lost time back

you keep saying that but does anyone know how much time actually been lost?

[clonegeek]

you keep saying that but does anyone know how much time actually been lost?

16 months due to the time skip from As Time Runs out in Hickman's Avengers and the skip after Secret Wars. Another 6 months from the time skip at the start of the current run. That's all I can think of for the moment

[Mister Mets]

The "it didn't happen" and "it wasn't them" options don't seem viable.

The cleanest story would be that they get married again, and at some point remember what things were like before One More Day.

[Chris0013]

Peter and MJ need to get the lost time back

That just over complicates and already over complicated situation.

[KC]

Peter and MJ need to get the lost time back

We have discussed this before, but they don't need to get any "lost" time back. Especially not when it would cost making 15 years of Spider-Man comics non-canon. Comics that I like.

[clonegeek]

We have discussed this before, but they don't need to get any "lost" time back. Especially not when it would cost making comics 15 years of Spider-Man comics non-canon. Comics that I like.

It wouldnt make them non-canon just mischronicled

[KC]

It wouldnt make them non-canon just mischronicled

They would have plenty of time together in the future if they got married again.

[clonegeek]

They would have plenty of time together in the future if they got married again.

Look there is still lingering damage that would have to be fix, the Paul stuff and all the timeskips and the like

[Daibhidh]

Everybody knows that future writers are just going to ignore the timeskips entirely, but I do think "future writers can just ignore this time skip entirely" is bad writing in an ongoing serial.

[clonegeek]

Everybody knows that future writers are just going to ignore the timeskips entirely, but I do think "future writers can just ignore this time skip entirely" is bad writing in an ongoing serial.

Yeah, I guess we can just ignore the lost time aspect and stuff because the floating time line is going to condense all that time in to a much shorter period.

[Xolo]

Not that i've thought about this before but...

Mephisto gets one over on Loki, as Loki exits Mephisto's realm he recognizes something off panel.
Cut to Spidey saving a kid from getting run over after chasing a ball, (cliché, but a good one) He tells the kid to be more careful and the kid replies "thanks, Mr Parker" Spidey, shocked, asks what did you say? The kid replies "thanks, Mr Spider-man"
This keeps happening as people all over New York refer to him as Peter. Thinking something is wrong with the magic/science thing from OMIT off he pops to see Doc Strange and Mr Fantastic.
They can't find anything wrong with the spell and have no idea why it's not working and more and more people are remembering Peter Parker is Spider-Man, causing all sorts of shenanigans.
Getting sued by people he's saved/beat up, the city going after him for collateral damage during fights and villains showing up at work and at aunt Mays Peter is distraught.
Enter Loki, he has a confession to make to our upset hero, The favor Spidey cashed in,(Amazing Spider-Man #795) was done so under less than honorable means and is there to make amends.
Peter says he wishes he could go back and talk himself out of reviling his identity during the superhero civil war, Loki says time is not as linear for him as it is for mortals and this can be done.
Peter goes back in time to right before the press conference and has a word with himself, Slightly younger Peter notices a lack of wedding ring and asks about MJ only to find out they are no longer "together"
Loki and little older Peter return to the present while slightly younger removes his glove and looks at the his wedding ring as MJ and Aunt May walk into the room. "We need to talk".
A few double page spreads of things happening the same but different, Spidey joins the resistance a little earlier, MJ and Peter at the party welcoming Harry back, making friends with Carlie Cooper, MJ knowing there's something wrong with the Superior Spider-Man.
Cut to Spidey climbing into a window, "honey, I'm home".