Spider-Man character growth vs. staying in high school and Joe Quesada

[bat39]

Even if we go with this very generous interpretation, then it's still very much a story that quite definitively concluded.


"I'm about to face the realities of the real world. There's NO TURNING BACK. Whatever's in store for me, at least it'll be NEW AND DIFFERENT - and heck - what's life all about if it doesn't have some adventure and uncertainty?"
"And so we close another chapter in the rather tumultuous life of Peter Parker as he moves on from college to ADULTHOOD!"

This was way back in 1978. It is beyond frustrating that the creative heads of Marvel keep trying to put this genie back in the bottle when it was so organically done away with over 46 years ago, back when Christopher Reeve first put on tights as Superman and the Bee Gees were #1 on the radio.

Took 16 years in real-time for Peter to go from being a 15-year old high-schooler to being a 22-year old college graduate.

And in the 46 years of real-time since, how long has passed in-universe and where has he got to now?

I guess marriage was the most significant milestone but that's gone. Being a high-school teacher was an interesting idea and that's gone. Being a highly successful professional scientist at Horizon Labs? Gone. Parker Industries? Gone.

If you think about it, Peter having left college is the last milestone, continuity-wise, that the series has never really been able to undo. I guess Marvel's ideal status quo, the clean slate they perpetually want to reset Peter to, is the panel above.

[Dan Slott]

Took 16 years in real-time for Peter to go from being a 15-year old high-schooler to being a 22-year old college graduate.

On that note...

Stan Lee said that if he knew how long the Spider-Man franchise was going to last, he never would have graduated him from high school when he did.