Are Peter's Love Interests Shallow Characters Due To Being Drawn As Attractive?

[Agent Z]

I was thinking about this after that video in which Dan Slott gave his opinion on the 'real MJ'. In that video, he also spoke highly of Anna Maria and how she was proof of Otto valuing inner beauty since she wasn't drawn as a bombshell like Peter's typical love interests. Does anyone else feel like Peter's love interests are shallow characters because of their looks?

[jimishim12]

Yes and No, a main protagonist being aimed for males is always going to have elements of wish fulfillment to the reader who imagines themselves as the hero with the hot chick for all of his achivements. But some women are portrayed as self sufficient women who's role isn't second banana to the hero but there own character.

[RedQueen]

I think Slott is suggesting Peter is the shallow one since he keeps on picking hot girls and Otto wasn't.

[dregj]

garfield clearly wasn't playing peter as shallow
since his girlfriend was real funny looking
must have had a beautiful mind or something

[Phantom Roxas]

No. That was just some excuse made up to devalue Peter and Mary Jane so that Otto could be propped up as the "better" Spider-Man, while Anna Maria could be recognized as being "the one" that could finally "dethrone" Mary Jane. Peter isn't shallow, he's just not who is favored as the protagonist.

[Confuzzled]

No. This beauty =/= brains nonsense was invented by some sexist idiot who was too scared of the power a woman would have if she were intelligent AND beautiful.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

If Peter's love interest were hollow beauty, they wouldn't have so many fans, especially MJ as Mrs. Spider-Man.

No. That was just some excuse made up to devalue Peter and Mary Jane so that Otto could be propped up as the "better" Spider-Man, while Anna Maria could be recognized as being "the one" that could finally "dethrone" Mary Jane. Peter isn't shallow, he's just not who is favored as the protagonist.

This post wins a gold medal.

[Darthfury78]

If Peter's love interest were hollow beauty, they wouldn't have so many fans, especially MJ as Mrs. Spider-Man.
This post wins a gold medal.

You forgot to mention Felicia Hardy as well as Betty Brant.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

You forgot to mention Felicia Hardy as well as Betty Brant.

Betty Brant was a shortlived love interest, he lost the spark once she returned to New York in Amazing 41.
I considered Gwen and Felicia, but MJ is higher on the priority list for Peter's love interest.

[Phantom Roxas]

No. This beauty =/= brains nonsense was invented by some sexist idiot who was too scared of the power a woman would have if she were intelligent AND beautiful.

Which is why when Mary Jane showed elements of both, she magically became "boring".

You forgot to mention Felicia Hardy as well as Betty Brant.

Why do I get the sense that you wouldn't actually step in to correct people if they "forgot" about Mary Jane?

[DCordo74]

No. That was just some excuse made up to devalue Peter and Mary Jane so that Otto could be propped up as the "better" Spider-Man, while Anna Maria could be recognized as being "the one" that could finally "dethrone" Mary Jane. Peter isn't shallow, he's just not who is favored as the protagonist.

This pretty much. Mary Jane Watson hasn't been shallow for decades. Yeah she's drawn to be hot. But she's also complex, she's fun, flirty, strong, caring, understanding, smart, has moments of vulnerability, has a rich back story. Yeah, no, she most definitely is not shallow.

There's a reason she's lasted fifty years, and stayed insanely popular.

[Darthfury78]

Betty Brant was a shortlived love interest, he lost the spark once she returned to New York in Amazing 41.
I considered Gwen and Felicia, but MJ is higher on the priority list for Peter's love interest.

Nothing wrong with that. But during the BND era, Marvel could have used that opportunity to re-established Peter's relationship with Betty as her love for him never went away. And during the time when Peter revealed that he was Spider-Man on live TV, she was phased by it at all, unlike Liz Allan who was angry about it. Betty was one of the few people who could easily had been Peter's love interest once again, or even Felicia Hardy had Peter restored her memories before deciding on the no strings attached relationship, to which she would have declined.

Although, the one potential love interest for Peter that might have worked would be Jennifer Walters. It would have been fun to see how Jennifer's duel personalities would respond towards Peter Parker. Although, I feel that Jennifer's human persona would win out in the end as her feelings and concern for Spider-Man are actually stronger than it is when she's in She-Hulk mode.

[Tuck]

Valuing a person for their intelligence is just as shallow as valuing them for their beauty.

[Mister Mets]

I was thinking about this after that video in which Dan Slott gave his opinion on the 'real MJ'. In that video, he also spoke highly of Anna Maria and how she was proof of Otto valuing inner beauty since she wasn't drawn as a bombshell like Peter's typical love interests. Does anyone else feel like Peter's love interests are shallow characters because of their looks?

I don't think Slott believes that Peter's love interests are shallow.

He might believe Peter is shallow, although the comics arguably back that up. Peter tends to be interested in good-looking women.

[Tuck]

I don't think Slott believes that Peter's love interests are shallow.

He might believe Peter is shallow, although the comics arguably back that up. Peter tends to be interested in good-looking women.

To be fair, that's really just a function of the genre.

Wesley Dodd in Sandman Mystery Theatre and a few of the X relationships are the only places where you really see a deviation from female love interests that conform to traditional ideas of beauty.