Spidey's Top Love Interests

[Kevinroc]

This is the late, great Sir Bobby Moore

http://www.bobbymoore.co.uk

That's spelled with a "Y" and not an "I."

[Mauled]

That's spelled with a "Y" and not an "I."

Doesn't matter Sir Bobby is still awesome

[DarkMagnus]

Maybe Rogue will be his next woman

[Dark Soul # 7]

Not as awesome as Captain Marvel though. Or if you want to go badass normal level Bobbi Moore.

What of it?

You said that Mary Jane is always a helpless damsel in distress. Examples proving you wrong were posted. It has nothing to do with how MJ's combat prowess compares to women with actual super powers or combat training, which in turn has nothing to do with whether or not the character is a good romantic interest for Peter Parker.

[VolcanikTiger86]

What of it?

You said that Mary Jane is always a helpless damsel in distress. Examples proving you wrong were posted. It has nothing to do with how MJ's combat prowess compares to women with actual super powers or combat training, which in turn has nothing to do with whether or not the character is a good romantic interest for Peter Parker.

When asking about Spidey's Top Love Interest the only answer is Mary Jane because of time (50+years) impact(they got married people) popularity(fans voted her as the best supporting character) and the most important factor imo how many love interests has people had that could match up to MJ stats answer none even Gwen who would be the closest does even come close to beating it.
FYI I was a MJ fan I'm not now.

[MajorHoy]

NOTE: OLD THREAD (begun back in August 2015 by Gemini Saga)

Thought this might be fun one to resurrect after about a three-and-a-half year hiatus for anybody who wasn't around back when it was active, and because it seems Spencer is bringing back Peter & MJ as a couple.

At last check, the vote totals showed:

Mary Jane Watson =51 votes
Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) = 34 votes
Gwen Stacy = 26 votes
Kitty Pride (Ultimate) =8 votes
Silver Sable = 7 votes
Betty Brant = 5 votes
Debra Whitman = 5 votes
Silk (Cindy Moon) = 5 votes

All other choices had fewer than 5 votes at the moment.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

It will always be Mary Jane in my view. More than 1000 comics appearances, exceeding many female heroes and even some prominent villains (Dr. Doom has 547 appearances), the most unique character in superhero comics in terms of taking a life of her own on the page. Whether it's 616, USM, RYV, Spider-Girl, there aren't many cases where two characters become more complex and interesting together than them.

My favorite second romance is Peter and Ultimate Kitty Pryde. I really liked them and I think they would have been great, and I felt heartbroken for Kitty (and Ultimate Peter didn't do right by her) and in Ultimate Spider-Man #200, the memorial issue her fantasy about "the life they might have had" is really sad. Peter's the great unrequited love for her.

Peter and Felicia Hardy is a runner up to Kitty Pryde. Even though there is an Ultimate Felicia, I think Bendis basically made Ultimate Kitty his surrogate for Felicia and by doing so did it better. Having said that the Bronze Age issues with Peter and Felicia at least until the Foreigner arc (where PAD makes Felicia a schemer teaming up with a villain to string Peter along) are great. The Owl/Octopus War which is entirely about their romance is frankly touching and moving and it's one of the all-time greatest stories in Spider-Man. She's also got a great Roger Stern two-parter, an iconic appearance in Stern's masterpiece "The Daydreamers", and the scene where she unmasks to Peter in Mantlo's Spectacular #87 (which for me is the real end of their relationship) is also a great moment, where even though Felicia is behaving terribly, you understand her and stand inside her shoes. Sure she's the ultimate bad date who makes fun of her guy's housing and accomodations and mocks his lifestyle after he unburdens himself...to do something that unlikable to Peter at his most likable and still command respect is a great feat. And that bit in Michelinie's run where Venom reveals to Felicia that Spider-Man is married by talking of his wife, and Felicia's one-word sad reply, "Wife" as a confirmation that the Spider she strung around and needled is lost forever is just heartbreaking.

[WebLurker]

My favorite second romance is Peter and Ultimate Kitty Pryde. I really liked them and I think they would have been great, and I felt heartbroken for Kitty (and Ultimate Peter didn't do right by her) and in Ultimate Spider-Man #200, the memorial issue her fantasy about "the life they might have had" is really sad. Peter's the great unrequited love for her.

Wasn't rooting for them to get together and glad it didn't, but I did think it was a well-written story arc; why they dated in the first place and why it fell apart made sense. I also liked that the characters were written differently in how they saw the relationship (Kitty was obviously way more serious), that there were good things about it and flaws, and that neither of them was painted as the "bad guy" at the end and both made mistakes.

Peter and Felicia Hardy is a runner up to Kitty Pryde. Even though there is an Ultimate Felicia, I think Bendis basically made Ultimate Kitty his surrogate for Felicia and by doing so did it better.

Interesting idea. Never thought of that.

[PCN24454]

I think I realized how much I hated having a designated love interest. It feels like a form of entitlement rather than genuine character development.

It’s what made a lot of adaptations of Spider-Man’s romance annoying. We know that for all the BS that he goes through, it’s ultimately up to the writers whether he ends up with said love interest which in my opinion makes all of the drama very pointless.

[Jonathangoop1811]

The truth is that Peter only has one love bigger than all of the previous girls, one that has been with him since the very beginning, one that motivates him to be Spider-Man among any other, one that pushes him to keep going, and the greatest love of Peter Parker is: Guilt. Simple as that.

[PCN24454]

The truth is that Peter only has one love bigger than all of the previous girls, one that has been with him since the very beginning, one that motivates him to be Spider-Man among any other, one that pushes him to keep going, and the greatest love of Peter Parker is: Guilt. Simple as that.

You’re not wrong. I hope he outgrows this someday, but it’s such an iconic part of his character that he probably won’t.

[Snoop Dogg]

The truth is that Peter only has one love bigger than all of the previous girls, one that has been with him since the very beginning, one that motivates him to be Spider-Man among any other, one that pushes him to keep going, and the greatest love of Peter Parker is: Guilt. Simple as that.

damn it really be like this

[Revolutionary_Jack]

The truth is that Peter only has one love bigger than all of the previous girls, one that has been with him since the very beginning, one that motivates him to be Spider-Man among any other, one that pushes him to keep going, and the greatest love of Peter Parker is: Guilt. Simple as that.

Peter isn't Batman or Daredevil or Wolverine. Batman is a character whose sense of guilt is so strong that it leads him to actively avoid relationships of any romantic kind, only entertaining extend flirtations with Talia and Selina because falling for villainesses is part of his self-destructive pattern and his tendency to prefer beating up rogues then hanging out with his sidekicks and so on.

In the case of Peter, he's always sought love and companionship. Girlfriends have always been closer to him than any of his male friends were or ever will be. He's never been out of a relationship for any extended period of time.

If Peter's sense of guilt was really strong, he would have stopped dating girls after the first time Spider-man got in the way of his relationships, like with Betty Brant. Then with Gwen. Mary Jane and Black Cat were different. In the case of MJ, they broke up for the first time because he proposed to her like an idiot and that was later retconned to be out of MJ's insecurity about commitment because of baggage about her parents' divorce (Wolfman) and because she had known Peter was Spider-Man (Defalco/Frenz). In the case of Felicia, she liked Spider-Man but disliked Peter. Then he got married anyway.

[Celgress]

The truth is that Peter only has one love bigger than all of the previous girls, one that has been with him since the very beginning, one that motivates him to be Spider-Man among any other, one that pushes him to keep going, and the greatest love of Peter Parker is: Guilt. Simple as that.

Sadly, it is so.

[Celgress]

Peter isn't Batman or Daredevil or Wolverine. Batman is a character whose sense of guilt is so strong that it leads him to actively avoid relationships of any romantic kind, only entertaining extend flirtations with Talia and Selina because falling for villainesses is part of his self-destructive pattern and his tendency to prefer beating up rogues then hanging out with his sidekicks and so on.

In the case of Peter, he's always sought love and companionship. Girlfriends have always been closer to him than any of his male friends were or ever will be. He's never been out of a relationship for any extended period of time.

If Peter's sense of guilt was really strong, he would have stopped dating girls after the first time Spider-man got in the way of his relationships, like with Betty Brant. Then with Gwen. Mary Jane and Black Cat were different. In the case of MJ, they broke up for the first time because he proposed to her like an idiot and that was later retconned to be out of MJ's insecurity about commitment because of baggage about her parents' divorce (Wolfman) and because she had known Peter was Spider-Man (Defalco/Frenz). In the case of Felicia, she liked Spider-Man but disliked Peter. Then he got married anyway.

C'mon on man the dude gave up his marriage to save his elderly aunt from death (even though said aunt's spirit accepted it was her time) because of guilt over his role in her shooting. His actions in OMD were not out of character either (at least being riddled with guilt which makes him blame himself for everything). Peter Parker carries around enough self-destructive guilt (due to his various "failings") to start his own religion.

Edit - In the end if given a choice Peter will always sacrifice his own happiness to protect or save other people, it is his greatest flaw as well as his greatest strength - a duty to self-sacrifice spurred on by a sense of responsibility resulting from deep regret or guilt.