Reasons To Keep Peter Parker Single

[MASTER-OF-SUPRISE]

In no order whatsoever:

1. Peter being single helps his character interact more with his supporting cast. When he's married a lot of time has to be devoted to his relationship with MJ.

2. Peter being single cements his status as a young character. Yes, I know there's a lot of people who marry in their 20's but Peter being single supports his characterisation of being a young character in the Marvel Universe.

3. Peter & MJ aren't compatible post-OMD. Making them go back together would take years and another hundred issues just to make it slightly believable. Their relationship, even as friends, has hit rock bottom. Peter's being Spider-Man prevented him from marrying MJ, MJ couldn't tell Peter had been replaced by a psychotic scientist who is also a murderer, MJ keeps on dissing Peter even after she found out the truth about Ock, she's dating that firefighter guy.

4. The relationship pre-OMD was in an even worse state. Civil War DESTROYED Peter and Mary Jane along with their relationship. I understand a marriage has its ups & downs, but the way it was characterised in those years there was no dynamic between Pete & MJ, the interactions between the two were straight-up toxic. I remember full reading pages of Peter and MJ just arguing with frail Aunt May in the background, and issues of MJ pondering over her marriage with Peter where she came across as extremely weak and as wanting out of the marriage, compared to the strong character she was characterised as most of the time. The writers wouldn't even help with the relationship, they'd just keep throwing whatever they got at the marriage. There was a panel in some Spidey issue where MJ comes home to the motel they were hiding in during the Civil War to find Peter extremely bloodied and held in the arms of Aunt May, Aunt May yelling "MARY JANE, HEEELP MEEE!!!" I mean, what? When did Spider-Man stories stop being Spider-Man stories and become something I'd read in a Walking Dead volume? The marriage could've been handled much better but the way Spider-Man as a character was destroyed by the Civil War event the marriage was no longer sustainable, I'm glad OMD happened even though it was so painful to read and it pretty much brought Peter & MJ to the ground along with the marriage.

I Highly disagree with 2 and 4. I'd argue him being single actually hurts the character. Because people eventually get sick of the hero busting his butt and having almost nothing to show for it. Their relationship while it had ups and downs for the most part they were happy together. 3. May take some time but it's not impossible. Honestly about point 1 none of his supporting cast have really mattered in recent years. Aunt May has become a prop. The Lab crews easily replaceable. So who exactly is his supporting cast?

[Vortex85]

I'm in my twenties and most of my friends are married. Youth has nothing to do with it.

Though I think in order for Peter to be an underdog, he can't really have the red head supermodel.

Though he did for 20 years. OMD was character regression. Why does he have to always be an underdog in every aspect of his life? The fans weren't asking for the marriage to be removed. It was something mandated by Joey Q, and nothing good has really come out of it story wise except now we are retreading the same tired plots of "Will they, won't they?"

I found it cool how a shy teenage outcast became more outgoing as he aged, developed real relationships, and made something of his life by marrying his best friend and partner, and now had more responsibiliies than ever. It showed real progression, it was a cool story of growth and overcoming your past insecurities and making something out of your life despite hardships. It raised the tension as Peter has more to lose. Now as a single man, he is a free agent and his previous responsibilities have been removed rather cheaply.

[Vortex85]

I Highly disagree with 2 and 4. I'd argue him being single actually hurts the character. Because people eventually get sick of the hero busting his butt and having almost nothing to show for it. Their relationship while it had ups and downs for the most part they were happy together. 3. May take some time but it's not impossible. Honestly about point 1 none of his supporting cast have really mattered in recent years. Aunt May has become a prop. The Lab crews easily replaceable. So who exactly is his supporting cast?

Agreed. More on 3: MJ was just professing her undying love for Peter in issue 700, and dating who she thought was Peter at the beginning of superior. Sure she did a 180 and now wants to move on, but who could blame her after how she was treated by Ock? She'll come back around eventually. The fact that they are not on good terms right now hardly means they are incompatible.

[MarvelMaster616]

Peter parker is better single as he's more relatable and human and More stories can be told. I hated OMD as much as the next person, but I only hated it because Spiderman pretty much made a deal with the devil. But it did restore Spiderman's relatable character again.

I have a big problem with this whole "relatable" argument that keeps popping up. Peter Parker is NOT relatable.

For one, he's a genius. Most people aren't geniuses.

Second, he has the body of an underwear model. Compared to the average joe, he has a lot more muscle and a lot less body fat than the majority of people. He's basically conditioned like a professional athlete and most people aren't athletes.

Third, he's had way more girlfriends and love interests than most guys. I think the average is around 4 or 5. Peter has had up to a dozen, depending on what constitutes a "girlfriend" and a "relationship."

Fourth, his life is completely stagnant. Now granted, some people do end up in stagnant lives where they constantly struggle to hold down a job, struggle to pay the bills, and can't move up in the world. But Peter Parker has basically been a struggling kid who often has to live with his Aunt and gets himself kicked out of apartments on a regular basis. Most people are able to at least make some progress. Granted, Peter's time as Spider-Man gets in the way of that, but it doesn't make him relatable.

No superheroes are really that relatable and I think that's a bad excuse for keeping Peter single. I admit there are some stories that can be told with a single Peter that can't be told with a married Peter. But lately, those stories about a single Peter have been really stagnant. It's basically Peter tries to get a new job and a new girlfriend, things go horribly wrong, and he's back at square one. That's really all there is to it. It has made Spider-Man way too predictable in my opinion. I can basically predict what will happen now. Peter's going to lose everything with Parker Industries, he'll go broke, lose his doctorate, and be right back at square one. It might not happen overnight, but it will happen because Marvel just insists on keeping Peter Parker a stagnant character.

[cyberhubbs]

Like Doctor Octopus crapping all over Peter's good name?

I'll pass, thanks.

I know, right? 'Cause Otto was always so nice to Spider-Man before.

[Mister Mets]

I have a big problem with this whole "relatable" argument that keeps popping up. Peter Parker is NOT relatable.

For one, he's a genius. Most people aren't geniuses.

Second, he has the body of an underwear model. Compared to the average joe, he has a lot more muscle and a lot less body fat than the majority of people. He's basically conditioned like a professional athlete and most people aren't athletes.

Third, he's had way more girlfriends and love interests than most guys. I think the average is around 4 or 5. Peter has had up to a dozen, depending on what constitutes a "girlfriend" and a "relationship."

Fourth, his life is completely stagnant. Now granted, some people do end up in stagnant lives where they constantly struggle to hold down a job, struggle to pay the bills, and can't move up in the world. But Peter Parker has basically been a struggling kid who often has to live with his Aunt and gets himself kicked out of apartments on a regular basis. Most people are able to at least make some progress. Granted, Peter's time as Spider-Man gets in the way of that, but it doesn't make him relatable.

No superheroes are really that relatable and I think that's a bad excuse for keeping Peter single. I admit there are some stories that can be told with a single Peter that can't be told with a married Peter. But lately, those stories about a single Peter have been really stagnant. It's basically Peter tries to get a new job and a new girlfriend, things go horribly wrong, and he's back at square one. That's really all there is to it. It has made Spider-Man way too predictable in my opinion. I can basically predict what will happen now. Peter's going to lose everything with Parker Industries, he'll go broke, lose his doctorate, and be right back at square one. It might not happen overnight, but it will happen because Marvel just insists on keeping Peter Parker a stagnant character.

People in general have inflated opinions of themselves, both in terms of intelligence and attractiveness. So Peter being smarter and more handsome than the typical comic book reader doesn't hurt their ability to relate to him.

Progress is a complicated metric, since writers and editors have a tendency to take Peter back to square one. But at most points in the Spider-Man comics, he is making professional progress if you look at where he is relative to previous issues. In Slott's run, he has grown as a scientist.

[cyberhubbs]

Anywho. Reasons to keep Peter single? 'Cause the marriage gets boring after "five minutes". And in the long run makes Mary Jane seem...well, a little pitiful (for lack of a better word). Peter is never going to stop being Spider-Man, so that means she's always going to not worry, then worry, then want him to stop, then he doesn't stop and MJ has to basically suck it up or dismiss her own argument and back Peter up in his violent lifestyle. She's a prisoner in Peter Parker's existence. Almost slave-like. She gets yanked along for the ride, whether she wants to or not.

MJ-aside, I like that someone like Carlie was able to leave Peter. (I dig Carlie, FYI, favorite non-costumed new cast alongside Norah and Anna Maria.) It means a lot that a character can actually stand up to Peter's lifestyle, no matter how heroic it is, and walk away in the end. And I simply prefer that relationships can come and co according to what might be necessary for a storyline.

[cyberhubbs]

I have a big problem with this whole "relatable" argument that keeps popping up. Peter Parker is NOT relatable.

For one, he's a genius. Most people aren't geniuses.

Second, he has the body of an underwear model. Compared to the average joe, he has a lot more muscle and a lot less body fat than the majority of people. He's basically conditioned like a professional athlete and most people aren't athletes.

Third, he's had way more girlfriends and love interests than most guys. I think the average is around 4 or 5. Peter has had up to a dozen, depending on what constitutes a "girlfriend" and a "relationship."

Fourth, his life is completely stagnant. Now granted, some people do end up in stagnant lives where they constantly struggle to hold down a job, struggle to pay the bills, and can't move up in the world. But Peter Parker has basically been a struggling kid who often has to live with his Aunt and gets himself kicked out of apartments on a regular basis. Most people are able to at least make some progress. Granted, Peter's time as Spider-Man gets in the way of that, but it doesn't make him relatable.

No superheroes are really that relatable and I think that's a bad excuse for keeping Peter single. I admit there are some stories that can be told with a single Peter that can't be told with a married Peter. But lately, those stories about a single Peter have been really stagnant. It's basically Peter tries to get a new job and a new girlfriend, things go horribly wrong, and he's back at square one. That's really all there is to it. It has made Spider-Man way too predictable in my opinion. I can basically predict what will happen now. Peter's going to lose everything with Parker Industries, he'll go broke, lose his doctorate, and be right back at square one. It might not happen overnight, but it will happen because Marvel just insists on keeping Peter Parker a stagnant character.

Peter has relatable "everyman" characteristics. You can relate to someone in one area, even if not entirely in another. Yes, we're not all geniuses. We don't all have six-pack abs (Though some of us are working on that!) But we do have bills that have to get paid on a regular basis, and some people jump around different jobs (semi)regularly.

[jgprime]

Agreed. More on 3: MJ was just professing her undying love for Peter in issue 700, and dating who she thought was Peter at the beginning of superior. Sure she did a 180 and now wants to move on, but who could blame her after how she was treated by Ock? She'll come back around eventually. The fact that they are not on good terms right now hardly means they are incompatible.

I wouldn't be against it but as I said it's going to be a while and take a lot of issues to properly build up a Pete-MJ relationship again. Right now Peter and MJ are on some really bad terms so putting them in a relationship too soon would feel pretty forceful. It's better to keep Peter single or give him a new love interest (one which could actually be consistent in its characterisation unlike poor Carlie who's character suffered because of the inconsistencies in her character).

Huh? I didn't read the non-Spidey Civil War comics at this time, but I got all Spider-man comics during that time. Was this in a non-Spidey title? I don't remember any of this. In the main Spidey titles MJ was shown as very supportive during the whole thing.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found it in 1 issue in Sensational Spider-man. Though this was only one issue. The main run of Amazing didn't portray any of this. You tend to focus on 1 issue and act like it was this big cloud covering the whole arc.

Yeah, I guess I rage-quitted over that issue. I believe the point stands, though. Stories from the Civil War, post-Civil War period tended to gravitate towards unnecessary tragedy (Peter's unmasking, being on the run, Aunt May getting shot) during that run and resulted in damaging characterisations to Peter & MJ from which there was no going back. This continuous course of the stories in the Spidey titles was unsustainable and departed greatly from your typical Spider-Man stories. Just look at the extremely different stories and tone between Civil War Spidey nearly drowning in all the crap his unmasking brought and BND Spidey who yeah, for a while was a bit of a manchild but finally brought back that back-to-basics Spidey everyone was asking for.

[Agent Z]

Anywho. Reasons to keep Peter single? 'Cause the marriage gets boring after "five minutes". And in the long run makes Mary Jane seem...well, a little pitiful (for lack of a better word). Peter is never going to stop being Spider-Man, so that means she's always going to not worry, then worry, then want him to stop, then he doesn't stop and MJ has to basically suck it up or dismiss her own argument and back Peter up in his violent lifestyle. She's a prisoner in Peter Parker's existence. Almost slave-like. She gets yanked along for the ride, whether she wants to or not.

MJ-aside, I like that someone like Carlie was able to leave Peter. (I dig Carlie, FYI, favorite non-costumed new cast alongside Norah and Anna Maria.) It means a lot that a character can actually stand up to Peter's lifestyle, no matter how heroic it is, and walk away in the end. And I simply prefer that relationships can come and co according to what might be necessary for a storyline.

How often does this happen exactly? I mean, I'm not trying to pick a fight here, but according to supporters of the marriage she was nowhere near this pathetic. And even then isn't this more the fault of the writers than MJ or the marriage itself? After all, if they couldn't think of anything better for her to do, they could just ignore her. Being married doesn't make them conjoined twins.

[cyberhubbs]

How often does this happen exactly? I mean, I'm not trying to pick a fight here, but according to supporters of the marriage she was nowhere near this pathetic. And even then isn't this more the fault of the writers than MJ or the marriage itself? After all, if they couldn't think of anything better for her to do, they could just ignore her. Being married doesn't make them conjoined twins.

When you're married to a guy who saves the city you live in on a regular basis, you can't exactly get ignored like you don't exist. When he's fighting Doctor Octopus atop the Empire State Building, and the bomb is about to go off, they're gonna flash to MJ watching it on television or something. MJ has to worry, 'cause who wouldn't worry about their husband or wife who goes out every night and fights costumed psychopaths and the occasional god? Will it be every single storyline? No. But the fact that it's a serial and has no intention of ending anytime soon, you're going to get those instances piled up through sheer amount of time.

Now if we're talking that the title can and will end? Different story.

[MarvelMaster616]

Peter has relatable "everyman" characteristics. You can relate to someone in one area, even if not entirely in another. Yes, we're not all geniuses. We don't all have six-pack abs (Though some of us are working on that!) But we do have bills that have to get paid on a regular basis, and some people jump around different jobs (semi)regularly.

I'm not saying people can't relate to some areas. But in terms of the big picture, I don't think it's reasonable to say that he's relatable. If anything, I think Miles Morales is more relatable than Peter Parker at this point. Miles isn't just dealing with the powers and responsibilities that Peter deals with. Miles is someone who has been an outcast and comes from a family that has questionable characters to say the least. Being a minority, he doesn't fit the classic look and persona of a hero and that's exactly why he works.

Other heroes do have to pay bills and deal with these everyday issues. Matt Murdock is a better example of this and him being handicapped helps make him more relatable. There's also She-Hulk, who recently has explored her struggles to start her own firm. Then there's Kamala Khan, a teenage girl who is struggling with her identity and her place in ways Peter never had to. Peter was just a nerd in school. He wasn't an outcast or a minority. Even in the context of the era he was created, I don't think he's quite as relatable as other heroes. That's why I really hope that Marvel doesn't regress his character even more by having Parker Industries go under. Him starting his own business and having to run it in the midst of all these other challenges actually does make him relatable on some levels, but the whole "Parker Luck" concept might end up undermining that.

[cyberhubbs]

I'm not saying people can't relate to some areas. But in terms of the big picture, I don't think it's reasonable to say that he's relatable. If anything, I think Miles Morales is more relatable than Peter Parker at this point. Miles isn't just dealing with the powers and responsibilities that Peter deals with. Miles is someone who has been an outcast and comes from a family that has questionable characters to say the least. Being a minority, he doesn't fit the classic look and persona of a hero and that's exactly why he works.

Other heroes do have to pay bills and deal with these everyday issues. Matt Murdock is a better example of this and him being handicapped helps make him more relatable. There's also She-Hulk, who recently has explored her struggles to start her own firm. Then there's Kamala Khan, a teenage girl who is struggling with her identity and her place in ways Peter never had to. Peter was just a nerd in school. He wasn't an outcast or a minority. Even in the context of the era he was created, I don't think he's quite as relatable as other heroes. That's why I really hope that Marvel doesn't regress his character even more by having Parker Industries go under. Him starting his own business and having to run it in the midst of all these other challenges actually does make him relatable on some levels, but the whole "Parker Luck" concept might end up undermining that.

Yeeaaahhh, but those other characters are ralatable because of Peter Parker. No one is saying they can't be relatable also. At least I'm not. There's a lot of relatable characters running around these days.

[Scott Taylor]

1. Makes it easier to introduce other characters
2. Gives a writer more flexibility with their stories
3. Extends the illusion of change farther

[Hypestyle]

keep things single for the foreseeable future. Both of them can have romance across the globe with various people of different careers, different ethnicities, etc.