I know. This is over a quarter century of experience through
multiple Marvel administrations.
The marriage of the character in the core continuity (from 1987), will
never be reinstated.
With absolute certainty. This is something even above an EIC at this point. Using the example of "well some day a
new EIC might change it on a whim" argument is inapplicable. It feels right from a fan perspective, but it has no bearing on the reality of the situation. There are a lot of "fan beliefs" that work that way. For example, the "Now that Disney owns Marvel, things will change the way *I* think they should" recurring fan fantasies-- like who will be fired for saying what online
or what properties will be allowed to cross-over with which things.
There are things fans
really want to believe because they
feel right or possible-- but for anyone on the inside, we look at that and go "they just don't get it".
There is no editorial change or restructuring or new blood that is going to change this.
We're heading into a decade of this. I know you run a message board that has dedicated great swaths of time over the past 10 years on this subject-- and it's something you personally would like to see happen, but wouldn't you rather face the reality of a situation and spend that time talking about the possible?
1. That's a subjective opinion.
and
2. I'm not saying MJ couldn't walk back into the book tomorrow. I'm not saying she couldn't be the main love interest. I'm not saying she couldn't be in 99% percent of every story from now til doomsday. I'm saying one thing and one thing only: the marriage will never be reinstated. And I can say that with absolute certainty.
Between the two of us, who do you think has talked with Joe Kelly and the office about that sequence? Who do you think has better optics on that?
Between the two of us, who wrote this sequence that came out around the same time-frame? ;-)
Attachment 46550
And out of the two of us, who was able to get a mini-series through that's put an
alternate universe version of the marriage back into play? (And let me tell you, politically, that was a risky thing to pitch and push for-- so, as a marriage fan, you're welcome).
Okay, here's the thing-- it doesn't even matter what *I*, the guy who's been writing this book for 9 years feels. If I felt strongly about the marriage and banged on the doors of Marvel everyday saying I felt the marriage should be reinstated-- it wouldn't change a thing. This isn't just about my feelings or the Spider-Editor's feelings or the EIC's feelings. It's about maintaining the core book and its place in the Spider-Man franchise. There are factors involved that have nothing to do with any of those feelings. The marriage is never being reinstated.
The difference is--
A hardcore fan can make that analogy and think "A third rail/controversial storyline" vs "a third rail/controversial storyline", apples to apples, right?
And someone in the industry who understands how this all works and why would know that's not
even apples to oranges, that's apples to... xylophones.
You're comparing a controversial storyline to a profound change that affected the core continuity of the brand/franchise in a way that could not be easily fixed. A change that every administration since (
including the administration that put it into motion) tried to get undone. No one at Marvel was flagging me down saying, "Dear God, don't use the Jackal in a story." Some were like, "You're going to try a clone story?! Good luck!" (Like a magician telling another, "You're going try the trick that killed Houdini? Good luck!"). And some (mainly marketing) were all, "Make sure you call it something with 'Clone' in the title, there's an audience for that."
"Ah!" you may say, "But there could be an audience for the marriage reinstatement!"
Yes. And that's why RENEW YOUR VOWS went to full series. (And, again, you're welcome.)
But there was
never a world where-- after close to 25 years of trying to undo the marriage in the core continuity title that they were
ever undoing that.
Could there be a story where Spidey gets a "win" over Mephisto? You bet. Will that "win" result in the marriage being reinstated? Never.
Final thought: Something to keep in mind...
The fantasy scenario where someone "comes to power" who wants to reinstate the marriage, while a false one for many reasons, with every passing year is even less realistic
as a fantasy. Marvel editorial is in lockstep on this (which is besides the point, but bear with me for a sec). Every 18 year old who started reading Spider-Man at the age of 8 has grown up with a post-OMD Spider-Man. For them, the marriage was undone, and they're cool with that. Those post-Marriage stories are the ones they grew up reading. Those are the Marvel college interns cycling in now. Those are the assistant editors of the future, who will one day become the editors of the future, and the editor in chiefs in the future. And every year that gets set further into stone. There is no 30 year old or 40 year old who's going to magically pop into Marvel editorial from the side. And year after year, the people who've grown up who feel as strongly as you do about the 1987 marriage status quo are further and further away from Marvel editorial positions. With that in mind-- IT DOESN'T MATTER. Because even the ones in those positions aren't really the ones who can or are going to change it.
There is no lottery ticket win big enough that is getting someone into a magic position of power that's going to change this. There's no zillionaire who's a big reinstate-the-marriage fan who can rest this property away from Disney/Marvel Entertainment. It's never, ever, ever happening.