Was the marriage good for Spider-Man ?

[MRstarkiller360]

I want to hear from both sides, pro and anti-marriege, if the Spider-Marriege was good or bad for Spider-Man ? And I would like to hear everyone's reason as for why as well.

[Metamorphosis]

I think it was good for the series. It represented a natural progression for Peter and Mary Jane's relationship.

At the time, the book was treading water in a sense (like it is now), as Peter went through love interests like Deb Whitman and Felicia. Finally shacking up with MJ was a bold direction for the character.

It only led to tedium when the writers got lazy, and didn't feel like injecting conflict into it. Then the marriage became the scapegoat as to why the series hadn't been doing as well, when it was really very poor writing on the part of Mackie.

[Miles To Go]

It was the next step in Peter and MJ's ongoing maturity, growing as characters and creating a fresh dilemma in their list of stressful priorities. All kinds of stories could come from it, and plenty of them were explored. The couple inspired many readers, myself included, with how they overcame self-doubt, marital problems, miscarriages, evictions, not always with a smile, and not always shedding tears. Theirs was the most relationship Marvel had ever stumbled into.

It led to Mayday Parker, Marvel's only consistent long-running ongoing with a female-led heroine. As well as her brother Benjy, who played a vital role in Spider-Verse. The newspaper comics also routinely demonstrate how great Peter and MJ's partnership can be when the angst and stress of Peter's life is taken completely out of it. MJ is doing things there presently that her post-OMD counterpart can only aspire to once in a blue moon.

It's less about whether or not the marriage WAS good, but that it still very much IS good. If you go by what David Gabrielle said recently, it's also what "works"

[Mister Mets]

I don't think it was good for the series. I've gone over a lot of this before, but...

- It was rushed. Peter and MJ weren't really dating when he proposed. Aunt May found out about the engagement in the same issue in which they got married.
- It coincided with weak eras of the title. There are certainly bright spots (Kraven's Last Hunt, the early Venom, Millar's Marvel Knights run) but there's a dearth of great runs following the marriage.
- The books got better when the marriage went away. Some of the best Spider-Man stories of the 2000s happened when MJ was believed dead, when MJ or Peter were separated, to say nothing of good untold tales or the ultimate books.
- It didn't add much to the series. Most of the stories could have been done just as easily with a Peter and MJ who were living together.
- It resulted in repetitive conflicts and resolutions.
- It removed part of the drama from the series.

[Timmyb52]

I don't think it was good for the series. I've gone over a lot of this before, but...

- It was rushed. Peter and MJ weren't really dating when he proposed. Aunt May found out about the engagement in the same issue in which they got married.
- It coincided with weak eras of the title. There are certainly bright spots (Kraven's Last Hunt, the early Venom, Millar's Marvel Knights run) but there's a dearth of great runs following the marriage.
- The books got better when the marriage went away. Some of the best Spider-Man stories of the 2000s happened when MJ was believed dead, when MJ or Peter were separated, to say nothing of good untold tales or the ultimate books.
- It didn't add much to the series. Most of the stories could have been done just as easily with a Peter and MJ who were living together.
- It resulted in repetitive conflicts and resolutions.
- It removed part of the drama from the series.

The marriage was rushed...and OMD and OMIT weren't? They are the worst comics ever written because one man, Quesada wanted what he wanted! At least the marriage story made sense and didn't stink to high heaven like OMD and OMIT did.
You claim the marriage produced "weak areas"...and yet ignore the fact that the majority of stories since OMD have been even worse and produced lower grade stories?The reason you give for the stories being better with a MJ believed dead was because the love between Peter and MJ produced great emotion and drama, and the same can be said when they were seperated...but they were still married.
The marriage didn't add much to the series and could have been produced with the couple just living together? The marriage and just living together is the same thing...so why this nonsense about how bad the marriage was to the stories and franchise?
Funny...since BND all we have seen is repetitive conflicts and resolutions which have no meaning as long as Peter's life and destiny are controlled by a demon!
The marriage, along with Peter and MJ's deep love for one another created massive emotion and drama! What have the stories since BND produced that was drama filled?
MJ is a strong,intelligent and independent woman who not only knew how to stand on her own, but is a great confidant and adviser for Peter...who completely understands him and why he does what he does, and loves him for it unconditionally.They are soul mates who are perfect for another and totally compliment one another. Their love for one another was pure,honest and true...no one can ever take MJ's place, and never will.
If the marriage meant absolutely nothing then why did Mephisto want it so bad? Because he wanted to spite God Himself and rid the world of a perfect union that would give others comfort and hope in the belief that love conquers all!
However, with OMD and OMIT Marvel/Quesada sent the message that absolute evil triumphs over righteousness and love, and shall continue to do so as long as Peter remains a pawn of the devil!

[Mike]

"Was the marriage good for Spider-Man ?'
NO!

[Mike_Murdock]

I would argue it was good, but only very late (particularly when JMS was writing the book). For the overwhelming majority of the time with the marriage, it consisted of writers trying to ruin the marriage.

[Pako]

The only responsible married Peter is a permanently retired one. So why would I want to series to end ?

[Alan2099]

Once you marry him, then what? The natural step would be to give him a kid, but those are almost always horrible. The Fantastic Four, a comic about a family has struggled with what to do about Franklin for ages. Of course first you have to give them a baby, and with how slow today's storys move, you're going to be stuck with that baby for ages before it gets old enough to do anything but cry and poop.

And you can't leave it out of the stories. Once you have a baby, your life starts to revolve around that baby. So you're stuck taking pages out of the book that could be spent with actual plot and supporting characters and giving nothing in return. Then there's the arguments about having the kid grow up, which just makes Peter and MJ older or whether he should even be superheroing anymore if he has a family.

That's just a hypothetical though. Still, even the marriage had huge hunks of that problem without the baby. Mary Jane HAD to be there, and she often didn't have anything to do. Where she used to be able to come into stories, mix things up, and leave for awhile, no she was stuck. Nor could she mix things up for a while. There was no goal in their relationship to aim for. She used to be able to drag Peter out of his comfort zone to clubs and stuff, but now she didn't have to drag him anywhere and he didn't have to go.

Sometimes I felt like half her appearances where either her just waiting by the window being sad, or lounging around in lingerie for sexy time. Neither of which really added anything to the book. Then of course there's the times she'd go "Can't the Avengers of something handle this?" and Peter would have to talk about responsibility and how he had to go do superhero things because he was a superhero.

I think one of my least favorite moments of Mary Jane had to be when Gwen's clone showed up. She knows Peter and she knows how bad something like that could effect him, but she straight up tells him that it's either gwen of her and if he's not 100% sure, he shouldn't come back at all.

Just all in all, most of the things that made MJ fun and exciting to the book where jettisoned, because she couldn't be that wildcat anymore. She had to be "the wife".

[Vortex85]

I'm a huge MJ fan because of the marriage. I wouldn't be an MJ fan if I started reading post-OMD.

I haven't seen anything fun or exciting about MJ in the core title in a long long time.

It sucks that new readers don't even get to see MJ at her best anymore, standing strong with Peter and getting through all hell together. She is nothing these days. It speaks volumes that she has been in the book so little, for so long. Writers can't even have her in the book anymore as a frequently appearing major cast member because if they did the one-trick gimmick of post-OMD status quo would be all too obvious. Either that or they would have to change her character so much for it to work, she wouldn't be MJ anymore.

Anyway, of course, I belive it was better for the book and created a more quality romantic aspect of the book, with more substance to reward long time readers, and compelling drama of long time loves getting through the worst situations. Quality over quantity for me.

[ijacksparrow]

I don't think it was good for the series. I've gone over a lot of this before, but...

- It was rushed. Peter and MJ weren't really dating when he proposed. Aunt May found out about the engagement in the same issue in which they got married.
- It coincided with weak eras of the title. There are certainly bright spots (Kraven's Last Hunt, the early Venom, Millar's Marvel Knights run) but there's a dearth of great runs following the marriage.
- The books got better when the marriage went away. Some of the best Spider-Man stories of the 2000s happened when MJ was believed dead, when MJ or Peter were separated, to say nothing of good untold tales or the ultimate books.
- It didn't add much to the series. Most of the stories could have been done just as easily with a Peter and MJ who were living together.
- It resulted in repetitive conflicts and resolutions.
- It removed part of the drama from the series.

I'd argue that it was good until it wasn't. Then it was made like it never happened and while I hate OMD, I'm glad neither that or the marriage are ever addressed. Is that a plot point they can eventually touch and work on? Sure. But do I want the marriage back? Hell no. And this comes from someone that thinks that MJ is "the one" for Peter just like Lois is "the one" for Clark. They are destined to never tie the knot tho.

[Alan2099]

I'd argue that it was good until it wasn't.

When would you say it stopped being good?

[comicscollector]

No,i for once never remember to read Spider-Man stories during the marriage years thinking,i have to see the most recent developments in the marriage of Peter and Mary Jane.Lol
I just wanted to read Spider-Man stories.
The marriage was a status quo that was just there.
Plus the marriage in the stories was just rushed and was quite odd.
I remember when i was reading comics around the time of Amazing Spider-Man Annual#21,and thinking the marriage was quite rushed but i was like okay,whatever.
Over the years it did not helped to keep me reading the stories,but thats normal i guess when there is a status quo that lasts for 20 years in the stories.It gets boring,as simple as that.

[Timmyb52]

No,i for once never remember to read Spider-Man stories during the marriage years thinking,i have to see the most recent developments in the marriage of Peter and Mary Jane.Lol
I just wanted to read Spider-Man stories.
The marriage was a status quo that was just there.
Plus the marriage in the stories was just rushed and was quite odd.
I remember when i was reading comics around the time of Amazing Spider-Man Annual#21,and thinking the marriage was quite rushed but i was like okay,whatever.
Over the years it did not helped to keep me reading the stories,but thats normal i guess when there is a status quo that lasts for 20 years in the stories.It gets boring,as simple as that.

And keeping Peter a single, girl to next girl to next girl playboy won't get boring and stagnant over time?

[Pako]

And keeping Peter a single, girl to next girl to next girl playboy won't get boring and stagnant over time?

Spider-man isn't a PUA. He doesn't need to be constantly seeking his next lay. Personally think its just bad writing filler when they can't give Peter any compelling motivations.