Peter & Mary Jane - Editorial Edict? Do You Want Them To Be Together Again?

[Lee]

Superior Spider-Man was supposed to last longer than it did but the Amazing Spider-Man II movie was coming out around the time so Marvel requested Peter back in the costume just in time for it.

This is incorrect. At first Marvel thought Superior Spider-Man should be maybe 6 issues, Slott was the one who wanted to take it right up to the movie release.

[Kevinroc]

Nope.
After having read through twenty years of stories with Peter and Mary Jane i would be bored by the stories if Peter and Mary Jane got together again.
There were lots of great stories before that had other romantic interests as Black Cat,Gwen Stacy,Liz Allan,Carlie,that show that the idea that there can be just good Spider-Man stories with Peter and Mary Jane is silly.
And there have been other characters as Glory Grant,that i thought was a shame that was not developed as a romantic interest.
And without counting with new characters that could be developed to be new romantic interests.

The fact that, 10 years after One More Day, everyone is still in the shadow of Mary Jane, should say all that needs to be said.

We had two movies without MJ that performed so badly that Sony had to make a deal with Marvel to save their floundering Spider-Man film franchise.

We have a new movie that will feature Liz Allan as the love interest, and all anyone wants to talk about is Mary Jane.

And in the comics, the only love interest that anyone showed any interest in was Anna, because she was Otto's love interest and not Peter's.

[UnknownEntity]

The fact that, 10 years after One More Day, everyone is still in the shadow of Mary Jane, should say all that needs to be said.

We had two movies without MJ that performed so badly that Sony had to make a deal with Marvel to save their floundering Spider-Man film franchise.

We have a new movie that will feature Liz Allan as the love interest, and all anyone wants to talk about is Mary Jane.

And in the comics, the only love interest that anyone showed any interest in was Anna, because she was Otto's love interest and not Peter's.

Pretty much. MJ is the definitive love interest. Its fact. If anyone has another preference then good for them. Got to any official listing of Spidey's love interests, or any top 10 comic book couples and the one you'll always find with Spidey is MJ. But just like Batman has Catwoman and Superman has Lois Lane, Spider Man has Mary Jane.

BTW, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy was by far the best part of the ASM movies and it inspired Spider Gwen, so there's that.

[Kevinroc]

Pretty much. MJ is the definitive love interest. Its fact. If anyone has another preference then good for them. Got to any official listing of Spidey's love interests, or any top 10 comic book couples and the one you'll always find with Spidey is MJ. But just like Batman has Catwoman and Superman has Lois Lane, Spider Man has Mary Jane.

BTW, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy was by far the best part of the ASM movies and it inspired Spider Gwen, so there's that.

Gwen was also one of the worst things in the ASM movies, because they didn't really know what to do after they inevitably killed Gwen. There's a reason that film franchise died with that character.

[comicscollector]

The fact that, 10 years after One More Day, everyone is still in the shadow of Mary Jane, should say all that needs to be said.

We had two movies without MJ that performed so badly that Sony had to make a deal with Marvel to save their floundering Spider-Man film franchise.

We have a new movie that will feature Liz Allan as the love interest, and all anyone wants to talk about is Mary Jane.

And in the comics, the only love interest that anyone showed any interest in was Anna, because she was Otto's love interest and not Peter's.

Was not speaking about the movies,i thought this was about comics.
The sucess of the Spidey movies have nothing to do with whatever Mary Jane was in the comics or not imo.
I was speaking about the comics.
Saying that everyone is still in Mary Jane shadows looks like a exageration.
There have been since the start of Brand New Day,Carlie,Michelle,Black Cat as romantic interests.
All those stories i enjoyed Reading them,even if the relationships were not that much developed.
But taking in consideration that ever since the start of BND,the main stories have been developed through events or mini events(Gauntlet,Spider Island,Spider Verse) and that there have been a good amount of time that it was Superior Spider-Man in the stories,it is normal that romantic interests have not been developed as other romantic relationships as Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane.
My point still remains,there were plenty of cool and well writen stories of Spider-Man with other romantic interests as Gwen,Black Cat,Liz Allen so this idea that Spider-Man stories can only be good with Peter and Mary Jane does not make that much sense to me.

[UnknownEntity]

Gwen was also one of the worst things in the ASM movies, because they didn't really know what to do after they inevitably killed Gwen. There's a reason that film franchise died with that character.

Gwen was good. The problem with those movies is that they turned them into romance dramas that centered solely on the two of them. The entire focus of the franchise rotated around them and by narrowing themselves like that they sealed their fate. Plus the two movies weren't all that good. ASM1 was better than SM3 but far inferior than SM1 and SM2, whereas ASM2 was as bad and bloated as SM3. I also think Emma Stone would've made an excellent MJ BTW.

[Metamorphosis]

Was not speaking about the movies,i thought this was about comics.
The sucess of the Spidey movies have nothing to do with whatever Mary Jane was in the comics or not imo.
I was speaking about the comics.
Saying that everyone is still in Mary Jane shadows looks like a exageration.
There have been since the start of Brand New Day,Carlie,Michelle,Black Cat as romantic interests.
All those stories i enjoyed Reading them,even if the relationships were not that much developed.
But taking in consideration that ever since the start of BND,the main stories have been developed through events or mini events(Gauntlet,Spider Island,Spider Verse) and that there have been a good amount of time that it was Superior Spider-Man in the stories,it is normal that romantic interests have not been developed as other romantic relationships as Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane.
My point still remains,there were plenty of cool and well writen stories of Spider-Man with other romantic interests as Gwen,Black Cat,Liz Allen so this idea that Spider-Man stories can only be good with Peter and Mary Jane does not make that much sense to me.

So where are Carlie, Michelle, Black Cat, Cindy Moon and Lie/an Tang now, then?

[comicscollector]

So where are Carlie, Michelle, Black Cat, Cindy Moon and Lie/an Tang now, then?

Not being used in the stories.
Same way as Mary Jane have not been apearing much in the stories of Amazing Spider-Man.
And thats something that actually shows how diverse the suporting cast of the stories of Spider-Man is.
I rather read stories with many suporting characters that have stories that can only be good with Peter and Mary Jane.
JMS stories for exemple were quite well written,but after a while i thought it became a bit boring because the focus of the stories was too much on only Peter,Mary Jane and Aunt May.
That to me was a shame because i always remembered from way back reading cool stories of Spider-Man with many suporting characters.

[UnknownEntity]

Was not speaking about the movies,i thought this was about comics.
The sucess of the Spidey movies have nothing to do with whatever Mary Jane was in the comics or not imo.
I was speaking about the comics.
Saying that everyone is still in Mary Jane shadows looks like a exageration.
There have been since the start of Brand New Day,Carlie,Michelle,Black Cat as romantic interests.
All those stories i enjoyed Reading them,even if the relationships were not that much developed.
But taking in consideration that ever since the start of BND,the main stories have been developed through events or mini events(Gauntlet,Spider Island,Spider Verse) and that there have been a good amount of time that it was Superior Spider-Man in the stories,it is normal that romantic interests have not been developed as other romantic relationships as Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane.
My point still remains,there were plenty of cool and well writen stories of Spider-Man with other romantic interests as Gwen,Black Cat,Liz Allen so this idea that Spider-Man stories can only be good with Peter and Mary Jane does not make that much sense to me.

Spider Man's relationship status, with MJ or anyone does not (should not) dictate whether a story is good or bad, but at the same time a relationship or romantic entanglement should in some way complement the story told. A lot of people (myself included) want Peter and MJ to be together again because their relationship was the best in all of Spider Man's history and want it to continue especially after it was so atrociously taken away. The two of them together have an entertaining dynamic and chemistry and work so well. Plus the two of them are very interesting characters in their own right and so the two of them together is an amplification of appeal. Post Mary Jane, Spider Man's romantic entanglements (a superhero's love interest is always a big deal in most superhero comics) have not reached the same level of appeal as before and are downright forgettable. Marvel has failed to introduce a new and good love interest and its because of that, that Mary Jane is held in high regard and wanted back. There have been plenty of bad stories with Peter and MJ together but that had nothing to do with their relationship status but the story they were involved in. Just the same, there have been good stories post OMD where Peter and MJ were not together that were good such as Spider Island and Big Time and Family Business.

[The Kid]

Yes. I don't even necessarily care if the marriage comes back because I doubt it ever will but I want them to at least date again

[murderousjohnny]

So where are Carlie, Michelle, Black Cat, Cindy Moon and Lie/an Tang now, then?

They can't really do black cat anymore. That has been already explored as far as it can be. Like I suspect they turned her into a villian just to have an excuse to keep her around and using Cindy would be awkward say the least.

[comicscollector]

Spider Man's relationship status, with MJ or anyone does not (should not) dictate whether a story is good or bad, but at the same time a relationship or romantic entanglement should in some way complement the story told. A lot of people (myself included) want Peter and MJ to be together again because their relationship was the best in all of Spider Man's history and want it to continue especially after it was so atrociously taken away. The two of them together have an entertaining dynamic and chemistry and work so well. Plus the two of them are very interesting characters in their own right and so the two of them together is an amplification of appeal. Post Mary Jane, Spider Man's romantic entanglements (a superhero's love interest is always a big deal in most superhero comics) have not reached the same level of appeal as before and are downright forgettable. Marvel has failed to introduce a new and good love interest and its because of that, that Mary Jane is held in high regard and wanted back. There have been plenty of bad stories with Peter and MJ together but that had nothing to do with their relationship status but the story they were involved in. Just the same, there have been good stories post OMD where Peter and MJ were not together that were good such as Spider Island and Big Time and Family Business.

Not saying that the relationship of Peter and Mary Jane was not the best.
Of course it was a very well written relationship,maybe even of the best relationship writen in comics generally speaking.
But trying to compare a relationship that was written during many years before actually Peter and Mary Jane getting married and through twenty years of stories to new relationships in recente stories is not fair.
Amazing Spider-Man had a team of writers,and to me it was as the writers were doing the best possible Spidey stories and not necessarily trying to make another great romantic interest as Mary Jane.
And after that Amazing Spider-Man went through events and mini events (Gauntlet,Spider Island,Spider Verse) and even after all that there was Superior Spider Man in the stories and not Peter Parker.
So taking this in consideration it seems that a relationship to be developed as was the Peter and Mary Jane relationship written in the stories way back not possible since the start of Brand New Day.

[Kevinroc]

Was not speaking about the movies,i thought this was about comics.
The sucess of the Spidey movies have nothing to do with whatever Mary Jane was in the comics or not imo.
I was speaking about the comics.
Saying that everyone is still in Mary Jane shadows looks like a exageration.
There have been since the start of Brand New Day,Carlie,Michelle,Black Cat as romantic interests.
All those stories i enjoyed Reading them,even if the relationships were not that much developed.
But taking in consideration that ever since the start of BND,the main stories have been developed through events or mini events(Gauntlet,Spider Island,Spider Verse) and that there have been a good amount of time that it was Superior Spider-Man in the stories,it is normal that romantic interests have not been developed as other romantic relationships as Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane.
My point still remains,there were plenty of cool and well writen stories of Spider-Man with other romantic interests as Gwen,Black Cat,Liz Allen so this idea that Spider-Man stories can only be good with Peter and Mary Jane does not make that much sense to me.

The movies color how the public views Spider-Man and his relationships, and in turn, color how Spider-Man works in mediums outside of the comics, and in turn color how Spider-Man works in the comics. That MJ dominates the movie conversation, that MJ dominates the comic conversations, even 10 years after OMD, says that every other possible love interest is in MJ's shadow.

It's not surprising there are fans in denial about this. There are Spider-Man creators in denial of this basic fact.

Gwen was good. The problem with those movies is that they turned them into romance dramas that centered solely on the two of them. The entire focus of the franchise rotated around them and by narrowing themselves like that they sealed their fate. Plus the two movies weren't all that good. ASM1 was better than SM3 but far inferior than SM1 and SM2, whereas ASM2 was as bad and bloated as SM3. I also think Emma Stone would've made an excellent MJ BTW.

If Stone had been MJ, there is a chance the ASM film franchise may not have died.

[UnknownEntity]

Not saying that the relationship of Peter and Mary Jane was not the best.
Of course it was a very well written relationship,maybe even of the best relationship writen in comics generally speaking.
But trying to compare a relationship that was written during many years before actually Peter and Mary Jane getting married and through twenty years of stories to new relationships in recente stories is not fair.
Amazing Spider-Man had a team of writers,and to me it was as the writers were doing the best possible Spidey stories and not necessarily trying to make another great romantic interest as Mary Jane.
And after that Amazing Spider-Man went through events and mini events (Gauntlet,Spider Island,Spider Verse) and even after all that there was Superior Spider Man in the stories and not Peter Parker.
So taking this in consideration it seems that a relationship to be developed as was the Peter and Mary Jane relationship written in the stories way back not possible since the start of Brand New Day.

OK then. Comparing a relationship that has been decades developed with a more recent one is certainly annihilation. Yet at the same time, even if the new relationships can't really compete with the Mary Jane relationship, they still could've been something interesting in their own right and in that regard they failed, especially with Carlie Cooper who was really dull. They should've restarted Peter and Black Cat in my opinion.

[Mister Mets]

So where are Carlie, Michelle, Black Cat, Cindy Moon and Lie/an Tang now, then?

Why is it that relevant for the characters to have value?