I don't know how much more Rich knows than he insinuates in the article, but revisiting OMD has a number of possible meanings, some of which are more momentous than others. Just to spitball with a few:
1. Peter proposes again (third time's the charm!) and MJ turns him down (setting up her new miniseries, much like Catwoman getting her own series after baling on Bats). Perhaps we'll see a little red bird take a dump on her shirt while she's deciding and that's the sign that tells her to say no.
2. Peter and MJ start discussing marriage and they keep getting distracted by a plague of red locusts. Peter thinks the whole thing is odd, and that starts his journey to asking questions of mystical people about the incident, thus leading him to discover the deal
3. Peter proposes, MJ tells him why she has to say no (the deal from OMD, since she may or may not remember it), Peter is gobsmacked
4. Aunt May's cancer gets addressed, and she becomes miraculously cured, leading Peter to be suspicious of her newfound immortality