BETTY
-Stable career
-Bomb haircut
-Would never worry about Peter being in danger because she's used to all her men dying
-As wholesome as MJ
-As wild as Felicia when she has a gun
-Would definitely bust a cap if Centipede entered her home
-Can go to grief counseling with Peter
-Would have a built-in Bugle connection so Peter can have a new job
-Will be the ref for Jonah v. Peter boxing matches
-Was the OG
-PAYS HER TAXES
the evidence doesn't lie
I don't blind date I make the direct market vibrate
After Platonic, that one-shot issue during BND about Peter and Betty's friendship, I would be all for seeing a second attempt at a relationship with them. We're so far passed the "completely ditsy and kind of crazy" characterization of OG Spidey years that the more controlled and confident Betty would be a nice fit for Peter.
One of the interesting things that happens in adaptations is that Betty Brant and Peter are almost never shown dating. I mean it's weird that now Liz Allan is made into the first girlfriend in Spectacular and in Homecoming when in fact they have never once dated in the comics. One of my favorite bits in the Lee-Ditko era is the graduation issue in ASM #28 where Liz confesses to Peter that she had feelings for him but realizes now that it's too late for it to go anywhere. That always struck me as one of the most real and adult moments in that run and to me at least, it would take away from that if Peter and Liz would eventually start dating for real in 616, which is probably not going to happen anyway.
isn't it weird how liz was the quintessential punching bag of the franchise last century and now she's the most powerful character of the old supporting cast
I don't blind date I make the direct market vibrate
also Gwen Stacey was thrown under the bus (literally) as a plot point for Peter to grow up and move on to Mary Jane. Why not Gwen?
That's not exactly the case.
The plan was hatched by John Romita Sr. to kill off a major character to drive up stakes. That would have happened even if Gerry Conway didn't get the gig to write ASM. When he came in, Conway pointed out that Gwen made the most sense. Emotionally it would pack a punch but she was also disposable.
Conway said that if there was no plans to kill off Gwen, he would have just broken her and Peter up, and have Pete move on with MJ anyway. Conway liked MJ and Peter/MJ together but he was also a professional and he would never have tried to kill Gwen without an okay from the editorial. He also would not have been allowed to do that anyway. Conway despite liking Peter/MJ together has also never felt the marriage was the right idea in 616, which of course didn't stop him from writing many issues in Spectacular during the marriage run and writing Parallel Lives.
Gwen's death ultimately became a means to bring Peter/MJ together and build up Mary Jane's character as the emotional center of the entire story but the story was never intended or planned with that outcome in mind. There were a lot of contingent elements to it.