Comic fans fume as Marvel erases Spidey-MJ marriage

Those who know Spider-Man only from Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in the movies might be surprised to learn that in the comic book, the web-spinning hero has been married for almost 21 years.

That's why the comic world is in an uproar over Marvel Comics' decision to undo the marriage of Peter Parker and red-haired bombshell Mary Jane Watson, reversing two decades of storytelling.

In Amazing Spider-Man #545 last week, Peter and Mary Jane make a tearful deal with the devil-like character Mephisto: In exchange for saving Aunt May's life, Mephisto erases all traces of the Peter-Mary Jane marriage from memory.

In the issue out this week, subtitled Brand New Day, Peter Parker returns to his roots — young, nerdy and single. Aunt May is alive and well and Mary Jane is again just part of the cast. The marriage never happened.

"People are very upset. They erased a lot of stuff that had been set in stone," says John Newman, manager of Ultimate Comics in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Wednesday as customers came in to buy the opening chapter of Brand New Day. To help emphasize the new start, Amazing Spider-Man will go thrice-monthly.

"We knew it would be a very controversial thing to do," says Joe Quesada, Marvel's editor in chief, who believed so much in the project that he drew the crucial issues himself. "Looking into the future, this is really the right thing to do for the long-term health of the character."

Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1962, was a hit, connecting with young readers because he was a geeky teenager, shy with girls and uncertain of how to use his powers. But in 1987, Peter and Mary Jane, by then a fashion model, got married. Marvel had instant regrets.

"I remember editors and editors in chief lamenting that a married Spider-Man was not where we want to be," Quesada says. "A married Peter Parker makes for a less interesting soap opera than a single Peter Parker going about his nerdy kind of life."

Writers tried everything: The couple separated for a while. She miscarried. And in a much-criticized story line, Marvel tried to convince readers that Peter Parker had not gotten married, but his clone. That didn't stick, either. Then Quesada took over and insisted the marriage just couldn't continue.

"Nobody wants to read about a married Spider-Man," says Craig Shutt, a columnist for Comics Buyers Guide. "But in the short run, it's a terrible idea. It disrespects the readers by saying everything they read is wrong."

At DC Comics, Superman is married to Lois Lane, disrupting that title's long-standing tensions. DC declined to comment for this story.

Quesada is steadfast that for Spider-Man, the move is the right one: "Ultimately we have to do this to keep this character fresh for this generation and generations to come."

Looks like Soap Writers aren't the only ones who like to !@#$%^&*] with history. You think we're tortured as soap fans with the constant rewrites and agendas? Comic book fans have it worse. You can have 20 years of history erased because some douche gets in and decides something shouldn't be.

Now, how does this dude know what people want to read?

What he is syaing to me is that HE doesn't like the marraige, and therefore screw the readers. He'll change it as he sees fit.

Boy, I tell ya.

They're erasing Peter and MJ's 21 year marriage? Oh damn!!! That's just wrong!! Why not just divorce them instead of erasing their memories! Wow.

"Looking into the future, this is really the right thing to do for the long-term health of the character."

What kind of BS line is that? So Spiderman isn't a superhero if he's tied down? Please....to me this is just plain laziness in trying to come up with fresh ideas for Spiderman, therefore, he rather scrap all that long standing history that fans have read and grown to love, all for the sake of doing what makes his own ass happy....

What kind of BS line is that? So Spiderman isn't a superhero if he's tied down? Please....to me this is just plain laziness in trying to come up with fresh ideas for Spiderman, therefore, he rather scrap all that long standing history that fans have read and grown to love, all for the sake of doing what makes his own ass happy....

Amen to that!

This is all kinds of fucked up.....this would be like DC undoing Clark Kent & Lois Lane's marriage, OMG imagine the uproar over that, heads would LITERALLY roll.

I HATE when asshats come in and think they know what people want to read, I've seen a few idiots at DC do this and it backfired every time

Imagine if Megan McTavish had rewritten the story! You would have a walking fetus, an alien buried alive, no Venom or Green Goblin, and Mary Jane as a 40 year old showgirl

Edited January 19, 200817 yr by DevotedToAMC