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Well, it's February, that time for romance. So why not get into the spirit of things and celebrate those couples we all love to read about in our funnybooks. Romance is one of those things that is often overlooked but is frequently integral to comics, right from the beginning - hell, John Romita actually got his start drawing romance comics. While people in funny costumes punching each other is one part of comics, nonetheless romance tends to play its part in making the stories a little richer. So let's have a thread in which we discuss our favourite couples! Why we love them, the best stories to showcase their relationships, all that good stuff. I'll get the ball rolling with one of my personal favourites. Peter Parker & Mary-Jane Watson(-Parker)  Joe Quesada wants you to think this never happened. My intro to Spider-Man & superheroes in general came via the Sam Raimi movies (as did many others of a certain age), so I was brought in with the view that Peter & Mary Jane was how things were Supposed To Be when it came to Spider-Man. Of course, perhaps the chemistry in those movies wasn't as good as Peter & Gwen's in the Amazing Spider-Man films, but in the comics, you'll find the opposite was usually true. Mary Jane was a latecomer to Peter Parker's story - unlike many superhero love interests, she wasn't created along with most of Peter's supporting cast (neither, for that matter, was Gwen Stacy). She was originally meant to be a 'spoiler', the Veronica to Gwen Stacy's Betty. But Mary Jane proved far more popular than had been anticipated, and under Conway's pen she would begin to show much greater depth, a process that would continue under many other writers and after many trials and tribulations, they would become husband and wife (which came about because of Stan Lee himself). Unfortunately, a lot of writers & editors were striving ever since the wedding to get back to a single Spider-Man, ultimately culminating in One More Day, but at the end of the day I don't think anyone that Marvel has brought in to fill the void has ever matched up to MJ. Certainly, the positive response to the Renew Your Vows miniseries in Secret Wars shows there's still a lot of people who would happily read stories of the two of them. Where to read them: Marvel actually put out a trade several years back called Spider-Man/Mary Jane: You just hit the jackpot, that covers several of the best Peter & Mary Jane stories. Certainly MJ's presence throughout the Spider-Man mythos means that for the most part, you'll find great Peter/MJ stuff in most of the best runs of Spider-Man. Stuff like Kraven's Last Hunt, Marvel Knights: Spider-Man by Mark Millar, and Doomed Affairs in the JMS run are all excellent examples. Personally one of the very best stories in my personal opinion, is Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1, 'To have and to hold', by Matt Fraction. It's in that period between Civil War & One More Day, and is arguably the thesis statement for why their relationship works.
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Feb 7, 2016 20:28
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 04:22 |
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I was actually considering sharing an article or two on the Spider-Marriage in the OP to go with my post on it, but I decided against it. That madame Masque/Tony post has shamed me into action, though. The first one is Ta-Nehisi Coates' Spider-Man in Love, which really shows how great the marriage was - because the characters evolved to the point where they got married, rather than being designated from the outset, they felt much more real than many other fictional relationships. The second is Why did it have to be you, Mary Jane? - an old-school Spider-man fan looking at the trajectory of the Parker-Watson relationship throughout its long and storied history. It's pretty long, though.
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Feb 10, 2016 20:20
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