Comics Did Quesada let the cat out of the bag at Wizard Con?

[Eye Doc]

http://www.newsarama.com/WWPhilly06/Marvel/CivilWar/MvlCWPanel.html

Click on the link above to read the entire article. I just posted the portion relative top the Spidey marriage debate. If you read the text below, it looks like Quesada has already decided on what's going to happen to Pete and MJ.
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Inevitably, the issue of Spider-Man's marriage came up, and ate up nearly 20 minutes of the panel. Quesada reiterated his earlier points and feelings about the wedding between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, and this time, added the history behind the nuptials for those who may not be familiar with what happened 20 years ago. According to Quesada, the wedding had nothing to do with what was going on in the Spider-Man comics at the time, but rather, was based in the Spider-Man newspaper strip that Stan Lee was writing.

When the syndicate decided it would support the marriage of Spider-Man taking place in the strip, then Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter (rather than facing down Stan Lee, apparently) decided that the marriage would happen in the Marvel Universe as well, and the comic needed to get in front of it (long-time readers of Amazing Spider-Man will no doubt remember the relatively sudden reappearance of Mary Jane into the title at the time, and whirlwind "seriousization" of her relationship with Peter, and rush to the altar). Quesada made a point that the wedding wasn't creatively driven by anyone at Marvel creative or editorial, but rather was Stan Lee and the syndicate.

As he did in previous panels, Brevoort backed up Quesada's reasons for not being the biggest fan of the marriage, saying that a married Spider-Man is operating "at 40%" compared to a single Peter Parker.

Still carrying the thread, talking more about the marriage, and echoing Brevoort's sentiments, Quesada, perhaps not even realizing he said it, and not phrasing it as a hypothetical, said (paraphrasing) he'll get back with Mary Jane, it may be a year, it may be two years, but it's how you get there. This was the most direct, albeit inadvertent, indication of where things are headed for the Spider marriage.

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That last paragraph pretty much says it all. I don't expect for Pete and MJ to remain a happily married couple in the near future. However, I don't expect MJ to disappear from the strip either..... at least not for too long.

I think I know where Quesada's going with this. I'll stick around if it's well written. As much as I like MJ, I'd never quit reading Spider-Man just because she wasn't there. The only time i've quit in the past was when I just couldn't stand the direction and the poor stories.

Eye Doc

 

[Abaddon]

An affair.

 

[shinlyle]

Great. So, Joe Q, not giving a rat's ass about the fans, decides to go against popular opinion and do whatever the hell he wants anyways.

I see he's learned alot from "The Other" and the "Iron Spidey" suit....

 

[Doc Destruction]

Yep, still avoiding the Spider books. Fat. Freaking. Moron.

 

[Dragon]

I'll stick around if it's well written...
Eye Doc

Me Too- But that's a big IF considering the reasoning behind the break, and the quality of the Spidey books since Joe Q has been in charge.

And what's going to happen in two years? Is Spidey and MJ going to have YET ANOTHER heart-to-heart during a super battle about how they can't function without each other?

Boy, I can't wait for that issue

 

[gildea]

I really don't see how they can make it work.

Though I kind of agree with the sentiment the marraige has been around for ages now, it would probably be more sensible to you know just write it well??

 

[Eye Doc]

A guy over at Millarword posted that he was at the Con when Quesada and Brevoort made their comments. The Newsarama article was a bit of a misrepresentation.

According to that guy, Quesada didn't say the the 616 Pete and MJ would get back together in one or two years. The poster said that Quesada was talking about ULTIMATE Peter and ULTIMATE MJ eventually getting back together.

I'll post the 2 quotes and link below.


http://forums.millarworld.tv/index.php?showtopic=60802&st=20

(1)QUOTE(Mo Soar @ Jun 3 2006, 04:29 PM)

Spoilerific stuff from the Newsarama coverage of WW Philly:

Still carrying the thread, talking more about the marriage, and echoing Brevoort's sentiments, Quesada, perhaps not even realizing he said it, and not phrasing it as a hypothetical, said (paraphrasing) he'll get back with Mary Jane, it may be a year, it may be two years, but it's how you get there. This was the most direct, albeit inadvertent, indication of where things are headed for the Spider marriage.

Now, will all of "you guys' QUIT asking Quesada about it, so he can talk about something else?



Did Newsarama really say that?

They should pay better attention.

I was there. Quesada was very clearly talking about Ultimate Spider-Man at that point.



(2)QUOTE(Mo Soar @ Jun 4 2006, 11:30 AM)

That certainly seems to imply 616 Spidey, as there is no mention of USM anywhere. I'm not doubting your interpretation, mind you, just repeating what is in print, as I wasn't there...


He was talking about both. And how 616 Spidey (due to the marriage) is only operating at 40% or something.

He was then going back and forth praising Ultimate Spidey and the comment Newsarama mentioned was about USM. He said, essentially, you know they're going to get back together in USM, but it's the story getting there that we can no longer tell with the 616 Spidey.

And I think Quesada's completely wrong about the marriage being bad, personally.

They already tried to make Peter single again once in 616 and it was awful. There's no reason to make 616 Parker single again. That's what USM was created for. If other writers want to tell unmarried Peter stories, maybe Bendis should stop bogarting the character.

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Now, I don't know what to think. I'm still looking for Pete and MJ to split....but I could be wrong.

Eye Doc

 

[Doc Destruction]

I really don't see how they can make it work.

Though I kind of agree with the sentiment the marraige has been around for ages now, it would probably be more sensible to you know just write it well??

I couldn't agree with you more.

 

[Electro UK]

I just can't understand that man...

This in no way surprises me. Usual Q statement "Oh sure, it'll come off great!" and then in a month or too "I realsie splitting them up was a mistake... but I blame it on the fact Spider-man has a Spider-sense, that was out of continuity when it was stated, we'll get rid of that next."

What is wrong with him? WHY WON'T HE LISTEN!?!?!

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

I wonder if the (apparently) inevitable split-up between Peter and MJ will come about as a result of the after effects of Civil War?

 

[Eye Doc]

I wonder if the (apparently) inevitable split-up between Peter and MJ will come about as a result of the after effects of Civil War?

Since we're not privy to all the details, it's hard to say. My gut feeling tells me you're on to something.

Big stories need to have big repercussions. This story could very well lay the foundations for future problems. I've looked at so many forums lately it's hard to keep things straight but I seem to recall Quesada saying Peter's life would never be the same after the events in Civil War.

Eye Doc

 

[Doc Destruction]

Peter's life will never be the same? WOW! That NEVER HAPPENS!

 

[Hades]

Why don't they just let Mj go away on a vacation or something. Say she gets an acting job somewhere, but she has to go away for say a year to film it. So there, you have single Peter for a year and everybody can decide whether the single peter stories work best without sacrificing the marriage.

 

[Eye Doc]

Why don't they just let Mj go away on a vacation or something. Say she gets an acting job somewhere, but she has to go away for say a year to film it. So there, you have single Peter for a year and everybody can decide whether the single peter stories work best without sacrificing the marriage.

What you're saying won't work in Quesada world. He won't be satisfied if MJ is not in the book but still married to Peter. He wants Peter UNMARRIED. You could use the angle you're advocating, but Peter would still be tied to MJ. For him to flirt, date, or "have relations" with another girl would make him an adulterer. That's not what you want for your Flagship character.

Quesada wants to see Peter with other women. He and a lot of writers in the industry feel limited in their storytelling. In their minds Peter can never become emotinally involved with another woman as long as he's married to MJ without looking bad a result.

Eye Doc

 

[Hades]

Pfft, stupid. If you focus too much on relationships they're going to turn spidey into some teen drama or soap operah. Sounds like lazy writing to me.

I guess maybe a divorce wouldn't be so bad, as it happends all the time in real life. Still, I can't see it happening with the way they're written. They're like the perfect couple.

 

[Themanofbat]

JQ needs to brush up on his history... (there's an understatement...)

MJ disappeared from the books around ASM #182 ish after she refused Peter's first proposal.

She then re-appeared under Stern's writing around ASM #243... some 5 years later (our time). She was then in the book until Peter proposes again in ASM #291-2, which would have been 4 years (our time again) since her "sudden reappearance" in the book.

 

[Lord Blackbolt]

Also...a couple of years ago she dissappeared during that "supposed" plane crash....only to find out she was held prisoner by some stalker.

I wonder if they go the Spiderclone route...and we find out...MJ was a clone all along...lol. Seriously...Spidey has had some of the most ******ed storylines EVER. And people complain that the X-books are convoluted

 

[ben_reilly_s_s]

If he wants to get rid of her so bad - just make he into a hologram like Stunner.

 

[Kool-Aid]

If hes gonna get them back together again later what the hells the point in braking them up?

 

[Themanofbat]

If hes gonna get them back together again later what the hells the point in braking them up?

Because apparantly, we like to read about the lack of love in Peter's love life...

 

[e-three]

Looks like its time for me to join the Civil War banner bandwagon...

 

[Galactus]

Some bad news for those who wants the baby back:

Quesada also mentioned that as long as he is EIC, he will not allow Peter Parker to have a child. He stressed the importance of the youth of the Spider-Man character.

 

[Doc_OCK_4MUGEN]

But what about all those 15-25 who ACTUALLY HAVE CHILDREN... THEY'RE FRICKIN YOUNG!!! HELL MY COUSIN, who's 4 months younger than me, GOT KNOCKED UP WHEN SHE WAS 18 OR 19... SHE'S GONNA BE 24 IN JULY!!! SHE'S NOT OLD AND WITH A CHILD... WHY THE HECK MJ AND PETE CAN'T HAVE A CHILD!!!

Whoa! I felt like THWIP* for a moment there...
Quesada is Marvel's Schumacher...

 

[Mara Jane]

Supposedly over at Millarworld (I think) one poster who attended the session mentioned that Newarama got the article wrong. When JQ was talking about Pete & MJ eventually getting together, he was talking about ULTIMATE Pete & MJ. So we don't know if the 616 relationship will ever be fixed, assuming it does break up.

e-three, I like your banner.

 

[Eye Doc]

Supposedly over at Millarworld (I think) one poster who attended the session mentioned that Newarama got the article wrong. When JQ was talking about Pete & MJ eventually getting together, he was talking about ULTIMATE Pete & MJ. So we don't know if the 616 relationship will ever be fixed, assuming it does break up.

e-three, I like your banner.

Mara Jane is correct. I posted this in post #7. It was kind of long so some people may have overlooked it.

Eye Doc