Comics Is Joe Q right about there being less stories with a married Pete?

No, in my opinion, Joe is completely incorrect, and in fact, comes off as a bit narrow-minded, especially considering that he is supposed to be EIC of Marvel.

I don't even see why Peter and MJ's marriage is even an issue. The current storyline over in Sensational is a PERFECT example of how to tell parallel Spidey and MJ stories.

I think the Spidey franchise would be so much better if Joe and Axel Alonso would just.....go away.

 

So true.

Joe is an idiot. He continues to say over and over...."The marriage is a problem" but it seems like stingers, Osborn magnetism, Spider-man eating people and ridiculous looking iron Spidey costumes are cool with him. All of those issues are "groundbreaking" according to him.

 

JM DeMatteis wrote great stories on Peter and Mary's marriage and Spiderman.

I think instead of looking at "what's wrong with Spiderman" they should look at "what's wrong with our writers"

 

Yea I agree with JM Dematteis. He's probably my favorite Spider-man writer ever. But that being said, it also has a thing to do with "talent". JMS is NOTHING compared to JM Dematteis.

 

Only poor, unimaginative writers would be hindered by an element of their character.

 

Yer damn right. All of you.

 

Wait, what's going on now with the marriage?

 

Joe Q thinks th' only way to fix Spidey's problems is to end th' Spider-marriage.

 

Why didn't they end it long ago when they were separated?

They could've had MJ shack up with lobster guy.

 

'Cause fans didn't like it and it didn't work. Which should be a clue that...DEE DEE DEE! it won't again.

 

The whole problem of the Spider-marriage is that because so many of Spider-man's supporting cast has been diminished and forgotten or just not used period, the writers limit themselves to MJ and Aunt May. So they seem to feel that they have to stick her there constantly, when really MJ can and probably does have other things she can do besides lurking around the Avenger's Tower and playing damsel when needed.

So, in conclusion, I'm pretty sure Marvel has dug itself into that hole, and JoeQ is using MJ as a scapegoat. She's too popular to berid of, but just because she's married to the star doesn't mean she needs to be everywhere with him. At least, that's how I view they're treating her.

 

And earlier, they avoided usin' her at all by focusin' more on th' supportin' class. So really, they just can't find their own asses with two hands and a flashlight.

 

Bashing Joe Q isn't really the resolve you should all be looking for. Even Stan Lee was opposed to the idea of Peter getting married. That is actually how Gwen Stacy came to her untimely demise. Stan had felt that he and other writers had fleshed out her character, and the depths of her relationship to Peter. So he saw only two choices. Have Peter marry Gwen, or kill Gwen off. Mr.Liberman chose to give her death. In his own words, he felt that Peter wasn't in the right moment, to be a married man. If I am not mistaken, Stan Lee spoke about this with Kevin Smith on that "Mutants, Marvels and Monsters" interview DVD.

With that in mind however, I feel that the marriage is very much a part of Spider-Man's history, if not legacy. MJ sort of completes Spider-Man's life. Spidey has always been this powerful person who adheres to the right path, yet he knows this life of pure misery. From selfishness costing him a loved one, to being bullied in high school. Even now, as a super hero, he remains hated and untrusted by many. Mary Jane is his one small light, in the depths of a deep darkness. She is easily played against Peter's character. Getting rid of her will solve nothing. The problem isn't necessarily the characters...but rather, the position that writers put them in. If everybody weren't out to "update" Spidey, or to retcon something, the book may be better off. Not that I can complain too much. I feel that Straczynski has really gotten back to his roots with Spidey, as of late.

How many villains and characters have died in the pages of Spider-Man books? Captain Stacy, Gwen Stacy, Doc Ock, Norman and Harry Osborn...the list is quite long. However, these writers keep returning to these long bured characters. They either flesh out some new circumstance (Sins Past), or find some way to resurrect them (Doc Ock). That should tell the writers and execs, a thing or two about their own universe. Stop trying to fix everything. There is a simple philosophy in martial arts. "Don't think, do." It is also sometimes said as "There is only doing, and not doing. There is no such thing as a try." Marvel has been trying for too long. It's time that they merely, do or don't. And at the moment, i'd say they don't....

 

Um, Arach Knight... it was Stan's IDEA that Pete and MJ get married. Marvel did it because HE wanted to.

 

At least he hit upon the fact that it's part of the legacy. I mean they have been together for decades. People who have grown up with the comic and the cartoons have been bombarded with the idea that she is the 'one'.

Now Joe is arguing that isn't the case. He says that it's different to FF because Sue & Reed were 'destined' to be together. Stan Lee only did the FF that way because he was bored with what Marvel wanted him to do and was considering quitting. Stan thought he might as well go out doing what 'he' wanted. Not to mention that if the majority of people who read Spider-man believe it then you could argue that 'he' is in the wrong.

As for losing stories with them being together. Well sure, but then you lose stories if you split them up also. As far as I can see there aren't much stories other than male fantasies like scoring the Black Cat or some other comic book temptress. I'm a guy but as far as I can see he's been there and done that. Though there hasn't been a great deal of stories that actually deal with MJ and their marriage. Like Peter Parker's non-existant supporting cast MJ seems to be sidelined for teh villain of the week or whatever 'event' they can think up.

Here's an idea, why don't they write an ongoing, natural flowing storyline as opposed to their monthly events?

 

It seems to be the gereral opinion of this board that good stories can be written about with a married Spidey.

I agree.

Now lets have some fun and come up with some.


1.VenoMJ. I've talked about this before. The Venom alien covertly attaches itself to Pete's wife.Much creepiness and misfourtune insues.

2.The Black Cat. MJ has had quite enough of Felica and wants Peter to treat her like any other criminal. Peter is conflicted.

3.MJ wants to try for another baby.Peter doesn't.(or vice versa)

4.MJ develops a rivalry with a fellow actress/model. This somehow makes its way to effecting Spider-man.

5. Ellicit Photos of Mary Jane surface making the Parker's life a paparazzi hell.Peter is wracked with guilt because after all he is the one that took the photos.

6.Peter discover's MJ's old diary. He is shocked by what he finds.

7.During a modeling gig for MJ,one of the people in charge spots Peter and wants to use him. Peter Parker: Underwear Model?

Thats all I could think of for now. But I would love to here some of everyone elses ideas.

 

I think this is what irks me most about JQ. When I read his Joe Fridays and he list characters that can and cant make an ongoing series. Everything has to have an angle. The Marvel Universe under him is limited by his imagination and the types of books he wants to read. To me I think that is selfishness to the extreme level. Hey I may not read or like YA but I recognize that a lot of people do. JQ's shortsightedness is gonna cost them one day....might not be today...tomorrow or even a year from now...but it is coming

 

1)I was only going by what Stan Lee said on Mutants, Monsters & Marvels. I was not refering to the Mary Jane and Peter Marriage. I was referring to the idea of creators not exactly catching on to the idea of a married Peter Parker. So I used the Gwen Stacy situation as an example. Stan Lee truly did say that at the time, he felt that marriage wasn't right for Peter. And Stan wasn't against brining a little death into the Spider-Man universe. After all, wasn't it him who wrote the death of Captain Stacy? Keep in mind that the marriage to Mary Jane didn't occur until years later. It seems to me that Stan Lee was able to see the need for Peter to grow. If you choose to believe Quesada or not, on the fact that Stan was going to marry Pete and MJ in the comic strip first, and not the comic books. If I am wrong about what Stan said in the DVD, then do feel free to correct me. I am human after all, so error is possible.

2)The saddest part to this all, is that Strazynski and other writers, have gained interesting stories out of a married Peter Parker. The first run with Morlun and Ezekiel. The grave digger arc and even the happy birthday arc, were all very exciting. Even the seperation between Peter and Mary, was able to generate some interesting emotions out of both characters, as well as allow Mary Jane to develop (from model to b-list actress, to struggling broadway actress). Everybody enjoyed those stories. However, when it came to messing with Peter's past and the idea of his happiness and marriage (Sins Past) we can see the fan reactoin. How Quesada and the rest of Marvel can miss the obvious, is truly beyond me...

 

Damn, I misread the title.

 

There is only one thing you need to see to know my stance on this subject:




'Nuff said!

 

I find it interesting that someone who has managed to deface spider-man's history in the past year alone thinks he has the authority to decide what works and what doesn't. You need to have some good ideas before you can tell everyone what the bad ones are.

Joe Q is an idiot.

 

Joe needs to work with his people and have it be a group decision rather then him be the judge and jury.