Would you mind giving your reasons for that? No hostility meant; I find myself often posting multiple paragraphs all about how I think superheroes having marriages broken up is a sign of regression and static stagnation of the brand, and I just haven't run into anyone yet who's gone as big in their defense of the affect of OMD.
So, if you wouldn't mind, why do you think Spiderman being married was a a bad thing? And how do you view the decades in which he was married?
I'll try my best... In the year of my 49th birthday, I'm currently being trampled by my 5 year old and my 2 year after limited sleep from celebrating my 17 year old's high school graduation. So in my defence, my answer might not be as in depth as I might prefer.
My first exposure to Spider-Man was the 67 cartoon back in 1972.
My first Spider-Man comic that I purchased off the rack was ASM #148 in 1975, though I had read my Aunt's beat up copies of Marvel Tales beforehand... I stopped reading last year.
I say all this because I think it gives me better insight with a dozen pre marriage reading years along with the 20 married years along with what followed. I find that a lot (not all) of pro marriage fans all grew up reading Spidey during the 90's and I get that youthful rose coloured glasses effect... Heck, it's why I favour a single Spidey because that was his status of my own youthful rose coloured reading. So right off the bat, this oft heated debate is all very subjected depending on what era readers started... And when I say that, I know old fellows like BlackVulcan who favour the married started reading in the late 60's/early 70's, but I do believe that your initial era of Spidey reading has an impact to the pro/con.
Okay. Peter Parker has had a rough life. Lost his parents. No friends in school. Bullied. Mocked. Limited funds. Naturally, when he becomes Spider-Man, his initial thoughts are fame and cash. We would all go there with the same opportunity. Then Uncle Ben dies because he's selfish. And practically every story that follows is Peter trying to do the right thing, with many times it coming at the expense of his personal life. Truly the act of an inspiring hero. As a kid, you could only hope to be as selfless. Part of why Spidey is so awesome... Never gave up. Did the right thing in spite of how it made his personal life difficult... And keep in mind, a personal life that's happy and warm and comforting, surrounded by love and security... It's what Peter so desperately wants. But the Spectre of Spider-Man always prevents him from achieving that illusion. This all started early on with his first love, Betty Brant. It all made for great reading. But the bottom line is that Peter's responsibility to do good will always trump his desire for a perfect personal life.
Keep in mind, as I try to explain myself, I will not knock the character of MJ. She's an important character that matters. When she left the book after rejecting Peter's first proposal... That was a big deal. And it made her return 5 years later a HUGE deal. Waiting 4 weeks between books at that time was practically unbearable. That moment at the end of Spider Island... Brilliant. A good writer will recognize her importance in the book...and to Peter Parker... regardless of their relationship status.
Anyway, it was exciting when they got married in 1987. I'm not gonna lie. Peter deserved to be happy. To have that perfect life. It's what he strived for. It's what the fans wanted. For our childhood hero to finally catch a break.
Having said that, things went downhill rather quickly. Yes, while we got the Death of Kraven almost immediately afterwards and the introduction of Venom, the stories were suffering. And as a reader at that time, I wasn't blaming the marriage. There was nothing tangible to blame. We had awesome villains and drama in the lives of our hero and his wife. But the lower quality went on...and on...and on...
So I have to make this announcement before going on. I turned 25 in 1992. It's possible that the lower quality was simply a reflection of my age growth, which means it's possible that I was simply outgrowing comics. It's a blurred line. All I can say is that the Spidey comics had lost their lustre in MY opinion (aside from the odd gem here and there)
It's only about 15 years ago with early debates here at the Hype that I made the connection that REGARDLESS of whatever bad crap happened to Spidey, he always went home to a hot redhead that loved him. His personal struggles of the past both as Peter Parker and Spider-Man had been greatly diminished by the addition of what we had all hoped for him to achieve in his early days: happiness, warmth, comfort, love and security. Peter had achieved those things with his marriage to MJ. And by achieving that, it took away the dramatic effect of Peter's decision as Spider-Man because he would have the partner that would "understand". I'm not sure if I'm getting my point across.
And lastly, OMD as a story sucked donkey balls. It was hard to read not because of the end result, but the pains these two characters made. Stories did get better during Brand New Days (this is where someone will bring up the Bob Gale "druuuuggggggggssss" storyline with that forgettable villain), but I also have to take into account that Slott et al brought back sub plots, which had sorely been missing... So did Peter's new relationship status make the stories better? Or reintroducing subplots and asterix', elements of old world storytelling make the stories better? I dunno. But at its core, removing that one element of Peter always striving for happyiness, warmth, comforts, love and security back in 1987 did loads of damage to the character that took me about 15 years to realize.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
