fangrl06 said:
Trust me, I am a huge Gwen fan who (although I hate to admit it) sat next to a box of tissues the first time I read ASM 121. I just think that MJ and Peter work better together.
But see, that's my real problem. MJ and Peter don't work that well IMO.
It isn't that they can't work well. They're comic book characters. They can do whatever the writer says they can (Of course how well this works is reflective of the writer's skill).
The problem is this- Much of MJ's character that made her interesting was lost once they decided to bring her and Peter together. Most fans will agree that MJ was essentially transformed into an amalgam of herself and Gwen to make her "marriage material".
This is wrong on two levels. First, because again, MJ had to surrender her own identity to be Peter's girl, which she shouldn't have. The writers should have found a way to create common ground between the actress/party girl and the science nerd/superhero. Secondly, even Gwen would have suffered if being written as MJ has been for the last 25 years or so. Such as she is, she's a non-character. A cypher. She merely serves whatever fill-in role the story needs. Need a sexy distraction for Peter or eye candy? She's there. Need someone to cry over Peter? She's there. Need a potential hostage? She's there. Need someone to be "strong" for Peter? She's there.
But aside from filling those roles, who is she? She's not a whole person, IMO. Why do I say this? Because if she were her own person, she
wouldn't be all those things. She'd fail to be there for Peter at times, and be a stronger presence for Peter at others.
I've long maintained that Gwen would have been a far better mate for SPIDER-MAN than MJ has been, because she had much more potential to generate interesting Spider-Man stories than MJ has.
When Gwen died there was tons of things we didn't know about her. Her interests, what she wanted to be, her past. Her father was a cop, so the impact of his life and career on her could have brought out numerous stories. We know nothing about her mother. Just as Peter's dead parents created scenarios (Many of them very poorly executed, but...) So too could Gwen's missing mother have (Afterall, it was never stated that she was dead). At the beginning of Sins Past, I thought Gwen's mom might have turned out to be the twins' caretaker for example.
And it's surprising to me that anyone who actually read the stories with Gwen would question her being able to "handle" Peter being Spidey. She handled far worse, including the idea of her beloved father being a corrupt pawn of the Kingpin. Sure- there would have been rough spots, but that's why we read these comics. And I think the resolutions could have been more poweful than "I just need to hear you say you need me"
Further, the likelihood of Gwen being a cop like her dad would have made her a part of the action in Spidey's stories as well as the personal drama stuff. How great would be her inner turmoil of having to bring Spidey in knowing he was the man she loved. How great would the story be when she has to confront peter over the death of her father? Some classic stories could have been generated from Peter-Gwen. I have yet to see ONE from Peter-MJ.
And as far as Gwen loving a false-image of Peter- even if you take MJ's always knowing as Gospel (Which I don't)- you have to admit that Gwen's love for Peter was even deeper because
she didn't know. Peter acted like a coward, yet still she loved him. He acted like a jerk, yet still she loved him. It was easy for MJ, because she knew the reason for Peter's weirdness.
Gwen went on her gut instinct, and loved the man she knew was inside of Peter. That man is Spider-Man.
