"Make it never was."
“The wedding, at the time, seemed like a logical extension of the stories from MJ revealing she knew Peter was Spidey, the time they spent together in ASM and Web of, and finally the kiss they shared in ‘Spider-Man vs Wolverine.'”
Which is true enough, I think…it certainly felt a lot more natural than the rushed Superman/Lois Lane wedding, which only happened when it did to tie into the wedding in the long-dead Lois & Clark TV show. Though, as Tom says (and I could have sworn I’ve said on this site at some point, but darn if I can find it right now) Peter’s relationship with Mary Jane effectively ends the character’s original thematic journey. Peter’s life as Spider-Man was an escape from his worries and his problem-ridden life as a teen struggling his way through the various social challenges at school, and his financial/employment challenges elsewhere. If one looks at the Spider-Man comics as an allegory for adolescence, once Peter grows up, leaves school, and enters an actual adult relationship with another human being, his need for escape as Spider-Man is ended, and thus concludes the story.
But of course, this being a corporately-owned work-for-hire character, the story continues anyway, whether you like it or not. And for the most part, it’s carried on just fine, adjusting to the new married status of the character fairly seamlessly. As commenter L. David relates:
“Peter Parker’s entire story arc has been one of growing into further responsibilities … becoming a crimefighter, a teacher, a husband, an Avenger, etc.”
…And that’s not a bad way of looking at the post-marriage Spider-Man series. And really, if you think about it, any low points in the Spider-Man storylines tended to stem from substandard art and/or writing, or incessant crossovers, or overuse of Venom, or what have you…pretty much any reason except the marriage.
There was also a mention or two, not just in my comments but in this Newsarama blog post noting a belief that all of Quesada’s talk about the marriage being a bad idea is some kind of red herring, making us all worried about the characters’ status and reading the book and talking about what’s going to happen. And, sure enough, I suppose I played right into Quesada’s hands, since this is my second post in three days on the topic. Sure, it’s mostly of the “Joe’s fulla crap” line of talk, but it’s still publicity for the Spider-books, and that’s all that’s important to Marvel. Anyway, it’s possible it’s a red herring, but I don’t necessarily believe so…there are too many clues suggesting otherwise, unless they’re really trying to throw us off track.
One of the believed results of the “One More Day” storyline that’s currently running is that Aunt May is going to die, and somehow that’s going to split up Spider-Man and Mary Jane, and I don’t think it’s going to be anything as simple as that.
First, Marvel’s Satan-analogue Mephisto is involved (having seemingly popped up, in disguise, in the last issue of Sensational Spider-Man, as well as having his hand pictured on the cover of a forthcoming issue, and plus I may have heard a thing or two, as I hinted back in June).
Second, we’ve already seen the character’s status quo post-“One More Day” in the Spider-Man book from Free Comic Book Day, written by the fella what’s writing Amazing after this current story is wrapped up. Since Spidey doesn’t appear to be on the run from the authorities in that book, and he doesn’t seem to recognize who appears to be Mary Jane as a costumed hero in that comic, and Aunt May (EDIT) makes an appearance is referred to in dialogue (though as I recall, it’s deliberately vague…I don’t have it right in front of me, sorry)…well, whatever is going to happen will probably involve Peter making a deal with Mephisto to reboot all the characters’ circumstances. Spidey will never have revealed his identity, he’s no longer married to Mary Jane, neither MJ nor Aunt May will know his secret, blah blah, so forth.
Also, I seem to recall it being said that the last thing Marvel wants to do is make Peter a divorcee or a widower, so “make it never was” is really the only other option.
Anyway, we’ll see what’s gonna happen, soon enough.
EDIT: P-TOR mentions in the comments section that perhaps Mephisto isn’t the deus ex machina for this storyline’s resolution. ‘Course, I didn’t read that comment until I expanded a bit on my original thoughts, but I think the gist of what I’m saying remains the same. (Though if the deus in question is who P-TOR thinks it is, at least that has the added virtue of tying up a dangling plot thread from early in JMS’s run.)
