Mary Jane Watson the Most Writer Abused Character

Excellent title isn’t it? It is excellent because it happens to be true. Writers have been smacking around Mary Jane Watson for so long that it comes as surprised that she is not drawn with black eyes. The main problem is the writers are afraid or don’t understand the character at all. The lack of research into this character is just mind boggling because this happens to be one of those characters with a rich history where there could numerous dramatic stories that can be told.

Mary Jane Watson could be seen as the one of the greatest creation by Stan and Steve. She was, on the surface, the polar opposite of Peter Parker. She was popular and looking to have fun all the time. That is how she was first presented when she was introduced in the world of Peter Parker. Peter by comparison was the outsider and looked on the dark side of life think there was nothing he could do right. Mary Jane Watson brought some light heartiness to the book that was needed because those early issue were pretty dark if you take in the context of how Peter felt about himself. Mary Jane brought some needed relief of the constant teenage angst that was going on the time when Pete was in High School.

As Peter’s character evolved, Mary Jane’s character also evolved beyond that of “Party Girl”. We learned that Mary Jane came from a home that had an abusive father. She put on a brave face in front of her friend with the whole “let's have fun” attitude because it was an escape for her home life. She ran from the dark aspect of life. Anytime one of her friends was going through a personal crisis, she would just go party and have fun. That was her stander operating procedure until Gwen’s death. That was first time she stops and faces a dark crisis because of what Peter meant to her. That was a major shift for the character. She went from the Party Girl to Peter’s best friend that was there for him because she knows his secret.

Mary Jane disappeared for a time, but she return to let Peter know that she knows he is Spider-man. Once again, another major shift in the character. Peter found someone that he could talk to about Spider-man openly and not feel like he was alone in the world. Peter was dating Felicia Hardy, Black Cat, at the time which made the relationship with Mary Jane complex. Mary Jane was the friend that had feelings for Peter beyond that typical “just friends”. He would come to her with problems about Felicia and about being Spider-man. They grew closer to the point where during the many breaks with Peter’s relationship with Felicia that they kiss during a fight about Felicia causing a thought bubble from Mary Jane,” That was like we were boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Peter asked Mary Jane once to marry him, and she turned him down. She didn’t want to deal with the whole Spider-man aspect of his life. When she did say yes to his marriage proposal, things got worse for the character because she was portray wrong by the writer. She became a supermodel. That turned some of the fans off because they thought it did not fit in Peter’s world. Then she became an actress, which also did not fit in Peter’s world. Then she was killed, that fit in Peter’s world. Yet, it did not work because many readers could not see Peter with someone else now because Mary Jane was the girl. She came back and they separated because, once again, Mary Jane didn’t want deal with Peter being Spider-man. Sensing a theme here? Mary Jane, after seeing Peter selfless actions as Spider-man, that it was something Peter needed to do and has to do in order for her to love him. That led to some the best stories with the marriage in years.

Now, that the history lesson is over we can look at the mistakes with the character. The biggest mistake that the writers make with Mary Jane; with Peter too, is trying to keep them stuck in the past. There has to be growth or the characters will become stale. Sure, you can say that they have to stay the exactly the same as they were first written, but you will kill the book fast because it will become boring. There were many stories that could have done within Spider-man that would have change how the readers look at Mary Jane. Some examples:

-Mary Jane could have decided to choose to help Peter by joining the Police force.
-Mary Jane could have become an activist for Hero’s Right during Civil War.
-Mary Jane could have gotten a degree in Criminal Psychology and tried to help Peter.
-Mary Jane could have become an Investigating reporter and covered why Spider-man is seen as a menace.

: There were many stories that could have made the character stronger beyond turning into a model or actress.

There is whole, “I can’t be with you because you’re Spider-man,” theme that writers love to use to the point where the readers want to puke. That was fine for the first couple of years of the marriage, but it should have stopped after that because they were not going to get a divorce. It is worn out theme that is used by writers that have no imagination and hate the character of Mary Jane. They rather slap her around so the reader won’t like her, and they can start to write Peter fucking everyone that will spread her legs in the Marvel Universe. This is where the writers come off like prepubescent fanboys. They can’t wrap their minds around the fact that the readership have changed and so have the character. They want their old Peter back damn it and nothing is going to stop that from happening. It is magic and the readers need to shut up about already is their thinking. The problem they have is that Mary Jane is popular character that people want to read about over and over again because that is what they want. Do they need reminding who pays for those checks they cash from Marvel? The readership’s money is where that money comes from in order that check to be any good.

Mary Jane could be seen as the abusive wife for the writers to smack around as they please because the readership allows it to happen. Yes, the writers have screwed Mary Jane so many times that she is the perfect metaphor for a ten cent hooker. The readership allowed this to happen because we did not say anything when it happens except when they get rid of the marriage. It is time to fight for Mary Jane too. The marriage coming back is important, but we must watch how Mary Jane is being used as a character because that causes some problems too. One main goal should be that a woman writes for Spider-man and not bunch of men that are going through a mid-life crisis.

Change, Lies, and Spider-man

There are those that have said that the people against Brand New Day Spider-man don’t like change. That isn’t the case because we welcome change when it makes sense to the characters and not for selfish editors. Face the fact that is what Brand New Day Spider-man is all about in the end. It was to make Joe Quesada happy and not the readers. Writers have chosen to embrace this mess and compare themselves to legends in this business. It is really hard to understand that concept due to fact they act like spoiled children being threaten that their favorite toy is being taken away.

It is fact Brand New Day Spider-man sales haven’t match JMS, Stern, or Delfaco’s run in any titles they have written for when they helm the flagship character. You can make the case for JMS being part of One More Day, but I think he understands trying to relive the past is always mistake. You honor it, you refer to it, and you use it to make the stories better and not try to think you can outshine it in people’s minds. The one thing these writers have in common is they respected the fans, even those fans that don’t like their work. Sure, some of them didn’t have deal with the Internet and just have deal with these people face to face. You tell me which is harder? Some words on a screen or a person facing you that didn’t like what you did in whatever issue of Spider-man? These men acted like professionals and talked to these people like they are adults and move on. Compare to the current crew who have chosen to act like fanboys with their panties in a bunch on the ‘Net.

I picked up 612 at my LCS and tried to Bryne Steal it, but I end up setting it down after Electro’s speech. Mark Waid has the subtly of a sledgehammer. That brings a major problem with current version of Spider-man writers. They lack style. The lack the ability to not hit things over the head of the readers like the Parker Luck, Sex, and their personal political stance in every issue of Amazing Spider-man. You want political opinions that are informed and have some basis on fact? Turn on FOX, MSNBC, CNN, or search the ‘Net because you get better view point then those writing Amazing Spider-man. Stan Lee, Ditko, and many others did a story about a current situation happening in America, but they did it with style. They had a light touch of a feather and not a sledgehammer hitting you right between the eyes.

Not being against change of a character, but what is up with Electro’s new look? Really, tattoo faced? Is that the best these guys could come up with to modernize this character? I bet they would try to modernize a classic piece of Americana literature like “Call of Wild” with Buck being a pug dog. While complaining the whole time people don’t get their vision of the character or story. That it is hip and fresh. The problem is that the readers look at them after they make their arsine comments thinking they don’t get them as readers. You don’t have to change a look of a character to make them more appealing to the readers. You can change their reasons for acting like psycho or go back to basics with the character. Back to basic, meaning, you don’t reboot them to making a deal with the devil. You got back to the driving force of their behavior of being a criminal and their hatred of Spider-man. You don’t have them as your mouth piece for a political rant. Get a blog if you want to do that, and you can contact me if you don’t know how to create a blog. Just make a decent, was going to say good but that is asking a lot out of this crew, Spider-man story.

These characters have a rich history that plot thread by the score dangling around them if people just do some research. That is asking a lot from these writers because they would be required to care about these character beyond the stupid version that Joe Quesada has created. Max could be seen as a villain that is trying to get his life in order and takes a job to take out Spider-man for the Karvens for money. You play the human card and keep the overall story going by getting the reader interested in all the characters. This is something the writers of Spider-man have failed to do time and time again. They are not bringing the A game to the title. Hell, they are not even bringing the B game to the title. They don’t have the balls to do a story that fans what to read because they would have to go head to head with their God, Joe Quesada.

Change is good when it is natural and makes sense to everyone that reads these characters. You just do not make false statements or go toe to toe with the readers. This is the real deal here. The readers pay for everything. The art, the writer, the EIC, the Inker, the Publisher, and even the paper which a book is printed on and to say they don’t is an insult to the readers. The Amazing Spider-man title for pervious 10 years was a main stay in the top ten in comic sales. Now, it is barely holding its own in top 20. What does that tell you about the writers of Amazing Spider-man? It should say they are the wrong people writing the book. It should also say that this experiment of changing writers every arc is a mistake. It time for some young blood to get at this character and do something to bring reader back to Spider-man. Spider-man is about responsibility and not youth. Spider-man is about trying to do the right thing even when you are wrong. It is about trying to find hope when there is no hope. It is about progression in Peter Parkers life and not repeating or acting like a teenager. It is not about writers living vacuously through Peter Parker and his sexual mistakes. It is not about writers trying to think they are better legends. Change the writers for Amazing Spider-man that really understand the character and the sales will go up because they will do what is best for the character, readers, and not the EIC.

Spider-man has become a joke. Marvel has become DC of the 80s trying to hip and fresh instead of printing stories that are worthy of the characters’ history. Marvel has become a platform for political rants and calling New Yorkers sheep. Marvel has become a place where writers and the EIC think the readers are stupid. The fact is those readers that have left are more intelligent then anyone at Marvel right now. Those readers know these characters far better than people working at Marvel because they understand the history. These readers have the ability to go to back issues and see what a great story that were written. These readers are not like the ones in 60s, 70s, or the 80s because they have access to more information now. It is time for writers and the EIC at Marvel to start wising up to that fact because they are insulting these readers’ intelligence.

The question was asked, “What can be done about this?” You can write letters to Marvel and Disney and not just one. Keep writing until the change happens because that is only way they will get the message. Flood their boxes with letters and e-mails telling them about your experiences with the writers via the ‘Net and their unprofessional behavior. You link to sites and message boards. You get your friends to help you and those that feel the same as you do about it. You start a blog and rant. You express yourself at your LCS about your view points. It does work over time because nothing is forever in comics especially arsine changes.

In the beginning....comic book related

I didn't have a chance to write anything today. I was a little busy. Here enjoy this repeat rant:

(Clears his throat) Uhm…ccccrrrr….spit

Time for a rant:

There are some that think this place is high point of negativity because there are people that criticize Amazing Spider-man, Brand New Day, and One More Day. They look for the most extreme post that can find and point to it going, “SEE! SEE! NEGATIVE COMMENT TO TENTH LEVEL!” They ignore all the other comments that tend to have some positive comment from the Deltas due to it would ruin their glass world. They also tend to ignore the fact there are some major valid points that Deltas have about current stories. *GASP* They also ignore the fact that some here have been reading Spiderman longer than they have been alive and may know the characters a hell a lot better than they do.

Got your attention yet? No? Let me expound upon this thought.

Putting aside a moment the whole One More Day and all the other things that have happen since the Mephisto deal, are these good stories? No because they have ignored the history of the characters for the most part or used just one aspect of the characters to constantly bash the readers over the head. That is pure and simple bad writing. These characters have become ½ dimensional because they aren’t even 1 dimensional anymore. They have been show to be one note characters that are even interesting to know. Can you honestly say these characters are remotely acting in a way that would be supported by their history?

There are a few people here that have read Spider-man before he was married to Mary Jane. I look upon those times with fondness and hold them in high regard. I really don’t want to live them now because the characters have more beyond those constraints placed upon them by writers that were/are too fearful to explore. Oh Dear God, no one can relate to Spider-man now that is his married….it is uncool. Give me a break. Either you understand it was a natural step for the characters or you don’t. The marriage wasn’t rushed contrary to popular belief. Stan Lee understood this because the guy knows the character a hell a lot better than anyone else. It works if you except it and not worry about making it interesting. Let it happen on its own. It wasn’t a requirement for it to be in every issue nor should it be a requirement for it to be reference in every issue. That was writers mistake to think the readers want it there in every issue.

Now, here we are in a revamped world that is created out personal bias and fear. DC is laughing at Marvel right now because they have more balls to keep Superman married than Marvel has with Spider-man. Instead of doing something that DC is afraid of doing, Marvel tucked their tales and ran over 20 years of story like DC does every once in a while. Bravo Marvel Bravo. You just became DC in that point. While DC is trying to make their stories more interesting to reader by doing stories that go in new places, Marvel is in a stasis of stories stuck in the 70’s with their flagship character. Comparing the two, DC beats Marvel hands down because they have guts to try to do something new instead of reliving the past over and over again with their flagship character.

I enjoy reading a good Spider-man comic. I will admit since Brand New Day there were about six I enjoyed reading, but there were many more that I wanted to toss on the grill to burn. I don’t argue sales numbers because Marvel doesn’t allow LCS to return the unsold copies anymore because that would give a real good indication of how the customers view their product. It must be nice to live in a world where there nothing but sunshine and roses. It is sad to think that writers used Com Cons as point to look at for positive feedback. “Hey, I just spent 1,000 dollars to come here. Let’s go bitch out the Spider-man panel because they really care about what I think!” Right. I really want to ruin my good time with delusions of grandeur that they get two cents about any negative feedback from the fans. Never mind it could help them to write better stories about Spider-man. We just need sit here with a silly smile and chant,”Spider-man is great. Spider-man is great. Spider-man is great.” Like that would be helpful to make the character better.

Make no mistake about it. I think all the characters belong to us, the readers, and not the writers or EIC. We allow them to play in our sandbox. Sure it has a Marvel tag on it, but without us there is no Marvel. Without us these people would not be writing right now for Marvel. We always have the power to change things to how we want them. The people have always had the bigger stick. It is call money. Unless 605 knock me off my feet, I will stop buying Spider-man after 35 years. Thirty Five years is a long time to support a company. One time we were family, but I have also cut off my family when they did something terribly wrong. Marvel mistake, more to the point, the Braintrust mistake was forget the mantra that we are all in this together.

The Spider-man Marriage

I am going to repost some of my rants that I did on Crawlspace because it will lead some place...eventually. :D

Today is going to be the Spider-man marriage which ties into the first post on this blog:




Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you my rant about the marriage. It is going to be goodie.

I have really thought long and hard about this particular rant because there are a lot of misconceptions about the marriage made by writers, EIC and fans. Here are the biggest complaints about the marriage:

1. It is unrelateable to younger readers.
2. It takes something away from the story.
3. Writers don’t want write for a married Spider-man.
4. You can tell only so many stories about married Spider-man.
5. I don’t want Mary Jane in every issue.
6. Peter is a loser and the marriage takes that away.
7. Marriage takes away from the fun of the book.
8. What is the difference in a marriage and a committed relationship? It is the same thing.
9. The marriage was forced and rushed.
10. The marriage sucked! The stories sucked!

Those are the ones I see and hear the most often on the web and my LCS. I have argued my points about the marriage over and over again. Let me prefaced with this by saying if the marriage was ended in a story that made sense then I wouldn’t I have problem. The fact, and it is a fact, One More Day was a flying shitfest of a story. It was insulting to the fans and the writers that have worked on the Spider-man titles for last 20 years. That is fact contrary to what Marvel’s Webhead say it did change the makeup of the Marvel Universe and affected the whole Universe. That is another rant for another time.

It is unrelateable to younger readers.

I guess all the younger readers in the world don’t have parents that weren’t/aren’t married. Bastards! Yes, it is that stupid. Just saying that is showing how out touch Joe Quesada is with the readership of Marvel Comics. I guess young readers can relate to drunken hooks ups and sex without love better. That Joe Quesada approved the fact Peter has unprotected sex and that something that should be pushed on young readers. Thank you Joe for making my job as parent real easy, no Spider-man comics will be read in my house. That is real. That is irresponsible to put in a book with high children interest and don’t give this Marvel Adventure crap either. I am not an idiot or a fool. Don’t ever make that mistake about me. In other words, you want to live in a world of sunshine and roses. Fine. I will live in a world that deals with reality.

It takes something away from the story.
Writers don’t want write for a married Spider-man.
You can tell only so many stories about married Spider-man.
I don’t want Mary Jane in every issue.
Peter is a loser and the marriage takes that away.
Marriage takes away from the fun of the book.
The marriage sucked! The stories sucked!

With an exception of last on, those are writer’s and EIC’s complaints. The last one is an result of wrong people writing the book. This is really simple. Don’t want to write for married Spider-man? Then you can’t write for the character! Last thing that the flagship character needs is a professional acting like a whiny fanboy because their stories suck due to lack of caring. It wasn’t the fact the marriage was in the book that caused these problems; it was due to writers and EIC not be able to deal with the situation and taking advantage of it to help make these stories better. Marriage adds drama. Marriage is fun (in a warped kind of way). The only difference between a married Peter Parker and a single one is that he can’t fuck anything that moves. That’s it. Nothing else is different. The real mistake by the writers is having the marriage in every issue. For the love of God, it didn’t have to be part of the story nor did Mary Jane have to be in every issue. Use it when need and do not just throw in there for unknown reasons. Get writers that can draw from their marriage and have them write for the book, or writers that understand what marriage is and let them take care of it.

Peter is not a loser. I hate when they say that. Ranks up there with the cousin story for being one the dumbest things ever said in an interview. Peter is every man. Every man is looking for the right person to share their life with and for them to part of that person’s life. I seriously doubt those that said this has ever read a Spider-man comic book or understand the overall ground work that was done by Stan Lee and company. Peter is the ultimate winner because he does the right thing no matter what the cost. He fights the no-win situations (Firelord). He comes out victorious sometime and like every man he loses sometimes. However, he will eventually win the war. The marriage gave hope to Peter. It gave something to fight for beyond his motto. Time to grow up readers and writers because we do things to help those we love. At least, I hope that is why you do things because you want to be able to help those you love now and in the future.


What is the difference in a marriage and a committed relationship? It is the same thing.


BULLSHIT! A committed relationship is nothing like a marriage because it has an easy out. You can just pack your shit up and leave. No legal ramifications. No proclamation of love in the paper. No committed relationship license is needed. No special ceremony with friends declaring your committed relationship in a committed relationship ceremony. Tell what, for those that are married. Go tell you wife that you just want a committed relationship. Just have an ice bag ready because you will need it after she kicks your balls to your throat. I have nothing against people living together before they get married. In fact, I highly recommend it because that could be seen as a test run for the relationship. Marriage is a legal and public announcement to forsake all others for this one person because they are just that damn special to you. You can say it is the ultimate test of your love for each other to take that step. One more thing, saying something like tells a lot about the person who says it. One, they either are not married or not married a long time. Two, they are a child and don’t know that what women want in a relationship. A married man saying that also tells me that their marriage is doomed because it tells me that they aren’t taking their situation seriously. That fact is that saying is an insult to people who take their marriage seriously and want it to last until death do us part. What I am trying say here is that some people need to get a clue before they open their mouth about things that they don’t have enough experience to say anything about to begin with. Come back to after 16 years marriage, we will talk then about how a committed relationship is the same as marriage.


The marriage was forced and rushed.

Umm..hello? Did you people read any issues before Annual 21? Peter asked Mary Jane to marry him before and she said no. It wasn’t rushed. In fact, there were a couple issues done before the Annual happened that explained why Mary Jane said yes to Peter. Stan wanted this to happen because he knew it was time to move on in the story. We could have the discussion on who really wrote Spider-man, but Stan was a major player in the direction and creation of the core character of Peter Parker. It was time for Peter Parker to grow beyond just being a loner. There were no more stories to be told about Peter’s personal relationships while he is single that hasn’t been told. That is fact. What you are reading now isn’t new or “refreshing”. It is retread territory that has done by better people in the past that cared more about the character and its future. Marriage offered something that Peter being single couldn’t do, and that is hope. Hope for a future without Spider-man. Hope for normalcy. Hope for family. In other words, every man’s dream.

I didn’t get into Mary Jane’s characterization because that is another rant, but I do want to say that Marvel dropped the ball big time with the character. They continued to drop the ball with the character because they are afraid of the character. One last thing, comic should never be like the movie. Movies should be like the comics. Keep that in mind because do we want another Back in Black story?