The Joe Quesada board is taking it upon itself to try and help Marvel deal with their largest “genie” – The Spider-Marriage:

I believe I have found the perfect solution. I can’t take full credit for this, as it’s based on some comments I’ve seen others make on the internet, and previous Marvel continuity, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Marvel’s writers were planning this, before any fans thought of it.

Something bad happens to Spider-Man’s loved ones in a high profile storyline (perhaps the JMS/ Quesada mini series) as a result of Spider-Man’s identity being public. Doctor Strange offers to make the world forget that Spider-Man is Peter Parker (the same way the world forgot about the Sentry in the Sentry mini series.) Peter agrees, and finds himself in a changed world.

Almost everyone who knows Spider-Man’s identity has forgotten it. This could include Norman Osborn, who remains in charge of Oscorp, with no one aware of his other life (***, he could’ve forgotten that he’s the Green Goblin.)

This also includes Mary Jane Watson, who never knew that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, and never married him. They may’ve still dated a bit, and they could do so in the future.

I’d use the mini series to show Peter’s reactions to the new world, as he makes some major decisions. What should he tell Aunt May? etc. Then I’d follow it with a relaunch of the major Spider-Man books (as this is a bigger deal than the event which led to the first relaunch seven years ago) and reference the older continuity a lot less.

Venom, thanks to the alien symbiote could remember the world as it once was, and use his abilities to make Norman Osborn remember, to restore them as the two villains who know Spider-Man’s identity. Norman Osborn would pretend to gain amnesia again, and become a far more “behind-the-scenes” villain, at least for the first mega-arc.

What do you guys think?

Other fans aren’t so convinced…
“Too much of a copout, IMO.  We’re talking about a 20 year status quo here.  This is the Spider-Man that a couple of generations of readers have grown up with.  Some guy waving his hand just seems cheesy to me. Even beyond that, the big problem I have with splitting up Peter and MJ is then what?  If you have them dating again, it’s kind of silly to break them up in the first place.  If the idea is to have him reunite with an old love, then it still just seems kind of silly.  If you’re going to do it, then whoever the creative teams are need to be doing what they can to actually develop new love interests.  And what’s more, do it in a way that the new character actually draws reader interest in the same way MJ did once upon a time.  Given that no one has attempted to even go so far as to attempt create an ongoing supporting cast member since that kid Todd DeZago used pre-reboot, I’m not particularly overwhelmed with confidence that Marvel can pull it off.”

And some others have much simpler suggestions:

“Maybe the Scarlett Witch can just say ‘no more marriages’ and reset all of Marvel’s marital continuity.”

“Witness. Protection. Program.”

“Even easier.  Next issue of Amazing, FNSM, and Sensational?  Young, single, college student Peter Parker.  Freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle.  How?  Who cares?  Put Whedon/Romita jr on Amazing, PAD/Ringo on FNSM, and Bendis/Cambell on Sensational and most folks will keep reading.”

“Let things be, and use the current potential to tell new stories. Or you could just whine till Marvel does something to hammer in the ‘good old days’.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 9th, 2006 at 11:46 am and is filed under Fandom, Internet, Marvel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.