List ways other then death to fix the so called marriage issue

[drwho]

Here is an idea. We can have some villain permanently deage Peter back to where he is like 15 years old and has to start off life again as kid. He will keep his same memories, but it would be totally weird how Mary jane and peter would have to deal with the situation. Any other non death like suggestions?

[drwho]

Here is another suggestion. I always thought it would be neat if Green Goblin kidnapped Mary Jane and gave her his meds and turned her into a Green Gobliness villain which starts battling Spiderman

[Josh S]

It was all a dream.

You didn't say it had to be good.

[Haunt]

MJ has to go into witness protection.

[Nick MB]

MJ goes into a coma.

[DLH1970]

Hire better writers.

[ShadowSonic]

Fire Joe Queseda

[Eye Doc]

Hire better writers.

That's definitely the best answer I've read so far. Unfortunately, it looks more and more like who you know or your reputation has more with who gets to write book instead of how talented they are. That said, I'll go ahead and answer your question. I posted this in an earlier thread so I'm posting a slightly edited version it here.

No matter how you try to break them up it's going to cause some negative fallout. That said, I think it can be done. Joe Q. says divorcing Peter and MJ will make Peter seem old. I don't fully agree with that point of view. I know a couple of people who have been divorced twice before they turned 25. To me, they still seem young...and even immature to a point. I've also known people in that age group who have lost spouses.

Something huge would have to drive an initial rift between the two of them. I can't see them just falling out of love with each other after all they've been thru. Once apart, some force (or combination of forces) would have to work against them as a couple. I've got a couple of ideas but I don't want to put it out here. Quesada (or a lurker on this board) may read this post and totally mess up my story.

I will say this, one of the "forces" that would pull the couple apart are events in the past that are well established events in Spidey continuity that come back to haunt the couple. The other "force"/"forces" are already existing characters (don't want to give away who they are) who have legitimate reasons for wanting to see Pete and MJ break up. The combination of tragic events and outside interference lead to the rift.

I don't really want to see MJ and Pete split :evilangry . But, if I were a writer and my editor told me "this is the direction I want you to go", I think I could pull off a story that would accomplish the dastardly deed.

Eye Doc

[Harlock]

We already have this thread. It's lost amongst the other 50 threads about Joe Q. and the Spider-Marriage. http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=123325

[Sean Walsh]

RETCON PUNCH!



And suddenly Quesada is just another artist and not editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, that is... ;p

[Schmakt]

ooo! statutory rape... mj goes to jail... sweet... :eek:

[Haunt]

MJ finds out that she's really married to Ben Reilly. the real Spiderman emerges carrying Thor's Hammer or as the fake Daredevil.

[megabyte01]

maybe 'the other' will replae mj. it's hiding out for now, reforming in some kind of cocoon. it will come back. wait, you asked for ways other than death to break up peter and mj...

i got it! peter and mj's daughter resuerfaces. then, mj leaves to raise her taughter away from this superhero nonsense and peter is single again! that is so lame though.

[hoffmandu]

I think it's going to be as simple as, they both know they can't stay together knowing that Spidey's Identity will be compromised.

[Eye Doc]

I think it's going to be as simple as, they both know they can't stay together knowing that Spidey's Identity will be compromised.


You've got a point. If Peter's ID were compromised/made public, then I could see how that would put a major strain on Pete and MJ's marriage. However, if Peter's ID is ever compromised, how could he ever get involved with ANY WOMAN again? Any woman he ever got involved with would be in danger because of the inherent risk his life would be to her. Peter would be pretty selfish to expose anyone to that type of danger. That's why I don't "think" this is what the Civil War story is going to do.

Eye Doc

[drwho]

Here is another suggestion. Somehow have Mary Jane turn into a giant spider so that she is no longer human any more. She could be like spider-mans sidekick when he needs her. As a Spider she could then fall in love with another Spider.

Or have her abducted by space aliens.

They could always reveal that MJ is actually a Skrull and was never married to Peter.

[Rich L]

Here is another suggestion. Somehow have Mary Jane turn into a giant spider so that she is no longer human any more. She could be like spider-mans sidekick when he needs her. As a Spider she could then fall in love with another Spider.

Or have her abducted by space aliens.

They could always reveal that MJ is actually a Skrull and was never married to Peter.


All excellent ideas...except for the abduction. Who'd buy that? ;)

[Chachi]

Fire Joe Queseda

Best idea yet!

[Sanagi]

Amnesia. Or, a little more original, a brain injury causes MJ's personality to completely change.

[Smokey17]

they should have done it right after house of M.

think about it. World's changed MJ is single and living the life of the supermodel life style. Harry Osborn never died, Flash thompson will be the one that got over the whole puny parker thing. Norman osborne would still be dead:)

and of course Aunt may not knowing Peter is Spidey. Isn't q being hypocritical about the aunt may thing too. She should never know peter is spidey. Plus she's forgived him on the death of Uncle ben. In Pete's mind it should be that he thinks Aunt May hates Spider man because of the burgular.

House of M would have fixed it all. and of Course I would Have Peter remember his life the way it is now. That would make him feel even better:evilsmile

[Wannabe]

Here is another suggestion. Somehow have Mary Jane turn into a giant spider so that she is no longer human any more. She could be like spider-mans sidekick when he needs her. As a Spider she could then fall in love with another Spider.
.
Where's she gonna find another giant Spider?


MJ cheats on him with Flash. That would be quite the story.

[Peter Parker]

How about disappearance? And when MJ's gone, Peter find a new girl and got in love with her (not passionately in love that is, just a little crush) , and after so many issues, MJ still haven't returns, Peter (still remorsed over MJ's disappearance) sort of got on with that girl?

[BoosterBronze]

How about reading Ult. Spiderman? Isn't the whole point of that book to be there for people who don't like married Peter?

[Mister Mets]

they should have done it right after house of M.

think about it. World's changed MJ is single and living the life of the supermodel life style. Harry Osborn never died, Flash thompson will be the one that got over the whole puny parker thing. Norman osborne would still be dead:)

and of course Aunt may not knowing Peter is Spidey. Isn't q being hypocritical about the aunt may thing too. She should never know peter is spidey. Plus she's forgived him on the death of Uncle ben. In Pete's mind it should be that he thinks Aunt May hates Spider man because of the burgular.

House of M would have fixed it all. and of Course I would Have Peter remember his life the way it is now. That would make him feel even better:evilsmile

Queseda made a few good points aga9inst using House of M to undo Spider-Man's marriage in the latest Joe Fridays.
http://www.newsarama.com/JoeFridays/JoeFridays51.html

The thought crossed our minds, but our feeling is that if we were ever to tell a story like that it really wouldn’t do it justice to do it in a major line wide event. A story like the unmarrying of Peter and MJ first and foremost would have to be heart wrenching, it’s not a summer “War Of The Worlds” type blockbuster. It would have to be ground level, very human, something that dealt with characters not spandex.

In other words, the solution if we could ever find one has to be small, human, like Peter … not Universe altering if that makes any sense.

That said, boy are you in for a treat when you get to the last page of Civil War [laughs ominously]...

Yeah, but in many ways, Wanda makes it too simple and these things have to come out of story. It would be way to easy for us to just use Wanda and say that with a wave of her hand she fixes every continuity glitch since the dawn of the Marvel Universe. I don’t know, that kind of thing just doesn’t appeal to me at the moment.

And don’t get me wrong, we did sit around as we were discussing House of M and discuss that Wanda could get rid of the marriage with a blink, but how satisfying would that be to readers of Spider-Man? Wanda getting rid of the mutants made sense, she was lashing out at her father and his dream. Once you get past that then you’re just using her to retcon stuff for the sake of retconning with motivation and story going out the window.


I also don't remember any comic book where Aunt May revealed she hated Spider-Man because he caught Uncle Ben. It wasn't part of any Stan Lee story (which in my mind means it's not canon.) :D

I think Aunt May learning Peter's secret was a good development, because the writers had run out of ideas with the character years earlier, and there was nothing more that could be done with Aunt May not knowing the identity.


How about disappearance? And when MJ's gone, Peter find a new girl and got in love with her (not passionately in love that is, just a little crush) , and after so many issues, MJ still haven't returns, Peter (still remorsed over MJ's disappearance) sort of got on with that girl?

The only problems are that it's A) still divorce- desertion is grounds for divorce, B) if Mary Jane turns up dead Peter's still a widow, C) Peter would move heaven & Earth to find her, and D) it's happened once- The first year of JMS's run on the title.


How about reading Ult. Spiderman? Isn't the whole point of that book to be there for people who don't like married Peter?

Nah, it's there for the people who want to read teenage Spider-Man, as many fans (including Steve Ditko) think it was a mistake for Spider-Man to graduate high school. There's a distinction, as some fans enjoy reading about a single Peter Parker in his early 20s.

[algertman]

Fire JMS
Fire Joe Q.

there goes a editor that doesn't know anything about Spider-Man, and there goes a writer responsible for 2 of the worse Spider-Man stories ever

[DoubleShot]

They could always reveal that MJ is actually a Skrull and was never married to Peter.

Why stop there? How about have Gwen come back using the same excuse? How about they set up a story were we actually do find out about this Skrull. How about we call her Lyja (just for the sake of argument)? How about she gives birth to an egg that turns out to be a bomb? How about the Human Torch showing up and smacking them both upside the head?

ROFL if you haven't guessed this has been done. Go read some old issues of Fantastic Four. :D

[tony2074]

i don't actually mind peter being married. i mean what the hell is the big deal? i think being married suits a character like peter, i just don't think he has it in him to be a raving man whore like most 20 somethings. besides, ultimate spidey is what you need to read, given the utterly dire state of the normal spidey books.

[killerbass]

Fire Joe Queseda

Awesome! At most let him start drawing...

[killerbass]

How about reading Ult. Spiderman? Isn't the whole point of that book to be there for people who don't like married Peter?

Hey, don't confuse Joe Q. with logic!

I can't even believe we have to have this conversation.

Grumble, grumble...

[juggalotus]

petey walks in on tony hittin mj from the backside.
it also helps spidey switch sides in civil war

[CyberCoyote]

She's really a Skrull that's been impersonating MJ since the original Secret Wars :)

[Mister Mets]

Fire JMS
Fire Joe Q.

there goes a editor that doesn't know anything about Spider-Man, and there goes a writer responsible for 2 of the worse Spider-Man stories ever

I'm assuming one is Sins Past.
What's the other?
And do you really think they're worse than the Clone Saga/ Facade/ Peter Parker No More?

I believe the fact that JMS's 63rd issue of Amazing Spider-Man was one of April's Top Ten comics is preventing other from firing him.

[Geardaddy]

How about reading Ult. Spiderman? Isn't the whole point of that book to be there for people who don't like married Peter?

In short, no. That is not the intention of Ultimate Spider-Man. As I understand it, Ultimate is there to relate to younger readers (athough I don't think it's doing that) and is suppose to give a more updated look at Spider-Man. Yes, he's not married, but that's not why the book was created and isn't the focus of Ultimate Spider-Man.

[Doom Hammer]

Geez, if it's not Joe Quesada, it's that damn Brian Bendis. That's it. That's the summation of my feelings on the matter.

[stillanerd]

There was one guy over on one of the other message boards who says that Marvel is trying to tackle the "Mary Jane" problem and has two options on the table. Permanantly kill her off or...make her have an affair that results in her having to leave the titles for good.

"But wait a minute? Wouldn't divorce age Peter?" you say. "They wouldn't have MJ cheat on Peter and break them up because of that?" Oh, but that's sounds EXACTLY like the kind of "solution" they could go for. Think about it. Rather than kill her off and make fans angry at Marvel for killing off a popular supporting character (like what happened when they tried it the last time) make the fans hate her to the point that they want to see her gone. Her having an affair behind Peter's back would do exactly that.

I can see it now: some guy seduces MJ while she's working on one of her plays. She succumbs. She feels guilty because she still loves her husband, but feels he's too busy putting himself at risk being Spider-Man to pay attention to her. Then the guy she has the affair with has learned, possibly through some "evidence" that MJ has, that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. He sells this info to one of Peter's enemies in the hopes of having MJ all to herself (and of course the villain kills him). This of course is how Peter learns of the affair and, after beating the villain, finds it very hard to forgive MJ for her betrayal--more than that because her affair almost cost him his life, her life, and the life of his beloved Aunt May. MJ gives Peter the web shooters back, leaves for California. And the logic is that, even though divorce would "age" Peter, there's a genuine dislike for MJ now among the fans that they'd be all but too happy to see Peter kick her ass to the curb and never come back. And since this would take place in a mini series rather than the actual comic, they could have it so a now single Peter can go about his daily business and treat the marriage (like they've done with the clone saga) as though it never happened.

Will this work? Of course not. Three times Marvel has made Mary Jane the scapegoat for Peter's problems and have tried to excise her from the titles--four times if you count her four year absence from ASM #193 to ASM #238. Once again, Marvel is going to end up shooting themselves in the foot.

[Effect]

I've been thinking about this for the past few days and I think the easiest way of doing it would be to have her lose her memory. It doesn't mean she has to be removed from the book mind you. Go with me on this as I try to explain it.

As a result of the events in Civil War she suffers some head injury indirectly caused between the fight between Spider-man and Iron Man (we know it's going to happen :) ). Both feel horrible about this but it just widens the divide between Peter and Tony. This after Peter and MJ as the result of the Civil War realize just how much they mean to each other, there is serious talk of having a baby or two, him possibly being even more careful (giving into more of his spider side due to his new powers as a result of The Other (gets rid of the new suit, back to web slinging but leads into finishing off fallout of The Other storyline). Both are really excited by this, this triggered in part due to Luke and Jessica getting married and seeing their new baby.

So once she wakes up from the injury he has memory trouble. Not in the traditional sense though. She still remembers Peter, Aunt May, Spider-man, her parents, Gwen, etc.. yet her memories are all mixed up in some places. While she knows Peter and Aunt May are family and that she and Peter love each other, she thinks it's sibling love for some reason (this could be expanded upon later on). This not only throughs Peter for a loop but the readers as well. Especailly since before this the readers read just how much the two of them wanted to start a family, how Peter was looking forward to being a dad and her a mom. Aunt May was happy as well. Through in a few background images of Peter thinking of his kid being a Spider-girl or Spider-boy then man just to really play it up. This is a serious blow to Peter.

He doesn't want to damage her mind further, especially since this is advice from doctors. They just have to hope that sooner or later she remembers that they are man and wife. I think this could work cause it could be undone later on if it dosen't work out. There are several things that result from this.

1. Peter is in a way pretty much single.
2. MJ is still in the story and she isn't made out to be a bitch, cheater or someone bad so fans will hate her.
3. It gets ride of the Iron Spidey suit. (while I'm okay with it I really miss the red and blue now and it's getting old, plus I want to see more of The Other storyline play out with his new powers and with The Other creature)
4. It would be heartfelt to see their dreams torn from them in this way. Peter is so close to MJ and knows she loves him, but he can't have her due to her memories being the way they are.
5. This can bring a family dynamic that wasn't in the story before while not aging the characters.
6. It creates some serious drama between the characters. Especailly for Peter himself since he is the one suffering the most from this. Aunt May gets to feel needed again taking care of MJ. MJ knows things are strange and something is seriously off about the situation but loves her "aunt" and "brother or cousin if brother makes the whole thing to weird".
7. This creates an interesting situation with Flash who had memory problems of his own and is back to being an ass. Big problem with Peter since he can't tell MJ they are married but Flash doesn't believe they were married since now they aren't (due to MJ's mental health. Though personally I'd have MJ give Flash the brush off in a big way, as she still struggling herself and she kind knows there is more to her and Peter's relationship then is being told. Still it creates problems and worries for Peter but that should work out in the end I think.
8. Peter being "single" would mean women might be hitting on him. Then the ultimate problem with his "sister" out of love trying to set him up on a date. This could work cause readers are shown that MJ doesn't know she's his wife or was but are shown that she clearly still loves him. Making readers wish for the day when she gets her memories back.
9. With her memory problems this could be a way to get rid of the supermodel/actress image of MJ. Have her go back to school. Maybe open a business, be a teacher, agent (work with other stars but not be one herself), etc. This plays more into Peter being the "everyman hero" he was since while MJ is happy they aren't bringing in the big bucks.
10. It's a test to see how readers react to a "single Peter" due to the different women situations he finds himself in, while keeping an out to reenter the Peter and MJ marriage. Without insulting readers by saying Peter is a clone or a fake, or trying to get readers to hate MJ. They end up making readers feel sad for both of the characters but entertained due to how the whole thing plays itself out, and see how the two become closer and how much Peter still loves MJ even though all of this.

Just don't hook MJ up with anyone and this coudl work. I'm sure there are problems with the whole senerio that I haven't seen yet, but sure someone will point them out and why this wouldn't wok. I don't recall it being done before and while the whole "brother and sister" situation this would spawn might seem a bit ackward, if they make it clear just how the situation came about and that she know there is something more to their relationship but can't realize what it is it could work. Detials about other characters telling her or something haven't been worked out though.

I think this could get what Marvel and crew want for Peter while at the same time not doing a real screw up job on the characters or forcing either one to cheat or be a jerk or bitch.

[NickThompson]

Fire JMS
Fire Joe Q.

there goes a editor that doesn't know anything about Spider-Man, and there goes a writer responsible for 2 of the worse Spider-Man stories ever
Or....not :)






I really don't think anything will happen to the marriage. Quesada has always said he doesn't like the marriage, but he still let MJ come back to Peter, he's said he wotn divorce them or do it in a cosmic way, I really can't see him killing her....there is nothing else he really can do. He even said that the ship has sailed in Joe Fridays.

[Venom]

There was one guy over on one of the other message boards who says that Marvel is trying to tackle the "Mary Jane" problem and has two options on the table. Permanantly kill her off or...make her have an affair that results in her having to leave the titles for good.

"But wait a minute? Wouldn't divorce age Peter?" you say. "They wouldn't have MJ cheat on Peter and break them up because of that?" Oh, but that's sounds EXACTLY like the kind of "solution" they could go for. Think about it. Rather than kill her off and make fans angry at Marvel for killing off a popular supporting character (like what happened when they tried it the last time) make the fans hate her to the point that they want to see her gone. Her having an affair behind Peter's back would do exactly that.

I can see it now: some guy seduces MJ while she's working on one of her plays. She succumbs. She feels guilty because she still loves her husband, but feels he's too busy putting himself at risk being Spider-Man to pay attention to her. Then the guy she has the affair with has learned, possibly through some "evidence" that MJ has, that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. He sells this info to one of Peter's enemies in the hopes of having MJ all to herself (and of course the villain kills him). This of course is how Peter learns of the affair and, after beating the villain, finds it very hard to forgive MJ for her betrayal--more than that because her affair almost cost him his life, her life, and the life of his beloved Aunt May. MJ gives Peter the web shooters back, leaves for California. And the logic is that, even though divorce would "age" Peter, there's a genuine dislike for MJ now among the fans that they'd be all but too happy to see Peter kick her ass to the curb and never come back. And since this would take place in a mini series rather than the actual comic, they could have it so a now single Peter can go about his daily business and treat the marriage (like they've done with the clone saga) as though it never happened.

Will this work? Of course not. Three times Marvel has made Mary Jane the scapegoat for Peter's problems and have tried to excise her from the titles--four times if you count her four year absence from ASM #193 to ASM #238. Once again, Marvel is going to end up shooting themselves in the foot.

That idea WON'T make readers hate Mary Jane. It'll make them hate the person responsible for the story, the writer. Even in a situation like that MJ would never cheat on Peter. She's just not that kind of person.

[stillanerd]

That idea WON'T make readers hate Mary Jane. It'll make them hate the person responsible for the story, the writer. Even in a situation like that MJ would never cheat on Peter. She's just not that kind of person.

Of course it would. That's why I said Marvel would be shooting themselves in the foot if they tried to make Mary Jane uncharacteristically have an affair with another man. Perhaps I should've been clearer to say that, if they are considering that option, they are going to try and make readers hate Mary Jane to the point that they want her to leave. Heck, in some cases, some people are already annoyed with her and want to see her gone.

[DoubleShot]

Perhaps I should've been clearer to say that, if they are considering that option, they are going to try and make readers hate Mary Jane to the point that they want to leave.

Fixed.

I don't have to buy the book and frankly I won't if they mess up the marriage. I like the marriage. I like Peter and MJ together. I think they play well off of one another. There are a ton of issues that have him single and they are being reprinted. Go read those if you don't like it. (not you stillanerd. I'm talking to those that don't like the marriage)

As a side note I started reading Spiderman again when it was revealed that MJ wasn't dead.

[StoneGold]

There is no good way. Divorce them, and now Pete's a divorcee, and that's even older than married. Same with killing her off. And magically make the marriage to have never happened, big deal, so they can get married tomorrow. There is no good way to get rid of the marriage.


And this is from someone who thinks the marriage does suck, but they're pretty much stuck with it.

[Jake V]

They could reveal that Peter was born later than he thought he was, making him younger, and thus, under the legal age to be married when it happened.

It's perfect!

[Huzzah!]

Marvel needs to stop trying to make Peter Parker not age. Its getting into Micheal Jackson Peter Pan creepy territory.

But the marriage is a problem for the character, not because it ages him, but because its too cushy for the character. having a supermodel wife doesnt make me believe in Peter much or want to root for the underdog.

Spiderman is, in most ways, a really depressed character. Dark.

But the beauty is he is depressed in a realisitc way. He isnt some dark brooder,who usually arent depressed and simply want attention. He is funny.

He doesnt decide to live in a cave and become a bat to strike fear into his enemies. He makes jokes while punching a man made of sand. Its a mask to hide the pain.

[Venom]

Of course it would. That's why I said Marvel would be shooting themselves in the foot if they tried to make Mary Jane uncharacteristically have an affair with another man. Perhaps I should've been clearer to say that, if they are considering that option, they are going to try and make readers hate Mary Jane to the point that they want her to leave. Heck, in some cases, some people are already annoyed with her and want to see her gone.

I understand what you mean now.

[Dark Soul # 7]

Of course it would. That's why I said Marvel would be shooting themselves in the foot if they tried to make Mary Jane uncharacteristically have an affair with another man. Perhaps I should've been clearer to say that, if they are considering that option, they are going to try and make readers hate Mary Jane to the point that they want her to leave. Heck, in some cases, some people are already annoyed with her and want to see her gone.Didn't they already try that stunt? It didn't work. The marriage still has more supporters than all the other options combined.

[algertman]

I'm assuming one is Sins Past.
What's the other?
And do you really think they're worse than the Clone Saga/ Facade/ Peter Parker No More?

I believe the fact that JMS's 63rd issue of Amazing Spider-Man was one of April's Top Ten comics is preventing other from firing him.

The Other

dear lord that was an awful story, in my opinion

[Mia]

When I read about this in Wizard, I almost spit. What's wrong with the marriage? When I came into comics he was already married to MJ. I think it works very well because not only is she his wife but she's his best friend too.
It's not like Peter is or ever was a womanizer like James Bond. That's never been part of his appeal. The only problem I see is a writer bereft of ideas. Tell Stracynzki (sic) to move on if he can't think anything he didn't glean off a soap opera.


By the way, there is a great and simple way for them to kill the marriage. Let MJ get wind of what Peter's reaction was at the end House of M. And she'll pack her bags and be filling papers for divorce so fast his head will spin. No woman wants to hear she's second pick or a consolation prize.

[genesis]

I can't believe I'm the one to say this, but oh well.

"MARY JANE IS A CLONE"

There I said it, it will solve all our problems. (JK)

[FlameOn4]

Mary Jane was Mystique's clone......

[Peter Parker]

You're kidding, right?

[Huzzah!]

I really want to see MJ sleeping with the Goblin. since sin's past is so terrible, go ahead and run with it