Mary Jane or Gwen Stacy

[fuze9]

The general question is up to you. Any continuity, any storyline. Do post a bit of a reason for your choice though.

 

[Ace Gunman]

That's quite a question. If I was forced to choose in regards to the mainstream continuity... Mary-Jane. Gwen Stacy was before my time, and what I've read of her in back issues didn't really impress me. I absolutely understand that she was Peter's first love, but from a character standpoint I found her to be quite bland. Outside of a few retcons she never really did anything terribly interesting.

With that said, I don't have any strong feelings for Mary-Jane in the mainstream continuity either, but at least she's done things. As a fully fleshed out character we've seen Mary-Jane the girl next door, the party girl, the life partner, the expecting mother, the model, the actress, the damsel, the strong female role model, and in a few aspects the fallible human being.

If we're talking about the Ultimate continuity I could go either way. I love Mary-Jane the girl next door/bookworm, but Gwen the street tough reformed troublemaker is also highly endearing. And although it's not one of the choices, in that continuity my favorite love interest for Peter is actually Kitty Pryde. I really enjoyed their interactions.

But ultimately I think I'd have to give it to Gwen circa her adaption in the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series. She's got the girl next door aspects of Mary-Jane in the film franchise and Ultimate continuity, the cute bookworm-ish aspects of MJ from the Ultimate continuity as well, but the backstory and mousy charm of the mainstream continuity and Spider-Man Loves Mary-Jane continuity Gwen Stacy.

 

[mrfatso]

this is a pretty hard question, but i would like to see gwen back, even if its an alternate universe where she didn't die and she got married to peter, since i always want to know just how would his life would have been had that happen.

 

[Sir-Fritz]

I assume this is about spider man but who the hell is gwen stacy?

 

[Veho]

I assume this is about spider man but who the hell is gwen stacy?

Get out

 

[mrfatso]

I assume this is about spider man but who the hell is gwen stacy?

a woman whom peter parker aka spiderman fail to save, and it was one of the turning point for spiderman.

 

[Ace Gunman]

Now now, lets not all jump on him. A lot of people don't know who Gwen was. My generation of Spidey fans was raised on the 90s comics and the 90s Spider-Man animated series (neither of which Gwen had much of a role in). There are quite a few people who have absolutely no idea who Gwen was. Given that their relationship and her death were almost 40 years ago it's not all-together surprising.

He should be educated on the matter, not shunned for being born in a Gwen-lite time period.

 

[mrfatso]

so true, google gwen stacy and i saw the words :"supporting character"

anyway for more info: wikipedia :

Spoiler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Stacy
probably what most people think of when her name is typed/spoken :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Gwen_Stacy_Died

darn, guess i have been too out of the loop, there's a what if with the scenario that i wanted involving parker and gwen in a happily ever after :|

 

[Veho]

He should be educated on the matter, not shunned for being born in a Gwen-lite time period.

True, true... I shouldn't begrudge a lack of knowledge on an obscure and ancient supporting character. But can I stay peeved at him for writing Spiderman as two words and without the capital first letter?

Anyway, back on topic, my vote goes to Mary Jane, probably because of the One More Day fiasco. I liked them together more than the the "will they or will they not" and on-and-off relationships they had in other installments. But Marvel's market research team felt that people couldn't identify with a character who could keep a girlfriend and even get married, so they scrapped it in favour of a lonely awkward nerd. Meh

Also, today's XKCD is slightly related

 

[Ace Gunman]

Without turning this into a OMD debate, I actually prefer them unmarried. I'm in favor of whatever allows the writers to get the most out of a character. In this scenario, an unmarried Peter and MJ allows for that.

They can and will still date, but now the writers can separate them for periods of time in order to enable other sorts of stories. An unmarried but in an on again/off again longterm relationship Peter Parker can still have sex, anniversaries, a home and even children with Mary-Jane. All of the things that married couples can do. However he can also do one additional thing that a married Spidey cannot: see other women.

Y'see, if a married Spider-Man kisses the Black Cat he's a cheating bastard who just threw away his marriage for a kiss, a one-night stand, etc. But if Pete and MJ are simply in a longterm relationship, they can temporarily break up over the issue allowing him to have other storytelling possibilities with other women.

Now one could say there's nothing another woman could offer him, but in terms of story possibilities that's just not true. Here's one example of a storyline that cannot be done with a marriage: Spider-Man encounters a villainous femme fatale and has to play along with her seductions to get to the bottom of a crime spree. That's something MJ can't offer him in terms of story possibilities.

Or more recently there was a storyline where Peter went to one of those speed dating places, and it was absolutely hysterical. And even more recently he broke his no-drinking rule and ended up having a one-night stand with his female roommate which has caused all sorts of hijinx. Including interesting interactions with MJ.

You get the drift. In terms of stories, there's nothing a married Spider-Man can do that an unmarried can't. In fact, without the vows and rings you have significantly more options. And when it comes to the characters I love, I want to get the most out of them as possible.

As an aside, there were discussions about bringing Gwen back from the dead recently at Marvel, but they ultimately decided against it. Not because they take issue with the resurrection, that's common, almost expected. If it's the right story I wouldn't have an issue with it either. No, it was because Peter would instantly marry Gwen. There's no logical way to keep him from doing so. Which defeats the purpose of having him single.

 

[Veho]

That's the problem with over nine thousand writers doing stories for one character, that all have to fit into one (or a few) continuities. One writer can write the story into a corner, and the others don't know how to go on from there. They find it too restrictive. That's not to say the current setting couldn't offer interesting stories, angles, plots, it's just that the new/other writer doesn't know what to do with it. Plus, he/she has all these lovely ideas that would work great and read great if it weren't for these pesky new circumstances the previous writer introduced that make the new direction he/she had in mind impossible, or merely highly improbable. And it's easier to just start over instead of trying to adapt.

Enter rewrites, reboots, retcons, etc. etc., and that's usually awkward and should be avoided. That's not to say that trying to force a story arc you really have no idea what to do with wouldn't be just as bad, though. That's why every storyline has to end with as few permanent changes and as many options left open as possible. I agree that having them in a on-again-off-again relationship opens up way more possibilities, but I don't have to like it.

(And personally, I don't see how Peter cheating on Mary Jane could be any less bad if they were "merely" in a long-term relationship than if they were married.)

 

[Ace Gunman]

I agree that having them in a on-again-off-again relationship opens up way more possibilities, but I don't have to like it.

Understandable. Logic and preference don't always coincide. It would be nice if they did, but hey, life wouldn't be any fun then would it?

QUOTE(And personally, I don't see how Peter cheating on Mary Jane could be any less bad if they were "merely" in a long-term relationship than if they were married.)

Well, neither do I. But that's coming from someone who feels the government and religious groups have no right to slap your signature on a piece of paper and bind you together for all eternity. To me, love is love, and if you truly love someone being together is enough. You don't need a piece of paper to tell you it's forever or legitimate. Essentially that's what my view of marriage comes down to, a document in government's filing cabinets.

With that said, the majority of the populace thinks of marriage as almost a requirement. The end all be all of personal growth, essentially. That cheating on your wife of 7 years is worse than cheating on your girlfriend of 9. Now I obviously don't subscribe to that theory, but most would disagree.

In that way, I view marriage as just "one of those things". Again, what is logical and what one feels don't necessarily mix. Using a rather extreme example (as it's the only one that comes to mind): Accidentally hitting a child with your vehicle is worse than hitting an adult. At their core they're both human beings. One has a whole life left to life, and one has a lifetime of experience left to lose. And yet doing one is still worse in the eyes of society than doing the other.

But I think that's moot as it's fairly unlikely that Peter would be written into a position where he physically cheats. Either in marriage or a committed relationship. He's an everyman and makes mistakes, but Marvel also doesn't want to make him look like a sleeze. I imagine in a scenario where he was dating someone but a writer wanted to have a sexy adventure with the Black Cat, they'd merely have them break up for a few months and then introduce the new love interest.

 

[King Zargo]

Blonds >>> Red hats.. Duh!!!
Geek >>> Actor!!!

2-0 for Gwen Stacy.

Based on Spectacular Spider-man!

But I would be happy with the both of the girls and Blackcat.

 

[Veho]

 

[Yoshimashin]

I read the Ultimate series. Gwen all the way.

They are currently together ATM.

 

[Veho]