By Liam Rodger

No doubt one of the most popular superheroes of all time is Spider-Man. Since his debut in 1962, Peter Parker has always been considered one of the most relatable superheroes of all time and for this reason, he was loved by many. However, in recent years Marvel has been very unsure what to do with him and seems to refuse to let him grow. As a massive fan of the character, it really pains me to see this and like many would like to see the character evolve.

So where did it go wrong for the character? Back in 2005, Marvel released Civil War which revealed the identity of Peter Parker to the world and changed the status quo of the character going forward, for a couple of years anyway. Marvel wanted to rectify this and bring his identity back to being a secret which led to the creation of One More Day. The infamous Spider-Man story has Mephisto make a deal with Peter Parker to save Aunt May’s life after she was shot in Back in Black. Before this, Peter had a stable marriage with Mary Jane and was a fully grown adult so in hindsight, it would make sense for him to lose Aunt May right?  Apparently, at the time Marvel thought differently and decided to have everything that’s happened in the last couple of decades be completely erased and set the character back to the status quo.

What do I mean by setting him back to the status quo? Essentially Peter Parker was now back to where he was in life before he and Mary Jane got married. Throughout the 90s and early 2000s, Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s marriage was a major thing for comic books at the time. This was because, unlike most comic book heroes, Peter Parker got older through time, so much so to the point that he was almost 30 years old. Fans had essentially grown up with the character, seeing him go through high school and college meant that a lot of people found themselves very attached to him. Everything that made Peter Parker mature was essentially undone in One More Day which had him go back to the immature hero that he was beforehand. 

The inability to let the character grow presents a major issue that Marvel has had since One More Day was released. Ever since then, anytime Peter Parker has grown as a character he has reverted back to where he was. The inability for Peter to hold down a career or relationship is engaging at first but then becomes repetitive when it is constantly happening. With Peter Parker being one of the smartest characters in Marvel, he should have his own company or at least be further ahead. Marvel did do this with him in the Spider-Man Worldwide series but then reverted to his old ways shortly after.  

One of the best examples of Peter Parker outside the comics is in both the Spider-Verse films and the Insomniac games. In the Spider-Verse films, we meet Peter B. Parker who is trying to find his purpose again as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man after his divorce from Mary Jane due to his fear of having children. We then see the character grow throughout the film and by the end, he goes back to MJ and makes things right. In Across the Spider-Verse, we meet him again but this time he has a child and has clearly matured as a character which is something the comic books today are missing. The same goes for Insomniac’s Spider-Man games where we see an older Peter in his mid-20s evolving as a character as the stories progress, leading to a more mature Spider-Man who is willing to pass the mantle to Miles.

As much as they refuse to grow their main 616 Peter Parker, it seems that Marvel has taken to having an older Peter Parker in the upcoming Ultimate Universe. In January we will be introduced to a new version of Peter Parker who is much older, married to Mary Jane, and has two children. This is what the character has needed for a long time and is probably one of the best decisions Marvel has made. 

So why should Peter marry Mary Jane and have kids? The answer to this is simply because it fits with the character. As I said before, Peter Parker was one of the few comic book heroes we get to see age over time, and having him grow in this way would be fitting and work for the character. It would also raise the stakes for him in a whole new way. With him having a wife and children, so much more is on the line for web-slinger and Peter balancing being a father while being a superhero would be a compelling story to tell. This is proven in the recent Superman comics with Clark Kent having a son and having to balance being a father and superhero while also teaching his son to control his abilities. Seeing Peter pass on Uncle Ben’s teachings to his children would be a great thing to see and would show how much the character has grown as not only Spider-Man but also as Peter Parker. 

I’ve always thought it has been quite silly to keep Peter Parker having these teenage issues especially when we already have a teenage Spider-Man with Miles Morales. Marvel should just leave the teenage issues with Miles and then have Peter have a stable career and marriage. This would give us two completely different versions of Spider-Man who are both in different stages of life which would be far more compelling than having two Spider-Men with relationship and money issues. 

So how should Marvel fix these issues with Peter Parker then? I’m glad you asked! With the new Ultimate Spider-Man series in January, Miles Morales should completely take over as the main Spider-Man on Earth 616 and have that version of Peter retire for a while. This would give audiences a chance to get used to an older Peter Parker in this new universe and they could then carry over these aspects to the main Marvel 616 Universe to give the character a fresh new start.

We’d like to thank Liam for this great editorial! You can follow him on Instagram and TikTok for more pop culture and comic-related content and be sure to check out comicbasics where Liam is part of the writing team.