There are certain issues of J. Michael Straczynski’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” that mean a lot more to me now that I’ve been married a few years. This is one of them.
Written by J. Michael StraczynskiCover by J. Scott Campbell and Tim Townsend
Penciled by John Romita Jr.
Inked by Scott Hanna
Colored by Dan Kemp
Lettered by Richard StarkingsSpider-Man and Captain America take on Doctor Doom AND a suicide bomber who has caused mass destruction at an airport.
While that comiXology-sourced plot synopsis focuses on Spidey and Cap’s airport superheroics, the real star of “Amazing Spider-Man” #50 is Peter and Mary Jane Parker’s relationship. At this point in Spidey-lore, Peter and Mary Jane were married but estranged for … reasons. In this “anniversary” issue (which would doubtless cost $9.99 and be packed with “bonus” stories now), Pete and MJ work things out and decide to give their marriage another chance.
That premise might sound dull or unexciting, and perhaps that’s why this issue features guest spots from both Captain America AND Doctor Doom (rendered wonderfully by JRJR and crew). But “The Amazing Spider-Man” has almost always been most compelling when it’s focused on Peter’s relationships with those around him. And even when I was a yet-to-be-in-a-real-relationship teen, the prospect of Peter finally reuniting with the love of his life, and securing this big a personal victory, was exciting. The action in this issue was, and remains, secondary. The payoff was and always will be Peter and Mary Jane deciding that they love, want, and need each other enough to get back together.
That’s most all marriage is, I’ve learned: It’s a decision to bind yourself to a person and support them and trust that they will support you – no matter what. I am positive I did not understand that concept, and the gravity of it, completely when I first read this issue 16 years ago. But I do today. I have made decisions that I would never have made but for my marriage. I have had the “alright, let’s talk this out” style conversations that Peter and MJ have at the airport here, as the building is crumbling around them, at airports myself, as it seemed like pillars of my wife and my’s life were crumbling around us. I understand that you don’t get to plan every moment of everything – that sometimes you’re drafted into saving Dr. Doom’s life, when really you’d rather just sit and figure things out with the person you love most. And I understand that, sometimes, goofball jokes and trust in each other is all that gets you through the tough moments.
Basically, I liked this story when I was 14 – I understand it now that I’m 30 and approaching my fifth year of marriage. And say what you will about JMS’s other stories, this one holds up. It is a compelling look at the honesty, earnestness, and commitment that goes into making a marriage work. At the compromise, effort, and give-and-take involved. And best of all, even though it’s an “anniversary” issue, it costs just $1.99.
