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The spectacular entanglement of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson
Even the strongest among us need support. People who are in their corner who can dish out valid criticisms rooted in sincere love, be there as a listening ear, or be that stress reliever who can give it as good as they can take it. An isolated life isn't necessarily ideal for everyone — for some superheroes it might be, or so it appears — but amazing things can happen when that isn't the case. There is always strength to be found in love. Sometimes it's more potent than the strength forged in despair.
Once upon a time, before things got weird between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, their married life was pretty good — maybe even relationship goals amongst Marvel universe couples. It was full of mutual emotional labor and lots of canonical kinks. For a time, Peter Parker was on the receiving end of some MJ WAP, and we're not talking fight sound effects. This short period of "normalcy" between these two imperfect individuals arguably added more to both The Amazing Spider-Man and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man series, bringing more character depth to both Mary Jane and Peter Parker. Things don't always have to be full of high-stakes drama at home and in the streets to make a relationship compelling in a superhero comic.
Before we get into the special edition Spidey mack truck parking in a little Mary Jane-owned garage, let's talk about the mutual support between the two. After all, intimacy comes in several forms, communication being one of them. As cliche as it may sound, communication truly is critical, especially when one of you is a whole superhero. Lack of communication between Peter and Mary Jane was one of the most prominent strains on their friendship well before Peter asked Mary Jane to marry him. They were both terrible at honestly expressing to one another what they were feeling. It wasn't until they got out of their own way that things greatly improved.
Shortly after Peter decides to rededicate his life to being the best Spider-Man he can be, he visits Mary Jane to voice how he still feels like something is a miss. She encourages him to interrogate those feelings and look at it as a Peter Parker problem more so than a Spider-Man problem. Mary Jane even suggests that he see Aunt May, understanding that May holds a great significance in Peter's life, so she may be able to help him in ways Mary Jane can't. The bottom line for Mary Jane was that Peter got the help he needed, even if it didn't come from her. What she does is ideally what should happen when you genuinely care for the well-being of someone you love. No matter what, even if it doesn't involve you, knowing that the end goal is to help your loved one, or direct them to someone or something that can, is what is most important. It's an act of selfless love. It's also the beginning of not only Mary Jane putting Peter's needs before hers but Peter following her lead by doing the same in return.
This is apparent when Mary Jane asks Peter to come to Pittsburgh to lend his ear and support as she deals with a significant family situation. Mary Jane is as prideful as they get, so for her to reach out to him in her time of need instead of trying to deal with it by herself is a huge deal. They both have substantial individual moments in this storyline. Peter hops on a plane to Pittsburgh instead of staying in NY to deal with the villain Spider-Slayer. He comes to an understanding that his responsibilities as Peter Parker to those he loves dearly are just as important, if not more important than his duties as Spider-Man. On the plane ride to Pittsburgh, Peter reconciles his feelings by reminding himself that New York City has police officers, firemen, and paramedics to handle situations. For Peter's loved ones, they have him.
Peter's action is significant because too many times in other relationships in which one or both individuals are superheroes, the needs of their partners get placed on the back burner for the greater good. A noble act at surface value, but if you can't even be there for the ones who love you, how much good are you doing in the world? Additionally, Peter keeps what Spider-Man would do out of the conversation when it comes down to helping Mary Jane decide if she should help her estranged sister or absentee father. He respects Mary Jane's ability to do what is best for her and her family, regardless of whether or not it's how Spider-Man would have handled it.
Their compromise isn't just all Peter forgoing his duties as Spider-Man for Mary Jane either. Once they get married, there is a lot of mutual compromises made to help make their relationship as happy and healthy as possible. They both understand that it's vital that their marriage is truly a haven from the outside world, not just for Peter because he's Spider-Man but for Mary Jane as well. She has plenty of moments when Peter comes to her about needing to do something as Spider-Man or Mary Jane outright telling Peter to handle his Spidey business because she respects his commitment to being a hero. And it's not all Mary Jane being Peter's cheerleader; he picks up the poms for her as well. Even checking his pride in full support of the modeling and acting career, knowing that it's what's supporting them. There is a lot of give and take between the two, but they manage to balance as best they can.
Sometimes fulfilling those sexual needs works just as well as talking about what's bothering them, or at least for Mary Jane and Peter Parker, it seems to have had enormous positive effects. Finally, we've arrived at the WAP — web-slinging all panties — portion of the Parker marriage, which is just as mutually rewarding. What good is all that great power if you don't use it responsibly when it comes to spicing things up in your love life? Both Peter and MJ take full advantage of him being Spider-Man. If the Parkers don't do anything else, they're going to get into some roleplay. Before Venom ruined things for the couple, the black Spider-Man costume put in some serious work.
Spider-Man isn't always involved in their roleplay. There is the one time Peter went full Magic Mike in hopes of cheering Mary Jane up. He served both dinner and a couple of web shots that night. They also take advantage of Peter's photography skills and Mary Jane's modeling prowess. The Parkers got into some private OnlyFans sessions and had it existed then, it would have been an excellent way for them to pay the bills. The most intimate moments between them are made sweeter because the trust and communication are so clearly there between the two.
Things today are no longer anywhere close between the two. However, when these characters were allowed to exist as two mutually imperfect individuals growing together as they moved forward, there was a great power and an even great responsibility that came from it.
