Deron Generally
Deron Generally
The Amazing Spider-Man #25
Marvel Comics
Written by Zeb Wells
Art by Kaare Andrews and John Romita Jr
Inks by Kaare Andrews and Scott Hanna
Colors by Marcio Menyz
Letters by Joe Caramagna
The Rundown: Mary Jane’s time in the parallel Earth is explored as she waits for rescue.
After sending Peter back to Earth, Mary Jane and Paul repair the facility they were attack in while Mary Jane waits for Peter to return. As the days and months pass for her, she and Paul decide to leave and venture out into the world to find shelter and safety. At the same time, Rabin has convinced himself that killing Mary Jane is the key to his godhood.
As they make their way through the world, MJ and Paul discover two kids who have been hiding away during the devastation and take them in. As they grow into a family, Rabin’s return will force them to confront him and Peter’s appearance will change everything.
The Story: Wells decides to give the reader a look at MJ’s life in the parallel universe she trapped herself in when she sent Peter back and it was not only unimpressive, but actually insulting to fans of the characters. What the story would have us believe is that MJ, faced with the prospect of not returning home, decides to abandon her hope in Peter to save her and move on with her life by getting into a relationship based solely on trauma bonding with Paul (Side note, I cannot be the only one who rolled my eyes at the “Peter, Paul and Mary” thing.). It completely changes the nature of the character and her dynamic with Peter. With every trauma the pair have been through together, according to the logic of this arc, Peter and MJ should have been married with a dozen kids by now.
A part of me understands what Wells is trying to do with this arc, but the execution of it feels shoddy at best. If the goal is to heap more trauma onto Peter Parker, he succeeded. If it was to make Mary Jane an unsympathetic character that fans don’t like, he succeeded in that as well. Unfortunately, there’s nothing else in this story that works and the irony of having a character who has faced countless traumas with one person to then suddenly trauma bond with another is both annoying and insulting.
The Art: Andrews and Romita Jr deliver lively and impressive art in a story that otherwise would have been unreadable without it.
The Amazing Spider-Man #25
