There is perhaps no greater household name in the world of comics than Marvel Comics’ former writer, editor, and publisher, Stan Lee. Along with other big creators like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Stan helped revitalize the Marvel brand during the 1960s and, with the creation of iconic heroes, made it the global powerhouse it is today. Of course, none of Stan’s heroes is more beloved and popular than Spider-Man. Despite this, Spider-Man’s comics’ quality over the past couple of decades has waned, in large part because of the controversial story “One More Day” when the Web-Head sold his marriage to Mary Jane to Mephisto. However, on May 24, 2009, none other than Stan Lee himself undid this terrible mistake in the most unexpected place: a newspaper comic strip.
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Spider-Man is a superhero who exists beyond comic books. Along with movies, TV shows, video games, and even a Broadway musical, the Spider-Man brand has had a significant presence in the world of comic strips. The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip, written by Stan Lee and several ghostwriters, ran from 1977 to 2019 and told non-canonical tales of the Web-Head balancing his superhero and civilian lives. Story arcs would often take anywhere between eight and twelve weeks to complete. And despite now being forgotten by most people, The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip had an undeniable impact on the Spider-Man brand, even criticizing canonical Spider-Man storylines when they went off the rails.
Spider-Man Owes His Marriage to a Newspaper Comic Strip
One of the most important turning points in Spider-Man comics was when he finally married the love of his life, Mary Jane Watson. In 1987, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 the Wall-Crawler and MJ officially tied the knot and had one of the most iconic marriages in comic book history. This was an event that was decades in the making and led to one of the best eras in the characters’ run. For 20 years, fans loved Spider-Man and MJ’s wedded dynamic, as it was filled with heart and drama. Ironically, despite this era’s success, many Marvel writers hated it because they felt they were being pushed into a creative corner. However, one writer who was all for it and set it into motion was Stan Lee himself.
At the time, Stan Lee had stopped writing canon comics for Marvel and had primarily become its figurehead. Stan focused most of his attention on The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip, which proved very successful. Even if he wasn’t officially in charge of Marvel Comics, he still had a lot of sway in creative decisions. Stan eventually convinced editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco that having Spider-Man be married added more depth and responsibility to his character. When it was decided that Spider-Man would marry MJ, Stan brought his comic strip into the creative process. Through extensive narrative restructuring across both the comic books and the strips, Marvel successfully had Spider-Man and MJ’s marriage occur nearly simultaneously.
Stan Lee clearly wanted to explore the marriage of Spider-Man and Mary Jane in his newspaper comic strip, and he took it a step further by convincing the new heads of Marvel to implement it into the official canon. With MJ becoming Spider-Man’s wife, the hero had someone he could always count on to ground him and help him grow. Mj began to grow as a character as well. The newspaper strip, like the main comic books, became much more focused on soap-opera drama, which readers loved. With a hero who’s constantly been given a crummy hand in life, it was a breath of fresh air to see him finally get hitched while keeping room for exciting and nuanced storylines. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
Stan Lee’s Comic Strip Saved Spider-Man’s Marriage
Spider-Man and MJ’s marriage was one of the most successful eras for the character. Despite this, in 2009, Marvel executives decided to undo all this progression with “One More Day,” arguably the worst comic storyline of all time. When Spider-Man revealed his identity to the world, Aunt May was shot by an assassin. To save Aunt May, Spider-Man gave up his marriage to Mary Jane to Mephisto, making it so the pair never had a wedded life. Fans were understandably furious that such a disastrous and poorly written retcon occurred. Luckily, Stan Lee and his The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip came up with a vastly superior alternative that fundamentally proved that the core of the “One More Day” concept was misguided.
Initially, The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip followed suit with Marvel Comics’ executive decision. On January 1st, 2009, Stan Lee’s newspaper strip announced that it would emulate the main universe comics by “going back to Spider-Man’s roots.” But instead of a retcon, the strip simply rewound time to when he was living with Aunt May and in college. Yet, unlike Marvel editorial, Stan and ghostwriter Roy Thomas acknowledged and agreed with fans’ complaints and, only five months later, restored what had been lost. On May 24, 2009, a comic strip was published of Peter waking up on Aunt May’s couch after having a dream about fighting Electro. However, Peter finds himself suddenly waking up again to find himself once again happily married to Mary Jane.
That’s right, The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip literally erased “One More Day” with an “it was all a dream” retcon. What followed were ten more years of fun and dramatic comic strips that remained successful because they understood something many Marvel writers and editors had forgotten. “One More Day” was done because the heads at Marvel believed that Spider-Man was only “relatable” when he was suffering and alone. This mindset has rotted the Spider-Man brand, turning the Web-Head into a miserable figure, with no semblance of levity or development. In contrast, the comic strip recognized that what made Spider-Man relatable was his continuous maturation and evolution, and that getting married was part of his journey to growing up.
Regarding the main Marvel continuity, the idea of making the last 20 years of storytelling into a bad dream is, of course, ridiculous and would be hypocritical given the damage “One More Day” did. Still, The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip’s retcon of the storyline was an important event that showed why “One More Day” shouldn’t have happened in the first place. The comic strip demonstrated that there were still plenty of stories left to tell regarding the highs and lows of Spider-Man and Mary Jane’s marriage, leading to more natural character growth. To disregard all that development in favor of repetitive, miserable Spider-Man storylines was a significant disservice to both the character and the countless readers of his comics.
Stan Lee will always remain a pioneer of the comic book industry, helping make Spider-Man the worldwide phenomenon he is today. And while Stan certainly put Spider-Man through the wringer, he also provided the hero one of the happiest times of his publication history. And even when those times were stripped away from Spider-Man, Stan still managed to find a way to let the Web-Head have some semblance of a happy ending. Stan’s actions show that he understood that being relatable and human wasn’t about being miserable, but about evolving and growing with the people you love.
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