Is Marvel’s Most-Hated Relationship Actually Over For Good?

All-New Venom had a rough road ahead of it. Venom had become big business again in the mid to late ’10s thanks to writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman. Symbiotes were made obscenely popular because of their Venom, and events like Absolute Carnage and The King in Black. Cates left and since then Venom hasn’t been as popular, despite great talent like Al Ewing and Ram V writing the symbiote books. Ewing, along with artist Carlos Gomez, has taken Venom in a new direction in All-New Venom and was handed the hand grenade that is the relationship between Mary Jane Watson and Paul Rabin, a couple that wreaked havoc on Zeb Wells’s run on The Amazing Spider-Man. Ewing walked a tight rope; fans love him, but hate Paul. That’s why All-New Venom #9 is so important, because it finally ends that relationship.

All-New Venom #9 is a great read, even before you get to the part where Mary Jane finally breaks up with Paul. There’s some cool fight scenes and developments for the book’s plot, but the end of Paul and Mary Jane is going to be the focus because of fan’s virulent hatred of Paul. Honestly, it’s not just fans who hate Paul; All-New Venom artist Carlos Gomez hates Paul as well. So, this is a moment that fans are going to love. However, I think it might be too soon to celebrate. The Spider-Man editorial office has been keeping this relationship going despite the many, many complaints about it. I don’t believe that they’re going to suddenly give fans what they want and I don’t think you should either.

Spider-Man Fans Should Be Skeptical

“One More Day”, the story that retconned Mary Jane and Peter Parker’s marriage out of existence, has been hated for years and Marvel has always doubled, tripled, even quadrupled down on it. Now, Marvel editorial wanted to get rid of the marriage for ages, but fans liked it. It was great to see Marvel’s relatable sadsack actually win and get the girl. It gave people hope; if Spider-Man could do it, so could we. When Joe Quesada and Tom Brevoort ended the marriage, they didn’t care about what the fans wanted. The various Spider-Man editors since 2007 also haven’t cared. Writers like Dan Slott and Zeb Wells not only didn’t care, but they actively antagonized fans for years about it. They destroyed Mary Jane as a character, erasing all of the development that creators had done with her since her and Peter got together. Going further, Nick Lowe, in the letter pages of The Amazing Spider-Man, has talked about fans telling him they loved “One More Day”, one of the most hated comics of the 21st century, and that fans tell him they like Paul and Mary Jane. However, he never really gives any of proof of either of these things and it feels like Marvel is still pretty sold on the relationship that many online are vocally against.

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This break-up was actually leaked over the weekend before the book came out and fans were thrilled. However, given Marvel’s track record, I don’t think they’re going to give us what we want. The scene is actually kind of insulting to Mary Jane. Paul is played as someone who just wants to make it work, and Mary Jane shoots him down. From certain perspectives, Paul is the good guy here. In a lot of ways, this is just another example of Mary Jane character assassination. This story isn’t over yet. I fear that Marvel is going to try to use this narrative turn to build Paul into a sympathetic character, all to show him fighting for MJ and getting her back. I hope I’m wrong; Paul’s technology made Mary Jane into superhero with technology that’s now killing her, forcing her to bond with the Venom symbiote. Paul is not the good guy. At best, he’s a bad scientist. At worst, he’s an ignorant one foolishly putting someone he claims to love at risk when he should have known better. This feels more like a way to get sympathy for a character rather than fan service.

Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

The end of Paul and Mary Jane could be a corner turned. Marvel could rebuild Mary Jane as a character, and get rid of a character in Paul that we all hate. However, Marvel has has been committed to a certain path with MJ and Peter for years. Breaking up MJ and Paul, then working to bring them back together over the course of All-New Venom would fit that path. Celebrate now but be ready for Marvel to turn it back at you.

While seeing Paul get dumped was a great it was made to tell a story, and we aren’t at the end yet. Don’t get your hopes up about this whole situation. Marvel’s track record with giving Spider-Man fans what they want isn’t great, and this is likely not going to be any different.

All-New Venom #9 is on sale now.