Spider-Man’s Worst Character Isn’t Bad (And That’s Why He’s a Problem)

The Amazing Spider-Man comics have had a Paul-sized problem for a while. For those unaware of who Paul is, he’s a recent addition to the Spider-Man supporting cast. He’s a very unassuming man with his defining visual hook being his glasses. Spider-Man fans have been angry with Paul since the character’s first appearance in Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr.’s The Amazing Spider-Man #1 for one specific reason – he began dating Mary Jane Watson. It’s one of the most gut-punching moments in Spider-Man comics, especially on the heels of Nick Spencer’s run on Amazing Spider-Man. Spencer spent his entire run re-establishing Peter and Mary Jane as a couple, exhibiting why the two belong with each other.

Since Marvel editorial retcon Peter’s and MJ’s marriage out of history with One More Day, fans have had a tumultuous relationship with the main title. Incorporating Paul as another obstacle for why Peter and MJ shouldn’t be together felt cruel. Nonetheless, the biggest problem with Paul isn’t that he is a bad person or even a bad character. In fact, the character has been helpful to Peter and his superhero career. But that’s where the issue stems, Paul isn’t unlikable enough to be a proper romantic enemy for Peter to overcome. Readers are meant to like Paul, at least in some way, and it hasn’t worked.

The Not-So-Secret Origins of The Amazing Paul

Fans have been suspicious of Paul from the get-go. The situation between him and MJ was weird from minute one, especially with the revelation that they already had children together. Yet even early on, Wells establishes Paul as a decent person, paying off some of Peter’s debt to get a collector off his back. He has also been patient with many of Peter’s outbursts and presents himself as a loving partner to MJ. While many fans initially speculated Paul’s persona was a trick, there’s nothing devious behind Paul’s facade. The only major secret from his backstory is that he’s the alternate-dimensional son of the supervillain the Emissary, a mathematician who gains powers from Mayan gods.

He and MJ bonded in an alternate dimension where time moved faster, explaining why they developed a deep bond during MJ and Peter’s brief separation. There’s no reason to dislike Paul, except every fan actively does. People see the character only existing to ensure Peter and MJ can’t be together. Their relationship has always been controversial among editors working on Spider-Man comics, which is why the marriage was dissolved via magic in One More Day. After being established as a good couple again in Spencer’s run, Paul was added to break them up.

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Paul Should be A Rival to Spider-Man, Not an Ally

Despite the hatred spewed against Paul and the editorial’s candid ploy to prevent MJ and Peter from being together, there can be good stories about Paul. Romantic rivalries have always been a good source of drama; there’s nothing more cathartic than a protagonist overcoming a rival and proving their worth to the person they care about the most. This trope works especially well if the rival is someone the audience is actively rooting against. The rival doesn’t need to be the most despicable person in the world, they just need to be the right foil against the protagonist.

That is what Paul should’ve been; a more antagonist side-character that readers should intentionally root against. We should be upset for Peter as he didn’t deserve to get his heart destroyed the way he did in the story. Paul had no right to suddenly show up in the story and usurp Peter’s life as he did. Fans and readers have every right to be upset with the character the same way Peter is. Wells and editors should’ve leaned more into making Paul a heel, a person audiences would actively want to get his comeuppance. Rather than help Peter in certain moments, Paul should sabotage him. Paul could still be a great partner to MJ but only to emphasize how much he took away from Peter.

Fans Hate Paul Because He is a Non-Entity

Unfortunately, that is not what Wells and the editors did with Paul. He is not a bad person at all, he’s even heroic in certain scenes. He fought off the Emissory for years in the alternate dimensions. Paul and Peter have plenty of conflict with each other, yet mostly in ways that make Peter seem the more irrational one. He isn’t secretly evil (at least not yet), he isn’t a bad parent, he doesn’t have an ulterior motive, and he’s been supportive of Mary Jane’s recent career as a superhero. He is by all definitions an upstanding citizen and that is what is driving fans crazy. Readers want someone to root against, someone to be angry alongside Peter. Instead, fans are left with Paul, with the message seemingly being that Peter should let go of MJ and move on, a message fans can’t accept.

Lead Spider-Man editor Nick Lowe has expressed apathy towards the Peter and MJ relationship, claiming the editorial staff has “moved on” from the marriage. Many fans couldn’t be more opposite, with many vocally expressing their adoration of the relationship and marriage since One More Day in 2007. Paul represents the editorial’s constant mandate to drive Peter and MJ away, which is why fans could never accept Paul. It would be easier to tolerate Paul as an antagonistic force, as a person we actively want to see Peter overcome and succeed, but that isn’t the story the staff wants to tell. Rather than make Paul someone to hate they instead made him a nobody, a nonentity. Plenty of fans’ outcries are unwarranted, chiefly from the recent toxic behavior within the Spider-Man comics fandom. Nevertheless, plenty of fair criticism towards Paul exists, and the comics would be better if he pulled a Poochie and returned to his people.

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