Spider-Man has always had girl troubles. From his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 to whatever movie Marvel is releasing this year, the wisecracking web-head has rarely been lucky when it comes to love. Oh, sure, he’s had girlfriends. He’s even been married. But each and every affair inevitably ended in disaster. Death, dumping, a Marvel mandated mind-wipe — the deeper the love, the more messed-up the break-up. But does Spider-Man allow any of that to dim his dream of true love? Hells no. Skip ahead a few issues, and a new gal walks through Spidey’s door (or flies past his window…or punches him in the face while fleeing the scene of a crime…) and his lower half’s spider-sense starts tingling once more. Oh, comics. Ah, l’amour!
Listed below are my five favorite Spider-Man love stories. Some are silly, some are somber. All of ‘em are all-caps ROMANTIC.
5. The Many Loves of the Amazing Spider-Man
The Many Loves is an over-sized issue containing four short stories, each centered around a different one of Spidey’s classic loves: Black cat, Carlie, Gwen, and Mary Jane. The highlight for me is My Compliments to the Chef, Spidey and Black Cat’s funny and flirtatious extended chase sequence across the rooftops of NYC. Written by the always impressive Chris Yost, this is a modern-day superhero comic scripted like a 1940s screwball comedy. Exhilarating stuff.
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4. Spider-Man: Mary Jane and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
Two separate series that told one long story: The rise of Spider-Man as seen through the eyes of a teenage Mary Jane Watson. In all honesty, these comics shouldn’t have worked. Marvel only green-lit them in an attempt to make some money off of the manga boom of the early 00s. But what writer Sean McKeever and artist Takeshi Miyazawa delivered was a surprisingly smart, nuanced and PRETTY teen soap opera. It’s a K-Drama set in the Marvel U, a shojo Spider-Man and the best superhero story John Hughes never wrote.
Click here to buy Spider-Man: Mary Jane and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane from Amazon
3. Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 - ‘The Wedding’
This pick probably seems a little too obvious until you realize how much I DREADED reading this issue. Advertised ad nauseam for months in advance, The Wedding seemed to me like nothing more than a cheap comics cash-in and the end of a wonderful will they/won’t they romance. And it was! But it was also a surprisingly ‘adult’ read for the 13-year-old me, providing a garishly colored glimpse at what it would eventually feel like to pull the trigger on a committed relationship. Inner and outer monologues abound as Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson endlessly ask themselves whether or not they actually even want to get married before finally showing up — late! — to the alter. Silent self-sabotage? Second-guessing happiness? Sounds like love to me.
Click here to buy Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 from Amazon
2. Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #11 ‘Open All Night’
It’s a Darwyn Cooke book, so you KNOW it’s fun to look at. But the story? The story is a delight as well. Set on Valentine’s Day, the basic plot is this: Spider-Man lays half-unconscious in an alley attempting to summon the strength to get up and get ready for his date. No, make that DATES — plural. Peter Parker has accidentally double-booked himself for Valentine’s Day! Back at the Daily Bugle, the two ladies Parker has left hanging realize that they’re both waiting on the same guy, and begin a delightful verbal joust straight out of a Howard Hawks comedy. Add in a sub-plot involving the Bugle’s lovelorn coffee boy, and you’ve got the makings of an A+ Altman-esque superhero stunner.
Click here to buy Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #11 from Amazon
1. Amazing Spider-Man #88-92, 121-122 ‘The Death of Gwen Stacy’
Death? Romantic?! You’re goddamned right. This is the superhero equivalent of Romeo & Juliet. Hell, you could probably make an argument for it being MORE romantic than Shakespeare’s teeny-bobber rom-com, what with Spider-Man fans having invested YEARS in Peter and Gwen’s romance, where R&J‘s audience only lived with them for a couple of hours. (I wouldn’t, but you could.) That said, even if this is the FIRST Spider-Man story you read, you’ll still be touched by book’s unabashed emotion, amplified drama and tear-jerker tragedy. HEARTBREAKING.
(Bonus points for those GORGEOUS Gil Kane issues!)
Click here to purchase Spider-Man: The Death of the Stacys from Amazon
