Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s biggest names, and for good reason. He boasts incredible stories, memorable powers, and iconic powers, but what really sets Spider-Man apart from other heroes and helped him become the juggernaut that he is today is his incomparable cast of characters. Beyond just Spider-Man himself, Aunt May, Mary Jane, Harry Osborn, J. Jonah Jameson, and many more work together to create a truly fleshed-out cast who each bring something different to the table and expand Peter’s world. Friends become enemies and back again, and loved ones go through life-altering events that provide more of an emotional arc than even the central conflict. Spider-Man’s cast is truly incredible.
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However, despite how important the soap-opera style that put Spider-Man on the map and defined his earliest stories, most comics nowadays have no idea what to do with Spidey’s core cast of characters. Almost all of Spider-Man’s biggest names are trapped in this strange limbo where Marvel seems unwilling to either commit to moving them forward or keeping things exactly the same, which drags all of them down. Today, we’re going to look at five of Spider-Man’s characters who are suffering because Marvel can’t figure out what to do with them, and examine exactly what these characters need.
5) Ben Reilly
Ben Reilly is the poster child for everything Marvel is doing wrong with Spider-Man. He dramatically died way back at the end of the Clone Saga, having served his narrative purpose. However, Marvel resurrected him in the “Dead No More” storyline, and you can feel how much they regret it every time Ben appears. Marvel clearly has no idea what they want to do with Ben, and you can tell from how they flip-flop his character at every given opportunity. He was a villain, then a hero, then a villain again, and now is kind of an anti-hero, but is mostly a jerk. He hardly asks like the Ben Reilly fans know and love, and is constantly put at odds with Peter for nothing more than cheap drama.
What Ben needs is to finally put his tumultuous feud with Peter to bed and become a genuine hero again. If Marvel doesn’t want a third Spider-Man running around, especially a literal clone of Peter, that’s understandable, but he doesn’t need to be Spider-Man. Heck, he doesn’t even need to be Scarlet Spider again, since Kaine is using that name. All Ben needs is his own space to be a spider-related hero and grow his own life. He has a partner who will stick with him through thick and thin and the potential for great stories about forging his own identity. He needs his own space, first and foremost. Probably best if it’s not in NYC, too.
4) J. Jonah Jameson
Jonah is one of Spider-Man’s oldest characters, known the world over as the greatest hater one could ask for. His place in the mythos has always been as Spider-Man’s number one detractor, but also as one of Peter’s best allies. Yes, he’s a crabby, cheap, egotistical jerk who mostly talks in screams, but he’s also a man of deep integrity. He’s willing to fight for those in need every day of the week, even while he spends his free time funding villains to kill Spider-Man. He’s a wonderfully complex, complicated character, and his turn to being Spidey’s biggest supporter after learning his identity was awesome.
The biggest problem with Jonah now is that he’s hardly in any of Spider-Man’s comics. He hasn’t been a prominent character in the mainline comic for nearly six years at this point. For a character who used to appear in almost every issue, or at least every other issue, this is insane. Jonah is still insanely popular and beloved, but frankly, he needs to appear more. He needs to still be a grouchy old man, for sure, but he has to be given the platform to massively influence Spidey and his stories once again.
3) Aunt May
Speaking of characters who used to define Spider-Man’s stories but now have only a shadow of their former relevance, let’s talk about Aunt May. Back in the day, she used to be Peter’s ultimate connection to a normal life. She was the person he protected his identity for, and someone who was always taking care of Peter as much as he fought to take care of her. Their mutual desire to help the other was the basis for countless stories filled to the brim with emotional heart-to-hearts. It’s no wonder that Marvel wants to keep Aunt May around, but after they erased Peter and MJ’s marriage to do so, they dropped the ball in every way.
In modern stories, Aunt May hardly feels like a character, or a woman living her own life. Instead, she’s a plot device to make Peter feel bad about neglecting his responsibilities. Outside of Joe Kelly’s current run, Aunt May has failed to have a meaningful impact on Spider-Man’s stories for years. What she needs is one of two things. Either she takes a bigger place in Spidey’s stories as a mother figure who is directly impacting how he lives, or she dies. That might seem harsh, but with how little Aunt May has done over the last few years and how much his stories stand to gain from letting Aunt May finally rest, it could be for the best for her to disappear and become a symbol in a realistic, important way.
2) Mary Jane
MJ is potentially the second most important character in Spider-Man’s comics, besides Peter himself. She started as nothing more than a partygirl who chased thrills and was terrified of letting people in, but after Gwen died, she chose to stand by Peter and comfort him. From there, the two started one of the best loves in comics. Of course, that was wiped away in “One More Day,” and editorial is doing everything it can to keep the two apart. Currently, MJ is bonded with Venom, but that relationship is soon coming to an end, and MJ is set on becoming a producer.
This is a step in the right direction, as MJ loses so much of what makes her unique if she becomes a hero, but it’s not enough. Whether she’s with him or not, MJ has to be a prominent figure in Peter’s life. She brings a necessary balancing act to Peter’s life and a worldview that perfectly complements his. She needs to be present and important to the main Spider-Man story. This would do leaps and bounds to reconnect MJ with the fans and heal the growing divide between how Marvel has used her and what she is supposed to be.
1) Spider-Man
Peter Parker is the character that these comics revolve around, and one of the most popular superheroes to ever put on tights. He’s always been a man who struggled to balance his normal life and the responsibility his powers afford him. If anything, Peter constantly hovers over the edge of throwing out his web-shooters, but he always comes around to accepting his life and doing what he can. He’s an inspiration like no other, embodying the ideals of determination and heroism against all odds. Also, as it would turn out, he’s Marvel’s favorite punching bag.
Peter is stuck in a constant cycle of rebuilding his life after it falls apart. He’s practically tortured for existing, only to rise above it, only for the torture to redouble for no thematic purpose we haven’t seen a thousand times. Peter needs to be allowed to escape the limbo of lack of advancement and grow. He needs a stable job, friends who aren’t constantly disappointed in him, and a chance to finally not hate himself. His life shouldn’t be perfect by any means, but Spider-Man needs to be relatable again, because there’s nothing fans want to relate to about constant agony for no reason.
Spider-Man and his extended cast are fantastic, but they certainly need a little help. What new directions would you give these characters?
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