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Go back through my own reviews of Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man and you’ll see that I also love Chat as Peter’s love interest. Paul Tobin and Jeff Parker both made this and Marvel Adventures: The Avengers (one of my favorite comic series ever) must read comics no matter what age group it was intended for. They tell good stories and why I don’t buy kids stories are supposedly inherently bad, as claimed by people who hate kids stories. It’s why I’d rather watch the Disney Junior Spidey show over reading the current comics. More on that tonight.
However, Chat only had one writer: Paul Tobin, and he clearly loved this character he was writing. Mary Jane Watson had numerous writers, some who outright hated the character and were trying to get rid of her. It took until Joe Quesada, an editor-in-chief who also hated her, to finally ruin her character and the Spider-Marriage. Go back and watch NerdSync’s video on why Mary Jane was so perfect they got rid of Gwen Stacy when MJ was originally intended to be a challenge to their relationship. Because nobody was fighting against Chat and don’t think the current writers wouldn’t ruin her out of this crazy idea that Peter’s “relatability” comes from being a loser with no long term love interest because of Spider-Man, she and Peter were able to better grow as a couple. Except that they’re teenagers and any concerns Mary Jane had was from an adult’s perspective. Adults feel less immortal and the thought of growing up without the love of her life bothered her. Under a good writer who doesn’t hate her, MJ is perfect. Would Chat survive a similar problem with a writer who hates her? We thankfully don’t know because Paul Tobin knows what the hell he’s doing with Spider-Man.
I love Chat despite reading these comics as an adult, but a properly written Mary Jane has proven herself better for Peter in the long run.
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