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SM Dual WeddingCovers
The Wedding
Universe: Earth-616

Created by:

David Michelinie
John Romita, Jr.

Main Heroes:

Spider-Man
Mary Jane Watson

Main Villains:

Alistaire Smythe
Electro
Philip Watson

"I now pronounce you husband and wife!!"
— Spencer Watson


"The Wedding!" was a story arc from the Amazing Spider-Man series that was published by Marvel Comics from April 1987 - June 1987.

The storyline focus on the events that lead to the engagement and subsequent marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson.

Publication History[]

Wanting to increase interest in the storyline as much as possible, Marvel came up with various ways to promote the story.

Firstly, Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man and the then writer of the Amazing Spider-Man newspaper comic strip, came up with the idea of having the having the characters get married in both the newspaper strip and the comic book at the same time. He later recounted in an interview to Alter Ego magazine that synching the two storylines up was one of the most difficult things he's ever done due to the vastly different production schedules between the two mediums.

I caught Spider-Man's wedding

Commorative bag given out to those who attended the live performance.

Secondly, Marvel's then promotion director Steve Saffel came up with the idea of having famous fashion designer Willi Smith create the design for Mary Jane's dress. The newspaper strip version of the wedding was dedicated to Willi Smith, due to his death following his completion of the dress design.

Lastly, a live adaptation of the wedding ceremony was performed at Shea Stadium the week before the storyline's penultimate issue was published with Tara Shannon playing the part of Mary Jane Watson and Stan Lee officiating the ceremony.

Plot[]

The Big Question[]

After Flash Thompson helped reignite Peter's desire to fight crime as Spider-Man and an encounter with the Preserver, Peter began to question what kind of person he was. After talking to Mary Jane and his Aunt May about his worries, Peter decides to examine the room he grew up in at his childhood home in order to reconnect with the person he used to be back in High School.

During his trip down memory lane, Peter discovers that his microscope is missing. Remembering how important the microscope was to during his early scientific pursuits, Peter decides to go and find the microscope and ends up foiling an attempted robbery in the process. After recovering the microscope, Peter began to remember all the things he wanted out of life when he was younger and decides it is time to take his life in a new direction.

That night Peter rushes to Mary Jane's apartment and initially having difficulty getting Mary Jane to stop and listen to what he had to say, Peter was finally able to be Mary Jane to stop long enough to ask a very important question: Will she marry him?

The Dark Journey[]

After surprising Mary Jane with his desire to take their relationship to the next level, Mary Jane initially rejected Peter's offer of marriage, but then quickly changes her answer to an "I don't know". Peter asks her if the reason she isn't sure about getting married is because of the fact that he is Spider-Man, but responds by saying that the reason she doesn't want to get married is because they are "just friends". Peter points out that they are more then "just friends" and he recent soul searching has helped him to realize that he wants to marry her.

Not sure of her feelings for Peter, Mary Jane changes the subject by explaining that the reason it was so difficult for Peter to get her attention earlier was because she had to rush to Pittsburg to visit her estranged sister Gayle. Peter is surprised by this given that fact that the last time Mary Jane and Gayle saw each other her sister told her that she never wanted to see Mary Jane again. Mary Jane by telling Peter that it is "girl stuff" that he wouldn't understand, but Peter can tell that something is bothering her, but decides to drop the subject and helps her to her cab.

Once arriving in Pittsburgh, Mary Jane soon discovers that her sister has been incarcerated and rushes to the county jail to help her sister. Unfortunately, Gayle is less then pleased to see her sister and rejects her offer of help citing that the last time she needed her sister's help she abandoned her when she needed Mary Jane the most. While Mary Jane acts like that she is fine with her sister rejecting her offer of help, but breaks down into tears once she leaves the jail. Following her failed attempt to help her sister, Mary Jane encounters a person she had never expended to see again, her father Philip Watson.

Following a near deadly encounter with the recently returned Alistare Smythe and his newest Spider-Slayer, Peter returns home, but rather then worry about his recently returned foe he finds that all he can think about is if Mary Jane is okay. While trying to distract himself by watching television, Peter gets a call from Mary Jane asking him to come to Pittsburg immediately while also admitting that she reciprocates feelings for her. While initially conflicted over whether to focus on stopping Smythe's newest plot to destroy him or rushing to Mary Jane's aid, Peter eventually decides to go help the women he loves rationalizing that the city's various law enforcement agencies can handle Smythe till he gets back.

Unbeknownst to Peter, Smythe has learned where he is going and is intent on following Spider-Man to Pittsburg in order to continue his vendetta against him.

Growing Pains[]

After arriving in Pittsburgh, Peter rushes to Gayle's house where Mary Jane is staying and is surprised to see Mary Jane's father Philip there with her given their sordid history with each other. An argument quickly ensues between the three when Philip insists that Mary Jane call him dad with Mary Jane adamantly refusing to call him that citing the fact he abandoned his family resulting in Mary Jane storming out with Peter in tow.

After leaving her sister's house, Mary Jane reveals that she needs to tell Peter something important with Peter more then eager to listen. Mary Jane starts by recounting to Peter how her father left her mother, and in turn, she left her sister Gayle after their mother had died. She then tells Peter that in the time following her father's abandonment of his wife and children, Philip's academic standing eroded resulting in him trying to illegally sell rare manuscripts to private collectors in order to get by. He had recently set his sights on the Tavistock Paper, a monograph written by Benjamin Franklin which was on lone to Duquesne University. After finding out that his daughter Gayle worked at the university the Tavistock Paper was currently on display at, Philip approached her and convinced her to steal the paper for him. Gayle hid the paper intending to sneak it out of the university after work, but she was caught on camera stealing the paper and was subsequently arrested. Mary Jane then revealed that after she visited her sister in jail, her father approached her in order to learn if Gayle had told Mary Jane where she hid the paper. Once she told him that Gayle never told her the location of the paper, Philip begged Mary Jane to help him find out where he sister hid it stating that he would her or Gayle again if she helped him find it while also citing that it would help get Gayle out of jail due to lack of evidence.

Puzzled as to why Gayle would help her father given the fact he abandoned her as a child, Mary Jane explains that blood ties are hard to break, and she figures that Gayle did it to come to terms with her feelings toward their father. While Peter agrees that making a sacrifice for ones family is a noble idea, he also believes that such sacrifices mean nothing if done for the wrong reasons citing that Philip only cares about his family now because he has a use for them. However, he tells her that he will support her in whatever decision she makes regarding her father. She is grateful that Peter is there for him and that she loves him resulting in the two sharing a passionate kiss.

Following their conversation, Peter and Mary Jane return to Gayle's house to confront Philip. Expecting Mary Jane to refuse Philip's offer she surprises Peter by agreeing to help him.

Later, Peter and Mary Jane visit Gayle at the jail to try and convince her to tell then where she hid the paper. Unfortunately, Gayle is still bitter over how Mary Jane left her to struggle on her own following the death of their mother. Frustrated that her sister still refuses to hear her out, Mary Jane leaves. Peter then tries to take a shot at getting through to Gayle, telling her that Mary Jane only wants to help. He explains that they are trying to find the stolen paper so Gayle can be freed. While Gayle is still reluctant to trust her sister, Peter continues by telling her not to let her father ruin the lives of her children like she has done with her and Mary Jane. He drives home the point by asking her who will take care of Kevin and Tommy if Gayle is sent to prison. Gayle to put up a tough front, but Peter finally breaks through and convinces her to help.

Following Gayle's instructions, Peter and Mary Jane find the Tavistock Paper hidden in an old sensory deprivation tank in the basement of the university. Suddenly, Smythe's Spider-Slayer comes crashing through the wall. Running for cover, Peter uses his Web-Shooters to take out the lights and tells Mary Jane to try and get away. However, Smythe catches her in the Spider-Slayer's spotlight and recognizes her as the woman he once thought was Spider-Man.

This creates enough of a distraction for Peter to change into his Spider-Man costume and face Smythe himself. In order to try and minimize casualties and collateral damage, Spider-Man then lures the Spider-Slayer outside and tries to head to the suburbs where nobody can get hurt. However, as he crosses one of the bridges, Smythe rips out the girder from under Spider-Man, coils him up in one of the Spider-Slayer's arms and attempts to drown him in the river below. By this time, Mary Jane has followed the chase in her car and rams into one of the Spider-Slayer's legs. This allows Spider-Man to break free and come up for air before he can drown. Spider-Man tries to lure Smythe up Mount Washington, but discovers that it is a densely populated area. Before he can turn back, the Spider-Slayer attacks him again with ethyl chloride, a chemical toxic to Spiders and those with Spider based powers. Mary Jane try's to help by borrowing a baseball bat from a nearby child and uses it to attack the giant robot. Angered by the interruption, Smythe turns his attentions to Mary Jane. However, before he can kill her, Spider-Man shakes off the effects of the gas and jump kicks the Spider-Slayer from behind. The wall-crawler then furiously rips the Spider-Slayer apart to get at Alistaire. Before he can harm his foe, Spider-Man remembers Mary Jane and tosses Smythe aside and checks to see if Mary Jane is safe. Spider-Man then turns to Smythe and warns him against coming after Mary Jane or any other innocent person again.

With the threat over, the pair soon return to Gayle's house to turn over the manuscript to Philip. However, Peter has decided that he can't let Mary Jane's father get away with stealing the manuscript and decides to tag him with a Spider-Tracer so he can arrest him later. This proves to be unnecessary as however as Mary Jane reveals that she never intended to give her father the manuscript and was only pretending to give it to him in order to get a confession out of him for the police who have arrived to arrest him. As her father is being taken away, Mary Jane confides in Peter that seeing him risking his life against the Spider-Slayer helped her find a courage she didn't know she had. This causes both of them to realize that the two of them make the perfect couple as they bring out the best in each other. Two days later, Gayle is released from jail and reunited with her children. She thanks Mary Jane and Peter for their help and they make their goodbyes. Later, on their way back to New York, Mary Jane comes to realize after she needs to stop running away from the people she cares about and tells Peter that she accepts his marriage proposal.

The Big Day[]

After defeating Electro, Peter Parker returns home, to find Mary Jane in the process of moving in. Mary Jane leaves for a photo shoot, leaving Peter to ponder how he will be able to provide for both him and Mary Jane.

Peter takes his photos of Spider-Man defeating Electro to the Daily Bugle and is surprised by the staff with a party in honor of his upcoming wedding to Mary Jane. J. Jonah Jameson arrives, clearly irritated, and starts to complain about why they are hosting a party when they are supposed to be working.

Peter is barely able to sleep that night, thinking about his impending wedding. The next day he meets Mary Jane. He leaps to the ceiling and goes down to one knee, asking her to marry him once again. "I hate cleaning footprints off the ceiling," she responds with a smile. They both eat, but can't help shake their worries about the wedding. Mary Jane leaves for a meeting, where her old boyfriend presents her with two tickets to Paris, that she can only take if she skips the wedding. Peter goes to Aunt May's house, and goes through a scrap book, remembering his most prominent times with Mary Jane. Mary Jane and her aunt arrive, and they announce the upcoming marriage to their family. She leaves in a Ferrari with her ex-boyfriend, and Peter takes the subway home. Both are starting to have second thoughts about their marriage. When they meet up again that night, Spider-Man takes Mary Jane out web-slinging to clear their heads.

The next day, Peter's best man, Flash Thompson, and his best friend, Harry Osborn, take Peter out for a bachelor party, but he's beginning to show his true feelings about the wedding. They try to convince him that love conquers all. Meanwhile, Mary Jane is having a grand party across town. Peter finally decides to go home for the night, and has nightmares about all of his enemies trying to attack MJ, and being helpless to stop them. He wakes up in a sweat, wondering what he should do. Meanwhile, MJ is out with Liz Allan, wondering the same.

Later at City Hall, all of the guests are in attendance, but both Peter and Mary Jane are late, leaving everyone confused. At the last minute, they both appear and are married by Mary Jane's uncle, judge Spenser Watson. MJ gives Peter the tickets to France with which her ex-boyfriend tried to tempt her, and they go off on their honeymoon to begin their new life together, as Mr. and Mrs. Parker.

Other Media[]

Spider-Man the animated series wedding

Peter and Mary Jane's wedding in the animated series

In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, the writers adapt the events of this storyline for the first episode of the series' final season. While most of the important aspects of the storyline remain the same there are significant differences such as Robbie Robertson being Peter's best man instead of Flash and a the Green Goblin crashing the wedding in order to force Mary Jane to marry him instead.

See Also[]

  • One Moment in Time
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