Marvel Comics editor Tom Brevoort insists there is no going back for Earth-616’s Spider-Man/Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. By Marvel mandate, the pair are not tying the knot any time soon following the nearly two-decade old event that erased their original marriage.

At the recent Baltimore Comic-Con via Comic Book Movie, Breevort discussed the character mandates in place at the publisher and how they affect Spider-Man and his most enduring love interest. “If you’re working for Marvel, the ground rules are all the characters are Marvel’s, and Marvel as an institution gets to decide what’s right and wrong for these characters. So, there are certain things you don’t want Spider-Man to do. He can get back with Mary Jane. He just can’t actually tie the knot with Mary Jane,” he explained. “Those are the ground rules going in. If you’re going to work on whatever character – if you’re going to work on Daredevil, you’re going to have to deal with the fact that he’s blind and probably going to stay that way for a while.”

In 2023, Marvel’s Editor-in-chief, C.B. Cebulski, suggested that keeping Peter and M.J. from getting married was not set in stone and could change. “It’s not a mandate by any chance. In 2 years or 5 years, something could change,” he said. “Someone could have the greatest story – Zeb (Wells, current Amazing Spider-Man writer) possibly – for why they should be married again if they make it through their current trials and tribulations.”

Earth-616’s Peter Parker and Mary Jane have not been married since 2007. In J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada’s four-part Civil War crossover storyline, “One More Day,” the pair bargain with the devil Mephisto to save Aunt May’s life after she is shot by Kingpin’s proxy. They agree to give up their marriage, with Mephisto erasing history, meaning it never happened. Fans have long pined for the couple to re-marry but will have to make do for now with Jonathan Hickman’sUltimate Spider-Man, where Peter and M.J. are together with two kids.

Marvel Comics’ upcoming ten-part saga, “8 Deaths of Spider-Man” by Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness, will begin on November 13 in Amazing Spider-Man #61. The publisher’s description reads, “The 8 deaths of Spider-Man begin! The world has changed. Doctor Doom is Sorcerer Supreme, but he has no plans to spend his time like his predecessor. Each year, Doctor Strange would use every ounce of his power and experience to save the world from an evil god and his scions.”

“This year, Doom is delegating this task to Spider-Man?! The leader of Latveria has given Spider-Man a new, magic-powered suit and eight extra lives with which to save (!?) the world. True believers, they won’t be enough.”

Source: Baltimore Comic-Con via CBM