Why is Marvel So Invested in This Controversial Spider-Man Character (& Should We Care More About Paul?)

Being a Spider-Man fan isn’t all the time simple, particularly in latest years. The influence of “One More Day” on Marvel stays robust, and followers that beloved the Peter Parker/Mary Jane marriage felt marginalized till Final Spider-Man (Vol. 3) launched on the finish of 2023. Nevertheless, in many Spider-Man followers’ opinion, this is one of many worst instances to be a Spider-Man fan all due to one horrible character: Mary Jane’s new husband Paul. Marvel has proven a variety of disrespect to Spider-Man/Mary Jane followers since “One More Day”, however Paul took that to the subsequent degree. Paul is usually hated by everybody, but Marvel gained’t cease pushing the character, resulting in his present function in All-New Venom, working together with his spouse Mary Jane as Venom.

Marvel’s love of Paul is one of many strangest issues ever. Controversial characters can usually equal cash in the comedian business, however Paul is one thing else. Marvel’s insistence on maintaining Paul round, virtually placing him on a pedestal, looks like a slap in the face to the opinion of the followers. Marvel is attempting to make fetch occur with Paul, and followers have been preventing him ever since. What’s behind Marvel’s love of Paul? Why are they working so exhausting to make Paul essential? And are followers fallacious about Paul?

Paul Is One of many Most Infuriating Marvel Characters Ever

Paul got here alongside at a time when most Spider-Man followers thought that issues had been about to get higher for them. Nick Spencer’s run on The Wonderful Spider-Man had appeared to be bringing Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s relationship again, which made followers very pleased. The 2022 reboot of The Wonderful Spider-Man was being written by Zeb Properly, a author who had finished nice Spider-Man tales and was coming off the success of Hellions for the X-office. Followers had been hyped… after which Paul was launched. This single issue principally destroyed any momentum or positivity that Wells’s The Wonderful Spider-Man had going for it. Paul felt like such an odd addition to Marvel. It felt just like the character existed simply to needle followers, proving that Marvel had no intention of ever bringing again the wedding between Mary Jane and Peter Parker. Paul was always being made to look higher than Peter Parker, as a partner and as an individual. There have been rumors that the character was a self-insert for author Zeb Wells, and the vitriol thrown at Wells and Spider-Man editor Nick Lowe on-line due to Paul is astounding. Paul, as a personality, looks like a wrestling heel. The heel is the villain of a wrestling match and the complete level of the heel is to make the viewers hate them a lot that they’ll pay to see them get crushed up. This is principally the one goal I can see Paul having in the comics; Marvel knew that Paul was going to be hated, and maintain him round as a result of outrage sells books. That’s actually the one clarification for Paul as a personality, as a result of he definitely isn’t attention-grabbing or particularly multi-faceted.

So, Paul is a wrestling heel, meant to get “warmth”, which is one other wrestling time period to elucidate the hatred the viewers has for the heel. There are two sorts of warmth — good heel warmth, that means the heel is doing their job and followers are paying to see them beat up, or go away warmth. Go away warmth signifies that the heel is hated, however they’re hated a lot that nobody needs to see them. They don’t wish to see the heel get beat up. They need the heel to go away. Paul doesn’t have good heel warmth, he has go away warmth. Followers hate Paul a lot, it has damage the gross sales of books that he seems in. Paul solely appears to exist for one motive — as talked about above, outrage — and there’s actually just one method to cope with somebody like Paul, and ultimately, Marvel will study their lesson — cease shopping for Paul books and cease speaking about Paul. That’s the one method to eliminate the character. Marvel is trolling the followers with Paul and the one method to defeat Paul and Marvel is to not feed the trolls.

Paul Will Go Away When Followers Notice They Have the Energy

Marvel’s technique with Spider-Man has been outrage for a really very long time now. This technique labored fairly properly for years; The Wonderful Spider-Man offered very, very properly till the latest debut of Final Spider-Man. Marvel doesn’t actually care about fan outrage or fan opinion if a guide is promoting. Paul is the final word extension of that outrage. There’s nothing to love about Paul. That’s not hyperbole, both; Paul is barely even a personality and the one method to cope with him, to eliminate this character that everybody however Nick Lowe appears to hate (author Al Ewing is writing him in All-New Venom and heaping scorn and disrespect on Paul), is to cease speaking about him. Cease shopping for any guide he’s in. You don’t like Paul? Vote together with your pockets. Cease shopping for books with Paul in them. Cease complaining about Paul. Marvel needs you to be outraged, so the one method to win is to not give them what they need. Marvel is trolling. Don’t feed them.

What do you consider Paul? Hold forth in the feedback beneath.