Can we really call our friendly, neighborhood web-slinger lucky in love? Sure he's nabbed dates with women like Betty Brant who should be out his league, but between poor Gwen Stacy, the on-again-off-again whims of Black Cat and the...tumultuous long-term MJ marriage, the Spider's certainly seen his share of heartache. Besides the Cat, Spidey tends to keep his romances in the civilian sector, often to their detriment and that’s exactly why United States Airforce Captain Carol Danvers is an absolutely perfect match for our favorite wallcrawler.
Now first, let's going to get into something that would be considered quite “meta,” and that’s that Spider-Man has a definite “type.” Regardless of who’s writing him, Spidey goes after, and even associates platonically with, a certain kind of woman: someone strong, independent, capable of taking care of herself, and just a little bit aloof. The one exception to this is Gwen Stacey and just looking at what happened there, it’s pretty easy to see why Parker began to gravitate toward another kind of woman.
Even though Mary-Jane has no powers to speak of, she still fits the bill on all of these attributes admirably. Even his elderly aunt has sent one of his earliest villains packing with a quick poisoning, showing that the women in Parker's life, whether friendly, romantic or familial, know how to take care of themselves but there's still only so much a normal human can do against a full-blown super villain. Sure, the Chameleon might fall to a plate of poisoned almond joys, but someone like Morlun isn't going to be so verbose with a bystander when trying to indirectly hurt Spidey.
And Gwen's death has always, and always will, hang heavy over his head and over any romance he chooses to enter. One need look no further than the reality-bending House of M or the introspective Spider-Man: Blue to see that Parker's first love was also the one he misses the most, but a quick glance at Captain Marvel shows that not only is she no shrinking violet, she's the kind of woman Parker would never have to worry about. Can you imagine if Osborn tried to pull his whole "blonde off a bridge" antics with a woman who can not only fly, but is indestructible and can project energy blasts?
To put it in the most basic, practical terms Spider-Man, perhaps because of his cavalier attitude and perhaps because, despite his powers, he's still painfully human, has some of the most vindictive, violent and emotionally charged villains in the Marvel Universe. Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Dr. Octopus, Rhino, Kraven and more all had some kind of emotional tie to Parker and many sought, either intentionally or unintentionally, to harm him through his non-powered emotional ties. Now think about Capt. Carol Danvers being thrown off a bridge. She'd laugh it off and give ol' Osborn a face full of cosmic-energy violence and have him in custody before Pete even heard about the problem.
But this relationship isn't one-sided: oftentimes people who are hyper-driven need a sort of relaxing, easy-going jokester like Parker to go home to and have a chuckle with. After a nerve-wracking day of military missions, Carol could use the relaxing allure of a man who knows how to make her laugh and unwind, maybe even taken life a little less seriously, cause an unnecessary build-up of stress is good for exactly no one.
And just ask Wonder Woman about the trials and tribulations of dating outside the "order of superpowers," and how that can go wrong any number of ways. If a lunatic in a goblin costume with exploding pumpkins sounds bad, how about a race of alien monsters who impregnate and mutate anyone they come into contact with or any number of cosmic nightmares that the Captain has to deal with on a fairly regular basis. How's a normal man to relate, let alone cope?
Spidey and the Captain's flirtation may remain just that, but even the letters section in a recent issue of Captain Marvel was championing the idea of them as a couple. Even if it's not a permanent change, it would be interesting to see the two team-up as a couple and as a superhero team, even if it would only be in the short-term.
Log in to comment