I (Heart) Marvel: Web of Romance #1, Tom Beland and Cory Walker.

[Peter is thinking of his wife while showering. No, not that way. ]

PETER: I’ve had two great loves in my life. Mary Jane … and Gwen Stacy. I used to compare the two of them, which is only natural to do, I suppose. In all these years, I know that MJ thinks that Gwen has meant more to me than she has. But it’s not the case. I always had to keep an eye on Gwen. That meant I could never relax around her like I wanted to. I was always worried about which nut job was going to harm her.

PETER: Because there’s no way that Gwen Stacy could take on someone who was going to bring harm to her. She was never streetwise … therefore, it was my job to protect her. So when I think of Gwen … she remains one of my greatest failures in life.

PETER: But MJ … she’s been a survivor her entire life. I’m talking before there ever was a Spider-Man.

PETER: An abusive father … a tough family life … Harry Osborn’s drug addiction and Green Goblin persona … that maniac Jonathan Caesar … everything. And she came through all of it with that same smile and laugh that I saw her with just five minutes ago. I’ve never had to worry about MJ the way I worried about Gwen. MJ can handle herself when she needs to.

PETER: My wife is strong. My wife is smart. My wife is everything I could never be without that bite from the spider.

Four years after the publication of this issue, Joe Quesada had MJ claim that she can’t be with Peter because she isn’t “strong enough” to deal with the pressures of being his lover. Worse, Peter didn’t call her on it. Sigh.