Weekly Update 11/17/19

Johnny Storm and Crystal! Ned Leeds and Betty Brant! Mantis and Tree! These are just a few of the great romances Marvel has enchanted us with over the years. Kidding aside, romance is a constant through line for Marvel comics, but it very rarely is a main focus. What function does it play, and should superhero comics be more ambitious?

A great romance in a superhero comic can ground our hero, make them more of a relatable person, give them something to fight for. I don't mean that last part literally, though. Using the significant other as plot point for a villain to exploit should be utilized incredibly infrequently and carefully, because it's the absolute most obvious situation (we could also get into the politics of this, but that's another post). It can also add tension when, as is the case with Peter Parker, we root for his romances but they're in direct conflict with his responsibilities as a hero.

In the cases such as Ant-Man/Wasp or Vision/Wanda, it also can add a dramatic element of the workplace romance, where the job and the relationship get mixed together.

But I still feel as if Marvel could do so much more with romance. So rarely do we get non-story related moments between two characters in or falling in love. This goes hand in hand with comics allowing the plot to slow down and letting the characters develop, so I don't think it's a surprise that the best romances are in the two series most character driven: Spider-Man and post-Claremont X-Men (honorable mention to The Thing/Alicia). Without allowing our heroes and their partners to have quieter personal moments, the humanity is missing from the story and all we're left with is plot.

What are your favorite romances in Marvel so far? What are your fan ships for Marvel characters (just thought of Wolverine and Storm and got faint!)?

This week's episode is Marvel Year Sixteen: 1977 Pt. 2 Please get any 1977 feedback for us to discuss on our next Variant Cover episode by 11/19/19. You can send it to mymarvelousyear@gmail.com 

1977 PART 1:
Marvel Team-Up /Avengers Annual / Marvel Two-In-One Annual #55 / #7 / #2
Ms. Marvel #1, #7, #9 to #10
Avengers #160 to #162, #164 to #166
What If #1
Howard the Duck #8

1977 PART 2 :
Iron Fist #11 to #15
Uncanny X-Men #104 to #108 (Zack highly recommends #109)
Amazing Spider-Man #174 to #175
Marvel Preview / Marvel Spotlight #11 / #32
Super-Villain Team-Up #10 to #12  

EXTRA ISSUES 1976 (always changing, check the spreadsheet for current):
Marvel Super Action #1   Weirdworld!
Avengers #144   Patsy Walker becomes... Hellcat!
Marvel Presents #3   Guardians of the Galaxy get their own series
Black Goliath #1 Bill Foster becomes Black Goliath
X-Men #97 Intro of Shi'ar and Erik the Red
Marvel Premiere #29 Intro of Liberty Legion
The Invaders #7 Union Jack & Baron Blood
Avengers #151 Return of Wonder Man
Doctor Strange #18 Strange meets... Benjamin Franklin?
Amazing Spider-Man #161, #162 Nightcrawler & Punisher team-up, intro of Jigsaw
Captain Britain #1, 8 Clairemont's British Super-Hero, Betsy Bradock
Fantastic Four #176 Another meta issue with the Impossible Man
Incredible Hulk #205 Return of Jarella, Hulk's lady love
Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #1 A third Spidey mag suddenly appears! Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man Nuff said!

UPCOMING PODCAST SCHEDULE:
November 18: Marvel Year Sixteen: 1977 Pt. 2
November 19:  Feedback for 1977's Variant Cover Due
November 25: Marvel Year Sixteen: 1977 Variant Cover
December 2: Marvel Year Seventeen: 1978 Pt. 1
December 9:  Marvel Year Seventeen: 1978 Pt. 2
December 10:  Feedback for 1978's Variant Cover Due  
December 16:  Marvel Year Seventeen: 1978 Variant Cover  

Come chat with us in the Slack channel (available to $5+ patrons), and find us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. You can find all the My Marvelous Year reading lists here and check out the rest of what Comic Book Herald has to offer here. Thanks for joining us on this journey through Marvel comics!