Let’s talk about romance in comic books for a minute. Even with all the big fights and awesome powers, superhero stories almost always have a little romance in them. Superman has Lois Lane, Batman has Catwoman, Cyclops and Wolverine were always fighting over Jean Grey; love has always been a key component to comic books. As it should be.

But I have to ask, why, oh why, do superheroes never hook up with other superheroes?

And can we change that by getting together Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel? Please? They’d be so cute together!

They could even fight super-villains together! Adorable!

When it comes to superhero relationships, they really only seem to have one option: stay in love with the character they were hooked up with way back when they first debuted. Comic book fans notoriously hate change and want to maintain the long-standing status quo. That history is what keeps these classic couples together, moreso than anything that actually benefits either character. So modern day comic book writers would rather retread old ground in the romance department than give the fans something new and exciting.

But I want that excitement!

In recent years, comic book publishers have been taking baby steps into the realm of giving their characters new relationships, thereby creating new dynamics and new stories. Like Storm and Black Panther or Cyclops and Emma Frost. Well now I want these publishers to embrace this idea and forge full steam ahead by taking the most love-lorn of all superheroes, Spider-Man, and giving him an awesome, new super-powered girlfriend!

Way back in the early days of superhero comics, each title was often its own little world, and crossovers were very rare. They happened, but they were more of a gimmick than the building blocks of one unified world. Nowadays, comic book characters are constantly hanging out with each other. Almost every superhero in the Marvel Universe is considered an Avenger these days, with half a dozen different books starring the different branches of the Avengers. But back then, when it came to romance, more often than not the hero would be coupled with someone from their supporting cast. This meant that most superheroes would be hooked up with a plain, ordinary, non-powered person.

There are many examples: Lois Lane, Iris West, Carol Ferris, Peggy Carter, Jane Foster, Steve Trevor, Betsy Ross, etc. This was because there was only the one superhero in the book, and, like I said, crossovers were rare.

When there was more than one superhero per book and two of them hooked up, it was always part of the firmly established status quo. Like Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, Ant-Man and the Wasp or Cyclops and Jean Grey.

True love is matching blue jumpsuits

And as I said, comic book fans hate change, so when these romantic couples were solidified back in the day, they have remained relatively untouched ever since. Could you imagine Clark Kent being in love with someone other than Lois Lane?

But change is in the air.

Comic publishers have started ending a lot of these classic relationships. Both Cyclops and Hank Pym have moved on since their wives died, and the New 52 reboot has done away with Clark and Lois, Barry and Iris, Green Arrow and Black Canary and other couples.

And of course, in an infamous story, the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson came to an end. They parted amicably in the story, and Peter became a swinging single again. You might not know this, but Peter Parker has actually had an extensive love life. I know his relationship with Mary Jane was the focal point of the three major motion pictures, but that was only because Mary Jane had been his girlfriend and wife in the comics for such a long time. In the comics, Mary Jane had never been the cute girl-next-door that Peter had a crush since he was a kid. That was all made up for the movie. Back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, Peter had a lot of different girlfriends, from Gwen Stacy to Betty Brant to Debra Whitman.

Mary Jane is just the girl he married.

Fulfilling her wifely duties

Spider-Man did date another superheroine once, the Black Cat. But she wasn’t another Marvel hero come to visit, she was a member of Spider-Man’s supporting cast. So she doesn’t count towards my overall point.

But boy, oh boy, does she count in every other way!

Marvel has had some fun with a single Peter Parker, and made one huge blunder. He’s kissed women at clubs, he had a hilarious, drunken one-night stand with his bitchy roommate Michele , and he and Black Cat became sex buddies (With the masks on! Rowr!). The blunder was a girl named Carlie Cooper, who became Peter’s girlfriend. The reason I consider Carlie a blunder is because she was created for the express purpose of becoming Peter’s new girlfriend after he broke up with Mary Jane. I knew from the first moment I heard of this bookish nerd girl that her only purpose in life was to be Peter’s new girlfriend. It didn’t matter what her backstory was, or who she was as a character; she existed only to be Peter’s new girlfriend. And sure enough, she was eventually maneuvered into that role. I couldn’t imagine a more boring relationship for Spider-Man.

If she'd only let down her pony tail and take off her glasses...

Fortunately, Peter and Carlie have since broken up! So Peter is once again single. And I propose that his new girlfriend not be someone from his immediate supporting cast, but instead be a crossover with another superhero. There are plenty of single, female superheroes in the Marvel Universe who could use a boost in popularity by becoming Spider-Man’s girlfriend. But hooking up two superheroes just isn’t done, at least not as much as it should be.

One example: Wasn’t the flirtation between Batman and Wonder Woman in the cartoon Justice League Unlimited just adorable? Why wouldn’t they work as a real couple in the comics? Every comic book fan the world over would support this relationship. It would be hugely entertaining. But DC Comics will never do it to preserve the brand, or some other useless reason.

Well Marvel shouldn’t be afraid. They should go for it!

I want Spider-Man’s next girlfriend to be Ms. Marvel.

But I didn’t just pull her name out of a hat. The comics have actually hinted at this pairing before, and it was just plain cute!

A quick crash course on Ms. Marvel: she is Carol Danvers, a tall, beautiful, blonde superheroine who has the usual assortment of super strength, flight, invulnerability and super-speed. Her powers are alien in origin. She’s had a rather wild comic book history, but these days she’s one of the Avengers and one of the good guys.

She can 'good' my 'guy' any day

And from 2006 through 2009, she was the star of her own comic book that ran for 47 issues. She was a single girl living in the big city, trying to make a name for herself as a superhero. And in that series, Ms. Marvel had a few interactions with Spider-Man. They were both Avengers together, so they were bound to cross paths. They flirted a little bit, and she agreed to go on a date with him. That date then occurred in the final issue of her series, #47. I’m here to tell you that the date was positively adorkable! I feel no shame in using that word.

The issue was written by Brian Reed, and the snappy dialogue and banter between the two of them is simply fantastic.

I like the idea that Spider-Man is only a few late payments short of being a hobo

Ms. Marvel has a bit of money, but Peter Parker is broke. So she covers dinner in a fancy restaurant. They agree not to talk about superhero stuff, which leads to a lot of jokes about how they have nothing else to talk about. It would appear that the date is not going well.

Points, at least, for now just staring at her chest

The date is interrupted by some bad guys, because of course it is. Ms. Marvel beats them up while Peter stays out of costume, though he does manage to throw in a few patented quips. Once the day is saved, they leave the restaurant and instead decide to just grab some chili dogs from a Manhattan sidewalk vendor. Turns out they’re both fast food junkies!

All good superhero bonding occurs on rooftops

Isn’t that scene just adorable? I think so. The whole issue was. The romance between the two of them came up later after a fight with Venom. The symbiote possessed Ms. Marvel, I think, and it revealed that she does indeed have feelings for Spider-Man. But like I said, the Ms. Marvel series was cancelled, and I don’t think this thing between the two of them was ever brought up in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. Maybe it was mentioned in one of the Avengers titles, I dunno. But mostly it seems to be something that was left to the now cancelled Ms. Marvel series.

Until now!

In the July issue of the comic book Avenging Spider-Man, Peter and Carol are going to team up again! Only by July, she’ll be going by the new name Captain Marvel. She’ll also have her own series again.

I like how he just perches on her

Might this new team-up be hinting at romance to come? I sure hope so!

Because Marvel has already done something similar with Spider-Man before…but in the Ultimate Comics. Over there, Ultimate Peter Parker started dating Ultimate Kitty Pryde, of X-Men fame. The relationship came out of nowhere, but it was a brilliant crossover. Kitty Pryde was a main character in Ultimate X-Men, and there was no reason for the two titles to cross over. But once the teenage Kitty and the teenage Peter started hanging out, it made perfect sense! They could be superheroes together, they could talk to each other, and they were great. Most importantly, Kitty wasn’t simply one of the normal Spider-Man’s girlfriends transported to the Ultimate Universe. Ultimate Peter had dated Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy, but Ultimate Kitty Pryde was something totally new!

And I loved it.

I enjoy comics about the dating lives of teenagers, I guess

Seriously, the two characters were amazing together. It was exciting and new, it was unexplored territory. And writer Brian Michael Bendis was stellar with the awkward yet charming teenage dialogue. The man was at the top of his game writing Spider-Man and Kitty Pryde.

Until a few issues later when he came up with an incredibly stupid reason to break them up. Then Peter eventually just went back to boring old Mary Jane Watson. Goodbye innovation, farewell excitement. That was all very disappointing.

So Marvel now has a chance to recapture that magic! To explore territory that has rarely been explored!

Make it happen, Marvel!