Perfect Spider-Man Toy Honors 38-Year-Old Milestone in Hero's History

2 weeks ago 15

Annie Banks is a Rotten Tomatoes–approved critic, and CBR editor and writer specializing in anime, comics, and superheroes. Their work has also appeared in Collider and The Mary Sue, where they covered pop culture, fandoms, and entertainment trends. A lifelong fan whose love for storytelling began with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Annie blends critical insight with genuine passion for geek culture, from sci-fi to K-pop.

Spider-Man has had his fair share of love interests across the comics, though it's Peter Parker's relationship with MJ Watson that Marvel has insisted on making most significant. A new collector's item highlights a 38-year-old milestone in the hero's history.

Per Spider-Man_Newz on X (formerly Twitter), Funko is to release a duo set of Funko Pop! vinyl figures that celebrate Spider-Man and MJ Watson's wedding. The account shared an image of the toys' designs, which feature MJ Watson in a webbed wedding dress. The Spider-Man subReddit also shared a closer look at the two-pack. Reddit user Biden2028 asked, "is this real?" According to Reddit user DarknessXTJ, it "sure is."

These Funko Pops directly refer to "The Wedding!," a story from The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 in which Mary Jane Watson and Peter Parker get married. The storyline was published in 1987, and was originally inspired by Stan Lee. "I suggested [that Spider-Man and Mary Jane be married] to whoever was in charge, and they thought it was a good idea, too. Now, I wanted to find a way to have them get married in the comics books and the newspaper strip at the same time," he said when explaining how the wedding was canonically executed. "Also, the Spider-Man strip had one storyline going on, and in the newspaper strip we had a totally different storyline going on, and in order to make them sort of come together so there'd be a marriage... well, it was the toughest thing creatively that I think I have ever done or the people at Marvel had done."

Not everyone has been fond of Spider-Man and MJ Watson's wedding, though, even decades following their marriage. "I do have frustrations with it, too, I have to admit," Martin stated. "I sometimes… I don't like retcons. I don’t like reboots," Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin said when erring grievances about the state of publishing today. "Peter Parker married Mary Jane. You can't undo these things, but they do nowadays. But what can you do?"

Spider-Man Can't Save Funko

While the Spider-Man and MJ Funko Pop! set may be a must-have for some fans, the future of Funko as a company seems to be bleak. A new report from The Post indicates that Funko will inevitably shut down within the next year. They've claimed that "there is substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months.” and Yahoo! Finance has said that Funko may not be able to repay its loans come 2026, leading to a company refinancing. The same report noted that Funko's net sales sank a signficiant 80%, despite the company investing in fan-favorite pop culture icons such as Spider-Man.

There is no set release date for the Spider-Man and MJ Funko Pop! set, but The Wedding! can be purchased through Barnes & Noble's website and other online comic book retailers.