SPOILER WARNING: This story contains major spoilers for "Spider-Man/Deadpool" #5, in stores now.
In the final pages of this week's "Spider-Man/Deadpool," Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness re-opened an old wound, both for Peter Parker, and his longtime fans.
Having been killed (twice!) by Deadpool, Peter finds himself face to face with one of Marvel Comics' biggest devil figures, Mephisto. "I am the architect of your ultimate fall," the supernatural villain whispers in Peter's ear. "And I'm going to tell you a secret about your life... about why you'll never find true happiness..."
"You will always be missing something," a rattled and (thanks to Deadpool's demonic wife Shiklah) resurrected Peter recalls on the following page. "Incomplete. Unfinished. And ultimately, no matter how hard you fight, which cause you choose, the battle will always end with your facing... emptiness."
Mehpisto's wonderfully melodramatic dialogue could be interpreted as simply an allusion to a superhero's never-ending battle -- but more likely refers to the deal the devil made with Mary Jane Watson in 2007's "Amazing Spider-Man" controversial storyline, "One More Day." That bargain effectively erased her and Peter's marriage from Marvel continuity in exchange for saving the life of Aunt May, who was in critical condition after being shot.
Written by J. Michael Stracynzki and then Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, with art by Quesada, the arc was heavily criticized at the time by Spider-Man fans, and for many remains a sore point.
When "Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows," a miniseries featuring a married Peter and MJ and their young daughter, was announced, fans wondered if it possibly indicated a return to the pre-OMD continuity in the wake of the reality-changing "Secret Wars."
While that proved not to be the case, Kelly and McGuinness' "Spider-Man/Deadpool" scene has opened the door to potentially at least revisiting the controversial storyline. Whether it's the first step towards reuniting what was once Marvel Comics' premier couple, or is simply a way to elicit a genuinely emotional moment for readers, remains to be seen.