I think the notion of Peter Parker as an "everyman" for kids makes sense. I think that adults can relate to that, in the sense that they were teenagers, as well. Spider-Man works as an allegory for adolesence (much as BUFFY did). Most adults are out to get him (his villains, Jameson) or don't understand the real him (Aunt May). When you change that, when you make him a high school teacher for pity sakes, he's a different character with similar powers to the one in AF #1 (and now, thanks to the current comics, his powers aren't even all that similar -- you might as well call him Bug Man)

In other words, Peter is the everyman for adults who remember what it was like to be a teenager. Yes, most adults are married and have normal jobs, but giving Peter that background is a mistake.

And if you're tired of reading 30 years worth of stories about Peter being afraid that Aunt May is going to have a heart attack if she learns the truth about him, then you should move on to other things.

David Blot wrote: Stan Lee offended by what Marvel Quesada does ? When ?

What does it matter if he is or isn't, David?  Lee, as wonderful a man as he is, is a paid mouthpiece for Marvel.  He's got a $1 mil-a-year contract to promote, at a moments notice, anything that Marvel does.  Recently, it's leaned more toward the film end of the characters, but he's also commented on any of a number of changes in the comics with his trademark aplomb.  That you don't hear him slamming Joey da Q holds no weight with me.

Jeff Fettes should develop some sort of messageboard widget that scans every post. If the post says 'But Stan/Jack/Steve aged the characters!', then JB's response could pop up. If the post says 'But Stan isn't bothered by current marvel!", Matt's response could pop up.

QUOTE: The conceit of mainstream superheroes has always been that they don't age, they don't mature, they don't actually grow in anyway approximating the real world.  Sure, like JB said, Lee grew the characters at early Marvel...until he realized they'd be around for a lot longer than a couple of years.

Yeah, but in many ways by then the "damage" was done.  Yeah, we can make comparisons to Simpsons, Winnie the Pooh, Archie or whatever, but the "rules" for those series are different than the ones set up for Spider-Man when it started.  By getting rid of the glasses early on, having him graduate from high school, move out of Aunt May's place, etc. Stan set a precedent that later creative types have chosen to follow.  (The marriage is a weird case since it appears that Stan was the one pushing for it in the first place.) 

All that aside, it's one thing to argue that the marriage shouldn't have happened.  There's been some good arguments made.  Thing is, how to get rid of it without making things worse?  Ignoring a scene from a story that came out 20 years ago and no one even remembers (and those that do didn't even like) is one thing.  Ignoring the status quo of the last 20 years is something else. 

If the Clone Saga taught us anything, it's that fans don't like it when you toss whole sections of stories they grew up reading.  So the only way to do it is the hard way.  And if they don't want to do that...

QUOTE: If you're a kid, you're probably going through much of what he's going through (in his prime and when written in character) and if you're an adult, you can associate with those feelings while still working through your own version of money, family, and relationship issues.

Which part was his "prime?"  I started during the Stern run, and I gotta tell you - when I was 8, I wasn't that concerned about paying the rent and worrying about a work rival's girlfriend putting the moves on me while my jewel thief girlfriend was recovering in the hospital.  Didn't matter though - I came for the guy in the neato outfit fighting the old guy with the wings.