And You Think You Have Relationship Problems?

December 13th, 2004

Filed under: Comics

I understand that there is some concern brewing online about the possibilty of a “relationship” between Peter Parker and Sarah Stacey (or Osborn or whatever her last name actually is) given the fact that while she may look twenty-one, she is really only seven or eight years old.

I hate to be the one to point this out, but this is not a new issue in comics. There was the whole weird step-son/step-mother relationship in DeMatteis’s Dr. Fate – the character was originally a child, then magically grew up and a “relationship” (there’s that word again) bloomed with his step-mother. It was an unsettling idea to me in an otherwise excellent series.

Then there’s Amethyst. In GemWorld, she contemplated love with Lord Some-Jewel-or-Another, then poof! she’s eight year old Amy Winston again and wondering why she can’t relate to her pre-teen friends.*

Of course, this didn’t all start with comic books. Let’s not forget the Chronicles of Narnia, where the characters are Princes and Princesses one day and British teens (or younger) the next. On the other hand, I don’t think there was ever any sex in Narnia. I think they must have reproduced by budding or spores or something.

*Honestly, I enjoyed the various Amethyst series — except maybe the last mini-series — and would like to add my name to the growing list of people who want to see Amethyst back or at least collected in trades.

6 Responses to “ And You Think You Have Relationship Problems? ”

  1. Mikester
    December 13th, 2004 at 11:41 pm

    Don’t forget that whole business with Arisia in Steve Englehart’s Green Lantern run…a young GL who used her ring to age herself artificially in order to pursue a relationship with Hal Jordan (which Hal reciprocated). Way creepy.

  2. H
    December 13th, 2004 at 11:43 pm

    Another Lolita-like situation occurred in Green Lantern when there was some green-energy
    aging of Arisia aimed at bumping her out of intergalactic jailbait status back in the days
    when Hal Jordan was just slightly immoral. If the goal was to make the relationship less
    creepy, it didn’t work for me.

  3. H
    December 13th, 2004 at 11:44 pm

    Damn you Progressive Ruin! You’ve beaten me to the point again!

  4. Dorian
    December 14th, 2004 at 12:30 am

    Never mind Mike, H…that particular element of Green Lantern is a particular sore point with him. I’d like to go at least one week without him bringing it up.

  5. tangognat
    December 14th, 2004 at 12:34 am

    Ah, it was goody-goody Lord Topaz. He freaked out when Amy took him and Lady Turquoise back to earth and he realized that the woman he was canoodling with was 13 years old.

  6. Mikester
    December 14th, 2004 at 1:08 am

    H – sorry about that!

    Dorian – I only bring it up as one of many examples of just how freakin’ crazy Englehart’s run was. It was completely nuts, and I loved every issue, even if it was in the “please don’t tell me I actually just saw that” kind of way.

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