Spider-Man’s Most Hated Enemy May Be Gone For Good

Many villains have plagued Peter Parker over the years. However, one particular character in recent years has inspired far more vitriol among comic readers than Norman Osborn or Doc Ock. Thankfully, it appears that this character may be on their way out of the Spider-Man comics, as of All-New Venom #9.

Written by Al Ewing, with art by Carlos Gomez, All-New Venom #9 closes with a confrontation between current Venom host Mary Jane Watson and her boyfriend, Paul Rabin. Paul informs MJ that their foster child, former Venom host Dylan Brock, has learned about her bonding with his former symbiote. However, this problem is put on hold as Paul forces a conversation about their latest fight. This occurred after Paul learned MJ was the new Venom and was hiding that fact from him.

Rather than blaming Mary Jane for keeping secrets, Paul blames himself for not being the sort of man she could trust. He promises to change and stop being “a needy mess.” However, this awkward situation becomes even more uncomfortable when Mary Jane says their relationship has been broken for a long time. More, she doesn’t think there is anything left to fix. In a final page sure to please most Spider-Man fans, Mary Jane informs Paul that she is dumping him.

Why Spider-Man fans hate Paul Rabin

There are many reasons why Spider-Man fans display a loathing for Paul Rabin unseen since the initial release of One More Day. The first and most obvious reason is his existence served no purpose beyond breaking up Peter and MJ. However, the anti-fandom devoted to Paul has moved beyond the simple sinking of a fan-favorite ship.

Paul’s detractors believe him to be a classic example of “tell, don’t show” storytelling. Almost every Spider-Man comic featuring Paul tells us he is a good person. Even Peter is shown to like Paul, despite all the bad blood between them, However, none of Paul’s appearances show him doing anything truly praiseworthy or noteworthy.

Indeed, after three years, Paul hasn’t been given any distinctive personality traits beyond being a vegetarian who likes cooking. This, coupled with his man-bun and beard, evokes the stereotypical image of an entitled hipster. Beyond that, one Spider-Man story depicted Paul as being, if not an anti-Mutant bigot, easily influenced by anti-Mutant propaganda.

Another issue is Paul’s role in helping Mary Jane become the superhero Jackpot. The codename Jackpot was previously utilized by two earlier heroines. These characters only existed to tease Spider-Man fans into thinking MJ had become a superhero.

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Beyond the gimmick being tired, the magical “glyph math/magic” powers Paul gave MJ made little sense. The one interesting aspect of them – that they might kill her – was almost immediately mitigated. This risk was never brought up until it became the catalyst for Mary Jane needing to bond with Venom.

All-New Venom #9 is now available at comic shops everywhere.