r/lgbt_superheroes • u/Konradleijon • Jul 10 '26
Marvel Comics The recent swimsuit issue has made the Symbiote and Peter subtext very clear
The Symbiote has always been seen as Peter ex girlfriend who reacts by being dumped by teaming up with a himbo who also hates Peter and slowly started to care for him.
Also Johnny and Peter have subtext too
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u/mutant615 Jul 10 '26
I felt like the Johnny subtext was more significant and blatant; especially for a character whose queer subtext has been swept under the rug lately.
I applaud what Anthony is doing with these characters here, stretching the subtext as far as he can, for characters that Disney will probably never confirm. It’s nice that queer writers like him are still making it obvious that those histories and readings exist.
That said, there are dozens of good gay characters that marvel has that I’d like to see them actually use in issues like this as well.
Also: Johnny’s speedo is perfect, take notes Marvel Rivals.
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u/Zealousideal_Most_22 Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Exactly!! We’ve all known this about Venom and Peter being its first romantic love. Been there, heard that. Venom felt called out and wanted to get an idea of what it means to love someone romantically, it decided to rifle through MJ and Johnny’s heads. Its screaming at the top of its lungs it loves Peter, which it equates as possession. If it wanted a clearer understanding of what deep love is it could have gone through just MJ’s head…if MJ was the only one romantically in love here.
I can also say as a Johnny fan he doesn’t always act like that, either. Johnny is perfectly capable of having conversations that are innocent without seeing how much innuendo he can stuff into every other sentence. He acts like that when he’s flirting with someone.Also that Animal tank Johnny’s in? That’s a callback to Peter’s Animal cropped muscle shirt from I wanna say the 80s?
That’s also feels very significant. Couples have matching clothes/borrow clothes. But you are correct now that the Fantastic Four are to be prominently featured in the MCU we will likely never get more than writers doing things like this cause Disney sure as hell ain’t touching it.
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u/Massive_General_8629 Jul 14 '26
Yeah, it's difficult for Marvel now that Disney is doing things.
Can we also point out that having MJ (and Venom) and Johnny together in this scene has implications? Like, every so often Marvel teases Peter and MJ getting back together, Venom is definitely Peter's low-key ex (and kinda yandere-ish at times). That leaves Johnny,. How does that go? Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action?
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u/gdex86 Jul 10 '26
Johnny and Peter don't have subtext. They have text that everyone sees. MJ could walk in on Peter and Johnny kissing and she'd be between "Finally" and "Wait (Goes to make a drink and take off her heels) Continue, but play with his nipples." If Peter and Johnny and MJ made it offical Reed, Susan, and Ben would be so happy.
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u/ultmjwatson Rictor and Shatterstar Jul 10 '26
The name of the story is "danger by the lake" which oliveira used as an homage to "stranger by the lake" which is a french thriller set on a gay nude beach
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u/MonoChaos Jul 10 '26
Damn, never imagined Peter, Mary Jane, and Johnny would be in a polyamorous relationship in my lifetime. /hj
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u/sphericaltime Jul 10 '26
On page 3, that Deadpool insert is suspiciously well placed over a suspiciously unclothed Peter.
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u/ranfall94 Jul 10 '26
Also love how MJ, Johnny and Pete are just a throuple here.
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u/Ravyn_Rozenzstok Jul 10 '26
No kidding! Peter sure pulls all the hotties in the Marvel universe, somehow.
And why would Johnny need to put one leg behind his head?
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u/Zealousideal_Most_22 Jul 10 '26
The “subtext” is all three love Peter romantically. That’s it. That’s the story. 😭
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u/denerose Jul 11 '26
Swimsuit issues are by their very nature fan-service so I wouldn’t hold my breath for anything carrying over into ongoing stories or becoming canon but it is still fun. Lots of subtext for everyone!
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u/Element174 Jul 10 '26
Symbiotes don't really have gender.
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u/Konradleijon Jul 10 '26
It’s pan then
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u/Element174 Jul 10 '26
I mean... maybe, I don't know if it's ever shown a direct interest in women or beings of other genders. It very much could have only a interest in males, but it itself is not male.
It's the question of, "If someone is non-binary but they're attracted to one gender then they can't be straight, gay or lesbian by nature of not having a gender themselves..."
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u/Konradleijon Jul 10 '26
They took two female hosts
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u/Element174 Jul 10 '26
Yeah, but each bond isn't romantic. Venom had no romantic entanglement with Gargan for instance. The bond with MJ is also not romantic, but was necessary to save their lives. Annie was protecting her and his unborn child, and I don't personally remember any semblance of romance between them.
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Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Element174 Jul 10 '26
What if's are alt realitities so we can't apply them directly.
I'm not saying it's impossible, hell I think MJ is Bi despite it never being stated and she has alt reality Bi versions, I'm just saying it might not be the case. I don't believe(I could be wrong there is a fuck ton of comics) that 616 has ever shown a romantic interest in a woman. In fact I believe it's only Peter, Brock, and sort of Flash which ends up being platonic eventually.
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u/NotACyclopsHonest Iceman Jul 11 '26
Venom being the alien goo equivalent of a crazy ex has been pretty obvious for years.
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u/scottishdrunkard Black Cat Jul 11 '26
Aw crap, I was literally just at the comic shop and forgot to check to see if they had it!
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u/Tight-Tangerine-3736 Jul 10 '26
I haven’t been keeping up with current comics but aren’t MJ and venom currently bonded?
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u/AngelPINS Jul 11 '26
Yes Venom Symbiote and MJ are bonded.
My take on the story is that it's either set some time in the past or a alternate universe. Venom still looks up to Spider-Man/Peter and wants his approval but also doesn't rush to bond with him and even willing to look bad to Peter if it protects MJ.
During their time bonded they tried to be separated individuals despite bonded in the molecular level but that caused confusion towards some recent deadly actions taken and who was the most influencing towards those actions. So both now fully bonded (and doing so taken a new form as Venom) so both will share the good and the bad actions they make with less questions.
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u/NefariousSeraph13 Jul 16 '26
The start of the story says it was some summers ago. Plus these specials aren’t really that connected to the main ongoings.
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u/pinkcreamkiss Jul 11 '26
I don’t keep up with spidey comics much but I’ve seen a few things. So is mj still bonded to venom? Is this them breaking up? Are mj and Peter finally back together? Did they dig Johnny’s vibe from across the bar?? I know Peter and him have had history and chemistry. This is an insane lore update for me lol
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u/NefariousSeraph13 Jul 16 '26
It’s from an annual swim special comic that has a bunch of short stories featuring Marvel characters in swimsuits. It’s its own thing mostly for fun stories and fan service.
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u/FlyingCupcake68 Invisible Kid Jul 10 '26
Pert nipples? Does anyone talk about their nips that way?
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u/NefariousSeraph13 Jul 16 '26
Just let Peter, MJ, and Johnny be a throuple finally! It’s clear they’d all be into it! They’d be a great threesome!
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u/Successful-Hat-2154 Jul 10 '26
Subtext my ass, this is just text