Who is Paul and why are comic fans angry with him? Exploring the character in Zeb Wells' The Amazing Spider-Man 

To say that the current reboot of The Amazing Spider-Man comics from Zeb Wells, the writer of the series, has caused mass hysteria among fans would be quite the understatement. Starting around mid-2022, the series has been quite negatively received by fans, and not just for the characterisation of Peter Parker, but rather all the events surrounding him. However, there is one character that has stuck out the most.

22 issues in (all written by Zeb Wells), the biggest reason behind many's hate for the current The Amazing Spider-Man run has stemmed from a new character called Paul, an original character introduced in the current run. Having some pretty big implications even though he hasn't had many appearances yet, fans have it out for him.

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Paul is Mary Jane's boyfriend in The Amazing Spider-Man reboot

Paul explaining Rabin's plan to MJ and Peter (Image via Marvel Comics)

The first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man opens with a broken down Peter lying in a crater while readers are teased that something major that has taken place. From there on, we flashback to six months before, where we see Peter return to New York city. His relationships are a mess, there is a bit of tension with Aunt May, and he practically hasn't seen any of his close ones in a really long time.

We find out that he has broken up with Mary Jane once more, and the latter has actually moved on - that's when Paul pops in. Turns out, Mary Jane is in a relationship with Paul, who has two kids, and they are living happily ever after. That's pretty much why fans aren't that keen on Paul because he is the reason behind them not being together.

Issue 22 of The Amazing Spider-Man did jump into who Paul is and how he met MJ somewhere in a different dimension in a flashback, and it just created more of a complicated look into the character. Turns out, Paul is a colleague of a very obscure villain called Rabin, an obsessive scientist whose main goal was to bring Mayan god Wayeb to the 616 Marvel universe.

The crew being attacked by Wayeb (Image via Marvel Comics)

We learn that Rabin sent Peter and MJ to the deity's universe, which was basically a post-apocalyptic New York. With Paul being a colleague of Rabin, he explains Rabin's plans to MJ. Since Peter had already once thwarted the ceremony of bringing Wayeb to the 616 Marvel Universe, Paul reveals that they need to kill Spider-Man for their plan to be successful.

This is suddenly followed by an attack from Wayeb himself, which sees MJ use a gadget to open up a portal and send Peter away to their universe. Unfortunately, she remains trapped with Paul in the post-apocalyptic reality. We have no idea as to how the cliffhanger will end, so for that we will have to wait until issue 23.

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Fans angry with Paul being Mary Jane's new boyfriend

Paul saving Peter from Wayeb (Image via Marvel Comics)

Peter and Mary Jane's relationship in the comics has been a subject of controversy for many years. Fans have wanted the pair to end up together ever since the release of 2007's One More Day, which split the couple up. With the recent run of The Amazing Spider-Man, it looks like their relationship probably won't be a central focus again for a good while now.

This certainly has many fans angry because the introduction of Paul just separates the iconic duo of Peter Parker and Mary Jane even more. Fans certainly have been very vocal about their disappointment.

If anything, it's pretty clear that fans are disappointed by the current run of the current Spider-Man comics. The duo of Peter Parker and Mary Jane do deserve a happy ending after all these years, and here is hoping Zeb Wells is able to steer the ship right with the upcoming issues of The Amazing Spider-Man.