Transmedia Webbing of Spider-Man’s Wedding

The wedding of Peter Parker & Mary Jane Watson–which happened in a comic book & comic strip & live at a Mets game–might be an example of transmedia storytelling. Or it might not. But it’s definitely a useful text for debating definitions of #transmedia storytelling–so let’s do that! 1/12

According to influential scholar Henry Jenkins: “Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience.” 2/12

A straightforward example of transmedia storytelling as Jenkins defines it would be comic book or novelized prequels of popular films. While not necessarily essential to the experience of the film, these prequels would give readers/viewers/fans a fuller picture of the overall story. 3/12

But it’s not always simple to tell the difference between transmedia storytelling & transmedia *marketing.* When Superman appeared at the World’s Fair, and when his comics were quickly adapted into cartoons and radio dramas, did this extend the Superman story or the Superman *brand*? 4/12

Arguably, examples involving superheroes make this distinction especially thorny. As scholar Peter Coogan has argued, superheroes are designed–narratively and graphically–to be walking advertisements for themselves, with costumes that incarnate their mission, identity, and powers. 5/12

If every image of a superhero incarnates his biography, is every appearance an extension of their story? The long histories & messy serialization of many superhero comics also confuses things–something might be an adaptation or extension of one version of a character and at odds with others. 6/12

These questions in mind, let’s turn to the example of Peter & MJ’s wedding. There are at least 3 main versions, all of which occurred in June 1987: in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 & the Amazing Spider-Man comic strip, and live at Shea Stadium. Each of these versions has a different continuity. 7/12

The Spider-Man comic strip always had a separate continuity from the comic books and the wedding is no exception; while both stories feature Peter & MJ getting married, the plots are different. The Shea Stadium wedding is again different, since no such public ceremony took place in any comics. 8/12

Yet these instances were timed to chronologically coincide for maximum exposure and do tell the same central story: Peter Parker gets married to his longtime love interest Mary Jane Watson. Arguably, having a full picture of the wedding “event” requires consuming all versions. 9/12

Notably, when the wedding event was first collected in a trade paperback, it included both the comic book & comic strip stories as well the script & photographs of the Shea Stadium ceremony. It also included a parody from “Not Brand Echh” and spotlighted Willi Smith’s wedding dress design. 10/12

In other words, this collection, which advertises itself as an “album,” suggests that at least 4 discrete versions of the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson are in fact part of the same story, being simultaneously discrete and substantiating each other. 11/12

So is Peter & MJ’s wedding an example of transmedia storytelling? Any answer depends on the specific definition of transmedia being deployed as well as the specific contexts of this genre, these media instances, and this specific event. In other words–it’s complicated! What do you think? 12/12