Mary Jane Watson
| Mary Jane Watson | |
|---|---|
| File:Maryjaneross.png Mary Jane. Art by John Romita, Sr. and Alex Ross. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | (partial) Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #25 (full) Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #42 |
| Created by | Stan Lee John Romita, Sr. |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Mary Jane "MJ" Watson-Parker |
| Supporting character of | Spider-Man |
Mary Jane Watson is a supporting character in the Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita, Sr., she first fully appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #47 (April 1967).
A gorgeous, green-eyed redhead, she has been the primary romantic interest of Spider-Man’s alter ego Peter Parker for the last twenty years, although she initially competed against others for his affection, most prominently Gwen Stacy.
Today, Mary Jane is considered an important part of the Spider-Man mythos and has been featured in most other media adaptations of the character. She has even been the main character of some comics and novels aimed at young, female readers. Kirsten Dunst portrayed her in the recent film series.
Mary Jane in comic books
Mary Jane in mainstream Marvel continuity
In the primary Earth 616 continuity, Mary Jane Watson was Peter's fourth love interest, after Liz Allan, Betty Brant, and Gwen Stacy.
Mary Jane's early life was for many years unknown. It was first explored in Amazing Spider-Man' #259 and finally established by Gerry Conway's graphic novel The Amazing Spider-Man: Parallel Lives (January 1990). MJ came from a severely troubled family. Her father, a professor and frustrated writer, took it out on his family in the form of spousal and child abuse. To cope with her hellish family life, Mary Jane kept up a facade as a superficial party girl to avoid the embarrassment, which may have cast her as a forerunner to the archetype of a wily, feisty red head. The parents eventually divorced. Mary Jane and her sister lived with her mother but often stayed with relatives. Her favorite was her Aunt Anna, who lived next door to the Parkers. At first, she was unimpressed by Peter, a bookish nerd. That opinion changed dramatically on the night of Ben Parker's murder, and Mary Jane saw Peter become Spider-Man for the first time. For years, MJ kept that knowledge to herself that the boy had an intriguing and exciting secret pastime.
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Mary Jane's name was first mentioned in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #15 (August 1964), but she was originally an unseen character. The early issues of Amazing Spider-Man featured a running joke about Peter dodging his Aunt May's attempts to set him up with "that nice Watson girl next door", whom Peter had not yet met and assumed would not be his type, since his aunt liked her. (In the Parallel Lives graphic novel an identical scenario is shown between Mary Jane and her Aunt.) Mary Jane made her first actual appearance in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #25 (June 1965); however, in that issue, her face was obscured. It is not until Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #42 (November 1966) that her face is actually seen. In that issue, on the last page, Peter finally met her, and he was stunned by her beauty even as she spoke the now-famous line: "Face it, Tiger... you just hit the jackpot!" (see the quotations section below for more information).
Peter began to date her, much to the annoyance of Gwen Stacy. However, her apparent superficiality proved to be an irritation to Peter that her rival did not share. When the Green Goblin murdered Gwen, MJ stayed with Peter during his mourning, and he focused more on her on the rebound as he recovered. At one point, Peter proposed to her but she turned him down, not wishing to be tied down. She left New York for several years and Peter saw other women as his adventures continued.
MJ eventually returned and her behavior showed a marked change with her abandonment of her false front. She admitted her knowledge of Peter's secret identity in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #258, and Peter found a new respect for her with her newly discovered maturity, making her his confidante.
In Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Annual #21 (1987), Peter married her, and Peter's surname made its way into her name, making her Mary Jane Watson-Parker. After Spider-Man began wearing his black costume, it was Mary Jane who convinced him to return to his old costume in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #300 (May 1988). She disliked the black costume because it reminded her of Venom.
During the 1990s, the character of Mary Jane and her marriage to Spider-Man was a subject of much controversy. Many of Marvel's top editors openly hated Mary Jane and her marriage, believing that the marriage and Mary Jane's career as a model countered the notion that Spider-Man must be forever miserable and poor, so as to ensure his "relatability" with readers. During the early 1990s, writers who supported the marriage tried to please the editors by having Mary Jane be blacklisted as a model after rejecting the advances of a wealthy stalker and having her make her living as a soap opera actress, a career that made her life even more uncomfortable since her character was the show's resident "bitch" character. When a deranged fan tried to kill Mary Jane out of hatred for the actions of her soap opera character, Mary Jane quit her job out of fear for her own safety.
In the mid-1990s, Marvel's editors decided to take drastic measures to undo the marriage between Peter and Mary Jane. The end result was the controversial "Clone Saga", which intended to negate the marriage by revealing that Mary Jane was in fact married to a clone of the real Peter Parker. When this failed, Marvel responded by controversially turning Mary Jane into an unloving bitch-type character who was constantly demanding Peter give up being Spider-Man and who was obsessed with being young and beautiful. Restarting her career as a model, Mary Jane was killed off in an airplane explosion that was done specifically to kill the character off for good and permanently free Spider-Man from being married.
Fan reaction to these storylines was overwhelmingly negative and the backlash after Mary Jane's death sent the Spider-Man books into a horrific downward spiral. Ultimately, Mary Jane was brought back, having been revealed to have been held captive by a super-powered stalker. However, the return was short-lived as Marvel's editors spited fans by having Mary Jane promptly leave her husband after being rescued. New editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, who had given the call to bring the character back, promised that Mary Jane would return by the 50th issue of Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2. Quesada further fanned the flames by proclaiming his support for the ending of Spider-Man's marriage to Mary Jane by any means necessary and even asked popular writer/director Kevin Smith to write a story in which Peter and Mary Jane would divorce. But Smith, stinging from a backlash from Spider-Man fans who were angry at the way he casually killed off Spider-Man villain Mysterio while the character was being used in the Spider-Man books at the time, turned down Quesada's request to write a story that would no doubt permanently harm his standing in the comic fandom.
Ultimately, J. Michael Straczynski would bring Mary Jane back, granted several issues earlier than promised. During his second year as writer of Amazing Spider-Man, Mary Jane returned and ultimately reconciled with her husband in the book's 50th issue. Mary Jane and Aunt May then moved into Avengers Tower, to accompany Peter when he took on the duties of an Avenger.
Controversies
According to Stan Lee, Mary Jane was originally intended to be simply a rival for Gwen Stacy for the affections of Peter Parker. Lee had always intended for Gwen Stacy to be Spider-Man's one true love, but fans vocally supported the feisty Mary Jane over the non-offensive Gwen Stacy. The pairing of Mary Jane and Peter Parker has become one of the true classic romances of the comic medium and the couple are considered to be one of the comic genre's most beloved "super-couples".
However, many professional writers, artists, and editors at Marvel dislike the pairing and the Mary Jane character. They feel that Mary Jane, being an attractive female figure, should never be attracted to Spider-Man and often consider her relationship and marriage to Peter to be highly unrealistic. Many of these critics include Alex Ross, former Editor-In-Chief Bob Harras, and current Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada.
Fans (or shippers) of the Mary Jane/Peter Parker relationship often are very vocal about criticism about the relationship, especially online. Besides pointing out the natural way in which the Peter/Mary Jane relationship evolved as a natural and realistic relationship, many comic fans eagerly point out that people like Bob Harras and Joe Quesada have a tendency to use Mary Jane as a "scapegoat" for problems with the Spider-Man franchise, rather than admitting to real problems like bad writing and over-exposure of certain characters like Venom and Carnage as the reason why sales are down. To many fans of the character, the portrayal of Mary Jane by top members of Marvel's editorial staff as an "Emmanuel Goldstein"-type figure has been used as a major example of how out of touch many Marvel editors are with the people reading their comics.
House of M
In the House of M storyline and universe (in which Avenger Scarlet Witch finally snapped and began changing reality), Mary Jane is a world-famous actress, and she is one of the few humans that the mutant population likes. She co-starred in movies with Spider-Man (who has led the mutant population to believe that he is a mutant, when in fact he isn't). In her latest movie, she plays Spider-Man's real-life wife, Gwen Stacy.
Mary Jane in Spider-Girl
In the MC2 continuity, Mary Jane is the mother of May "Mayday" Parker, aka Spider-Girl. She had also given birth to a baby son, Ben. It is unknown if he was named after Peter's uncle, Uncle Ben, or Ben Reilly, Peter's clone, whom he often referred to as a brother.
Mary Jane as Spider-Woman in Exiles
In Exiles, an alternate reality counterpart to Mary Jane Watson is Spider-Woman, a member of the Avengers. Mary Jane is a lesbian who fell in love with the reality-hopping Mariko Yashida, the ill-fated Exiles member Sunfire. For more information, read the article for Sunfire_(Exiles).
In the Mangaverse reality, Mary Jane Watson is Spider-woman. She is a new initiate into the Spider-clan (of ninjas), with her boyfriend (Peter Parker) showing her the ropes.
Mary Jane in Ultimate Marvel
In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Mary Jane Watson is a beautiful redhead who attends Midtown High School with Peter Parker and Liz Allen. Though originally known as "Mary" to her friends, she later picks up the "MJ" nickname. Unlike the original MJ, Ultimate Mary Jane is smart and sensitive and expresses her true feelings instead of masquerading as a party girl. She and Peter begin dating, and, in Ultimate Spider-Man #13, she was the second person to learn of Peter's secret identity - the first who Peter revealed it to - and is currently his sole confidant. She sews Peter's spare Spider-Man costumes, once calling herself the Betsy Ross of superheroes. Although Peter and MJ love each other very much, Peter's Spider-Man identity proves a heavy burden on their relationship. The relationship is complicated when Gwen Stacy enters their lives. Later, Peter became to fear for Mary Jane's safety more than ever when the Green Goblin kidnapped her in a twisted attempt to gain Peter's allegiance and flung her off the Queensboro bridge. MJ survived, but was left traumatized. In "Hobgoblin" (#72-78), it was said Harry and Mary Jane had engaged in a brief romance around the same day Peter was bitten. Then, much later after his father is gunned down as the Green Goblin tells her that Peter "killed his father". Recently, Peter ended the relationship after realizing his life as a superhero will always endanger her. Shortly thereafter, Mary Jane went out with a character named Mark Raxton. After one date, however, she planned to prove herself to Peter and to get him back. When Raxton asked what was so special about Parker, she simply replied "everything." At one time, MJ had expressed her wish to become an actress, but now dreams of being a teacher.
Mary Jane in Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
In Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, a comic book series set outside the regular Marvel continuity, Mary Jane is still a teenager and the book is primarily a teen drama rather than a superhero comic book, although it takes place in a superhero universe with Spider-Man playing a prominent role. In this continuity, Mary Jane is dating Harry Osborn and her best friend, Liz Allan, is dating Flash Thompson. The ongoing series was preceded by two four-issue limited series, Mary Jane and Mary Jane: Homecoming.
Mary Jane in film
In both films to date, the character of Mary Jane Watson was played by Kirsten Dunst. Template:Spoiler
Mary Jane in Spider-Man
In 2002's Spider-Man, Mary Jane is Peter Parker's high school crush and only sweetheart. At the time, she was dating the high school bully, Flash Thompson. Flash figures into the comic storyline in more detail, but his initial purpose is the same - to cause Peter to begin to stand up for himself and gain some measure of self confidence. Flash and MJ break up at their high school grad ceremony. Parker's friend, Harry Osborn, is her first boyfriend after leaving high school, but she manages to fall in love with Parker and his alter-ego, Spider-Man. Mary Jane begins to grow more distant from Harry, denying his advances. After Harry sees Peter and MJ holding hands, he gets angry and breaks up with her.
The Green Goblin, who is Harry's father Norman Osborn's alter ego, kidnaps her and holds her over the Queensboro Bridge. He tells Spider-Man that he must choose between her and a group of children caught in the Roosevelt Island tram car. Spider-Man manages to save both Mary Jane and the children. (In the comic book, it was Gwen Stacy who was held over a bridge, and Spider-Man's attempt to save her failed.)
The Green Goblin announces plans to torture and kill Mary Jane to Spider-Man during the climax, but he dies before having the chance to act upon his threat.
Peter shies away from Mary Jane at the end of the film as he is afraid for her safety, and thus does not want to get involved with her.
Mary Jane in Spider-Man 2
Template:Spoiler In 2004's Spider-Man 2, Mary Jane's hair is now a more realistic shade of red (not the bright red from the comics.) She wants to start a relationship with Peter Parker. Peter backs away from a relationship with her even though he wants one because he fears for her safety. In her frustration Mary Jane goes on to have a relationship with John Jameson, the astronaut son of Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson.
The movie hints that she is doing this in the hope of making Peter jealous. Peter decides that being Spider-Man is not what he wants and comes back to Mary Jane so that he could start a relationship with her. Mary Jane pushes him away this time because she is getting married to John Jameson, but secretly does want a relationship with Peter. After kissing the astronaut, in a manner that is reminiscent of the upside-down kiss between Mary Jane and Spider-Man from the first Spider-Man movie, she finds that she may really want a relationship with Peter Parker.
She meets Peter in a coffee shop where she asks for a kiss to confirm her beliefs. Just before Peter can kiss her Doctor Octopus snatches her and runs away. Doctor Octopus takes her to an abandoned pier where Spider-Man confronts him. Spider-Man pulls his mask off in hopes of getting Doctor Octopus to come back to his senses, and Mary Jane realizes that Spider-Man and Peter Parker are one and the same.
Mary Jane runs away from her wedding with John Jameson and comes to Peter's door where she tells him that she loves him and will take him as Spider-Man knowing the danger it poses to her life.
Mary Jane in TV shows and cartoons
In the Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Mary Jane Watson first meets a 19-year-old Peter Parker in "The Return of the Spider-Slayers" (Season #1 Ep #4).
On the animated Spider-Man television series of the 1990s, Mary Jane is the primary love interest of Peter. She was played by Sara Ballantine.
Mary Jane also appeared for several episodes in the animated show Spider-Man Unlimited where she played as Peter's wife. Jennifer Hale provided her voice.
Mary Jane also appeared in MTV's Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (where she was voiced by Lisa Loeb), taking place shortly after the events of the first live-action movie.
In the Tokusatsu version of Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson was called Hitomi Sakuma (played by Rika Miura).
Mary Jane in literature
Romance novelist Judith O'Brien wrote two novels featuring a teenage Mary-Jane. It featured illustrations by Mike Mayhew. It doesn't fit into any of the comics' continuity, although it claims to be 'inspired' by Ultimate Spider-Man.
The first novel is a basic retelling of the origin story from Mary-Jane's point of view. She is depicted as a shy, insecure girl who knew Peter Parker from elementary school. She deals with such teen topics like anorexia and peer pressure.
At a field trip to Osborn Industries, Peter is bitten by a spider, which grants him powers. It is later revealed that Norman Osborn had injected a super drug known as OZ into the spider, which he later uses as a sports drink which he sells to Mary Jane's classmates. (The use of OZ is the only real connection to Ultimate, but even that is drastically different from the way its portrayed in the original comics.)
As Peter suits up to become Spider-Man (his origin with Uncle Ben is made apparent but off screen), Mary Jane sets out to expose Norman with the help of Peter.
The novel was successful with teenage girls who weren't familar with the comics, but was met with criticism from the core fans due to what they considered mischaracterization of some of the characters (most notably Harry Osborn, who is portrayed as somewhat of a punk who manipulates Peter into doing his homework but treating him horribly) and its fooling around with continuity.
A sequel, Mary Jane 2 was later released. This one dealt with the continuing relationship of Peter and Mary Jane, and the emergence of new girl Gwen Stacy. In this continuity, Gwen is an 'ugly duckling' who Mary-Jane gives a 'makeover'. However, Gwen soon has feelings for Pete.
Harry Osborn reappears and is made more sympathetic than he was in the previous novel; with his father in jail, he is now poor and has to live without a life of luxury.
Quotation
"Face it, Tiger... you just hit the jackpot!"—her first words to Peter Parker, initially appearing in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #42 (November 1966), are by far her most famous words, and indeed, one of the most famous quotations in the Marvel Universe, duplicated in nearly every continuity in which Mary Jane appears. A non-exhaustive list of comic books the quotation appears in:
- Amazing Spider-Man: Parallel Lives (January 1990)
- Deadpool #6 (June 1997) — Typhoid Mary parodies the quotation
- Spider-Man: Blue #2 (August 2002)
- Ultimate Spider-Man #13 (November 2001)
- Spider-Girl #1: delivered by MJ's and Peter's daughter May (aka Spider-Girl) in the alternate MC2 universe