Mary Jane Watson

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Mary Jane Watson
Image:Maryjaneross.png Mary Jane. Art by John Romita, Sr. and Alex Ross.
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.
Characteristics Full name Mary Jane "MJ" Watson-Parker Supporting character of Spider-Man Ultimate Spider-Man Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Spider-Girl

Mary Jane Watson-Parker is wife of Peter Parker (Spider Man) and a supporting character in the Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita, Sr., after a few partial appearances and references, she finally first fully appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #42 (November 1966).

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 with Gwen Stacy and the Black Cat.

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.

Contents 1 Fictional character biography 2 Controversies 3 Skills and equipment 4 Alternate versions 4.1 House of M 4.2 MC2 4.3 Ultimate Mary-Jane Watson 4.4 Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 4.5 Spider-Man: Reign 4.6 Exiles (Legacy World) 4.7 As Spider-Woman in Marvel Mangaverse 4.8 Amalgam 5 In other media 5.1 Films 5.1.1 Spider-Man 5.1.2 Spider-Man 2 5.1.3 Spider-Man 3 6 Television series 6.1 Spider-Man (1967 TV series) 6.1.1 Tokusatsu Spider-Man 6.1.2 Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends 6.2 Spider-Man: The Animated Series 6.3 Spider-Man: The New Animated Series 7 Novels 8 Toys 9 Video games 10 Quotation 11 Notes 12 External links

Fictional character biography

Mary Jane Watson is Peter's fourth love interest, after Liz Allan, Betty Brant, and Gwen Stacy.

Mary Jane's relatively unknown early life 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).

Mary Jane comes from a severely troubled family. Her father, a professor and frustrated writer, takes his stress out on his family in the form of spousal and child abuse. Coping with her hellish family life, Mary Jane develops 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. Her parents would eventually divorce, and Mary Jane and her sister lived with her mother, often staying with relatives. She also frequently babysat a cousin of hers, Kristy Watson, who had minor appearances throughout the Spider-Man titles. Her favorite relative, her Aunt Anna, lived next door to the Parkers. At first, she was unimpressed by Peter, a bookish nerd. That opinion becomes altered on the night of Ben Parker's murder, as Mary Jane sees Peter become Spider-Man for the first time. For years, MJ, as she is often called, keeps that knowledge to herself that the boy has an intriguing and exciting secret pastime.

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 Anna.) 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 meets 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 begins to date her, much to the annoyance of Gwen Stacy. However, her apparent superficiality proves to be an irritation to Peter that her rival did not share.

When the Green Goblin murders Gwen, MJ stays with Peter during his mourning, though he initially told her to leave him alone, and he becomes interested in her as he recovers. At one point, Peter proposes to her but he is turned down, as she does not want to be tied down. She leaves New York for several years and Peter dates other women as his adventures continue.

MJ eventually returns 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) #257, and Peter found a new respect for her with her newly discovered maturity, making her his confidante. In actuality, she knew of Peter's double life almost from the start as she had seen him as Spider-Man exiting from Peter's bedroom window on the night his Uncle Ben was murdered. (as told in the Parallel Lives Graphic Novel).

In spite of Peter and Mary Jane's mutual worry that they were marrying too early, Peter's concern for MJ's safety, and Mary Jane's unwillingness to give up her "party girl" lifestyle, they married in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Annual #21 (1987). She attached Peter's surname to her own, making her Mary Jane Watson-Parker. Spider-Man wore his black costume around this time, but after Mary Jane was frightened by a stalking Venom, she convinced him to change back to his old costume in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #300 (May 1988).

Mary Jane continued to model after her marriage, but was stalked by her wealthy landlord, Jonathan Caesar. When she rejected his advances, he had her blacklisted as a model. She got a role on the soap opera "Secret Hospital," but was unhappy with her character's air-headed and mean personality. Although she successfully petitioned her boss to adjust her character's personality, 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.

Due to this stress, the recent death of Harry Osborn, and the seeming return of her husband's parents, Mary Jane began smoking (a habit she had quit in high school), only increasing the tension between her and Peter. When his parents were discovered to be fakes, Peter was unable to cope with the knowledge and disappeared for a time. Mary Jane visited her sister Gayle and her father for the first time in years, and finally reconciled with them. Meanwhile, Peter overcame his problems on his own. When she and Peter reunited, both were happier than they had been in a long time.

Shortly afterward, Peter's clone Ben Reilly returned, marking the beginning of the Clone Saga. Mary Jane discovered that she was pregnant. While she experienced some complications in her pregnancy, Reilly's scientist friend Seward Trainer helped her. Peter and Ben were told by Trainer that Ben was the real Peter Parker, and Peter was the clone (which later proved to be a lie). Peter, acting on hypnotic suggestion by the Jackal, attempted to kill Mary Jane, but was prevented by Ben Reilly (as the Scarlet Spider), his teammates the New Warriors, and Kaine. Later, while arguing with Ben, Peter accidentally struck Mary Jane. After this, he decided to quit as Spider-Man, because the stress of his double life was endangering his wife and unborn child.

Peter and Mary Jane left New York and moved to Portland, Oregon. While there, he lost his powers in a lab accident. They lived there peacefully for several months, adapting happily to normal life. However, they missed New York City and their friends, and moved back. Peter became unexpectedly ill and nearly died, but instead regained his powers. During the Onslaught crisis, Mary Jane was scanned by a Sentinel robot, who detected genetic abnormalities in her fetus.

Soon afterward, when Mary Jane's baby was already past due, she was poisoned by Alison Mongraine, an agent of the Green Goblin. Mary Jane's baby was stillborn (or seemed to be, as Mongraine apparently took the sedated infant away with her. The baby has not been seen since in the normal continuity, but see below). Ben Reilly died at the Green Goblin's hands the same night.

After this tragic turn of events, Mary Jane begged Peter to quit being Spider-Man. He was happy to do so for several months, but soon felt the tug of his great power and great responsibility to be a hero. Mary Jane returned to college and majored in psychology, but eventually became bored and decided to return to modelling, where she reached new heights of success. Peter became Spider-Man again behind Mary Jane's back, which put strain on their marriage yet again. At the same time, she began receiving lewd and threatening phone calls from an anonymous stalker.

Mary Jane was flying across America when her airplane exploded in midair. Peter was shocked and went into deep denial over her death. Although he was set up with several other women, and his friends encouraged him to move on, he was unable to believe she was dead.

He was proven right when her mysterious stalker, an unnamed, telepathic mutant, made himself known. This stalker had telepathically connected to Peter in some way, and wanted to take over his life. He kidnapped Mary Jane as part of his plan and held her hostage for several months. The stalker, however, killed himself after finally gleaning enough of Peter's personality and morality to discover that he had done terrible things. Peter and Mary Jane were reunited.

However, the stress of her captivity drove Mary Jane away. She moved to Los Angeles and immersed herself in acting -- starring as the doomed love interest in the film Lobster-Man. Although missing Peter after he failed to meet her flight, she refused to talk to him. However, when the villainess Shathra claimed to have had an affair with Spider-Man, Peter's first act was to call Mary Jane and assure her it was a lie. After he defeated Shathra, Mary Jane and Peter ended their separation.

When Peter and Mary Jane's apartment and Aunt May's house were burned down by Charlie Weiderman, and Spider-Man joined the New Avengers, Mary Jane and Aunt May accompanied him to live in Stark Tower. Mary Jane immediately felt at home with the New Avengers and was happy to finally be part of Spider-Man's world.

With a bit of strain at first, a jealous Peter swore to himself that he would find a new home for his family, but when his initial jealousy subsided, the Civil War events forced him to stage a secret transfer of Mary Jane out of Stark Mansion, feeling that with the loss of his secret identity and his doubts about Tony Stark's ideas, Mary Jane has become an hostage in a luxurious house. Currently residing in a cheap motel, her whole life has been affected, from her increasing difficulties in finding a new job as an actress to her being an easy target and prey, along with Aunt May, for the superpowered foes of Parker. Nevertheless, MJ remains supportive about the whole ordeal.

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 superhero genre's most beloved "super-couples," second possibly to Clark Kent and Lois Lane. However, many professional writers, artists, and editors (including artist Alex Ross, and former Editor-In-Chief Bob Harras) at Marvel dislike the pairing and the Mary Jane character. Some feel that Mary Jane, as a highly attractive model, should never be attracted to an everyman character like Peter Parker. Current Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada has said that he feels the marriage ages the characters, making them less appealing to young readers, and lessens the dramatic, "soap opera" possibilities. However, Quesada did admit that "divorcing or widowing, or annulling the marriage...would only be worse." [1]

Fans of the pairing point out that their relationship evolved naturally and realistically, the characters seemed older after decades of stories anyway, and that Mary Jane was aware of Peter's heroic identity (explaining her initial attraction to Peter Parker). Mary Jane remains a popular character, even spinning off into her own comic series, and some feel that she is used unfairly as a scapegoat for other problems.

Skills and equipment

Mary Jane has no special powers, but due to her relationship with Spider-Man and her job as an actress and model, she has found herself in danger many times. Having learned of the risk at the expense of her friend, Gwen Stacy's life she is unwilling to be completely dependent on others for her safety.

Mary Jane has some training in self-defense with teachers including Captain America. She has been able to fend off attackers of normal strength and skill, including the Chameleon using a baseball bat, one obsessive stalker using a can of hair spray and a heavy purse, and another using a cue stick. On another occasion, she knocked out a kidnapper with a lamp and electrified his bodyguards with it. Furthermore, there were several occasions in which she saved Spider-Man's life from his super-powered enemies: she distracted Alistair Smythe and his Spider-Slayer with a baseball bat, and set fire to Hobgoblin's cape. Recently, she managed to defeat Swarm, a supervillain even her husband had trouble defeating, by using sprinklers. Mary Jane rarely plays the helpless damsel in distress.

Mary Jane also carries a gun (although Peter dislikes the idea) which she uses against the Green Goblin in Marvel Knights Spider-Man #12. After Peter developed organic webshooters, he modified his original webshooters into bracelets that she could wear discreetly, giving her an additional defensive weapon. She also carries a modified spider-tracer with an amplified signal that can be traced over long distances.

Mary Jane has used her fashion design and sewing skills on many occasions to make and repair Spider-Man's costumes. She also designed the Hornet, Prodigy, and Ricochet costumes. She is usually the person who provides first aid when Peter is injured.

On one occasion, she was possessed by Red Sonja and battled Kulan Gath, but she has no memory of those events (Marvel Team-Up vol. 1 #79). On another occasion, she borrowed Iron Man's old armor temporarily.

Alternate versions

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.

MC2

Main article: Spider-Girl

In the MC2 continuity, Mary Jane was reunited with her baby daughter by Kaine, who found the child living with Alison Mongraine, the con artist who had kidnapped the baby on instruction from the Green Goblin. Baby May grew to become May "Mayday" Parker, aka Spider-Girl. Alison Mongraine became quite attached to the baby while she was in her care. Though she was thought to have been killed by Kaine, she returns years later to make contact with May. May and Mary Jane forgive Alison, who sincerely regrets her crime and loves the girl like her own child.

After a complicated pregnancy, Mary Jane also gives birth to a baby son, Benjamin. She is a respected fashion designer and businesswoman, and secretly starts a store based on Spider-Girl related merchandise to pay for May's and Ben's educations.

Ultimate Mary-Jane Watson

The Ultimate Marvel continuity version of Mary Jane first appears in Ultimate Spider-Man #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. She 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 a brilliant student and expresses her true feelings instead of masquerading as a party girl. She can be short-tempered and has even physically attacked some of the bullies at her school. She and Peter begin dating, and, in Ultimate Spider-Man #13, she becomes the second person to learn of Peter's secret identity and the first Peter reveals it to. 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 began 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, long after his father is gunned down as the Green Goblin, Harry 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." She has since shown difficulty in moving on from Peter and in dealing with the state of their friendship, especially now that Peter has recently dated Kitty Pryde. However, Peter has shown an interest in reconciling their differences, and becoming, if not a couple, friends again.

At one time, MJ had expressed her wish to become an actress, but now dreams of being a 'Teacher who Cares'.

As part of the 'Clone Saga' arc of Ultimate Spider-Man, MJ is kidnapped from her bedroom by a facially disfigured clone of Peter Parker who is determined to give her powers so that she is no longer in danger from his enemies. He pumps in her bloodstream an unquantified amount of OZ, the drug responsible for the creation of the Ultimate Green Goblin, Hobgoblin and also Spider-Man. Upon learning this, she becomes very angry and transforms into a huge, horned red goblin-type creature (referred to by Bendis as Ultimate Demogoblin^{[citation needed]}). However, when the Real Peter Parker and Spider-Woman turn up, she calms down and resumes her original form, just in time for Peter (her ex) to slug his evil clone unconscious. Treated at the Fantastic Four labs by Richards and Dr. Franklyn Storm, she undergoes a brief and safe recovery, made possible by the appeasing and soothing effect of Peter on her, calming her goblin persona down for the necessary time.

During the epilogue of the Clone Saga, Peter and MJ rekindle their love bond, much to Kitty's dismay. Although MJ seems physically cured, as confirmed on Ultimate Spider-Man #106, the ordeal has left her badly traumatized, and she is shown to be affected by panic issues and haunted by the scarred visage of the disfigured Peter's clone. Sue Storm suggests that Peter should keep a close eye on MJ and seeking a psychiatrist to help her get through her traumatic episodes. She experienced another episode again when Peter confronting Kitty Pryde on issue #107.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

Main article: 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 reguarded as the most popular girl at Midtown high (her high school in Queens, NY) and was even voted homecoming queen. She had a brief infatuation with Spider-man until she went on a date with him and realized that she would much rather be with Peter Parker. The ongoing series was preceded by two four-issue limited series, Mary Jane and Mary Jane: Homecoming.

Spider-Man: Reign

In the upcoming limited series, Spider-Man: Reign, Mary Jane will appear. The series is an alternate future where she has died of cancer caused by Spider-Man's radioactive bodily fluids.

Exiles (Legacy World)

In the Exiles arcs "Legacy", "A Second Farewell" and a cameo in "Destroy All Monsters", an alternate reality counterpart to Mary Jane Watson was shown. This Mary Jane 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.

As Spider-Woman in Marvel Mangaverse

In the Marvel 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.

Amalgam

In the Amalgam Comics' reality, Mary Jane Watson is the Insect Queen, and the fiance of Spider-Boy. She has the power to mimic the physical abilities of any insect or arachnid.

In other media

Films

In the three films to date, the character of Mary Jane Watson has been portrayed by Kirsten Dunst.

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.

Spider-Man 2

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.

After Peter saves her and Doctor Octopus is killed, Mary Jane proceeds to marry John Jameson. She leaves him at the altar, and goes to Peter's apartment and expresses that she loves Peter.

Spider-Man 3

Mary Jane returns in Spider-Man 3. Both she and Harry Osborn now know Peter's true identity. It's revealed that Peter is intending to ask Mary Jane to marry him. It is shown in the trailer, that she tries to help Peter confront the symbiote suit as it begins to take control of him. She also begins a rivalry with Gwen Stacy for Peter's affections. At some point in the film, Venom kidnaps her. It has been shown that Mary Jane gets replaced from Broadway for her understudy and then has to work at the jazz club. A scene in the trailer shows Peter and Mary Jane kneeling over the unconscious or dead body of an unknown person at a construction site, possibly Harry or Eddie.

Television series

Spider-Man (1967 TV series)

Mary Jane appears in the episode, The Big Brainwasher (Based on The Amazing Spider-Man 59-61). Unlike her comic book counterpart, she is the niece of George Stacy.

Tokusatsu Spider-Man

Mary Jane Watson was called Hitomi Sakuma (played by Rika Miura).

Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends

Although she did not appear on the cartoon, the character Firestar, a female version of the Human Torch, resembles Mary Jane in appearance. Also, like Mary Jane, Firestar, with the alternate identity of Angelica Jones, is a college student and classmate of Peter Parker.

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). Mary Jane supplants Debra Whitman and Felicia Hardy as his primary love interest. She was played by Sara Ballantine. She is last seen in Season #3 Episode 41, "Turning Point," in which the Green Goblin discovers Spider-Man's true identity. In a nod to The Night Gwen Stacy Died, he takes her to the George Washington Bridge. Spider-Man tries to save her, but she falls into a dimensional portal created by his stolen time dilation accelerator (due to the show's censorship no one in the show could die, she was forced into limbo and Spider-Man didn't know about her falling into limbo). In Season 4, a clone of Mary Jane created by Miles Warren appears, and after the death of Mysterio at the end of the ninth episode of Season 4, Spider-Man revealed he was Peter to her and MJ and Peter marry in the first episode of Season 5.

Later, her true nature is revealed and she (and a clone of Hydro-Man) dissolve due to their unstable cellular structure. By the series finale, after Spider-Man saved all reality from the villain known as Spider-Carnage, Spider-Man's mystic advisor, Madame Web, promised they would find the real Mary Jane (as she promised when she took Spider-Man from Earth after the Mary Jane clone died before the Secret War, which was a test to see if Spider-Man could stop Spider-Carnage).

The "true" Mary Jane is never seen again in this series, but is shown to have been reunited with and married to Peter in the sequel, Spider-Man Unlimited. Jennifer Hale provided her voice. It was never revealed how she returned (supposedly, the writers left this for the next season, which was never made). However, producer of the previous show, John Semper, revealed if he continued the show, Mary Jane would have been found in a Colonial England.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series

Mary Jane appears on the cartoon (where she was voiced by Lisa Loeb), taking place shortly after the events of the first live-action movie. In Mind Games: Part 1, like in the movie, Mary Jane discovers that Spider-Man is Peter Parker, but it was revealed to be a dream sequence.

Novels

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 familiar 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 while treating him horribly) and its fooling around with continuity.

A sequel, Mary Jane 2 was later published. 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 Peter.

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.

Toys

• An action figure of Mary Jane was released based on her appearance in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
• A 6-inch scale action figure and a 12-inch scale doll of Mary Jane were released to coincide with the 2002 Spider-Man film. Both were based on the likeness of Kirsten Dunst and wore the Asian-inspired red dress she wore in the film. These figures were released by Toy Biz.
• A Barbie version of Mary Jane was released by Mattel in 2005. The doll's clothing was based on the wedding gown she wore in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, 1987.
• Mary Jane was included in a two-pack with Peter Parker in Art Asylum's Minimates small-scale figure series. This set was a convention exclusive.
• Art Asylum produced a full-body statuette of Mary Jane based on her appearance in the early 1970s, identical except for its paint application to a simultaneously-released statue of Gwen Stacy.
• Moore Collectibles produced an 8-inch bust (actually from the knees up, nearly a full statue) of Mary Jane based on her first full appearance.

Video games

Main article: Spider-Man computer and video games

Mary Jane appears in almost every Spider-Man video game, but almost exclusively as a victim of kidnapping who must be saved.

• M.J. is kidnapped in The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin by the Kingpin, and is hung over an acid tank. She is freed if the Kingpin is beaten in a certain amount of time. If the fight takes too long she falls to her death in some kind of acid and after Kingpin is arrested by the police, Spider-Man vows vengeance on M.J.'s death to Kingpin.

• In the Spider-Man game for the Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 and PlayStation, Venom believes that Spider-Man stole something (it is later revealed that Mysterio was the thief) and kidnaps Mary Jane in attempt to get revenge. She is held in the sewers and must be rescued by Spider-Man.

• In Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace, Mary Jane forgets to purchase a fish bowl for her fish and asks Peter to retrieve one for her at the beginning of the game. In the end Peter manages to obtain one for her and says "You'll never know the trouble I went through for this."

• MJ appears in Spider-Man 2, voiced by Kirsten Dunst. In this game, like the movie, she is unaware of Peter's being Spider-Man until the end.

• In the Ultimate Spider-Man video game, Mary Jane's Ultimate version appears several times in the game, helping the player to research and discover information on the villains the player must fight. The game ends with her talking to the player. In the Nintendo DS version of the game, the player must save an unnamed character who has Mary Jane's clothing and hair colour.

• Mary Jane will appear in Spider-Man: Battle for New York. Although, it is currently unknown what role she will play.^[1]

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 and media 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-Boy #1 by Mary Jane Watson (Insect Queen)
• What If #105 (reprinted as Spider-Girl #0): delivered by MJ's and Peter's daughter May (aka Spider-Girl) in the alternate MC2 universe
• In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, the quote was also recited by Mary Jane, when she first appeared in the episode Return of the Spider Slayers.
• In addition, the line is also said in Clerks II by Dante's fiance when they discuss his coming new life.

Notes

Wikipedia information about Mary Jane Watson This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mary Jane Watson". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.