Mary Jane Watson/Parker Appreciation Thread 2018

[millernumber1]

I think that needs supporting evidence to be honest. The movie undermines him repeatedly. He's shown as an idiot in the opening montage, like making dodgy financial investments based on stock market advise on the internet...when he and Miles first meet, there's this bit of dialogue:

Miles: I don't have a choice. Kingpin’s got a supercollider. He’s trying to kill me.
Peter B.: Wait a second, what did you just say?
Miles: Kingpin’s trying to kill me.
Peter B.: Who cares about that? Where’s the collider?

That's Peter walking away from a kid in danger and caring about his own selfish plan. So it's very much a Luke Last Jedi version. A very reduced, decayed, version of the hero who has strayed from who he once was and should have been. It's only Miles' pestering him and guilt-slinging that makes him reconsider.

And ultimately, spoilers:

this Peter does jack-s--t in the finale. He screws up the infiltration to Fisk Tower forcing Spider-Gwen to take over. His grand plan is to sacrifice himself so he doesn't go back and apologize to his MJ and be a man. Miles comes in bails everyone out. Gives him a speech telling him to man up, and then drops him into the portal like a putz, and then beats the bad guy on his own, with no help from him at all

end of spoilers

The scene where Peter tells Miles to stay put really deepens his character, I think. You're absolutely right that Peter's cynicism and selfishness dominate his early scenes - but when he visits Aunt May, you start to see the heroism that he had 22 years ago peek back out, and it steadily develops.

Yes, there's an element where he chooses what he chooses in the end so he doesn't have to face the consequences, but I really don't get the sense from the acting that it was a really big part of the decision. Avoiding consequences isn't a good reason to get yourself killed fairly painfully.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

The scene where Peter tells Miles to stay put really deepens his character, I think. You're absolutely right that Peter's cynicism and selfishness dominate his early scenes - but when he visits Aunt May, you start to see the heroism that he had 22 years ago peek back out, and it steadily develops.

She literally makes fun of him. Calls him out for his weight, and that gag about him wearing sweatpants. That scene is a literalization of how he's failed. No version of Aunt May would approve of what he made of his life. Aunt May ultimately ignores him for the rest of the movie and latches on to Miles.

Yes, there's an element where he chooses what he chooses in the end so he doesn't have to face the consequences, but I really don't get the sense from the acting that it was a really big part of the decision. Avoiding consequences isn't a good reason to get yourself killed fairly painfully.

For that version of Peter, I definitely see that. I mean he has an envy for the Blond Peter of Miles' universe who died young but who did more than he did in his longer life. And I think emulating the heroic death of that is part of that unhealthiness.

[AngelJD]

[QUOTE=Revolutionary_Jack;4105155]She literally makes fun of him. Calls him out for his weight, and that gag about him wearing sweatpants. That scene is a literalization of how he's failed. No version of Aunt May would approve of what he made of his life. Aunt May ultimately ignores him for the rest of the movie and latches on to Miles.

We are following Miles so we don't see that May and that Peter interaction as much as it's not his film (and being 2 hours long the film has many characters to cover but mostly it's Miles tale). When Miles leaves it's possible Peter and May talked further.
That Peter grew to like and care for Miles thus why I feel he also was harsh on him when telling Miles he made the choice to go the the machine without Miles as odds were highly that Miles lacking knowledge and time for proper training to used his own special abilities would get killed and Peter was taken responsibility to Mile's possible wellbeing/danger levels. If Miles died but Peter returned to his dimension Peter would be impacted and feel it as his fault and responsibility to Mile's wellbeing. Peter came to the choice that the odds was high for Miles would not have the power mastery but most of all self protection now to get the job that had to be taken done that night and get out alive. Thus with somebody needing to stay around to destroy the machine and not wanting Miles to die Peter decided he would be the one out of all the Spiders there.

May however waited feeling Miles would be there and finally ready once Miles had his epiphany moment (age experience possibly and like Mile's father maybe saw the spark ready to go off when Miles dug deep in himself and may was ready to do her role to equip him so he could be at his best for the fight).

When Miles returned it seemed to me like Peter saw that Miles now had mastered his powers better and ready to battle the Kingpin's forces with the rest of the Spiders but seeing the Kingpin himself not running away but ready to fight them (and this was the guy who was the 'big boss' threat level and killed this Earth Peter/Spider-man version who was very experienced) Peter was ready to take him on with or take him on while Miles focused on destroying the machine knowing how highly dangerous this Kingpin version was. But Miles stopped him and told him that he was ready to battle the Kingpin by himself while Peter had to go home now. Peter had some returning doubts but Miles told him what he was told by Peter "leap of faith". Peter did (he could of web swing back but he didn't) and doing so showed he was ready for his own leap of faith and phase in his life and showed he fully believed in Miles being ready which in turn was a leap of faith in fatherhood to Miles (like when a father let's go of his kid's bike without training wheels on).


Both versions (Peter and May) cares for Miles and this Peter who broke up with his MJ due to not knowing if he could be a responsible father as she wanted kids was NOW being a harsh but protective father to Miles then leaping believing in him and in turn himself. His experience with Miles was the catalyst to Peter feeling ready to take a big step into fatherhood and next phases in his life like Miles was growing up and entering his own new phases in his life.