Mary Jane Watson-Parker Appreciation 2020

[Kevinroc]

Oops my bad.Didnt structure the question will.so when exactly was the moment MJ fell in love with Peter? Did she already love him before the original clone saga?

After Gwen died and she decided to stay with him.

[Prime]

But she liked him before right?

[Revolutionary_Jack]

MJ's childhood backstory is shown in Amazing Spider-Man #259.

Well on-page in-full.

But we saw Gayle and her child in Roger Stern's "The Daydreamers" in ASM#246. That's when the backstory was first established and alluded to in-page. Likewise, ASM#242, when Peter/MJ/Aunt May/Aunt Anna have a brunch and reminisce, Peter asks May why she set up MJ with him, and May say, "You've both lost so much". So the hints and stuff about MJ's background were set up long before Defalco arrived.

Oops my bad.Didnt structure the question will.so when exactly was the moment MJ fell in love with Peter? Did she already love him before the original clone saga?

Roger Sacassia in his run on Sensational Spider-Man said that the Epilogue at the end of The Night Gwen Stacy Died...that's when Mary Jane realized that she was in love with him. When she chose to stay with him. But as is the case in life, there's a distance between falling in love, telling yourself you are in love, then admitting it to someone else. So throughout the Conway run she grew closer to Peter little by little.

Mary Jane Watson: You're the tensest person I've ever met, Pete. I think that's what makes you so loveable. You always look like you're going to fall apart — like a Charlie Brown who's just had the football jerked away from him.
Peter Parker: That's the strangest compliment I've ever received, MJ. If it was a compliment.
MJ: Oh, it was, baby. It was.
— The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1, #141, dialogue by Gerry Conway (1975)

Then ASM#143, you had the all-time greatest kiss in comics

Peter MJ Kiss 2 Crop - ASM#143 Conway-Andru.jpg

So this was right before the Clone Saga.

[Vortex85]

Oops my bad.Didnt structure the question will.so when exactly was the moment MJ fell in love with Peter? Did she already love him before the original clone saga?

If I had to guess, she first fell hard for him with their first kiss in issue 143. It started before this more casually, but this is definitely THE MOMENT that pushed Peter and MJ into their first true romantic relationship:







Also, MJ still wasn't ready to commit long term until right before she married him due to Amazing 292.

[Frontier]

If I had to guess, she first fell hard for him with their first kiss in issue 143. It started before this more casually, but this is definitely THE MOMENT that pushed Peter and MJ into their first true romantic relationship:







Also, MJ still wasn't ready to commit long term until right before she married him due to Amazing 292.

I still want to see this kiss get adapted.

[Vortex85]

I still want to see this kiss get adapted.

Me too. These 3 pages are perfect, every word, every camera shot. They should replicate it just like this. Don't change anything.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Me too. These 3 pages are perfect, every word, every camera shot. They should replicate it just like this. Don't change anything.

Well the upside down kiss in Spider-Man 1 did capture the spirit of this moment. Raimi got, "Okay the first kiss between the two has to be an epic unforgettable thing".

[Prime]

I still want to see this kiss get adapted.

It has never gotten adapted?

[Vortex85]

It has never gotten adapted?

Nope, I've never seen this moment captured. The big iconic kiss is the upside down one between Spider-Man and Mary Jane. It would be great to see an iconic Peter / Mary Jane kiss and if it gets done.... this needs to be it! I especially like him asking about why she calls him tiger just before. "Oh Petey... I call you tiger 'cause you're not! Now c'mere tiger, and kiss m ..mmmmm."

I guess after that kiss, she's gonna call him tiger 'cause he IS!

[Vortex85]

Well the upside down kiss in Spider-Man 1 did capture the spirit of this moment. Raimi got, "Okay the first kiss between the two has to be an epic unforgettable thing".

Yeah the thing about that though is it makes people just think Mary Jane is into Spider-Man as opposed to Peter. I saw that misconception floating around a lot due to the Raimi film portrayal of MJ. There needs to be a big moment for her and Peter. MJ didn't even know who Spider-Man was in that scene. Now there was that kiss at the end where it looks like she realizes who he is when she kisses him but that plot point got dropped in the sequel, but that was more of a breakup kiss not a realization of their feelings for each other like it needs to be.

[Spider-Tiger]

Me too. These 3 pages are perfect, every word, every camera shot. They should replicate it just like this. Don't change anything.

That and the epilogue from ASM #122. That is by far my favorite Peter/MJ moment, and I think it would translate beautifully to screen.

[Vortex85]

That and the epilogue from ASM #122. That is by far my favorite Peter/MJ moment, and I think it would translate beautifully to screen.

Yeah and her mother did die, which was the moment MJ decided to run away from her problems...

Peter didn't know that here. And after Peter brings up "she wouldn't be sorry if her own mother died", here MJ decides to stay instead of running...

Really beautiful stuff. MJ's comic backstory and development are so well done it would be amazing to see if adapted properly instead of what we have gotten so far on screen.

[Spider-Tiger]

Yeah the thing about that though is it makes people just think Mary Jane is into Spider-Man as opposed to Peter. I saw that misconception floating around a lot due to the Raimi film portrayal of MJ. There needs to be a big moment for her and Peter. MJ didn't even know who Spider-Man was in that scene. Now there was that kiss at the end where it looks like she realizes who he is when she kisses him but that plot point got dropped in the sequel, but that was more of a breakup kiss not a realization of their feelings for each other like it needs to be.

For the upside down kiss, Raimi wanted a grand sweeping romantic moment that rivaled those in classic films, and in that I think he definitely succeeded. But it isn't really akin to the intimate character moment that Peter and Mary Jane shared in the comics IMO.

That moment at the end of SM1 was clearly inspired by Liz Allan revealing she had developed feelings for Peter at graduation only for things not to work out. In fact, Liz's entire arc in the Ditko years: being the popular girl at midtown that Peter had a crush on, dating Flash Thompson, developing a crush on Spider-man, and then falling for Peter clearly inspired MJ's story in SM1. And SM2 borrowed from the Betty Brant/Ned Leeds engagement love triangle with MJ and John.

[Spider-Tiger]

Yeah and her mother did die, which was the moment MJ decided to run away from her problems...

Peter didn't know that here. And after Peter brings up "she wouldn't be sorry if her own mother died", here MJ decides to stay instead of running...

Really beautiful stuff. MJ's comic backstory and development are so well done it would be amazing to see if adapted properly instead of what we have gotten so far on screen.

Agreed, and I'm afraid we won't be seeing it anytime soon with the direction of the MCU films. Maybe if Marvel does more animated movies that adapt classic comics like DC.

[TheCape]

An idea that i always kind liked was Peter interacting with MJ father after he decided to fix his relation with MJ. It could be a decent sort of tension for an arc or two, after all how you treat someone that hurt a person that means a lot to you after seeing that he is trying to change and that Mary Jane is actually willing to forgive him.