Mary Jane Watson-Parker Appreciation 2022

[Kevinroc]

He definitely didn't hate MJ, I feel he was just apathetic towards her and Pete/MJ ship. I think he started to warm up to her over the last decade with all the brouhaha over the Zendaya casting in the MCU (both positive and negative) which showed just how immensely popular a character MJ was. His support for Zendaya's casting was the first time I saw him go from the Superior Spider-Man era of 'It's unrealistic for an everyman like Peter to date supermodels like MJ and Gwen' to 'It's great to have an incredibly beloved character like MJ be played by someone who doesn't get a whole lot of representation as a lead in superhero blockbusters'.

He came onboard as the writer after OMD when everyone downplayed MJ and downplayed the relationship. But if he really hated MJ, or was completely apathetic to MJ, I doubt Spider-Island would have gone the way it did with MJ being instrumental in the good guys winning.

nice too bad its another alternate reality spider-man who has happiness

Stories like this aren't really about the continuity.

Well, there went my enthusiasm for this project into the toilet.

REALLY wish this was Rainbow Rowell's story. She understands relationships.

His Silver Surfer run was pretty good, and that was a romance run.

[Frontier]

I mean, setting RYV and Spider-Island aside, Slott had a fair hand in writing stories that devalued MJ or, frankly, made her look bad, so I can't say I'm going to look at this without a bit of a side-eye. He wouldn't be in my top 10 MJ writers by far.

Like how I don't think he hates Peter but that doesn't mean I think he wrote him well.

[Matt Rat]

He could easily have made the transition to Spencer's run a little less bumpy by keeping Peter and MJ reunited towards the end of his run, but he sabotaged that also.

[TinkerSpider]

We don't know that.

For all we know it's Slott and his beloved "monkey's paw' and he'll reveal Peter's and Mary Jane's "enduring love" caused, I dunno, world famine, global war and destruction of the planet as we know it. Or he'll borrow from Reign. Or he'll show how Peter's love for MJ led to Peter comprising his values as Spider-Man (like he did in Renew Your Vows). Or how MJ was killed by a supervillain. Or how she sold out his identity to the tabloids to pay for her mansion in Malibu.

I mean, there is no reason to trust this will be a straightforward homage to their romance.

Slott has also made it very clear he believes Marvel will never ever never never ever never marry MJ and Peter again, not even when the sun goes supernova and consumes the Earth - so why would he write a story that might give rise to those hopes again?

I guess we'll see.

His Silver Surfer run was pretty good, and that was a romance run.

IMO it was Doctor Who and his companion fan fiction. I wouldn't call it a satisfying romance, unlike Rainbow Rowell who has written several very well received novels with strong romantic arcs.

[Lukmendes]

I mean, setting RYV and Spider-Island aside, Slott had a fair hand in writing stories that devalued MJ or, frankly, made her look bad, so I can't say I'm going to look at this without a bit of a side-eye. He wouldn't be in my top 10 MJ writers by far.

Like how I don't think he hates Peter but that doesn't mean I think he wrote him well.

Slott's idea of writing can be in extremes, either Peter is a super powerful, competent leader who's doing a really good job, or an incompetent, manchild moron who can't step on an ant without help, MJ is either a likable character who've very supportive of Spidey, or an unlikable bitch who wants to stab anyone who even says the word "Spider", Otto is either a complete psychopath trying to kill almost everyone on the planet just so the rest remembers him as the most evil guy ever, or someone who'd actually be good if he was given a chance.

It's ridiculous, MJ is hardly the only one affected by this, even his blatant favoritism towards Otto didn't avoid this (Though he did avoid being too incompetent, even if Slott likes to claim the point of Superior is that Otto wasn't that good as Spider-Man).

He could easily have made the transition to Spencer's run a little less bumpy by keeping Peter and MJ reunited towards the end of his run, but he sabotaged that also.

Yeah, the way MJ so easily accepts Spidey back in ASM#1 vol 5 looks really bizarre after how she acted right before lol.

[Kevinroc]

I mean, setting RYV and Spider-Island aside, Slott had a fair hand in writing stories that devalued MJ or, frankly, made her look bad, so I can't say I'm going to look at this without a bit of a side-eye. He wouldn't be in my top 10 MJ writers by far.

Like how I don't think he hates Peter but that doesn't mean I think he wrote him well.

I don't disagree with this sentiment, lol.

[Malachi]

Slott wrote ASM for so many years and these where not good years for MJ. With so many issues I think it’s quite telling what he didn’t do with her and what he did. I think he stated like Stern that he prefers earlier versions of MJ more.

He would rate very low on a list for MJ writers.

[NC_Yankee]

Slott wrote ASM for so many years and these where not good years for MJ. With so many issues I think it’s quite telling what he didn’t do with her and what he did. I think he stated like Stern that he prefers earlier versions of MJ more.

He would rate very low on a list for MJ writers.

I am certainly going to pick up Amazing Fantasy. Does it mean every story will be a “Home Run”? No but I expect at least some will be excellent (Hickman in particular). As for Dan Slott I have been rough on him, but he did write some quality stories: Ends Of The Earth ASM 800-801, RYV and of course Spider Island. He also gave us Mr. Negative, who is the best Peter villain created in the 21st Century. He has also written lots of crap, so it is a question mark about whether or not the story is good. I just hope no Otto in the story.

[PanicPixieDreamGirl]

So does Slott's new story indicate that Peter and MJ will be back together by August, or is Amazing Fantasy taking place out of continuity, as it were?

[TinkerSpider]

So does Slott's new story indicate that Peter and MJ will be back together by August, or is Amazing Fantasy taking place out of continuity, as it were?

It's set in the "far future," so doubtful it has anything to do with current ASM.

[Lukmendes]

Y'know, these mentions of Slott not being a good MJ writer makes me wonder who's truly the worst one...

On the opposite end, I think the best one would be DeMatteis.

[Frontier]

Y'know, these mentions of Slott not being a good MJ writer makes me wonder who's truly the worst one...

On the opposite end, I think the best one would be DeMatteis.

Anybody who was writing the book circa Chapter One?

Zeb Wells ?

[Rzerox21xx]

I am certainly going to pick up Amazing Fantasy. Does it mean every story will be a “Home Run”? No but I expect at least some will be excellent (Hickman in particular). As for Dan Slott I have been rough on him, but he did write some quality stories: Ends Of The Earth ASM 800-801, RYV and of course Spider Island. He also gave us Mr. Negative, who is the best Peter villain created in the 21st Century. He has also written lots of crap, so it is a question mark about whether or not the story is good. I just hope no Otto in the story.

Spider-Island was great, athough most would agree that the whole Carlie shrilling especially coming out of MJ was very painful to read and brings it down quite a bit.

[Lukmendes]

Anybody who was writing the book circa Chapter One?

Wouldn't that include DeMatteis? 'Cause I know he was one of the writers in 1998, or do you mean ASM specifically?

Zeb Wells ?

Sure, he's so good he's comparable with Jason Aaron as a Phoenix writer .

Spider-Island was great, athough most would agree that the whole Carlie shrilling especially coming out of MJ was very painful to read and brings it down quite a bit.

To be fair, considering how incompetent Carlie is while MJ helps save the day, whatever shilling Carlie got in Spider-Island is tame compared to the nonsense we had before.

[TinkerSpider]

Y'know, these mentions of Slott not being a good MJ writer makes me wonder who's truly the worst one...

On the opposite end, I think the best one would be DeMatteis.

Terry Kavanaugh was a terrible writer, period. But his influence was limited to the weakest satellite, Web, and he ultimately did no harm to the character (unless you count coming up with the Clone Saga, which was Marvel's first attempt to get rid of the marriage).

Wolfman wrote her out of the book for several years, but he didn't set out to make her unlikeable unlike Slott.

For all the Roger Stern purported to dislike MJ as a love interest, he did a lot to develop her character.

Tom DeFalco also did a lot to develop her character.

Michelinie was...mixed. His early marriage issues were fun, but after Jim Salicrup left as editor and Danny Fingeroth took over, his MJ devolved to the point where he was coming up problems (like smoking) that were problems for problems' sake, not organic to MJ.

Mackie was fine until he burned out (and was paired with Byrne) and then he phoned in everything.

Byrne was terrible. But at least he didn't try to character assassinate MJ on the page, unlike Slott. He just made her plane blow up.

Wells wrote an awful MJ in Venom: Dark Protector. Seriously, it's up there with Slott.

Peter David writes a good MJ. And a good Felicia.

Todd MacFarlane was an oddly decent writer for MJ, even if he leaned on cheesecake for her depiction. Erik Larsen was...ok, also leaned on cheesecake.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa wrote a great MJ. JMS, of course. Tom Beland in Web of Romance. Matt Fraction. I have to admit I liked Mark Millar's MJ in his Marvel Knights run. Gerry Conway, naturally. I enjoyed Len Wein's take on her. Leah Williams - although we never did see MJ tell Peter about Mysterio. Nick Spencer.

But the reason I believe Slott takes the crown as worst MJ writer: the character assassination and disrespect is on the page. I know people like to point to Spider Island, but consider:
1) Took potshots at MJ being shallow and unintelligent
2) Made Peter and MJ laugh about ever getting back together, as if it were unthinkable
3) Made MJ carry the idiot ball and blithely accept Otto as Peter
4) Made MJ sit in a burning building, close her eyes, and wait for rescue - like WTHF, dude?!?!
5) Made MJ blame Peter because Otto took over his body
6) Took away MJ's agency and very strongly implied Otto had a good time personally while accessing private memories of MJ without her consent

And that's just off the top of my head.