Mary Jane and Black Cat issue 2 of 5 Preview

[Ursalink]

That'd be hilarious, but unlikely. I think more than anything it's just a "wouldn't this be fun" kind of mini since their team up during Beyond was well-received, and Dark Web was a good excuse since MJ doesn't have a role in the event.

I do wonder if the Joe Kelly 2-parter won't sort of wrap up the BC/MJ mini - the mini ends with Felicia unsure about staying with Peter and then Kelly splits then up, clearing the field for the revelation arc in March...

ETA: I guess that timing doesn't really work with the publishing schedule, but we've seen Marvel put books out in the wrong order

I loved the issue too, but more thatn the story itself, I think many Spider-Fans bought it simply by the fact of seeing Mary Jane wearing the Black Cat's suit.

This mini won't conclude until AFTER Wells opens the mystery box and says "What Peter Did."

This whole situation is weird.

Tell me about it! I hurts my brain trying to understand what the Heck happened here.

In some other thread, they said the Mayan God who is going to appear here is somekind of "trickster god" (like Loki or even Anansi). Well, if this whole mess is actually a trick from this Mayan God and nothing is actually real, then I'll be happy as Heaven. I mean, this whole situation without any explanation and things having nonsense of all, kinda reminds me the kind of tricks than DC's Mxyzptlk would play on Superman. Or even a prank of Loki on Thor, like turning him into a frog or something.

[Huntsman Spider]

I loved the issue too, but more thatn the story itself, I think many Spider-Fans bought it simply by the fact of seeing Mary Jane wearing the Black Cat's suit.



Tell me about it! I hurts my brain trying to understand what the Heck happened here.

In some other thread, they said the Mayan God who is going to appear here is somekind of "trickster god" (like Loki or even Anansi). Well, if this whole mess is actually a trick from this Mayan God and nothing is actually real, then I'll be happy as Heaven. I mean, this whole situation without any explanation and things having nonsense of all, kinda reminds me the kind of tricks than DC's Mxyzptlk would play on Superman. Or even a prank of Loki on Thor, like turning him into a frog or something.

Yeah, he's kind of the god of bad luck or something, which does (or could) explain a few things.

[Matt Rat]

Yeah, he's kind of the god of bad luck or something, which does (or could) explain a few things.

So again, like with the reality-bending shenanigans of Mephisto, we don't know if Peter and MJ are acting in-character when falling victim to this God or not, and have to wait for those 'parts of their souls that remember' to ultimately enable them to overcome whatever hold those gods have on them

I hope Marvel know every time they do this, they rob the characters of agency and that you can never truly 'invest' into how they perform. Hell, while I enjoy Norman's revamped origin (which is being just as ignored now as Sins Past was for years) , that was what ticked off so many Norman and Harry stans too. How much of this is their doing and not some other worldly puppet master moving the strings along?

[Jman27]

So again, like with the reality-bending shenanigans of Mephisto, we don't know if Peter and MJ are acting in-character when falling victim to this God or not, and have to wait for those 'parts of their souls that remember' to ultimately enable them to overcome whatever hold those gods have on them

I hope Marvel know every time they do this, they rob the characters of agency and that you can never truly 'invest' into how they perform. Hell, while I enjoy Norman's revamped origin (which is being just as ignored now as Sins Past was for years) , that was what ticked off so many Norman and Harry stans too. How much of this is their doing and not some other worldly puppet master moving the strings along?

Having god's in Spiderman story doesn't make sense at all

[Kevinroc]

There was zero reason that Jed MacKay had to reveal MJ was missing for those 6 months except Wells is an awful writer who wasted 18 issues (including the Dark Web prologue that he wrote) on crap because he wasn't interested in his own mystery box.

[Huntsman Spider]

So again, like with the reality-bending shenanigans of Mephisto, we don't know if Peter and MJ are acting in-character when falling victim to this God or not, and have to wait for those 'parts of their souls that remember' to ultimately enable them to overcome whatever hold those gods have on them

I hope Marvel know every time they do this, they rob the characters of agency and that you can never truly 'invest' into how they perform. Hell, while I enjoy Norman's revamped origin (which is being just as ignored now as Sins Past was for years) , that was what ticked off so many Norman and Harry stans too. How much of this is their doing and not some other worldly puppet master moving the strings along?

Yeah, valid points there.

There was zero reason that Jed MacKay had to reveal MJ was missing for those 6 months except Wells is an awful writer who wasted 18 issues (including the Dark Web prologue that he wrote) on crap because he wasn't interested in his own mystery box.

Sadly, yeah.

[Vworp Vworp]

And it’s not just MJ’s powers. MJ’s and Felicia’s status quos are tied to Wells’s run, to the extent that both characters are being written out of character with Felicia’s thoughts revolving around a boy and fretting over revealing her relationship, to the point that she’s off her game.

And MJ is not MJ. There is nothing MJ Watson about this character. She’s now a PTA mommy whose only concern is her kids and who has a Ben10 Omnitron so she won’t be completely useless on the “heist.” She’s treating Limbo like a joke: “think of it like a Jim Henson film” tee hee. And her powers are being played for a joke. None of her reactions feel authentic, and MacKay tries to handwave that as, “oh, the things I saw in my…six months away. Yeah…six months, sure.” Where is the MJ who uses her charm and charisma? Her acting experience? Her ability to stay calm under pressure and think fast? Instead, she just stands around with her arms crossed or running from demons or clutching onto Felicia when she’s not expository dialoguing what little expository dialogue she’s allowed without setting off the mystery box proximity alarms.

And MacKay, who usually has a great handle on Felicia, is writing her like a thirteen year old who just accepted an offer to go steady from the thirteen year old boy who was going steady with her frenemy last week, instead of like adults who have complicated but adult relationships. Felicia even acknowledges MJ would be fine if she told her and yet….NO! She CAN’T! Not NOW! *slaps the back of her hand to her forehead and falls in a faint* OH! The DRAH-MA!…

…that is completely forced and artificial and out of character.

The Felicia who faced down Tamara in Iron Cat would never. It’s hard to believe that miniseries ended just a few short months ago. And that MacKay wrote them both.

All of this.

I've picked up every MacKay Black Cat trade to date and Iron Cat should be rocking up next week.

When this book was announced, I was conflicted because I didn't wanna miss out on any new MacKay Black Cat content. But it being part of a story that was stomping all over Ben Reilly meant I wasn't super-keen on supporting it. Fortunately, having seen the first two issues, that conflict has been easily resolved. Because it's terrible. It's a book that exists purely to prop up a male character who isn't even in the book, at the cost of its two leads own agency.

Which would be a bad look for any book. But the fact that's it's Mackay writing for Felicia (and MJ) just makes it all the more appalling.

[Ursalink]

All of this.

I've picked up every MacKay Black Cat trade to date and Iron Cat should be rocking up next week.

When this book was announced, I was conflicted because I didn't wanna miss out on any new MacKay Black Cat content. But it being part of a story that was stomping all over Ben Reilly meant I wasn't super-keen on supporting it. Fortunately, having seen the first two issues, that conflict has been easily resolved. Because it's terrible. It's a book that exists purely to prop up a male character who isn't even in the book, at the cost of its two leads own agency.

Which would be a bad look for any book. But the fact that's it's Mackay writing for Felicia (and MJ) just makes it all the more appalling.

I agree.

I have to say, however, this is a classic situation where they don't know how to properly write a character. I mean, this is like Black Cat back in "Superior Spider-Man":

Doc Ock, impersonating Spider-Man, beated Felicia and send her to jail. I can understand she went mad and wanted revenge after that. (Heck, I would have done the same thing!) But what pissed me here is that fact that, even if Felicia couldn't remember who Spider-Man really was back then, she actually believed the jerk who punched her was the real Spider-Man. She has always been a very smart lady, she had know Spider-Man for years even without his real name (a goody-two-shoes with a serious guilt problem), and she knows there have been a lot of imbeciles who have usurped Spidey's identity in the past (Chameleon, Mysterio, Kraven, Venom... (*Snort*) Even Paste-Pot Pete). So, how could she even believe the jerk who ruined was the real Spidey instead of another imposter?