Mary Jane Watson-Parker Appreciation 2024.

[Kevinroc]

So you're saying that I said that all you were getting was a non-616 version of Peter Parker who was married to MJ...

...and now you have a non-616 version of Peter Parker who is married to MJ?

So, Dan, what do you appreciate about MJ? What do you like about MJ?

[Spider-Tiger]

I don't disagree that nothing will fundamentally change until the old guard is gone, but I think Hickman's X-Men might be an example of the opposite.

The thing is that Hickman wanted to move X-Men to a new status quo, but the editors wanted to keep Krakoa going longer because it was popular. That's the main reason Hickman left early. So even though they're backtracking right now, that wasn't the case initially. They wanted to keep Hickman's new status quo longer than he did.

Second, the main reason why the X-Men are gping back to the mansion is probably for brand synergy with X-Men '97 and the upcoming MCU take. ASM isn't in that situation. If anything, it looks off-brand compared to the adaptations, like others brought up already.

I doubt that Marvel editorial ever saw Krakoa as anything more than a temporary status quo change. They kept it going for as long as it did because it was commercially successful, and they likely wanted to milk that for as long as they could. But I'm sure the intent was always to eventually move back to a more traditional status quo. They just lined up the relaunch to coincide with X-men 97.

To me, this is no different than Spider-man editorial keeping Superior Spider-man as an ongoing status quo, and then having the volume 3 relaunch and return to a more traditional Spider-man coincide with the release of Amazing Spider-man 2.

Regardless, it seems Marvel is very much sticking to a certain degree of status quo flexibility, whereby they can institute temporary changes that can be swiftly done away with in a relaunch. And they dont see the marriage as really allowing for that type of approach. The x-men can leave Krakoa, but Spider-man can't go back to being unmarried unless there's another OMD. This is the "illusion of change" philosophy. And yeah the x-men going back to the mansion (no matter how delayed) reinforces it.

On the flipside, 616 Spider-man will likely never have a significant or lasting romantic relationship with anyone other than MJ. That's the "brand synergy" and "illusion of change" at work. They just can't cross the threshold of marriage.

[Dan Slott]

So, Dan, what do you appreciate about MJ? What do you like about MJ?

She is, without a doubt, one of the best supporting characters in all of Marvel Comics.
Same for J. Jonah Jameson, Aunt May, and Harry Osborn.

Spider-Man has one of the most relatable secret identity/alter ego's in all of comics.
Along with Batman and the Flash, he has one of the Top 3 Rogues' Galleries in all of comics.
And you add that Best Supporting Cast in all of comics and you've got an unbeatable title that will be around till the end of publishing and/or super hero movies and cartoons.

As a fictional character, Spider-Man will stand the test of time-- up there with Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, and Alice in Wonderland. I have no doubt.

And MJ is a big part of that. In the same way I can't imagine a version of Spider-Man without J. Jonah Jameson or the Green Goblin, I can't imagine any iteration that doesn't have MaryJane Watson.

Before I joined the Brand New Day writing team, most of the times I'd write a story where Spider-Man showed up, she'd be there somewhere (Ren & Stimpy #6, Venom Super Special #1, Spider-Man/Human Torch, She-Hulk #4, Thing #6, etc.).

Coming on to BND, the assignment was to write an unmarried Spider-Man in the 616. That was the job. And, in a way, it still is. Having them together but not married, and not being able to have them get remarried, made it feel regressive to have her play the regular romantic roll in the book. (I can hear an entire message board's worth of eyes rolling right now...) But please bear with me...

Readers would have had over two decades worth of stories where Pete & MJ were married. Having MJ be the go-to love interest in the book, but NOT having them be married, would have felt like a step back. Her presence in that capacity would be a constant reminder of the book going backwards to a previous status quo instead of going forwards. Peter being in different relationships with different people would feel like something new. The assignment was to tell stories with an unmarried Peter Parker. So those were the alternatives-- MJ, but not married (which we'd seen before) or Pete dating other people (which we hadn't really seen in a long time).

One of the things I knew that would happen after I left the book was that the next writer would put them back together as a couple, because after 10 years that would be something that would be fresh again. And (I know no one on this board will believe it, but...) I thought that was a good idea! In early drafts of my plots for my last arc of ASM, I was moving them to a spot where they would reignite their relationship. My take was that I'd be teeing it up. I was told that Nick wanted to do that entirely in his run, I didn't want to step on any toes, so that element was scrapped from my issues. It wasn't going to be a big thing, just hints. But we nixed it anyway.

There's stuff I enjoyed when writing Renew Your Vows, there were so many moments that I enjoyed when writing that AF #1000 story. And I am happy that fans of MJ and of the relationship are getting to read it over in John and Marco's USM. Just as I was happy fans got to read stuff like that when Gerry, Ryan, and Jody were writing the Renew Your Vows ongoing. I think that non-616 realities like those books, and projects like the Spider-Verse movies, are where readers are going to continue to find that they can get that fix.

[Frontier]

Attachment 138744

Maybe this will get things back on track.

I miss when ASM had good romance.

[Kevinroc]

She is, without a doubt, one of the best supporting characters in all of Marvel Comics.
Same for J. Jonah Jameson, Aunt May, and Harry Osborn.

Spider-Man has one of the most relatable secret identity/alter ego's in all of comics.
Along with Batman and the Flash, he has one of the Top 3 Rogues' Galleries in all of comics.
And you add that Best Supporting Cast in all of comics and you've got an unbeatable title that will be around till the end of publishing and/or super hero movies and cartoons.

As a fictional character, Spider-Man will stand the test of time-- up there with Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, and Alice in Wonderland. I have no doubt.

And MJ is a big part of that. In the same way I can't imagine a version of Spider-Man without J. Jonah Jameson or the Green Goblin, I can't imagine any iteration that doesn't have MaryJane Watson.

Before I joined the Brand New Day writing team, most of the times I'd write a story where Spider-Man showed up, she'd be there somewhere (Ren & Stimpy #6, Venom Super Special #1, Spider-Man/Human Torch, She-Hulk #4, Thing #6, etc.).

Coming on to BND, the assignment was to write an unmarried Spider-Man in the 616. That was the job. And, in a way, it still is. Having them together but not married, and not being able to have them get remarried, made it feel regressive to have her play the regular romantic roll in the book. (I can hear an entire message board's worth of eyes rolling right now...) But please bear with me...

Readers would have had over two decades worth of stories where Pete & MJ were married. Having MJ be the go-to love interest in the book, but NOT having them be married, would have felt like a step back. Her presence in that capacity would be a constant reminder of the book going backwards to a previous status quo instead of going forwards. Peter being in different relationships with different people would feel like something new. The assignment was to tell stories with an unmarried Peter Parker. So those were the alternatives-- MJ, but not married (which we'd seen before) or Pete dating other people (which we hadn't really seen in a long time).

One of the things I knew that would happen after I left the book was that the next writer would put them back together as a couple, because after 10 years that would be something that would be fresh again. And (I know no one on this board will believe it, but...) I thought that was a good idea! In early drafts of my plots for my last arc of ASM, I was moving them to a spot where they would reignite their relationship. My take was that I'd be teeing it up. I was told that Nick wanted to do that entirely in his run, I didn't want to step on any toes, so that element was scrapped from my issues. It wasn't going to be a big thing, just hints. But we nixed it anyway.

There's stuff I enjoyed when writing Renew Your Vows, there were so many moments that I enjoyed when writing that AF #1000 story. And I am happy that fans of MJ and of the relationship are getting to read it over in John and Marco's USM. Just as I was happy fans got to read stuff like that when Gerry, Ryan, and Jody were writing the Renew Your Vows ongoing. I think that non-616 realities like those books, and projects like the Spider-Verse movies, are where readers are going to continue to find that they can get that fix.

I want to say thanks for taking my question seriously.

And while I don't agree with every decision that has been made, I do appreciate your candor.

[Xix25]

So is there anything worth catching up on with regards to MJ at Marvel?

[Celgress]

So is there anything worth catching up on with regards to MJ at Marvel?

Ask yourself this question -

Have you ever fantasized about MJ as a Las Vegas card dealer with a bootlegged faulty Ben Ten Omnitrix, and paired with an unlikable love interest/generic tech support guy? Why are you laughing, Marvel Editorial is serious....

[Spider-Tiger]

So is there anything worth catching up on with regards to MJ at Marvel?

Nothing in 616! You should check out Ultimate Spider-Man though if you haven't already

[Garlador]

So you're saying that I said that all you were getting was a non-616 version of Peter Parker who was married to MJ...

...and now you have a non-616 version of Peter Parker who is married to MJ?

You also said if readers wanted to properly push for the marriage in 616 to get considered again, we should petition for a pro-marriage AU book first, and then support that title consistently in stronger numbers than the 616 title.

It seems fans are currently doing just that.

I await any next steps to get Mrs. Parker back where she belongs with her husband. Clearly we’ve seen there’s readers willing to put their money where their mouth’s are.

[Jman27]

So is there anything worth catching up on with regards to MJ at Marvel?

616 she is a superhero, in 6160 she is a wife again to Peter with kids, and in the games she is still a reporter in Spider-Man 2

[Mercwmouth12]

616 she is a superhero, in 6160 she is a wife again to Peter with kids, and in the games she is still a reporter in Spider-Man 2

Well correction in the game she is also in a relationship with Peter and the live together. In the Sony animation verse they are married and have a daughter

[Frontier]

I do feel like there's a general correlation between eras where MJ isn't the main love interest and writers don't seem to know what to do with her which leads to some really weak writing.

[Xix25]

When writers don't really follow up on threads these messes tend to occur a lot, which spoils the runs and makes reading Spidey less fun. At least USM seems to be avoiding this for now. Think people shouldn't try to remove stuff just for the sake of it or for the 'potential' of new stories because that doesn't seem to have panned out well.

[Jman27]

Well correction in the game she is also in a relationship with Peter and the live together. In the Sony animation verse they are married and have a daughter

lol Mj only value is if shes in a relationship with Peter or not

[Kurus]

lol Mj only value is if shes in a relationship with Peter or not

It’s called a supporting character for a reason.