History
Early Life[]
Mary Jane Watson was born to Philip and Madeline Watson. She is the second of two children, with her elder sister Gayle having been born four years earlier. Due to her family's constant moving (as a result of her father's various teaching jobs), Mary Jane began developing a more extroverted and carefree personality, a trait which helped her make friends as the Watson's moved from one location to the next. After Madeline left Philip, the Watson women stayed with various relatives. One such relative that Mary Jane was particularly fond of was her Aunt Anna, living in Queens, New York. On the night of Ben Parker's murder, Mary Jane spotted a frantic Peter running into his house, with Spider-Man emerging from an upstairs window only moments later. At this, she deduced that Peter and Spider-Man were one and the same. Confused by the emotions set off by the discovery, Mary Jane chose to keep this information to herself, and just like Peter refused to pursue a relationship with him, out of fear that he might neglect her for his super hero duties.[20]
Introduction[]
After numerous attempts by Aunt May to pair Peter and Mary Jane together,[21] Mary Jane finally paid a visit to the Parker home. Unfortunately, as Spider-Man was fighting the Spider-Slayer robots, he was not at home. Instead, she encountered Betty Brant and Liz Allan, who were both vying for Peter's affections at the time. Both women were stunned by Mary Jane's beauty.[22] Much like her mother and sister, Mary Jane had an interest in performing arts. Dreaming of a career in either Broadway or film, she starred in high school productions such as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire and other various plays and productions.[citation needed]
Peter hits the Jackpot
When her mother fell seriously ill, Mary Jane temporarily gave up her acting at school and took a series of after-school jobs to help support the family. When Madeline died, Mary Jane left home and was determined not to sacrifice her dreams of happiness as had her mother and sister.[23]
Arriving at her Aunt Anna's house on a Saturday, Mary Jane and Peter finally met face-to-face when Aunt May and Peter came over for Sunday dinner.[citation needed] Knowing that Peter was Spider-Man, when a news bulletin about the escape of the Rhino interrupted the music program the pair were watching, Mary Jane suggested they try and see if they could spot the criminal. Agreeing to this, Peter later left her side with the excuse of having to take pictures for The Daily Bugle, only to reappear battling as Spider-Man.[citation needed] Peter soon introduced Mary Jane to his other college friends, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn and Flash Thompson. With the entanglement of these relationships, jealousy and rivalry were underlying constants between Stacy, Osborn, Parker and Watson.[citation needed]
Interacting with Spider-Man[]
During a gunfight at the Gloom Room where Mary Jane worked as a dancer, she was put in danger when a criminal tried to use her as a human shield, but Spider-Man rescued her from the ordeal. It was the first time the pair met while Peter was in his Spider-Man costume.[24]
Mary Jane stays to help Peter
During a battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin atop the Brooklyn Bridge, Gwen died from the impact of Spider-Man's attempt to rescue her with his webbing. When Mary Jane tried to comfort Peter, he accused her of not being able to understand what it would feel like even though her own mother died. Though hurt by his outburst, she stayed to comfort Peter regardless. Gwen's death had serious consequences for Mary Jane and Peter's on-and-off friendship; the feisty and carefree party girl Mary Jane, who had been one of Gwen's best friends, eventually became more serious and sensitive, while grief of loss brought her and Peter closer together.[25]
New Romance[]
Mary Jane broke off her relationship with Harry Osborn as he was becoming more and more unstable following the death of his father, Norman. Harry then nearly killed both Mary Jane and Peter as he set off a bomb while flying around as the second Green Goblin.[26]
Peter and Mary Jane Forever
On leaving for a trip to Europe, Peter and Mary Jane exchanged a long and passionate kiss.[27] A kiss that would prove to be the turning point in their relationship as Mary Jane realized the true depth of her feelings for Peter - feelings so strong that even a girl bearing a close resemblance to Gwen could not stop their romance. She was maid of honor at Betty Brant's wedding to Ned Leeds.[28]
Peter proposed to Mary Jane with a box of Cracker Jacks with the real diamond ring inside. Mary Jane turned him down, claiming to be too much of a free spirit to be tied down with marriage and settling down.[29] Though they remained friends, Mary Jane continually grew upset over Peter constantly risking his life and breaking dates in order to fight various villains and criminals as Spider-Man. When Mary Jane finally finished college, she left New York to help her Aunt Anna settle down in Florida. It was also a chance for Mary Jane to escape from the dual life of Peter Parker and Spider-Man. After a heated apartment battle between the Puma and Spider-Man, which she witnessed, Mary Jane revealed to Peter that she had known of his dual identity for quite some time. Shortly after opening up and telling Peter of her entire life story, Peter decided that he could trust Mary Jane with his secret and the two vowed to stay friends and confidantes.[30] As time passed, Peter and Mary Jane realized that they were deceiving themselves about the depth of their feelings for each other and that they were very much in love.[31] Peter proposed to Mary Jane for a second time. She did not immediately accept. Leaving for Pittsburgh, where her sister, Gayle, had been sent to prison, Mary Jane helped the police arrest the real culprit, her father, Philip. Mary Jane reconciled with Gayle after years of tension, followed by Mary Jane then accepting Peter's proposal of marriage.[32]
Marriage to Peter Parker[]
Peter and Mary Jane got married on the front steps of New York City's City Hall,[33] with her uncle, Spencer Watson, a judge, presiding over the ceremony.
Mary Jane Watson weds Peter Parker
They spent their honeymoon in France and made their home in a condominium apartment that Mary Jane was able to afford thanks to her highly successful modeling career. As the wife of Spider-Man, however, things were hardly ever easy. After their honeymoon, Spider-Man was captured, drugged, and buried alive in a mound of spiders by Kraven the Hunter, who was attempting to best him before his inevitable death. Wearing a cloth version of Spider-Man's costume, Kraven hunted and killed criminals, even saving Mary Jane from one, although she easily saw through his disguise.[34] However, no villain scared her more than the symbiotic Eddie Brock, known throughout the world as Venom. She was so terrified with her encounter that she begged Peter to not wear his black costume, as it reminded her too much of the monstrous villain.[35]
Jonathan Caesar, a multi-millionaire, became obsessed with Mary Jane and even held her prisoner for a time, but Mary Jane regained her freedom and Caesar was sent to prison. Caesar took his revenge for being rejected by Mary Jane by having her and Peter evicted from their apartment. Moreover, Caesar used his influence to blacklist Mary Jane from getting modeling jobs, and even went so far as to purchase companies to prevent them from hiring her. Her savings frozen due to legal matters, Mary Jane and Peter moved into the home of May Parker for a time. She got a role on the soap opera "Secret Hospital," but was unhappy with her character's air-headed and mean personality. Although she successfully petitioned her boss to adjust her character's personality, a deranged fan tried to kill Mary Jane out of hatred for the actions of her soap opera character, compelling Mary Jane to quit her job out of fear for her own safety. As their relationship continued to shift to a growing divide, Mary Jane briefly flirted with fellow actor Jason Jerome who then tempted her into doing a secret affair. She refused, but Jerome insisted, and she realized that she was enticed by him in spite of herself. But in the end, she chose to love Peter and rejected Jerome, while rebuking his behavior.[36]
Marital Struggles[]
Due to this stress, the recent death of Harry Osborn, and the seeming return of her husband's parents, Mary Jane began smoking (a habit she had quit in high school), only increasing the tension between her and Peter.
Spider-Man tells Mary Jane of Harry's death
When his parents were discovered to be fakes, Peter was unable to cope with the knowledge and disappeared for a time.[37][38] Mary Jane visited her sister Gayle and her father for the first time in years, and finally reconciled with them. Meanwhile, Peter overcame his problems on his own. When she and Peter reunited, both were happier than they had been in a long time. Shortly afterward, Peter's clone Ben Reilly returned, marking the beginning of the Clone Saga. Mary Jane discovered that she was pregnant. While she experienced some complications in her pregnancy, Reilly's scientist friend Seward Trainer helped her. Peter and Ben were told by Trainer that Ben was the real Peter Parker, and Peter was the clone (which later proved to be a lie).
Peter, acting on hypnotic suggestion by the Jackal, attempted to kill Mary Jane, but was prevented by Ben Reilly (as the Scarlet Spider), his teammates the New Warriors, and Kaine. Later, while arguing with Ben, Peter accidentally struck Mary Jane. After this, he decided to quit as Spider-Man, because the stress of his double life was endangering his wife and unborn child. Peter and Mary Jane left New York and moved to Portland, Oregon. They lived there peacefully for several months, adapting happily to normal life. However, they missed New York City and their friends, and moved back. During the Onslaught crisis, Mary Jane was scanned by a Sentinel robot, who detected genetic abnormalities in her fetus.[39]
Mary Jane loses her baby
Soon afterward, while Ben Reilly died at the Green Goblin's hands the same night, when Mary Jane's baby was already past due, she was poisoned by Alison Mongrain, an agent of the Green Goblin. Mary Jane's baby was seemingly stillborn, as Mongrain apparently took the sedated infant away with her, and the baby has not been seen since in the normal continuity.[40]
After this tragic turn of events, Mary Jane begged Peter to quit being Spider-Man. He was happy to do so for several months, but soon felt the tug of his great power and great responsibility to be a hero.[41] Mary Jane returned to college and majored in psychology, but eventually became bored and decided to return to modeling, where she reached new heights of success. Peter became Spider-Man again behind Mary Jane's back, which put strain on their marriage yet again. At the same time, she began receiving lewd and threatening phone calls from an unknown man. Soon afterwards, the plane on which Mary Jane was to travel to a photo shoot exploded in mid-air, and she was presumed dead.[42]
Breaking Point[]
This mysterious stalker was revealed to be a telepathic mutant. He had connected to Peter in some way and wanted to take over his life. He kidnapped Mary Jane as part of his plan and held her hostage for several months.[43] The stalker, however, killed himself after finally gleaning enough of Peter's personality and morality to discover that he had done terrible things. Peter and Mary Jane were reunited.[44]
Mary Jane and Peter reconcile
However, the stress of her captivity drove Mary Jane away. She moved to Los Angeles and immersed herself in acting. Although Mary Jane missed Peter terribly, after he failed to meet her flight, she refused to talk to him.[45] However, when the villainess Shathra claimed to have had an affair with Spider-Man, Peter's first act was to call Mary Jane and assure her it was a lie. Each of them tried to visit their soulmate and talk about tensions and problems, but they crossed - Peter went to L.A., and Mary Jane to New York at the same time. However, unexpected meeting in Dallas Airport helped fix the things - Mary Jane and Peter ended their separation.[46]
Later, Mary Jane, along with Peter and his Aunt May, moved into the Avengers Tower after one of Spider-Man's enemies destroyed their Queens home. Mary Jane was glad to live in luxurious rooms with her beloved and made friends with some fellow super heroes, something she had long wanted to do. During this time the pair found stability (Peter even asked if she wanted another baby, but responded "not now".)[47] Although the Civil War events forced him to stage a secret transfer of Mary Jane out of Avengers Tower,[48] feeling that with the loss of his secret identity and his doubts about Tony Stark's ideas, Mary Jane had become some kind of hostage. Mary Jane remained supportive about the whole ordeal, acting as an understanding wife and partner.
One More Day[]
Later, Peter was on a quest to save the life of his Aunt May, who had fallen from a sniper's bullet intended for him. He sought the help of Dr. Strange and found that even magic couldn't help him save Aunt May's life. After appealing to Tony Stark, Jarvis was sent with $2 million to pay the hospital fees and give her the best care possible. Mary Jane spent most of the time sitting next to May's bed or invigorating Peter.
Red-Headed Stranger
In despair, Peter was soon approached by Mephisto and told that there was a way to save Aunt May's life. Assuming it was his soul, Peter refused. Mephisto said that he was done with trying to take heroes' souls, as they were less fun to torture, knowing they did something right by damning themselves for eternity. He explained that he wanted to take away the love that Peter and Mary Jane shared, as that sort of unconditional love only occurs once a millennium - it would mean he got one over on God and would enjoy listening to the small part of Peter and Mary Jane's souls that did remember the love. The demon gave them 24 hours to make the choice - save the dying Aunt May or let her die.
Mary Jane asked Peter if it was time to let May go. Peter said in response that he was not ready to live without his aunt. The two spent all day and night in silence holding each other, as the final minutes of their destiny were coming to an end. Eventually, when Mephisto came to the couple once more, Mary Jane whispered some conditions to Mephisto before agreeing, such as making everyone forget that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Much to his own dismay, Peter agreed also. Satisfied, Mephisto revealed the truth behind the deal - the little girl Peter had met earlier was in reality the couple's daughter from their future. However, it was too late to regret since the final choice had been made. With only seconds left, a crying Mary Jane swore to Peter that no matter what Mephisto did, they would be together again. Peter and Mary Jane said "I love you" to each other and kissed, while Mephisto rearranged history, and their marriage was erased from the current continuity. With Spider-Man's secret identity was restored, Mary Jane became Peter's ex-girlfriend after a messy break-up rendering their relationship was considered frosty at best, and the encounter with Mephisto never happened.
Brand New Day[]
Mary Jane returned as the girlfriend of Hollywood actor Bobby Carr, and was later attacked by Paper Doll.[16]
Mary Jane single
Concealing herself in the panic room, she observed a battle between Spider-Man and Paper Doll and communicated with Spider-Man over the intercom. When asked by Spider-Man if they knew each other, Mary Jane told him they met "in another life". Peter did not learn that Mary Jane was the girlfriend of Carr nor that she was the voice on the intercom. Mary Jane contemplated making a phone call to Peter but was hesitant to do so. She was asked for an autograph by Sara Ehret, an associate of Jackpot. Mary Jane told her she did not know when she would return to New York. Recently, she left a message on Peter's machine, but he accidentally cut it off before she could say anything.
Mary Jane reappeared in New York at Aunt May's wedding to Jay Jameson, and later tried to rekindle her friendship with Peter. It was a conversation in which the pair finally discussed their unsuccessful wedding day (since the history was changed by Mephisto, Peter unwittingly didn't show up to this day). Also, some flashbacks about their further joint life were shown, including Civil War events, Aunt May's apparent death after being shot and Peter's successful attempt to revive her by CPR. One of these flashbacks revealed that Mary Jane agreed to stay with Peter, but with some conditions - he would never propose to her again and they wouldn't have a baby because his life as crime fighter was far too dangerous. Another post-Civil War era flashback told how Kingpin's mercenary (ironically, it was the same guy who messed up their wedding up years ago) attempted to kill Mary Jane. Peter saved unconscious Mary Jane but was forced to turn to Doctor Strange for help.
The Supreme Sorcerer began to cast a powerful spell, "deleting" all memories about Spider-Man's secret identity in process (the work originally done by Mephisto). At the last moment however Peter, still deeply in love with Mary Jane and thus unable to lose her, didn't let Strange change her memories too. Learning about what Peter had done, Mary Jane was hurt. She felt that she was not strong enough to cope with such a burden, ended the relationship and left New York. Back to present day, Peter and Mary Jane promised each other they would remain best friends and try to be happy for one another and whoever they chose to be with. Mary Jane moved back to the Big Apple and started a TV hostess career. Once Peter had nowhere to live and he came to Mary Jane. As soon as she pointed out that they will live under the same roof again, both laughed out loud as if it was a joke.
Spider-Island[]
She was in New York when Spider-Island occurred. Mary Jane was slightly immune to the spider-virus, due to her time with Peter. After she received spider-powers while every other citizen was turning into giant spiders due a Second Mutation, she helped the resistance fight the arachnids and defend the Empire State Building when Spider-Man was using Doctor Octopus' helmet as an antenna to command Octobots and spread the cure. In the middle of the chaos, she whispered "I love you" to Peter, but he couldn't hear her. In the aftermath, Peter gave her the cure to the spider-virus.
Ends of the Earth[]
After a while Carlie Cooper came to talk to Mary Jane about Peter's double life, as they were both exes who knew his secret. Though there were earlier hints about Mary Jane's jealousy towards Carlie, she managed to overcome it for the sake of Peter's happiness[49] and even befriended with Carlie. During the Ends of the Earth event, Peter confessed to Silver Sable (who tried to tell Spidey about her feelings towards him) that there was a girl who waits for him and "it'd just about take saving the world to be worthy of her" (referring, of course, to Mary Jane). At the same time in New York, Mary Jane decided to buy a nightclub to throw a homecoming party for Peter as she was sure that Peter wouldn't fail her and would come home a winner.
Trying to Restart[]
One day Peter realized that despite so much history between the two of them, they were still not together. Intending to rectify that and restart their relationship, he went to Mary Jane's nightclub and offered to take her to dinner. Mary Jane seemed to be a little surprised, but first she wanted to visit recovering Aunt May in the hospital. In the hospital, Peter asked Mary Jane about a date one more time, but he was interrupted by his Avengers I.D. card. Mary Jane covered for him and kissed him on the cheek and told him she was proud of him. As Peter left, Aunt May whispered to Jay that she might finally get some grandchildren after all.
Dying Wish[]
Unfortunately, Doctor Octavius had swapped their minds, gaining access to Spider-Man's memories, and so took Peter Parker's life as his own. No one saw the trap, and Mary Jane was no exception. One evening she and Doc Ock (in Peter's body) had that long-awaited date. Mary Jane asked Peter if they really were going to try to have a relationship again. He answered "yes" and asked her to tell her catchphrase. Mary Jane smiled, said "Face it, tiger, you hit the--" playfully ripping his shirt open, and... paused in dismay finding his Spider-Man costume underneath. Peter/Ock angrily snapped at her stating that he doesn't understand why she's so surprised. Their talk was interrupted by news reports about Octavius' jailbreak. Understanding what that meant, Mary Jane told Peter he has to go.
After "Spider-Man" told Mary Jane that Peter had flown away to Europe, he put her (as well as other friends, relatives and co-workers of Parker's) in the Avengers Tower. While others discussed what was happening, Mary Jane decided to talk over the intercom with Peter, who prepared for Octavius' arrival in the closed lab. When Peter/Ock asked her to leave, Mary Jane answered that he knows her, and he knows she can keep pressing the button all night. When Spidey finally opened the door, Mary Jane tried to support him.
But Doc Ock in Peter's body didn't want to listen to her usual "motivational speech", angrily thinking that the whole situation was just wasting his time. He finally asked her bluntly - why was she still with him? And the answer shocked him. Mary Jane finally admitted her feelings for Peter. She confessed to him that no matter how complicated their relationship was, her feelings would always remain the same - she loves him, all the way down to her soul. After that they kissed ardently.[50] When "Peter" held Doctor Octavius' dying body, Mary Jane called out to "Spidey" to be careful. Real Peter Parker in Doc Ock's body heard her voice and asked the new "hero" to protect all of them - his family, friends, co-workers. Immediately after "Spider-Man" promised to do so, Peter Parker / Otto Octavius died.
Superior Spider-Man[]
Three days after the incident, Doctor Octavius got a job working at Horizon Labs as Peter Parker. He pondered all of Spider-Man's life through the hero's own memories. Suddenly his cell phone vibrated, showing a message from Mary Jane, who reminded Peter about their Friday night dinner. Octavius noticed that according to Spider-Man's memories, she is the closest person he has ever known; the one woman who knows Peter Parker better than anybody else. And because of that fact Doc Ock started to think about her as a potential threat. Although he was still in awe at how amazingly beautiful, she is and what a fool Peter Parker was for breaking up with her.
Sooner or later Mary Jane had to notice distinctly different character traits displayed by Octopus (such as a heavy intake of alcohol or lack of responsibility), so when Otto tried to get more intimate with her and made several advances, she blew him off every time. Instead of further attempts to gain her, Otto just relived all the tender moments Peter and Mary Jane had in the past. Now he was convinced "this Watson woman" was not so important after all. But when one of the Spider-Bots detected potential danger for Mary Jane's life, Superior Spider-Man immediately rushed to the rescue, saving her in the last moment. Mary Jane herself prepared to kiss him until Otto stopped her as he realized that he begins developing genuine feelings for her. He said it's time to move on since the life of Spider-Man's beloved is too far dangerous. This revelation surprised both Mary Jane and Peter's consciousness. In the end the hero promised Mary Jane he will always be near protecting her. Later Mary Jane told Carlie about Peter calling off the relationship and agreed with him, still unaware that Otto is in Peter's body.
Later at work, Mary Jane was caught in a fire created by the Goblin King and was rescued by a firefighter named "Pedro" instead of Peter, much to her disappointment. As Otto became increasingly angry at everybody around him, Mary Jane finally snapped: she told him they were no longer going to be friends, even. She then got a date with Pedro. When Otto got possessed by Venom, Mary Jane found him and demanded answers to his behavior. This caused him to summon the symbiote and give her a death threat, much to her horror, and Yuri Watanabe subsequently saved her. After being freed, Otto apologized for his behavior, and they reconciled. During the attack, Mary Jane got Aunt May, Jay, and Pedro go to safety. Following the defeat of the Goblin Nation and Peter's reveal of his former possession by Otto Octavius, she opted to leave Peter's life along with Carlie to avoid being a target for Spider-Man's enemies yet again.[51]
Invincible Iron Man[]
Following the destruction of her club, MJ's, during an unspecified superhuman conflict, Mary Jane decided to move to a city less prone to these types of events. She relocated to Chicago, Illinois, and opened up a new nightclub called Jackpot.[52] However, this club too was destroyed, this time when Iron Man and Doctor Doom attempted to subdue Madame Masque.
Afterward Tony offered her a job at Stark Industries, as both an apology and out of his necessity for a competent personal assistant.[53] Mary Jane initially refused the offer.[54] During Iron Man's subsequent adventure, Stark faked his own death for a month. His absence prompted the company's board of directors to take action and seize control of the company.
Because of this, Stark's A.I. assistant Friday pleaded with Mary Jane.[55] Mary Jane successfully appeased the disgruntled board of directors, and remained working for Stark after he returned.[56] Mary Jane would later have an awkward reunion with Peter when she and Tony attended a charity event held by his company, Parker Industries.[57] Later on, she caught up with Betty Brant and Harry Osborn, and the three discovered that the businessman Augustus Roman was secretly the new vigilante Regent. After the Regent revealed his true nature, and started abducting super heroes to use his special suit to steal their powers, both Iron Man and Spider-Man tried to confront him, but he defeated them.[58]
With few options left, Mary Jane donned Peter's Iron Spider Armor to assist Peter and Tony. Mary Jane and Tony distracted Regent long enough for Peter, Harry, and Miles Morales to release his prisoners. Mary Jane's attitude towards Peter during her time with him reminded Peter not to let his work take priority over his loved ones. Spider-Man warned Tony not to take Mary Jane for granted as he didn't realize he lost Mary Jane until after she moved on.[14] In the final moments of the second superhuman civil war, Tony Stark was put into a coma due to injuries sustained in battle.[59] Mary Jane worked together with Friday and Stark's mother Amanda Armstrong to keep the sleazy board chairman Eric Lynch from taking over the company.[60] They also offered their assistance to Ironheart, a young armored hero who intended to succeed Tony Stark.[61]
Not long afterwards, Tony Stark's biological systems rebooted. He woke up from his coma, but decided to disappear due to his own covert machinations.[62] Mary Jane, Riri and Amanda went on a fruitless search for him,[63] until Friday made a calculated analysis that the A.I. duplicate of Tony would know exactly where to find him.[64] However, Tony was continually complicating the search by sending them to other locations, believing he needed his privacy until he was finally ready.[65][66] Before Tony Stark returned, Mary Jane defended Amanda when she was approached by Tony's biological father, Jude.[67]
Reconciliation with Peter[]
Sometime after Parker Industries went under, Mary Jane began to get closer with Peter once again, but opted to avoid taking their relationship further since she was still conflicted about Peter's dual life.[68] When Norman Osborn became the Red Goblin, Mary Jane received a warning from Peter and adjusted Stark Tower's defenses against a symbiotic intruder.
However, because Venom arrived before Red Goblin, the defenses only injured Venom and had no effect on the Red Goblin. Surviving with minor injuries after a short skirmish, Mary Jane urged Peter to absorb the Venom symbiote to grant him the edge to stop his archenemy. She, along with others attacked by Red Goblin, were cured of his Carnage spikes by Flash Thompson with the Anti-Venom symbiote.[69] Shortly afterwards, Mary Jane cut ties with Stark Industries.[70] Following an eye-opening confrontation with Mysterio, Peter decided to open up to Mary Jane and apologize for their previous falling-out, prompting them to fully reconcile and restart their relationship.[71] Mary Jane continued being supportive of Peter's super hero life, but found a place to express her worries with the Lookups, an anonymous support group for friends and family of super heroes, which allowed Mary Jane to improve the perception of herself in her relationship.[72]
When Melanie Daniels, the lead actress of a play Mary Jane and Carlie Cooper attended, was held hostage by Electro, Mary Jane worked with Carlie to defeat the villain. News of the incident proliferated quickly, causing Mary Jane's popularity to gain traction and respark the public interest in her, which prompted Mary Jane's old agent Brett Hoskins to find her new offers.[11] She accepted a part in a film by the writer-director, Cage McKnight and prepared to take the flight in order to shoot the film. After packing up her travel bags, she waited alongside Carlie for Peter to say goodbye before she left; but still had to board the flight knowing Peter wouldn't make it due to his activity as Spider-Man. She said goodbye to Peter on a face time app, promising that they could still communicate with each other, and she would come back as soon as possible. As the plane took off, she was unaware that Peter had planned to propose to her.[73]
Kindred's Infuence[]
Mary Jane returns home from filming
When she began filming, she easily deduced Cage McKnight was actually the master imposter, Mysterio. However, she kept this secret out of belief that Mysterio had reformed and was passionate for his cinematic project. As the pair tackled the film's various problems, they were targeted by the Savage Six, offended by the film's character parodies of themselves.[74] When the production crew relocated to the Griffith Park Zoo to finish production, the Savage Six found them again on the last day of filming. Mary Jane was able to fend them off long enough for the crew to finish filming on schedule, before they came to aid Mary Jane repel the villains.[75]
Mary Jane comforts Peter
Returning after months of filming, Mary Jane was unaware of the recent events and was in the crossfire of the Kindred possessed spider-heroes that attacked the bridge she was on. She was shockingly rescued by Norman Osborn, who took her to the Ravencroft Institute and explained that Kindred was Harry, but Mary Jane only complied to help Norman due to Dr. Ashley Kafka's sponsorship.[76][77][78] Upon joining Kindred's dinner, Mary Jane successfully baited the demon as she scapegoated herself for the neglect Harry suffered and the events around Peter and Gwen, allowing the Green Goblin to catch Kindred off-guard. When Fisk entrapped Kindred in Darkforce energy, Mary Jane helped Peter evacuate the other Spiders to safety.[79]
She would use her stay in New York to help Peter recover, and later met a fearful Mysterio, too afraid to reveal the truth.[80] When Overdrive needed her help to find a missing Carlie Cooper[81] and Mary Jane agreed to investigate,[82] but had no luck even with his Avengers' resources.[83] Attending her film premiere, Mysterio abducted her when the Savage Six attacked, revealing he was Mary Jane's therapist, Ludwig Reinhart, after Harry's death[84] and implanted false memory suggestions over the years. Mysterio left her with Kindred, who revealed themselves as Sarah Stacy,[85][86] who elaborated that she and her brother were experiments in Harry's posthumous plan to torture Peter and Norman.[87] With Harry dead, Mary Jane rescued Peter and denied the Kindred twins their victory, to which Mephisto killed them again behind the scenes. Free from this nightmare, Mary Jane and Peter returned home to New York.[88]
Mary Jane and a wounded Peter
While trying to help Peter process the Kindred ordeal,[89] Ben Reilly called her to the McCarthy Medical Institute where Peter was hospitalized with radiation poisoning after fighting the U-Foes. As Ben continued as Spider-Man, Mary Jane cared for a comatose Peter[90] while Aunt May sought her own solution[91] and Felicia helped watch over Peter[92] before he woke up extremely weakened after some weeks.[93][94] With Peter as Parker Robbins's hostage, extorting Felicia retrieve his magic hood, Mary Jane helped her with Count Nefaria and distracting Tombstone to retrieve their prize. Once successful, the pair defeated Parker Robbins before connecting over their histories with Peter, building their friendship.[10] Mary Jane would then meet Janine Godbe,[95] and the two met with Glory Grant to whistleblow on Beyond. But they were attacked by Queen Goblin, who destroyed the evidence before Ben arrived to only rescue Janine, abandoning Mary Jane.[96] During Queen Goblin's attack, Mary Jane and Felicia gave Peter his Spider-Man gear[97] and later comforted Peter after losing Ben, helping continue his physical recovery for months later.[98]
Marked[]
When Mary Jane invited Peter to move in,[99] Benjamin Rabin returned newly empowered and sought to use the two in a ritual to summon his god, Wayep, like he tried before.[100] After Rabin marked the two, he sent both to an alternate Earth devastated by Wayep,[101] where they were rescued by Paul, who had a past with Rabin. With a device to escape back to their Earth, Wayep attacked to revenge himself upon Spider-Man, but Mary Jane activated the device to rescue Peter and killed Wayep. While Peter returned to Earth, Mary Jane was trapped with Paul on the other Earth[102] for four years due to an unknown time differential. Mary Jane survived with Paul and they adopted orphans Owen and "Romy" Stephanie, living a mostly peaceful life while developing her Power Slots device. The four were rescued by Peter's return before Rabin could kill Mary Jane[103] and relocated them to Earth-616, where she recounted her story to Peter but told him that she was staying with Paul.[104] When Peter confronted Paul, who revealed he was Rabin's son from the dead Earth, Mary Jane revealed she knew during her time with him and there were similarities with guilt and pain between Paul and Peter.[9]
Six months after Peter alienated his connections for Norman's help to save Mary Jane,[105][106][107] Mary Jane resumed her life "married" to Paul with the kids,[108] and avoiding Peter well enough to lie to Felicia about seeing him.[109] After Norman authenticated Krakoan medicines she was sponsoring and having a brief meeting with an apologetic Peter,[110] Mary Jane was abducted in her Aunt Anna's home by the robotic Moira X,[111] to be used as an infiltrator at the Hellfire Gala, with Moira's cybernetic hand dressed as jewelry ready to kill her. She conveyed morse code S.O.S. without Moira's detection, leading Cypher to alert Spider-Man and Wolverine to the hostage situation. After Mary Jane left for Paris,[112] she reunited with Moira at Saint-Chappelle Cathedral and a timely distraction by Greycrow set Moira off-balance long enough for Wolverine and Spider-Man to rescue her. While Moira escaped, Peter escorted Mary Jane back to New York, where she told Peter that she couldn't be with him out of an undisclosed responsibility with Paul-- something she hoped Peter would have understood.[113]
During another demonic disturbance,[114] Black Cat discovered Mary Jane's secret Slot Device superpowers. She asked Felicia to keep them a secret, especially from Peter, before both were translocated to Limbo by Belasco for a heist.[7] Sent to steal his Soulsword from the Screaming Tower, Mary Jane was cautious with her powers, uncertain what drawing three skulls might do. Saved by S'ym,[115] who helped them venture to the tower's guardian, Mary Jane deduced her bad luck in battle was because Felicia's powers unconsciously saw her as an enemy, realizing Peter was the main factor.[116] Once they cleared the air, Mary Jane pulled a 777, killed the guardian, and reached the vault. However, S'ym revealed that the sword would latch onto the courier's soul, who Belasco would kill to reclaim his sword. So after they exited to find the other mercenaries awaiting them,[117] Felicia and Mary Jane each used half the Soulsword to bypass the bonding effect and overwhelmed the armies. Returning to Belasco and confronting him for his deception, they defeated the Hell Lord and left the Soulsword with S'ym as thanks for his help. Once returned to Earth, their friendship was mended and Mary Jane introduced Felicia to Paul and the kids.[118]
Six months after her return to Earth-616, Mary Jane and her family saw a mysterious blizzard had occurred from Rabin's return. Mary Jane sent Paul and the kids to seek shelter while she sought out Peter, calling him about Rabin's return.[101] Alongside Spider-Man, Gold Goblin (norman's new superhero persona), and Ms. Marvel, Mary Jane fought Rabin after he used magic to erase Owen and Stephanie from afar. After Ms. Marvel disguised herself as Mary Jane to misdirect Rabin, Mary Jane regrouped with the Fantastic Four and found her dying after defeating Rabin. When Paul confirmed the children's fates, Mary Jane also mourned for them.[9]
After some time of mourning her dead foster children, she became the hero Jackpot after some encouragement from Black Cat.[1]Personality
Mary Jane is an empathetic and understanding person, willing to give the benefit of the doubt to friends and take the time to wrap her head around something. Having grown up in an abusive household due to her father's teaching positions and frustrations in private, Mary Jane coped with the emotional trauma by acting with an extroverted personality, which was useful in her pursuits of an acting career.
Mary Jane is also shown to be a dedicated person as she kept pursuing her acting career and worked hard to open a business. Due to her training as an actress, she also has great insight and almost always knows when someone is pretending or lying. She is also an exceptionally trustworthy character, having kept Peter's secret identity as Spider-Man since high school on the night Uncle Ben died, seeing him exit his room in costume and not telling anyone. And over the years, she would secretly become fascinated by Peter with his nerdy self in contrast to his actions as Spider-Man saving people.
Her friendship with Gwen Stacy exemplified Mary Jane's extroverted nature and willingness to be around others, such as her dating Harry but also flirting with Peter and other guys they knew. After Gwen's death, a distraught Peter lashed out at Mary Jane for not caring, but despite the harsh words and instead of leaving with indignation, she stayed to be with a grieving Peter out of her compassion and empathy for his situation.
In fact, her relationship with Peter is one of the factors that most defines Mary Jane. Because of her coexistence with his super hero life, while she initially suffered a great deal of stress and insecurity from worrying about him, Mary Jane would improve her perception of herself as she matured. In general, even after so many troubles that have plagued them over the years, both never stopped supporting each other and no matter how much they got involved with other persons, they always ended up reconnecting and helping each other.
Even Mephisto points out that the love between Peter and Mary Jane is very rare, which encouraged him to want to take it from them through his Faustian deal. However, even that had not been able to keep them away for a long time and they would once again resume, further reaffirming Mary Jane's own belief that her destiny is to remain with Peter. After the circumstances of Peter regaining his secret identity, the two took a break from each other to be intermittent friends focusing on themselves. After working for Stark, Norman's Red Goblin attack and Peter's company failing, Mary Jane chose to be with him once more and has been supportive and counseling of him in his return to Empire State University.
Mary Jane, after so many years involved in the super hero community, has been shown to be a capable negotiator and rescue operator. Such as when Melanie Daniels was held captive by Electro, Mary Jane had Carlie Cooper provide ample distraction to swap places with Melanie, where she distracted the villain long enough to subdue her for authorities to later apprehend. Dealing with the demon "Kindred" haunting her and Peter, believed to be Harry Osborn, Mary Jane used diplomacy upon meeting him, using her actress training to keep composure and reasoning to convince "Harry" to focus whenever on her, showing a sense of self-sacrifice directing Kindred to blame her instead.
Similarly to Peter, Mary Jane will forego much for the sake of responsibility, as while Mary Jane still held some love for Peter,[119] she focused on building her capabilities as a businesswoman with her own clubs and spread her name as a brand. When hired by Stark, she took her role seriously in aiding the armored avenger, and when returning to film, she showed a fastidious dedication fixing issues in Mysterio's mismanagement.[120] Now acting as a foster mother to two children with Paul,[108][101] while not forthcoming with her reasoning, she claims to stay with them out of an undisclosed responsibility.[113]Attributes
 |
Powers
Abilities
Mary Jane Watson is an accomplished professional actress, dancer, and model, allowing her to gain skill sets complimentary to her being in the life of a super hero. In turn, her life among the super hero community allowed Mary Jane to develop her aforementioned skills when confronting dangers.
- Skilled actress: Her acting career developed a calm under pressure and controlling the scene for escaping dangerous situations or talking her way out. Such was the case with saving Melanie Daniels held hostage on a livestream by Electro, and thousands of people seeing her impersonation before capturing Electro for the NYPD.[11] This acting skill has also allowed Mary Jane to easily explain Peter's injuries from being Spider-Man, such as his injuries by the U-Foes attacking as he attended ESU.[90]
- Trained fighter: Has moderate experience in hand-to-hand combat, as she has had many trainers - one of whom is Captain America. She has been able to fend off attackers of normal strength and skill, including the Chameleon using a baseball bat, and an obsessive stalker using a cue stick.
- Experienced Entrepreneurship: Having owned her own business with MJ's, a short lived club, and working at Stark Industries, Mary Jane developed an advanced business acumen and contacts in several business industries.[56][67] With her history with Peter, she was able to have him intermediate as Spider-Man for help from various superheroes in California while her film was on a reduced budget.[121]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Weapons
- Gun: Mary Jane carries a gun, despite Peter's aversions, which she used against the Green Goblin.[122]
- Web-Shooter Bracelet: When Peter developed organic web-shooters, he modified his original web-shooters into bracelets that she could wear discreetly, giving her an additional defensive weapon.
- Modified Spider-Tracer: She also carries a modified spider-tracer with an amplified signal that can be traced over long distances.
- Jackpot Bracelet: With a bracelet device, Mary Jane can temporarily gain randomized super powers. Similar to slots, Mary Jane's powers are based on the luck per pull to activate her powers.[7]
Notes
- Mary Jane was first mentioned in Amazing Spider-Man #15, made a cameo with her face hidden by a lampshade in Amazing Spider-Man #25, and made her first full appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #42.
Trivia
- Having a kind-hearted and responsive personality, Mary Jane seems to be able to bear with Peter's past love interests. It might be friendship (with Carlie Cooper) or mutual respect (with Felicia Hardy). Gwen Stacy is a special case - Mary Jane and Gwen were close friends, and the death of latter greatly affected Mary Jane, although not even half as much as it did Peter. So when Mary Jane discovered that Peter still writes audio messages for Gwen, she asked him to say "Hello" to Gwen for her and remind that she misses Gwen too.[123]
- Mary Jane has used her fashion design and sewing skills on many occasions to make and repair Spider-Man's costumes. She also designed the Hornet, Prodigy, and Ricochet costumes.
- She is usually the person who provides first aid when Peter's injured.
- On one occasion, she was possessed by Red Sonja and battled Kulan Gath, but she has no memory of those events.[17]
- She once temporarily borrowed Iron Man's old armor.
- During her early relationship with Peter, she claimed that "our song" was Kung Fu Fighting -apparently Carl Douglas' 1974 disco single. Peter was confused at hearing this, but knew better than to argue.[124]
- When Spider-Man and Mary Jane, as Iron Spider, fought against Regent they all experienced a Deja vù, like they had already fought each other before. This a reference to their Earth-18119 counterparts.[14]
- Mary Jane has been a member of the following organizations due to her acting career; Actors' Equity Association, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild.
- She requires glasses but opts to use contact lens.[125]
- Mary Jane being a famous character was featured in the following songs: Childish Gambino's Shadows, Just Jack's Writer's Block, Porno Arcade's I'm Peter Parker and I Love Mary Jane, Weird Al Yankovic's Ode to a Superhero, Chiddy Bang's All Things Go, Smash Mouth's She Turns Me On, Noelle Bean's Lois Lane, Filk and Luke Ski's Peter Parker, Professor Caffeine & the Insecurities' You're My Mary Jane, Not My Gwen Stacy, Onara's Mary Jane, MF Doom's Kon Queso, Don Strange's Spider-Man and Mary Jane, Logic's Warm It Up, Rich Homie Quan's Still Going In, and Shibuya Sunrise's Jackpot (Face it Tiger).
- Peter believes that if Gwen had survived, he never would have ended up with Mary Jane, and has been haunted by this belief.[126] However, moments before the deal with Mephisto was sealed, Mary Jane expressed her firm belief that she and Peter are destined to be together.[127] This was later confirmed at the Kindred saga conclusion, where after having freed Peter's soul from Mephisto's influence, Doctor Strange discovered Mephisto's motivations in wanting to separate Peter from MJ, and he reiterated that the devil's actions only ended up making the couple's connection unbreakable.[88]
- Mary Jane refused some of Peter's past marriage proposals out of fear and uncertainty, most likely due to her young experiences seeing her parents' failing marriage and holding a fear of having such an outcome.
See Also
- 1181 appearance(s) of Mary Jane Watson (Earth-616)
- 13 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Mary Jane Watson (Earth-616)
- 148 minor appearance(s) of Mary Jane Watson (Earth-616)
- 258 mention(s) of Mary Jane Watson (Earth-616)
- 9 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Mary Jane Watson (Earth-616)
- 830 image(s) of Mary Jane Watson (Earth-616)
- 74 quotation(s) by or about Mary Jane Watson (Earth-616)
- 2 item(s) used/owned by Mary Jane Watson (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #31
- ↑ Amazing Mary Jane #1
- ↑ Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #11
- ↑ Sensational Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #34
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 I (heart) Marvel: Web of Romance #1
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Mary Jane & Black Cat #1
- ↑ Sensational Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #24
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #26
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond #1
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #25
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24
- ↑ Many Loves of the Amazing Spider-Man #1
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #15
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #543
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Amazing Spider-Man #561
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Marvel Team-Up #79
- ↑ Spider-Man / Red Sonja #1–5
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Jessica Jones - Marvel Digital Original #2
- ↑ Untold Tales of Spider-Man #16
- ↑ Starting in Amazing Spider-Man #15
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #25
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #259
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #59
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #121–122
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #136
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #143
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #156
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #182–183
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #257–259
- ↑ Spider-Man Versus Wolverine #1
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #290–292
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #293
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #299–300
- ↑ Spectacular Spider-Man #166–172
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #388
- ↑ Spider-Man #45
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #415
- ↑ Spider-Man #75
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #13–14
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #29
- ↑ Peter Parker: Spider-Man #29
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #43
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #50
- ↑ New Avengers Annual #1
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #535
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #652
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #700
- ↑ Superior Spider-Man #31
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man (Vol. 3) #4
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man (Vol. 3) #5
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man (Vol. 3) #8
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man (Vol. 3) #10
- ↑ 56.0 56.1 Invincible Iron Man (Vol. 3) #11
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #13
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #14
- ↑ Civil War II #8
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man (Vol. 4) #3
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man (Vol. 4) #6
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man #599
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man #593
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man #595
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man #596
- ↑ Invincible Iron Man #598
- ↑ 67.0 67.1 Invincible Iron Man #600
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #796
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #800
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #8
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #1
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #10
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #29
- ↑ Amazing Mary Jane #1–3
- ↑ Amazing Mary Jane #4–5
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #50.LR
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #51.LR
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #52.LR
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #55–57
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #60
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #57
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #66
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #70
- ↑ Spectacular Spider-Man #200
- ↑ Sinister War #1
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #71–72
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #71–73
- ↑ 88.0 88.1 Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #74
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #75
- ↑ 90.0 90.1 Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #76
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #77
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #78–79
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #80.BEY
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #82
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #87
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #88
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #89–90
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #91–93
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #93
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #555–557
- ↑ 101.0 101.1 101.2 Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #21
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #22
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #24
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #25
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #10
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #14
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #15
- ↑ 108.0 108.1 Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #1
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #4
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #7
- ↑ Free Comic Book Day 2022: Avengers/X-Men #1
- ↑ X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1
- ↑ 113.0 113.1 Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #9
- ↑ Dark Web #1
- ↑ Mary Jane & Black Cat #2
- ↑ Mary Jane & Black Cat #3
- ↑ Mary Jane & Black Cat #4
- ↑ Mary Jane & Black Cat #5
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #600
- ↑ Amazing Mary Jane
- ↑ Amazing Mary Jane #3
- ↑ Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #12
- ↑ Spider-Man: Blue #6
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #153
- ↑ Spider-Men #4
- ↑ Marvel Team-Up #45
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #545
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man 2004 Vol 1 1