Mary Jane is Marvel’s Lois Lane
Anna: “Peter, I’d like you to meet my niece.”
The Amazing Spider-Man #42 (1962)
Peter, “You mean, that’s Mary Jane?”
Mary Jane: “Face it, Tiger… you just hit the jackpot!”
A woman cries over her dead lover. Unwilling to live without him, she stabs herself with a dagger. The lovers are found by their families, who make peace as the curtains fall. The crowd applauds as she stands and bows. The woman smiles. This production of Romeo and Juliet is a hit.
Leaving the theater, the woman sees lasers pierce the sky. A pair of villains are ganging up on Spider-Man. She straps on a gauntlet and presses a button. Three slots spin, landing on two skulls and a seven. She transforms into a Fury straight out of Greek mythology. Mary Jane Watson grimaces, but flies to Spider-Man’s aid. It’s time for the crooks to hit the Jackpot.
Mary Jane Watson is Marvel’s Lois Lane. She supported Peter Parker in his adventures as Spider-Man before editors tossed her aside. Now she stands as her own hero. So who is she? What makes her important? How did she become a superhero? Let’s find out.
Betty and Veronica: Mary Jane Watson’s Backstory
Mary Jane: “Eat your heart out, Gwendolyn! This time Mary Jane’s in the spotlight!”
Amazing Spider-Man #59
Mary Jane Watson debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #25 in 1962. She was created by John Romita Sr., Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby. Mary Jane appeared in 17 issues with her face hidden as her Aunt Anna and Peter’s Aunt May tried to set them up on a blind date. The buildup made her supermodel beauty hit Spider-Man and readers all the harder.
Mary Jane Watson was born into a poor family. Her father was abusive and hit her, leading MJ’s mother to leave with Mary Jane and her sister. A lack of money and another baby sister on the way threatened Mary Jane’s dream of becoming an actress. She left her struggling family to stay with her Aunt Anna.
Her life changed when her neighbor Ben Parker was shot and Spider-Man emerged from the house to avenge him. Mary Jane realized that Peter Parker was a superhero and kept his secret. They eventually met and writers often contrasted her fun persona against Peter’s other love interest, the brash and standoffish Gwen Stacy.
Peter dated Mary Jane and Gwen, but fans overwhelmingly preferred Mary Jane. The writers quickly murdered Gwen during a battle with the Green Goblin, leaving Peter a wreck and solving the love triangle. He lashed out at Mary Jane, thinking she didn’t care about anything but having fun. She showed a deeper side by staying with him to grieve Gwen Stacy.
One More Day: Mary Jane Watson’s History
MJ: “Look at you, you’re wounded.”
Spider-Man: The Other
Peter: “C’mon, MJ, you know I get better fast.”
MJ: “Yeah? What if you die? What are the odds of you getting better from that?”
Peter: “Seriously? Surprisingly good.”
Mary Jane and Peter grew closer over many adventures until he proposed. They settled into married life, though she often worried about him getting hurt or dying. Mary Jane’s acting and supermodel career took off, occasionally leaving Peter feeling inadequate. Despite hiccups, Peter and MJ were each other’s rocks.
The good times ended during the superhero Civil War. Spider-Man joined Iron Man’s faction and publicly unmasked himself to support them. The Kingpin ordered a hit on the Parker family. Mary Jane escaped unharmed, but Aunt May was mortally wounded.
No superpowers or magic could heal May for poorly explained reasons. MJ stayed at her bedside while Peter desperately sought a solution. The cure was everyone’s pal, Satan! The devil Mephisto offered to save May in exchange for Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage.
Mephisto claimed that Mary Jane and Peter shared true love blessed by God, so destroying that would weaken Spider-Man and hurt him more than taking his soul. They reluctantly agreed, but Mary Jane slipped in a caveat that Mephisto couldn’t target Peter again. Mephisto retconned the universe so that they were never married, revealing at the last moment he had done so because their unborn daughter was destined to kill him.
On the Prowl: Mary Jane Watson’s Modern Stories
Iron Man: “Why do you have Peter Parker’s emergency contact information?”
Invincible Iron Man #7 (2016)
Mary Jane: “It’s complicated.”
Iron Man: “Are you his biological father?”
Mary Jane: “What? No.”
Iron Man: “Then it’s not that complicated. What’s the skinny?”
The pair became estranged. Flashbacks revealed that she called off the wedding because she wanted kids and he was afraid he wouldn’t be there for them. They eventually reconciled, but kept to a will-they, won’t-they relationship.
MJ opened a nightclub that was quickly destroyed during a superhero battle. Iron Man hired her as a personal assistant to apologize for destroying it. Mary Jane got her first taste of the superhero lifestyle during missions where she would use his armor and Peter’s old Iron Spider costume.
A titanic change happened when Mary Jane and Spider-Man were trapped in another dimension. They met a man named Paul and got Spider-Man out of the dimension. Because time flows differently, Mary Jane and Paul thought he had abandoned them for years and fell in love while raising two orphaned children. You can imagine Peter’s shock when he learned about Paul and Mary.
Mary Jane stayed with Paul after they escaped. They eventually lost the children, having discovered they were magical constructs created by a villain planning to kill Mary Jane. She took the loss hard, and decided to help others so no one else would feel her pain. Mary Jane used a magical gauntlet Paul had given her to become a superhero called Jackpot.
Triple Sevens: Mary Jane Watson’s Powers and Personality
Jackpot: “Peter has said it for years. And now I think I finally understand. With great power, there must also come great responsibility. Face it, New York City… you just hit the Jackpot!”
Amazing Spider-Man #31 (2023)
Mary Jane Watson spent most of her life without superpowers. She’s an expert actress, supermodel, and entrepreneur. Mary Jane trained in self defense with Captain America, has knocked out The Chameleon with a baseball bat, and carries a gun for protection.
The Jackpot Gauntlet gives Mary Jane superpowers based on the built-in slots. They are sometimes useful, like becoming a humanoid velociraptor or unhelpful, such as gaining control over all pudding. Rolling a jackpot temporarily makes Mary Jane god-like while rolling three skulls will kill her.
Mary Jane is like fire. She’s gentle and caring until you’re burned by her rage and passion. Either way, Mary Jane blazes her way through life. Her devil may care attitude masks childhood trauma and fear for her loved ones.
The Actors Who Play Her
Peg Dixon – Spider-Man (1966)
Sarah Ballentine – Spider-Man: The Animated Series
Lisa Loeb – Spider-Man: The New Animated Series
Vanessa Marshall – Spectacular Spider-Man
Felicia Day – Marvel’s Spider-Man
Kristen Dunst – Spider-Man (Maguire Trilogy)
Zoe Kravitz – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Zendaya – Spider-Man (Holland Trilogy as Michelle Jones-Watson)
Didya Get All That?
Spider-Man’s estranged ex.
Image: Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man (2002)
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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