Mary Jane Watson
Art by Adam Hughes
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Cameo appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #25 (June 1965) First full appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #42 (November 1966) As Jackpot: The Amazing Spider-Man (volume 6) #31 (August 2023)
Created by	Stan Lee (writer) Steve Ditko (artist/writer) John Romita Sr. (artist)
In-story information
Full name	Mary Jane Watson
Species	Human
Place of origin	New York City, N.Y., U.S.
Supporting character of	Peter Parker (Spider-Man)
Notable aliases	Mary Jane Watson-Parker Spider-Woman Mrs. Spider-Man Spinneret Red Sonja Jackpot
Abilities	Skilled business executive Master model and actress As Jackpot: Random superpower generation via Jackpot Bracelet

Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, making her first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #25 (June 1965), and subsequently designed by John Romita Sr. in #42 (November 1966). Since then, she has gone on to become Spider-Man's main love interest and later his wife. Mary Jane is his most famous and prominent love interest due to their long history, and one of the most iconic in all of comics.

Although she made a brief first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #25 with a plant obscuring her face, as part of a then-long-running recurring gag about Aunt May attempting to set Peter up with her friend's "nice girl" niece, Mary Jane's first official face reveal was a cameo appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #42. Designed and drawn by John Romita Sr., her entrance is regarded as one of the most iconic introductions in comic history, owing it to its build-up, her hyper-vibrant red hair and beauty, and her introductory line, "Face it, Tiger... you just hit the jackpot!". Since then, 'Tiger' has been her most recognizable nickname for Peter, spanning comics and media adaptations, with the character becoming the third to assume the superhero mantle of Jackpot in August 2023.

Throughout her initial appearances, Mary Jane was written as a foil to Peter's initially intended soulmate, Gwen Stacy, with her extroverted, fun-loving personality (a mask for her troubled home life) contrasting with Gwen being more like Peter in demeanor and intellect. Nonetheless, following Gwen's death in "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" story arc, the heartbroken Mary Jane became more caring and empathetic, and eventually one of the few people to consistently know Peter's secret identity. This would result in the two falling deeply in love and eventually getting married. Despite their marriage being undone in the widely panned storyline "One More Day" due to the timeline manipulations by the villain Mephisto, Mary Jane and Peter retained a close friendship and have had on-and-off relations since. Unbeknownst to them, they are further destined to have a daughter who will end Mephisto's eventual reign over the Earth, and whom Mephisto seeks to erase from reality.

Since her debut, Mary Jane Watson has been described as one of Marvel's most notable non-powered female characters.^[1] In film, Kirsten Dunst portrayed the character in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, while Shailene Woodley had an uncredited silent cameo appearance as the character in the 2014 film The Amazing Spider-Man 2; Zoë Kravitz voiced Mary Jane in the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, with Nicole Delaney and Melissa Sturm voicing other versions of the character in its 2023 sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Publication history

Mary Jane Watson is mentioned in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (August 1964), and is initially used as a running joke of the series, as Peter Parker's Aunt May repeatedly attempts to set her unwilling nephew up on a date with her. Parker (also known as Spider-Man) consistently worms his way out of meeting Mary Jane who, aside from a brief appearance in #25 (June 1965) with her face obscured, is never actually seen until The Amazing Spider-Man #42 (November 1966).^[2] Peter David wrote in 2010 that artist John Romita Sr. "made the definitive statement of his arrival by pulling Mary Jane out from behind the oversized potted plant and placing her on panel in what would instantly become an iconic moment".^[3] Romita has stated that in designing Mary Jane, he "used Ann-Margret from the movie Bye Bye Birdie as a guide, using her coloring, the shape of her face, her red hair and her form-fitting short skirts".^[4]

According to co-creator Stan Lee, he and Romita had intended for Gwen Stacy to be Spider-Man's one true love, and introduced Mary Jane "just for fun", but that "somehow, Mary Jane seemed to have all the personality, and much as we tried to make Gwen more attractive, we couldn't! We, ourselves, felt that Mary Jane ended up being not only more beautiful but more fun and more interesting, and we finally decided to let Peter end up with her, but it was... as though the characters had taken over!".^[5][6]

Mary Jane Watson's unexpected popularity with readers after her debut changed the course of the plan for Gwen Stacy's character, who was intended to be the true love for Peter and was characterized as a sweet Daddy's girl in contrast to Mary Jane's '60s counterculture, vampy and liberated personality. Fans surprisingly liked Mary Jane more and demanded for her to replace Gwen's role as Peter Parker's main love interest as readers found Mary Jane more exciting and that "no matter how we wrote it, Mary Jane always seemed more interesting!".^[7][5] Mary Jane flamboyance and 'life of the party' personality (a mask in reality) were written as a contrast to Gwen, being more on Peter's intellectual and emotional wavelength. However, following Gwen's death in "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" story arc, the character was reworked to be more emotionally grounded and open-hearted.

The names "Mary Jane" and "MJ" are also common slang terms for marijuana. When asked about this, Stan Lee claimed it was purely coincidental, that he knew nothing about drugs and had never tried marijuana.^[8]

Gerry Conway succeeded Stan Lee as writer of The Amazing Spider-Man in 1972. Conway pushed Mary Jane to the forefront of the cast, and made her a serious love interest for Peter Parker.^[9] Like Lee, Conway found Mary Jane to be more compelling than Gwen: " hadn't lost the edge that made her an interesting character. Gwen didn't have an edge. She was just a nice person. I don't think she had a mean bone in her body, and wasn't likely to do something that was likely to screw things up for Peter, out of some misguided sense of self-aggrandizement, which Mary Jane was quite capable of doing—which makes her a much more interesting character".^[10]

In 1987, the character was married to Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21. As a consequence, writer J. M. DeMatteis made Mary Jane and her marriage to Spider-Man one of the central themes of the critically acclaimed "Kraven's Last Hunt", published the same year as the wedding. DeMatteis commented that "'Kraven's Last Hunt' has a lot of darkness in it, but the story primarily is about Peter and his journey into the light and the power of simple human love. The reason Peter makes it out is because he has Mary Jane in his life, and that is his salvation".^[11]

Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada said that he feels the marriage ages the characters, making them less appealing to young readers, and lessens the dramatic, "soap opera" possibilities, but also stated that "divorcing or widowing, or annulling the marriage... would only be worse".^[12] He has also pointed out that the marriage itself was editorially mandated; Stan Lee decided to marry the characters in his daily newspaper strip and, even though the two were not even dating at the time in the comic book series, it was decided to marry them in the regular Marvel Universe as well. In 2007, Quesada presided over the controversial "One More Day" storyline, which he also drew, in which Peter and Mary Jane's marriage is erased from history and everyone's memories by the devil Mephisto. Quesada states he is an avid fan of the Peter and MJ relationship, and in several interviews has claimed that the alternate MC2 universe, in which Peter and Mary Jane are happily married, is a "natural progression" of the characters.

The erasing of Peter and Mary Jane's marriage was initially adopted in the newspaper strip as well, but due to negative reader reaction Lee later revealed it to be a bad dream.^[13] Mary Jane remains Spider-Man's wife in the newspaper strip continuity.

Although the marriage stayed erased, Mary Jane and Peter Parker became a couple again during Nick Spencer's run in Amazing Spider-Man. She got a spin-off comic later, The Amazing Mary Jane, by Leah Williams, Carlos Gomez and Carlos López.^[14]

Fictional character biography

Early history

Mary Jane is depicted as an extremely beautiful, green-eyed redhead and was the primary romantic interest of Peter Parker for the majority of the forty years between her first full appearance in 1966 and the One More Day story in 2007 (Peter and Mary Jane married in 1987). Initially, she competed with others for Peter's affection, most prominently with Gwen Stacy and the Black Cat. Mary Jane's relatively unknown early life was eventually explored in The Amazing Spider-Man #259.^[15]

Early issues of The Amazing Spider-Man featured a running joke about Peter dodging his Aunt May's attempts to set him up with "that nice Watson girl next-door", whom Peter had not yet met and assumed would not be his type, since his aunt liked her (in the Parallel Lives graphic novel an identical scenario is shown between Mary Jane and her Aunt Anna). Mary Jane made her first actual appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #25 (June 1965), although her face was obscured. However, she was seen by both Liz Allan and Betty Brant, who are both shocked by how attractive she is. It is not until The Amazing Spider-Man #42 (November 1966) that her face is actually seen. In that issue, on the last page, Peter finally meets her, and he is stunned by her beauty even as she speaks the now-famous line: "Face it, Tiger... you just hit the jackpot!"^[16]

Peter begins to date her, much to the annoyance of Gwen Stacy. However, they eventually become irritated with each other and Peter subsequently chooses to date Gwen. Mary Jane, who becomes Harry Osborn's former love interest and former girlfriend for about a year, remains a close friend to Peter and Gwen. Despite her enjoyment of life, her friendships, and dating, Mary Jane refuses to be tied down for too long. When her relationship with Harry Osborn comes to an end, it has significant impact on Harry, driving him to a drug overdose.^[17] This in turn creates a boomerang effect, driving his father Norman Osborn to the brink of insanity, temporarily restoring his memories as the Green Goblin.^[18]

After the Green Goblin murders Gwen in The Amazing Spider-Man #121, Mary Jane attempts to comfort Peter. Peter, who is distraught over the loss of Gwen Stacy, angrily confronts MJ about her seemingly flighty and carefree attitude. He questions her ability to ever care about people like him and Gwen, and states "You wouldn't be sorry if your own mother died," unaware that her mother had actually died. Mary Jane is hurt by Peter's comments. She attempts to leave, but hesitates as she approaches the door, and ultimately chooses to stay with him.^[19] This served as a turning point in their relationship, and over the next couple of years, she and Peter become very close friends. Eventually, upon realizing the feelings that they share for one another, they decide to take their relationship to the next level, having sex in the process.^[20] Their relationship has a few initial hurdles, such as MJ's hot temper and Peter's always dashing off to be Spider-Man. Following the events of the original clone saga, Peter realizes that Mary Jane is the girl he has always loved, and the two begin dating again.

Despite loving Peter, MJ does not wish to be tied down. Yet, she allows the relationship to progress and is left with a difficult decision when Peter proposes to her.^[21] After taking a short time to consider, she turns him down.^[22] Following a series of traumatic experiences involving Peter's absences and his costumed alter ego endangering his Aunt May, a spiritually exhausted MJ leaves New York for several months. Peter meanwhile dates other women, most notably Felicia Hardy.

MJ returns, her behavior showing a marked change with her abandonment of her false front. Following an attack on Peter by Puma, she breaks down and admits her knowledge of Peter's secret identity in The Amazing Spider-Man #257. After learning of her own family history in The Amazing Spider-Man #259, Peter finds a new respect for her and begins to truly understand her. MJ makes it clear to Peter that knowing his identity changes nothing about her feelings, and that she only loves him as a friend, her best friend.^[23]

Despite the one-shot graphic novel Amazing Spider-Man: Parallel Lives and Untold Tales of Spider-Man #16 revealing that Mary Jane discovered Peter's secret when she noticed Spider-Man climbing out of Peter's bedroom window after his uncle's murder, many comics published before this revelation claimed that she had simply "figured it out", with the details of how and when left ambiguous to the reader.

After yet another period of reconsidering his priorities in life, Peter contemplates letting go of the Spider-Man mantle, with Mary Jane backing the decision, but his relationship with Felicia Hardy soon resumes. Feeling lost and guilty, Peter visits Mary Jane and apologizes with an awkward kiss before heading to Berlin with Ned Leeds.

Following Ned Leeds' murder at the hands of the Foreigner, a changed and bitter Peter returns to New York, where his lack of direction in life is not helped when Ned is framed as the Hobgoblin, and Felicia elects to leave Peter behind as she is tied to the Foreigner. Mary Jane returns to Peter, presumably to patch things up, but Peter surprises her with a second proposal of marriage, which MJ again turns down.^[24] She returns to her family to settle old debts with her father, with Peter following her. After aiding her sister in having her crooked father arrested, and aiding Peter against a Spider-Slayer, Mary Jane has an epiphany on marriage, and agrees to become Peter's wife.^[25]

Marriage

In spite of Peter and Mary Jane's mutual worry that they were marrying too early, Peter's concern for her safety, and her unwillingness to give up her "party girl" lifestyle, they marry.^[26] She adds Peter's surname to her own, making her Mary Jane Watson-Parker. They were, at that moment, really in love. Spider-Man wears his black costume around this time, but after Mary Jane is frightened by a stalking Venom, she convinces him to change back to his old costume.^[27]

Mary Jane continues to model after her marriage, but is stalked by her wealthy landlord, Jonathan Caesar. When she rejects his advances, he kidnaps her, but she manages to escape. While Caesar is briefly incarcerated, he uses his powerful business connections within the city and has her blacklisted as a model. She gets a role on the soap opera Secret Hospital, but is unhappy with her character's air-headed and mean personality. On top of that, Caesar, who has been released from prison and is still obsessed with Mary Jane, plots to kidnap her again—this time intending to whisk her away to a private island he owns in the Caribbean. After luring Mary Jane to an abandoned studio and threatening to kill her, Caesar is confronted by Officer Goldman, a policeman assigned to Mary Jane's original case against him. Goldman then shoots Caesar dead, saving Mary Jane's life. Although she successfully petitions her boss to adjust her character's personality, a deranged fan tries to kill Mary Jane out of hatred for the actions of her soap opera character. Mary Jane quits her job out of fear for her own safety and returns to modeling. This, along with Peter's role as Spider-Man, triggers a growing divide. She briefly flirts with actor Jason Jerome, who tries to tempt her into a secret affair. She resists out of faithfulness to Peter, but her weak rebuffs fail to convince Jerome, and she realizes she is enticed by him in spite of herself.^[28] However, she eventually realizes that her craving for romance can be filled by her husband as easily as an extramarital affair, and she pointedly rejects Jerome's advances while rebuking his behavior.^[29]

Due to this stress, and the seeming return of her husband's parents, Mary Jane begins smoking (a habit she had quit in high school), only increasing the tension between her and Peter. Peter ultimately convinces her to stop smoking when he tricks her into visiting Nick Katzenberg suffering heavily from lung cancer. When his parents are discovered to be fakes, Peter is unable to cope with the knowledge and disappears for a time. Mary Jane visits her sister Gayle and her father for the first time in years, and finally reconciles with them. Meanwhile, Peter overcomes his problems on his own. When she and Peter reunite, both are happier than they had been in a long time.

Pregnancy

During the 1994–96 "Clone Saga" storyline, Peter's clone, Ben Reilly, appears. Mary Jane discovers that she is pregnant. While she experiences some complications in her pregnancy, Reilly's scientist friend Seward Trainer helps her. Peter and Ben are told by Trainer that Ben is the real Peter Parker, and Peter is the clone. After conducting the tests themselves (tests which Seward rigged) they confirm Seward's story. A disbelieving Peter, while arguing with Ben, strikes Mary Jane. After this, he decides to quit as Spider-Man, because the stress of his double life is endangering his wife and unborn child. Peter, acting on hypnotic suggestion by the Jackal, attempts to kill Mary Jane, but is prevented by Ben Reilly (as the Scarlet Spider), his teammates the New Warriors, and Kaine. Later, Peter and Mary Jane leave New York and move to Portland, Oregon. They live there peacefully for several months, adapting happily to normal life after an accident causes subtle damage to Peter's genetic structure that disrupts his ability to use his powers. However, they miss New York City and their friends, and move back, a strange illness culminating in the restoration of Peter's powers. During the Onslaught crisis, Mary Jane is scanned by a Sentinel robot, who detects genetic abnormalities in her fetus.^[30]

Soon afterward, when Mary Jane's baby is already past due, she is poisoned by Alison Mongrain, an agent of the Green Goblin. Mary Jane's baby is stillborn.^[31] Combined with Ben's death in a battle with the reborn Norman Osborn and the revelation that the tests identifying Peter as the clone were actually rigged as part of Osborn's plan to break Peter's spirit, Peter returns to the role of Spider-Man.^[32]

Marital problems

Mary Jane returns to college to major in psychology, but the stress of the ongoing manipulations of Norman Osborn take their toll. After the Gathering of Five incident and the return of Aunt May, Mary Jane begs Peter to quit being Spider-Man.

He is happy to do so for several months, but soon feels the tug of his great power and great responsibility to be a hero. Meanwhile, Mary Jane is offered a new modeling contract and reaches new heights of success. Peter becomes Spider-Man again behind Mary Jane's back, which puts strain on their marriage. At the same time, she begins receiving lewd and threatening phone calls from an anonymous stalker. Mary Jane is flying across America when her airplane explodes in midair in Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #13 (January 2000). Peter is shocked and goes into deep denial over her death. Although he is set up with several other women, and his friends encourage him to move on, he believes she is still alive. Her mysterious stalker, an unnamed, telepathic mutant, has telepathically connected to Peter in some way, and wants to take over his life. He kidnapped Mary Jane as part of his plan and held her hostage for several months. The stalker kills himself after finally gleaning enough of Peter's personality and morality to discover that he had done terrible things. Peter and Mary Jane are reunited in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #29 (June 2001).

The stress of her captivity drives Mary Jane away. She moves to Los Angeles and immerses herself in acting — starring as the doomed love interest in the film Lobster-Man. Although missing Peter after he fails to meet her on a visit back to New York, she refuses to talk to him; Aunt May gets Peter to visit her in Los Angeles,^[33] however the two remain separated. Peter's encounter with the supernatural Spider-Wasp Shathra eventually leads to the two of them flying to New York and Los Angeles to see each other. Despite missing each other at their respective homes, they meet in an airport in Denver, Colorado where they reconcile after a brief encounter with Doctor Doom and Latverian terrorists.^[34]

"Civil War"

During the events of the 2006–2007 "Civil War" storyline, when Peter and Mary Jane's apartment and Aunt May's house are burned down by Charlie Weiderman, and Spider-Man joins the New Avengers, Mary Jane and Aunt May accompany him to live in Stark Tower. Mary Jane immediately feels at home with the New Avengers and is happy to finally be a part of Spider-Man's world.

The Civil War events forced Peter to stage a secret transfer of Mary Jane out of Stark Mansion, feeling that with the loss of his secret identity and his doubts about Tony Stark's ideas, Mary Jane had become a hostage in a luxurious house. Now residing in a cheap motel, her whole life had been affected, from her increasing difficulties in finding a new job as an actress to her being an easy target and prey, along with Aunt May, for the superpowered foes of Spider-Man.

Peter, Mary Jane, and Aunt May are targeted by an assassin working for Spider-Man's old foe, the Kingpin. When Peter returns to the Parker family's motel hideout, the assassin takes aim at Peter and fires, but hits Aunt May instead.^[35] Peter and MJ scramble to save Aunt May's life, rushing her from hospital to hospital while trying to maintain their fragile cover of anonymity. In trying to keep May alive and hidden from Spider-Man's enemies, they become fugitives on the run.

"One More Day"

During the 2007 "One More Day" storyline, Peter is forced to decide whether he will accept Mephisto's offer to save Aunt May in return for wiping the knowledge and memory of Peter and MJ's life together as husband and wife from the face of reality, which would leave only a single, subconscious piece of their souls to remember their love and life together, allowing Mephisto to feast on the pain exhibited by those vestiges for eternity.^[36]

MJ, despite loving Peter, accepts Mephisto's offer, but only with the caveat that Mephisto promises to restore Spider-Man's secret identity. She also asks to put his life back as it was and have a chance at happiness. Mephisto accepts these terms, and in the revised timeline, which begins at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man #545, and is further explained in the following issues, MJ and Peter were never married but instead "dated seriously for years".

According to interviews conducted with then-Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, every story prior to this story remains canon (this would later be contradicted as the events of later stories imply MJ never fell pregnant). Quesada also stated that a gap of undefined duration occurred between pages in "One More Day", during which the couple separated. By the end of that period, MJ has moved to California to become an actress, but continues to visit New York from time to time. In the epilogue to "One More Day", she attends a "coming home" party held by ex-Harry Osborn during one such visit, with Peter catching a small glimpse of her before she left, after ignoring her.^[37]

New life

At the end of The Amazing Spider-Man #560, as part of the "Brand New Day" storyline, Mary Jane makes her return as the girlfriend of actor Bobby Carr. In The Amazing Spider-Man #561, Mary Jane is seen getting into bed with Carr, and is later attacked by Paperdoll. Concealing herself in the panic room, Mary Jane observes a battle between Spider-Man and Paperdoll, and communicates with Spider-Man over the intercom. Mary Jane says that she and Spider-Man made a great team "in another life" and longingly touches a monitor screen showing his face, hinting that she still has strong feelings and misses him.^[38]

Peter does not learn that Mary Jane is the girlfriend of Carr nor that she was the voice on the intercom. Mary Jane is seen at the conclusion of the issue contemplating a phone call to Peter, but is hesitant to do so. She is asked for an autograph by Sara Ehret, an associate of Jackpot. Mary Jane tells her she does not know when she will return to New York. She left a message on Peter's machine but it was cut off before she could say anything.^[39]

Mary Jane has been living on the West Coast pursuing her acting career. She returns to New York after Carr is found to be taking Mutant Growth Hormone for a movie role, supplied by the White Rabbit. Carr complains that now she would tell them all about his drug use. His shallowness makes MJ walk away from him and take a TV job, which takes her back to New York City.

Mary Jane and Peter agree to meet with each other. Peter does not remember when or where as he had been drunk, and is further delayed due to his activities as Spider-Man. MJ also was drunk (while waiting for Peter to muster his courage to talk to her) and while she recalls their meeting she has overslept it. Issue 605 flashbacks to Mary Jane recalling a fight with Peter while he was dressed as Spider-Man, where she said that she did not care where he was and that he had a responsibility to their relationship. Peter begins to explain about his Uncle Ben, but Mary Jane interrupts him to say that he cannot let a single moment define his life.

In the 2010 "One Moment in Time" storyline, it is revealed that Mary Jane whispered to Mephisto that Peter would not agree to the deal unless Mary Jane tells him to make it, and that Mephisto will leave Peter alone forever when the deal is done. Mephisto replies "Agreed, as far as I'm concerned—this never happened." MJ did that to protect Peter. In present time MJ shows up at Peter's door. They talk about how they have been acting towards each other lately and both agree they want to be friends. They recall how Peter missed what was supposed to be their wedding day due to his activities as Spider-Man,^[40] leading MJ to demand that he retire from crimefighting. His refusal to do so convinced MJ that they must remain unmarried, since any children they might have would be endangered by his being a superhero.^[41]

Mary Jane goes to check on Anna Watson, just in time to stop a hitman, who goes after her. Spider-Man saves Mary Jane and dispatches the hitman. Spider-Man brings the wounded Mary Jane to Doctor Strange, who performs a healing spell on her. Peter insists that Doctor Strange should make people forget he is Spider-Man.^[42] Peter enters a protective shell to shield himself from the changes. At the last moment, he leaps out of the shield and pulls Mary Jane in with him so she will not forget either. Back in the present, Mary Jane explains that, although she still loves him, she is not strong enough to be at his side. She tells him he has to move on and find somebody who can be with him.^[43]

Peter soon begins a new relationship with Carlie Cooper. Though initially jealous, MJ decides to respect their relationship, and encourages Peter to reveal his secret identity to her.^[44]

"Spider-Island" and "Ends of the Earth"

During the "Spider-Island" storyline, much of New York City becomes infected with a virus that gives its inhabitants Peter's Spider-like abilities. MJ, who did not manifest any powers, finds herself caught in a series of riots across the city.^[45] Saved by the intervening Future Foundation, MJ later locates Peter and Carlie, the latter having also been granted spider-powers. MJ encourages Peter to use his civilian disguise when displaying his powers and rally the city against the chaos. She would later attain spider-powers herself and come to the aid of defenseless citizens, her prolonged contact with Peter during their relationship granting her a degree of immunity that protected her from Adriana Soria's mutative side-effects of the transformation. Peter successfully cures all of New York.^[46][47]

Shortly after, Carlie Cooper breaks up with Peter, having deduced his secret identity. Conflicted over her lingering feelings for Peter, Carlie confides in Mary Jane, and the two begin to bond over their experiences with Peter.

In the 2012 storyline "Ends of the Earth", Mary Jane purchases a nightclub.^[48]

"Dying Wish" and The Superior Spider-Man

Mary Jane remains in the role of best friend and confidant to Peter until he begins to take an interest in her romantically again. They begin dating again. Unknown to MJ, Peter has had his mind swapped by Otto Octavius. The real Peter Parker, trapped in his rival's dying body, breaks out of prison and attempts to switch back, only for his body to eventually give out on him before he can complete the procedure. As a last resort, Peter downloads all of his memories and experiences into Octavius' mind, convincing his foe to develop some sense of responsibility.^[49] Octavius, as Peter, continues to date Mary Jane after this, but she begins noticing distinctly different character traits displayed by him, such as a heavy intake of alcohol and his rude behavior towards his loved ones.^[50] Octavius intends to become more intimate with her and makes several advances, only to be rebuffed each time. In desperation and frustration, Octavius relives Peter's memories with MJ, which infuriates Peter. After one of Octavius' Spider-Bots detect Mary Jane in trouble and saves her from the Vulture gang, Mary Jane moves to kiss him, but Octavius, who has by now developed genuine feelings for her, rebuffs her, and breaks up with her, though vowing to continue to protect her.^[51]

Peter's mind is returned to his body, and informs Mary Jane that it was Octavius' mind in control of Peter's body for the past several months. Mary Jane tells him that she knows Octavius' actions were not Peter's fault, but she cannot let his dual life affect her anymore. She recognizes and admires the choices Peter has made in his life, but now she wants to build her own life, mostly thanks to the successes she has enjoyed with her nightclub and her new relationship with Ollie.^[52]

All-New, All-Different Marvel

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, Mary Jane Watson is in Chicago, Illinois hosting the opening of her newest nightclub Jackpot. Having ended her relationship with Ollie, Mary Jane had opened this nightclub after MJ's got destroyed during a superhero battle. When a Belhilio is quickly killed by an energy blast from Madame Masque, people start to run away as Iron Man and Doctor Doom arrive to confront her.^[53] With Mary Jane's assistance, Masque is apprehended, but during the fight the nightclub is irrevocably damaged. Three days later, Iron Man approaches Mary Jane Watson in Grant Park while she is mourning the loss of her club and offers her a job working for him.^[54] Mary Jane later waits for Tony Stark at Stark Tower, but their audition is interrupted by F.R.I.D.A.Y., who tells them that War Machine is missing. Before Tony becomes Iron Man and flies to Tokyo, Mary Jane gives Tony the emergency number for Peter Parker.^[55] It is revealed that Mary Jane declined Tony Stark's offer due to being uncomfortable around F.R.I.D.A.Y.^[56] However, Tony sends F.R.I.D.A.Y. to plead Mary Jane to help him stop the board of directors from seizing his company while he is off on a mission. Mary Jane claims to the board of directors that she is the new executive administrator, and she and F.R.I.D.A.Y. convince the board that the company is in safe hands.^[57]

In the Amazing Spider-Man series, it is revealed that she has eventually accepted Tony's employment offer when she and Tony attend a Parker Industry event, making Peter very uncomfortable. Later, she catches up with Betty Brant and Harry Osborn, and the three discover that businessman Augustus Roman is actually the powerful being known as Regent who is imprisoning heroes and villains to add to his own strength. Spider-Man and Iron Man try to stop Regent, but are defeated due to Regent's overwhelming power. With few options left, Mary Jane dons Peter's Iron Spider armor and uses her experience in Iron Man's suit and her brief spider powers in Spider-Island to assist Peter and Tony in battling Regent. During the fight, Mary Jane and Tony distract Regent long enough for Peter, Harry, and Miles Morales to release the rest of the prisoners. Mary Jane's attitude towards Peter during her time with him reminds Peter not to let his work take priority over his loved ones. Spider-Man warns Tony not to take Mary Jane for granted as Peter did not realize he lost Mary Jane until after she moved on.^[58]

After "Civil War II", Tony was put into a comatose state and his body went missing due to his own covert machinations. Mary Jane along with Riri Williams and Amanda Armstrong went on a search for him, and it was not until F.R.I.D.A.Y. made a calculated analysis that the A.I. duplicate of Tony would know exactly where to find him. However, Tony was continually complicating the search by sending them to other locations, believing he needed his privacy until he was finally ready.

After Peter's company went belly up during the "Secret Empire" storyline and he got a new career as the Daily Bugle's science editor, Mary Jane started being more supportive of Peter getting his life back on track. After a less than stellar Alchemax demonstration, Mary Jane and Peter started being more romantically involved, but as Peter still wore his Spider-Man suit, Mary Jane was conflicted: she wanted Peter to stop being Spider-Man but people really counted on him and she did not want to be the one to do that. She has Peter exit her apartment as Spider-Man so if anyone sees they will just think she was talking with him because she knows Stark.

After Norman Osborn becomes the Red Goblin, MJ received a warning from Peter and adjusted Stark Tower's defences against a Symbiote 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, MJ urged Peter to absorb the Venom Symbiote, which would give him the edge to stop his arch-enemy. She, along with others attacked by Red Goblin, were cured of his Carnage spikes by Flash Thompson with the Anti-Venom symbiote.

Fresh Start

As part of the Fresh Start relaunch event, Peter's personal life took serious knocks in both his civilian and heroic life: his doctorate was determined to be based on plagiarized work (due to him having received the doctorate when Doctor Octopus was controlling his body and the scientist used his own work) which led to him being fired from the Bugle, while the Kingpin tried to separate Spider-Man from other heroes by making him the only vigilante he would accept in the new anti-vigilante New York. However, his personal life picked up when he began reconnecting with Mary Jane more regularly and they talked about recent events. Finally, Peter told Mary Jane that he needed her in his life once again, prompting Mary Jane to decide on a "fresh start" and resume her relationship with him one more time.^[59]

As she and Peter resume dating, Mary Jane is encouraged by a returning Carlie Cooper to join a special support unit for associates, friends and partners of superheroes run by Jarvis called The Look Ups.^[60] Hesitant at first, Mary Jane eventually shares with the group her feelings for Peter, the loss of her job at Stark Industries, and her anxieties and occasional doubts about her importance to him. Afterwards, Jarvis compliments Mary Jane and tells her she is indispensable. MJ lets Peter know this when they spend the night together shortly after Peter's battle with the Thieves Guild. Peter admits to Mary Jane that he revealed his secret identity once more to Felicia Hardy, but Mary Jane tells him that she is not envious of this and understands.^[61]

After Peter's return as a college student, Mary Jane joined him for a dinner visit with the Connors family, as Peter and Curt discussed Peter's being Curt's teacher assistant job offer. While Peter was reluctant to take the offer, Mary Jane tried to argue he take it, as the chance could help him going forward.^[62] While Peter is ill from fever, Mary Jane tries to care for him, but he goes running head long into danger as Taskmaster and Black Ant captured Curt Connors' son Billy and she worriedly awaits Peter as he departs.^[63] As she waits, she tries to alleviate her anxiety unaware that an unknown entity (Kindred) is stalking her to get to Peter; but Kindred does not hurt her, viewing her as an innocent. After waking up, she tripped on Peter's dropped clothing and broke a window, and as she was cleaning herself up Peter returned in his black suit (courtesy of Kraven the Hunter) in a rushed panic believing some terrible had befallen her, but Mary Jane assured him that she was safe.^[64][65]

While attending a play with Carlie Cooper (Peter missing the planned date as he attempts to find the missing Curt Connors), Mary Jane gets unwittingly involved in an attack by the new Electro, who takes the lead actress hostage and attempts to ransom her online, only to change plans due to the low response to finding out how many people would pay to kill her. After Carlie causes a distraction, Mary Jane is able to switch places with the actress and trick Electro into a trap that knocks the villain out. The subsequent popularity of Mary Jane's speech prompts new public interest in her former acting career, to the point that her old agent calls her about new offers.^[66]

Mary Jane accepts one of these new offers, and with Peter's encouragement and support, heads off for a two-month stint in Hollywood filming a new movie. Peter had hoped to accompany Mary Jane to the airport, but he was forced to cancel those plans to help out his sister Teresa Parker. By the time Peter's mission had concluded, MJ had departed. The two would have a conversation by phone later that evening where Mary Jane assured Peter she understood why he could not take her to the airport and gives him all her love. It is revealed Peter had intended to propose to Mary Jane again had he been able to see her off.^[67]

Soon after filming started, Mary Jane discovered Mysterio's disguise as the movie's producer, who swore to her that this project was supposed to be an authentic depiction of his life.^[68] At first grudgingly, Mary Jane cooperated with him when the Savage Six began attacking the project after the Vulture felt offended for the "unauthorized" usage of his person in the plot.^[69] During an appearance on a talk show, Mary Jane witnessed a sinister, oni-masked individual committing a murder, and was placed under witness protection.^[70]

During the "Last Remains" storyline, Mary Jane ultimately returned to New York^[71] amidst the chaos inflicted by Peter's allies the Order of the Web, who had been possessed by Kindred. Mary Jane is caught in a head-on collision but survives and is rescued by Norman Osborn. Norman takes her back to Ravencroft where he reveals to her that he is now a changed man, cleansed of his sins, and that Kindred is his son Harry Osborn.^[72] Mary Jane agrees to help Norman reach Harry and is brought to Kindred's lair, where she finds Peter and the Order of the Web are now captives. Harry tortures Peter, demanding that he confess to something, but MJ tells Harry Peter has no recollection of the precise sin. She tells Harry she blames herself for his downward spiral and offers to sacrifice herself. Norman suddenly attacks and seemingly cuts down Mary Jane with a pumpkin bomb, which enrages Harry.^[73] A panicked Peter checks on Mary Jane, but she assures him the bomb is a blank and that this all part of the plan. Kindred is ultimately captured by the alliance of Norman and Wilson Fisk.^[74]

Mary Jane decides to remain in New York and help Peter deal with the fall out of Kindred's attack. She takes him to the old theatre where she got her big break and encourages him to use performance art to vent out his frustrations. Peter does so and he eventually breaks down, MJ comforts him. After Peter heads off to attend class at ESU, Mary Jane discovers Mysterio was eavesdropping. Mysterio asks Mary Jane if she will ever tell her boyfriend about their working arrangement, MJ tells him Peter has enough on his mind, and asks Mysterio about Kindred, suspecting he knows the truth, but Mysterio does not commit to an answer ^[75]

During the "Sinister War" storyline, Peter and Mary Jane eventually attend the premiere of MJ's new movie, and Peter is formerly introduced to Cage McKnight, still in the dark over his true identity. MJ tells Mysterio she will tell Peter the truth later tonight. Peter has a surprise of his own as he is planning to propose to Mary Jane when the movie is over, but the Savage Six take the opportunity to attack, eager for a taste of revenge on Mysterio. As the crowds in the movie theatre disperse, Mary Jane stops to help people who have fallen over, and stands her ground against the Tarantula. Peter switches to Spider-Man and comes to her rescue. Doctor Octopus and the four of his team then attack the theatre. Mysterio assists Mary Jane, exposing his identity to Peter and the Sinister and Savage teams. Mary Jane confesses to a concerned Peter that she knew who Mysterio was all along and vouches for him. Mysterio tries to tell Peter that he and Mary Jane's deal with Mephisto is to blame for everything that is presently happening, but Peter is far too distracted by the warring factions. Otto offers Beck the opportunity to join the Sinister Six, as long as he helps them capture Mary Jane. Mysterio escapes, taking MJ with him, promising her that the 'devil will get his due'^[76] Beck takes Mary Jane to his old studios, he reveals to her of his prior demise and descent into hell, but that he was offered a chance at renewed life by Harry Osborn. Beck did as instructed and 'did his bidding', in exchange, Kindred opened up new worlds for Beck to explore such as the Ultimate Universe. Over time, the visits from Kindred became less frequent and Beck let his guard down, believing himself to be free, until Kindred had use for him again. Beck then reveals to Mary Jane that he was instrumental in helping her come to terms with Harry's 'death' in his guise of Doctor Ludwig Rinehart, although Mary Jane can barely recall this. Despite Mary Jane's pleas, Mysterio remains loyal to Kindred's plan and leaves her to his master's mercy.^[77] Kindred unmasks to reveal the features of what appears to be Gwen Stacy, but is in actuality the husk of Sarah Stacy, the alleged daughter of Gwen and Norman Osborn. Mary Jane learns Kindred is still Harry using Sarah's body as a host, and that she nor her brother Gabriel was never truly Norman or Gwen's child, but clones created by an A.I version of Harry. Mary Jane also discovers that Mysterio tampered with her memories disguised as her therapist, which led her to believe the cloned twins were Gwen's children. Kindred tells Mary Jane the time has come to face her own sins and opens a doorway to Hell.^[78] Mary Jane flees into one of Kindred's portals and arrives at Sarah and Gabriel's home in Paris, where she tends to a stricken Peter. She and Peter briefly banter until Norman arrives to warn them that Sarah and Gabriel are preparing to ambush them. As Peter holds his own against the twin Kindred, Norman admits to Mary Jane that he made a deal with Mephisto, to which MJ reacts with shock. Norman's son Harry, now revealed to have been a clone of the original, arrives to help tip the scales in Peter's conflict with Kindred, but is eventually, and brutally, cut down and killed. Peter is also eventually buried under rubble. Mary Jane comes to his rescue. Their unwavering commitment to one another rids the Kindred spirits of Mephisto's influence, and the Stacy twins are finally allowed to die. In Las Vegas, Doctor Strange is involved in a high stakes gambit with Mephisto to free the true Harry Osborn's soul from the grasp of the devil, Upon succeeding, Strange asks Mephisto why he has attempted to claim Peter Parker. Mephisto reveals he foresees a future where Peter will defeat him and end his reign over the Earth. As Doctor Strange departs, he reminds Mephisto that the love Peter shares with those closest to him will always enhance his life and make every one of them better. The vision of Mephisto's future changes to show it is a red-headed Spider-Woman, not Peter, who ultimately thwarts the devil's reign. Mary Jane and Peter make their way home to heal and face the dawn of a new day together as a loving, and seemingly 'unbreakable', couple.^[79]

Spider-Man Beyond

In the wake of Harry's death, Mary Jane advises a grieving Peter to perhaps devote some time to properly process the loss and take a break from being Spider-Man. Before Peter can consider these plans though, he is caught up in a battle with the perilous U-Foes that incapacitates him, leading to his hospitalization.^[80] His clone Ben Reilly contacts Mary Jane and May Parker. Mary Jane is angry with Ben, believing him to be responsible for Peter's predicament. Peter then slips into a coma, but not before giving Ben his blessing to take the reins as Spider-Man in his absence.^[81]

Peter eventually recovers and awakens from his coma, Mary Jane continues to look after him, and at one point saves him from a serial killer stalking the wards of the hospital.^[82]

Peter's condition eventually draws out Felicia Hardy, and she and Mary Jane unite to save Peter from the clutches of criminal The Hood, who is need of his cloak. They locate it at the headquarters of Tombstone. Mary Jane disguises herself as the Black Cat and retrieves the cloak, the two then return it to The Hood, where it ends up devouring him. Peter, asleep the entire time, awakes to find Mary Jane and Felicia present, but believes it to be a recurring dream he has of the two women and asks them to be 'gentle' with him. Mary Jane and Felicia later joke about their mutual interest in Peter on the rooftops, with Felicia admitting how 'perfect' MJ is for Peter.

Mary Jane returns home, where she is confronted by Ben Reilly's girlfriend Janine Godbe, aka Elizabeth Tyne, who is in possession of a hard drive provided by Otto Octavius that details the hidden agenda of the Beyond corporation, which presently employs Ben. Mary Jane takes Janine to the Daily Bugle, but they are confronted by the Queen Goblin, aka Doctor Ashley Kafka, Ben's psychiatrist, infected with all of the sin of Norman Osborn. Ben Reilly makes the save, but due to the Beyond corporation tampering with his mind to make him more controllable, Ben has forgotten how to be selfless and responsible, so he decides to save what is most important to him only and flees with Janine, leaving Mary Jane to the mercy of Kafka.^[83] Before Kafka can use her 'goblin gaze' on Mary Jane to draw out her anxieties and innermost fears, they are interrupted by Felicia. Kafka instead uses her gaze on Felicia and its effects compel Felicia to suicide. However, Felicia is saved by Peter. Mary Jane hands over Peter's costume to him and he suits up to confront Kakfa.^[84] After Peter defeats the Queen Goblin, Mary Jane tells him to go and find his 'brother' Ben^[85]

Shortly afterwards, Peter fails to save Ben from the manipulations of the Beyond corporation, denying Ben a chance to reclaim his missing memories leads to Peter being soundly beaten by his former ally. Mary Jane helps Peter grieve the loss of Ben as well as aid in his physical recovery. Weeks pass, and after completing a session at her apartment, Mary Jane asks Peter if he'd like to stay with her, not just for today, but for good, believing the time has come once more to share their lives together. Peter readily accepts, only for the two to be interrupted by a mysterious being bathed in light. The being tells Peter a path of blood has led him to his door and that Peter must come with him.^[86]

Six Months Later/Hellfire Gala

Following an incident that decimates a section of Pennsylvania, Peter finds himself alienated from the superhero community and on bad terms with Mary Jane. The two have broken up and Mary Jane is now seemingly dating a man named Paul, with kids seeing Mary Jane as a mother figure, with the daughter heavily resembling her.^[87] Despite their lack of communication, Mary Jane still shows concern for Peter when Felicia Hardy pays her a visit asking about his present whereabouts.^[88]

Sometime later, Mary Jane and her Aunt Anna have become brand ambassadors for medical treatments supplied by the mutant island nation of Krakoa, with an ailing Anna now suffering from dementia. Mary Jane arranges a meeting with Norman Osborn to verify that the treatments are safe to use. At Oscorp, she meets up with Peter, who apologizes for routinely trying to call her when she did not want to be contacted. Mary Jane accepts his apology and attempts to tell him something truthful about how she is presently feeling when the two are interrupted by Paul. It is implied Paul has had a visceral encounter with Peter in the past. Mary Jane and Paul depart, with MJ telling Paul she has the assurances she needs to try out the medicines, and makes preparations to attend the annual Hellfire Gala.^[89]

MJ later finds an intruder in her Aunt's house, the X-Men's former ally-turned-nemesis Moira MacTaggart, who attacks her and renders her unconscious, intending to take her place at the Gala by disguising herself as her.^[90]

Using Mary Jane as a "meat puppet", Moira infiltrates the Gala and interacts with several in attendance, including her son Proteus and MJ's ex-boyfriend Peter. Eventually, the X-Men uncover the truth behind Moira's infiltration, and Mary Jane temporarily breaks free of Moira's control to try and warn Logan of her predicament. Eventually, Moira escapes Krakoa along with a clone of Mister Sinister called Doctor Stasis upon Moira siding with Orchis only for Peter and Wolverine to follow them. Later, Moira is seen meeting with Druig of the Eternals revealing the secrets of the Five's resurrection protocols. Moira has abandoned Mary Jane, with the implication that she has killed the Krakoan ambassador.^[91]

However, this is not the case, and Peter and Logan are able to successfully rescue Mary Jane. Upon returning to New York, Peter offers to talk to Mary Jane, but she refuses. Peter asks if it's because of Paul. When she confirms this is so, Peter challenges MJ on her feelings for Paul, but MJ angrily says this isn't about him, but about something she thought he understood responsibility, and walks away.^[92]

Dark Web

As Peter's friends assembled at the Coffee Bean to honor the memory of the twice dead Harry Osborn during the "Dark Web", Mary Jane decided now was the appropriate time to make peace with Peter and asked if she could share a coffee with him.^[93]

Shortly after the party, Mary Jane returned home, where she and her family came under attack from demons possessing the furniture. Felicia Hardy arrived on the scene with the intent on checking in on MJ's well being, only to find MJ defending her family with newly acquired powers. The exact nature of MJ's abilities are determined by pure chance and she has no control over which ones will manifest. When a curious Felicia teased Mary Jane about her powers, she refused to reveal where the powers came from and that Peter, who is unaware of them, must never know. Mary Jane asks Felicia to watch out for Peter, before both are transported to Limbo where they run into Count Belsaco. Belasco reveals to Black Cat that he summoned her there for a reason and considers MJ "a charming bonus".^[94] Over dinner he explains to them that he once had a Soul Sword that he made with the help of the Elder Gods, and used to rule over Limbo until the Gods confiscated it from him as a punishment and Magik overthrew him with her own Soul Sword. The Elder Gods put the sword in the Screaming Castle, a place he could never get to until Chasm and Madelyne Pryor's demonic invasion of New York created an opportunity for him. He wanted the two of them to steal back the sword for him so he could re-conquer Limbo and agreed to send them back to Earth once they'd done so. Upon entering the castle the two are attacked by the castles cannibalistic prisoners, with Mary Jane reluctantly using her powers after explaining to Black Cat that her powers work by creating a roulette wheel and she isn't sure what will happen if she gets three skulls. The cannibals chase them to a bottomless pit, but Mary Jane and Black Cat are saved by S'ym.^[95]

The Secret of Paul Rabin

A few months after the ordeal in Limbo, Mary Jane prepares for a trip to the park with her family, when suddenly a blizzard hits the city. At the centre of the blizzard is a being the children identify as the "Scribble Man", MJ urges Paul to take the children to safety while she heads towards the scene of the disruption. Paul tells Mary Jane to 'remember how this all works' and promises to catch up with her once the children are safe. Mary Jane frantically calls Peter on the phone, telling him that 'he' has returned.

This individual is Benjamin Rabin, the emissary of the Mayan god of mischief Wayeb'. It is he who confronted Peter and MJ in their apartment at the close of the 'Beyond' event one year ago.^[96] After battling Spider-Man in New York, Rabin branded both Peter and Mary Jane with the mark of sacrifice and sent them into an alternate future, it is there that Peter and MJ met Paul. Paul explains Spider-Man is crucial to completing a ceremony that will enable Wayeb' to seize control of the Earth, he develops a device with which to transport him back to Earth, Peter insists Mary Jane go back, but when Wayeb' attacks them, Mary Jane triggers the teleportation device and sends Peter back, splintering Wayeb' in half. Mary Jane is left trapped in the other realm with Paul while Peter and what remains of Wayeb' crash down to Earth, creating the crater in Pennsylvania.^[97] Due to the alternative passage of time in Paul's dimension, Mary Jane spends four years there and she and Paul depend on one another for survival, ultimately adopting two young children, who Mary Jane names Romey Stephanie Watson and Owen Watson. Peter, with the aid of Norman Osborn, was able to return for them, only to find MJ unwilling to part with her new family. Unbeknownst to either MJ or Peter, this was due to a curse inflicted upon Mary Jane by Rabin, who prayed to his gods that MJ would, in time, come to 'accept the chains' that bind her. Peter eventually deduces that Paul is really the alternate universe son of Rabin the Emissary, Mary Jane reveals Paul confessed this to her, and that Paul is trying to make up for the part he played in helping his father lay waste to the world he came from. In the present, Rabin schemes the death of the 'scarlet woman' so that he may ascend to godhood.^[98] In the final battle with Rabin, Peter discovers Mary Jane has powers and Ms. Marvel dies protecting her from Rabin, who himself is killed by Wayeb's sprit for making the wrong sacrifice. Stephanie and Owen are revealed to be magical constructs created by Rabin, the "chains" which he spoke of, and vanish. Now unshackled, MJ grieves along with Peter and Paul.^[99]

Unwilling to live in their apartment without the children, Mary Jane and Paul move in with MJ's Aunt Anna. Mary Jane and Peter soon mend their friendship yet again and Peter helps MJ with Anna's birthday celebrations. Unbeknownst to MJ, the mutant terrorist organization Orchis has laced her aunt's supply of Krakoan medicines with a kill code which turns Anna into a feral beast with murder on her mind. Peter and MJ are able to subdue her using MJ's sleeping pills and commit her to Ravencroft.^[100]

Debut as Jackpot

Coping with severe depression over the loss of Owen and Stephanie, Mary Jane is visited by Felicia Hardy, fresh off of ending her own relationship with Peter, she convinces MJ to use the technology of her special watch to help others in need. Felicia supplies Mary Jane with a costume. MJ hears a commotion outside and admits she finally understands Peter's mantra of how "with great power there must also come great responsibility". She heads out into the city as her new costumed alter ego Jackpot.^[101]

Shortly after, Mary Jane and Paul are approached by Norman Osborn who warns them that Peter Parker is on the hunt for them. Peter, having been infected with the sins of the former Green Goblin, attacks the two as they flee by car.^[102]

Mary Jane confronts Peter, who after realizing that she was the one who started the seeming relationship with Paul, vengefully threatens to make her pay for betraying him. Peter then attempts to kill Paul who Mary Jane manages to rescue by utilizing the powers of her tech watch. When the Queen Goblin interferes and attempts to kill Peter, Mary Jane prevents the attack and protects him, which enables Norman and Kraven the Hunter to succeed in removing the sins from Peter. Upon the removal of the sins, a remorseful Peter is comforted by Mary Jane, who does not blame him for the ordeal they just went through, and the two finally begin to emotionally reconnect.^[103]

During the "Gang War" storyline, Mary Jane Watson as Jackpot helped Spider-Man and She-Hulk fight Menagerie members Armadillo and Man-Bull. Then she had a brief fight with Electro II.^[104] Jackpot was among the heroes who helped Spider-Man, Miles Morales, She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, and Elektra's Daredevil appearance fight Madame Masque's group where she interacted with Spider-Boy.^[105]

Peter and Mary Jane later meet up at Ravencroft to visit MJ's Aunt Anna, where they change out of their costumes around one another. Peter is able to give Anna the cure to the Orchis virus as Spider-Man. An orderly at Ravencroft asks if Peter and MJ are a couple, to which Peter replies that they aren't. Aunt Anna privately tells the orderly she blames her niece for their break-up as Peter takes his leave.^[106] Peter and MJ spend a few days fighting crime together as partners and discussing their difficulties in moving on from one another. MJ, realizing she's not yet over him, tells Peter it is best not to team up together quite so regularly.,^[107] her Aunt Anna then begins to set Peter up with new blind dates.

Powers and abilities

For many decades, Mary Jane had no superpowers, and was simply a talented model, actress, and businesswoman.^{[108][109][110]} After her experiences in another world, Mary Jane returned with technology that allowed her to tap into special abilities, with the catch that her abilities can be random, ranging from gaining superhuman physical abilities to basically becoming living silly putty.

Cultural impact and legacy

Critical reception

Mike Avila of Syfy called Mary Jane "incredibly popular", saying, "The redheaded girl-next-door — who was teased, but not seen, throughout Spider-Man's early years — made the greatest entrance in comic book history in the last page of Amazing Spider-Man #42. The John Romita Sr.-drawn panelintroduced a vivacious redhead (based on Ann Margaret, incidentally) who would eventually become not just the most important person in Peter Parker's world, but a comics superstar on her own. No other powerless Marvel character holds a candle to MJ. Not Nick Fury, not Jarvis, not Sharon Carter, not even Aunt May."^[111] Cole Kennedy of CBR.com wrote, "In a panel that would be recreated in Spider-Man comics for decades to come, Mary Jane makes her first full appearance with the famous line: "Face it, tiger, you just hit the jackpot." From that moment on, Mary Jane was entangled in the crazy web of Spider-Man's life. She's become one of the most popular and recognizable characters in Marvel Comics, starring in several of her own comic book series. If fans look to Marvel's multiverse, they'll find many fascinating versions of MJ, including some who've developed superpowers themselves."^[112] Darby Hart of Screen Rant asserted, "Mary Jane Watson has been one of the most significant characters in the world of Spider-Man since her debut and has grown far beyond the standard girlfriend or damsel in distress stock figure that was common in comics at the time of her inception in the 1960s. Her greatest comic book stories have shown her to be one of the most independent and courageous characters in the Marvel Universe."^[113]

Accoladesedit

• In 2014, ComicBook.com ranked Mary Jane 2nd in their "7 Best Female Characters from the Spider-Man Multiverse" list.^[114]
• In 2019, CBR.com ranked Mary Jane 10th in their "Spider-Man: His 10 Best Sidekicks" list.^[115]
• In 2022, The A.V. Club ranked Mary Jane 36th in their "100 best Marvel characters" list.^[116]
• In 2022, CBR.com ranked Mary Jane 3rd in their "Most Wholesome Spider-Man Characters" list^[117] and ranked her and Peter Parker 3rd in their "10 Best Marvel Couples" list.^[118]

Impactedit

• American actor and musician Childish Gambino references Mary Jane and Aunt May in his song "Shadows" from his second studio album Because the Internet.
• In Just Jack's 2007 single "Writer's Block", Mary Jane is mentioned with the verse "I'm lovin' Mary Jane, flyin' with Lois Lane".
• Scarlet Pleasure, a Danish R&B band, features the Spider-Man and Mary Jane couple with the line "There's no Peter Parker without Mary Jane" in their 2018 song "Superpower".
• "I'm Peter Parker and I love Mary Jane, she's always in my brain, if I told her, would she feel the same?" is the chorus for "I'm Peter Parker and I Love Mary Jane", a song by party punk band Porno Arcade from their 2018 album Gypso.
• American singer-songwriter Weird Al Yankovic's "Ode to a Superhero" is a song dedicated to Spider-Man, with the lyrics mentioning Harry Osborn and Peter Parker's crush, Mary Jane Watson.
• "All Things Go" by Chiddy Bang has the lyrics "And we be Peter Parker in love with the Mary Jane".
• Smash Mouth's "She Turns Me On" has the lyrics "Lois Lane, Mary Jane, we may never get home".
• Indie pop singer Noelle Bean contains the lyrics "Like Superman and Lois Lane, you're Peter Parker and I'm your Mary Jane" in her song "Lois Lane".
• Filk and rap artist Luke Ski has a song titled "Peter Parker" with the lyrics "Loves his Aunt May, Mary Jane, yeah he'd like, to meet her, Get the girl, save the world, and his name is Peter".
• Indie rock band Professor Caffeine & the Insecurities has a song titled "You're My Mary Jane, Not My Gwen Stacy" in their 2015 EP Comic Book.
• Rock band Onara has a song titled "Mary Jane" with the lyrics "You know I'm your Peter Parker and I'll never be no Bruce Wayne, and I don't want no Wonder Woman, I only want my Mary Jane".
• British hip-hop artist MF Doom references Spider-Man and Mary Jane in his single "Kon Queso" with the verse "In love with Mary Jane, she's my main thing, pulled her right from that web head, what a lame brain".
• Are You Johnson?, a 2015 album by musical artist Don Strange, includes a song titled "Spider-Man and Mary Jane".
• American rapper Logic alludes to both Mary Jane and marijuana with the lyrics "Pass the Mary Jane like I'm runnin' a train with Peter Parker" of his 2018 song "Warm It Up".
• Rich Homie Quan makes a cheeky allusion to Mary Jane as well in his song "Still Going In".
• Shibuya Sunrise's song "Jackpot (Face it Tiger)" is about Peter Parker and Mary Jane's love story, with the chorus having the "Face it, Tiger, we hit the jackpot" lyric as a reference to Mary Jane's first words to Peter.
• The O.C. has an episode where Seth Cohen wears a Spider-Man costume and kisses Summer Roberts upside-down, a homage to the famous upside-down kiss in the rain between Peter and Mary Jane in the 2002 Spider-Man film.
• Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory quotes Peter's declaration of love to Mary Jane from the 2002 film on a date with Amy.
• The television show Heroes has its character, Hiro Nakamura, refer Charlie as his "one true love, like Spider-Man's Mary Jane".
• In The Simpsons episode "Married to the Blob", a featured song called "Comic Book Guy's Lament" includes the line "I've always been happy, to call myself single, no Mary Jane, or Lois Lane, with whom I co-mingle, you could say that I was, an unstackable pringles, I've got original, sign by Siegel and Shuster, but they don't satisfy, in the way that they use to".
• Marge Simpson and Homer Simpson from The Simpsons recreated the Spider-Man upside down kiss as well.
• The 2004 film Shrek 2 features heavy pop culture references, including a scene where Fiona kisses Shrek, who is hanging upside down—which was meant as a homage to the Spider-Man kiss.
• Chrissy Teigen and John Legend re-enacted the upside down kiss, with Teigen as Spider-Man, in the show Lip Sync Battle.
• Popular comedy web television series One Day at a Time has one of its characters reference Mary Jane as "Peter Parker's girlfriend".

Literary receptionedit

Amazing Mary Jane - 2019edit

According to Diamond Comic Distributors, Amazing Mary Jane #1 was the 6th best selling comic book in October 2019.^{[119][120][121]}

Mike Fugue of CBR.com ranked Amazing Mary Jane #1 2nd in their "Comics You Need To Read This Week" list, stating, "The Amazing Mary Jane #1 is a smart, topical, and often hilarious debut starring everyone's favorite redhead, in her very first solo series. Leah Williams' script shines and balances lighthearted quips with serious social commentary masterfully. Carlos Gomez's artwork is gorgeous and while he doesn't get an opportunity to illustrate larger-than-life battles, there is an urgency to his visual pacing and still manages to pull off show-stopping panels. This book is a lot of fun and manages to be so without feeling too twee."^[122]

Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond - 2022edit

According to Diamond Comic Distributors, Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond #1 was the 21st best selling comic book in January 2022.^{[123][124][125]}

Sayantan Gayen of CBR.com referred to Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond #1 as a "thrilling tale peppered with drama and intrigue," writing, "It is not an exaggeration to say that Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond #1 features one of the best Marvel crossovers in recent history. Jed MacKay writes an equally beautiful team-up of Black Cat and Ben Reilly in the Death of Doctor Strange: Spider-Man #1. Mary Jane and Black Cat may look at each other as romantic rivals, but the instant bonding between the two and the comfort they feel in each other's company is heartwarmingly beautiful to see. Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond #1 is an enthralling and charming tale."^[126] Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Mary_Jane_Watson
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