Mary Jane Watson the Most Writer Abused Character

Excellent title isn’t it? It is excellent because it happens to be true. Writers have been smacking around Mary Jane Watson for so long that it comes as surprised that she is not drawn with black eyes. The main problem is the writers are afraid or don’t understand the character at all. The lack of research into this character is just mind boggling because this happens to be one of those characters with a rich history where there could numerous dramatic stories that can be told.

Mary Jane Watson could be seen as the one of the greatest creation by Stan and Steve. She was, on the surface, the polar opposite of Peter Parker. She was popular and looking to have fun all the time. That is how she was first presented when she was introduced in the world of Peter Parker. Peter by comparison was the outsider and looked on the dark side of life think there was nothing he could do right. Mary Jane Watson brought some light heartiness to the book that was needed because those early issue were pretty dark if you take in the context of how Peter felt about himself. Mary Jane brought some needed relief of the constant teenage angst that was going on the time when Pete was in High School.

As Peter’s character evolved, Mary Jane’s character also evolved beyond that of “Party Girl”. We learned that Mary Jane came from a home that had an abusive father. She put on a brave face in front of her friend with the whole “let's have fun” attitude because it was an escape for her home life. She ran from the dark aspect of life. Anytime one of her friends was going through a personal crisis, she would just go party and have fun. That was her stander operating procedure until Gwen’s death. That was first time she stops and faces a dark crisis because of what Peter meant to her. That was a major shift for the character. She went from the Party Girl to Peter’s best friend that was there for him because she knows his secret.

Mary Jane disappeared for a time, but she return to let Peter know that she knows he is Spider-man. Once again, another major shift in the character. Peter found someone that he could talk to about Spider-man openly and not feel like he was alone in the world. Peter was dating Felicia Hardy, Black Cat, at the time which made the relationship with Mary Jane complex. Mary Jane was the friend that had feelings for Peter beyond that typical “just friends”. He would come to her with problems about Felicia and about being Spider-man. They grew closer to the point where during the many breaks with Peter’s relationship with Felicia that they kiss during a fight about Felicia causing a thought bubble from Mary Jane,” That was like we were boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Peter asked Mary Jane once to marry him, and she turned him down. She didn’t want to deal with the whole Spider-man aspect of his life. When she did say yes to his marriage proposal, things got worse for the character because she was portray wrong by the writer. She became a supermodel. That turned some of the fans off because they thought it did not fit in Peter’s world. Then she became an actress, which also did not fit in Peter’s world. Then she was killed, that fit in Peter’s world. Yet, it did not work because many readers could not see Peter with someone else now because Mary Jane was the girl. She came back and they separated because, once again, Mary Jane didn’t want deal with Peter being Spider-man. Sensing a theme here? Mary Jane, after seeing Peter selfless actions as Spider-man, that it was something Peter needed to do and has to do in order for her to love him. That led to some the best stories with the marriage in years.

Now, that the history lesson is over we can look at the mistakes with the character. The biggest mistake that the writers make with Mary Jane; with Peter too, is trying to keep them stuck in the past. There has to be growth or the characters will become stale. Sure, you can say that they have to stay the exactly the same as they were first written, but you will kill the book fast because it will become boring. There were many stories that could have done within Spider-man that would have change how the readers look at Mary Jane. Some examples:

-Mary Jane could have decided to choose to help Peter by joining the Police force.
-Mary Jane could have become an activist for Hero’s Right during Civil War.
-Mary Jane could have gotten a degree in Criminal Psychology and tried to help Peter.
-Mary Jane could have become an Investigating reporter and covered why Spider-man is seen as a menace.

: There were many stories that could have made the character stronger beyond turning into a model or actress.

There is whole, “I can’t be with you because you’re Spider-man,” theme that writers love to use to the point where the readers want to puke. That was fine for the first couple of years of the marriage, but it should have stopped after that because they were not going to get a divorce. It is worn out theme that is used by writers that have no imagination and hate the character of Mary Jane. They rather slap her around so the reader won’t like her, and they can start to write Peter fucking everyone that will spread her legs in the Marvel Universe. This is where the writers come off like prepubescent fanboys. They can’t wrap their minds around the fact that the readership have changed and so have the character. They want their old Peter back damn it and nothing is going to stop that from happening. It is magic and the readers need to shut up about already is their thinking. The problem they have is that Mary Jane is popular character that people want to read about over and over again because that is what they want. Do they need reminding who pays for those checks they cash from Marvel? The readership’s money is where that money comes from in order that check to be any good.

Mary Jane could be seen as the abusive wife for the writers to smack around as they please because the readership allows it to happen. Yes, the writers have screwed Mary Jane so many times that she is the perfect metaphor for a ten cent hooker. The readership allowed this to happen because we did not say anything when it happens except when they get rid of the marriage. It is time to fight for Mary Jane too. The marriage coming back is important, but we must watch how Mary Jane is being used as a character because that causes some problems too. One main goal should be that a woman writes for Spider-man and not bunch of men that are going through a mid-life crisis.